Official Free Boilers and Insulation guide discussion

pippin18

Im just so confused by it all.... looked on British Gas website, said something about a green deal assessment costs £129.. I cant afford to pay that.... Looks like we will just have to freeze.

haz25a

PhilNailerson wrote: »

I have British Gas coming in next week to do an Energy Performance Certificate Survey of the property, in order for Cavity Wall Insulation. Does anyone know what this entails, and do they need access to every room?One of the rooms is basically storage, and would take me ages to clear out so would like to know in advance if possible.

Cheers.

I got cavity wall insulation a few years back. My Uncle (now sadly passed away) worked as a surveyor for company in Scotland. He told me in advance he would need to see my DWP documents but they weren't photographed. They DO need to see documentation that you are eligible though or they can't process the application. My house is small but he didn't poke around, most of the observation of the walls was done from the outside. Pretty basic really.

He telephoned his office there and then and explained what they were to do, I was also getting my loft insulated. I got a phone call back with a date within a couple of days to have the loft insulation done first. Great guys, even hauled a very heavy box of vinyl records down from the loft for me.

Cavity wall insulation was also done quickly and professionally by friendly guys.

Got a phone call from British Gas a few weeks later asking me if I was satisfied with the work?? I explained I hadn't gone through British Gas but apparently I had without ever speaking to them.

So, in short, in my experience the survey was not intrusive or extensive and this was not just because it was my Uncle.

Good Luck.

haz25a

angrysharks wrote: »

You can definitely try another of the energy suppliers. Energy Saving Trust is impartial and can do a basic assessment over the phone and then you get to choose the energy supplier. It's hard to know which to recommend but maybe if you scroll through this forum you might find a good experience with one of them? Like I said before, Southern took months and cancelled the installation a couple of times and were a general pain to deal with. I can't remember now the boiler they were planning to install but know it was a budget one. British Gas were quick and I have a Valiant boiler but their fitters were not the best.

When things were bad with Southern I called the Energy Saving Trust and they reassessed me, confirmed that Southern had received no funding as I hadn't received a boiler so it was fine to try another company. I do think that's your best route.

I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but.....give British Gas a try. They were pretty quick. They messed up the initial installation and the boiler flooded my living room, twice! I was left with no hot water or heating for 7 weeks but thankfully this was August/September. I had to do a LOT of complaining, including getting my MP involved and even she had trouble getting the complaint dealt with. However, after a long battle, they did repair the 10 day old boiler, rectify the installation pipework and eventually compensated me for the damage to my property when the boiler flooded.

The main problem in my opinion was the lack of information given to me by the initial surveyor from British Gas, I was not informed that extra pipework outside would be required, only that it was "a straight swap, an easy job", he actually seemed really keen to get me on board. I was going to get a few different companies out.

I would recommend that if using British Gas make absolutely sure you know exactly what work is going to be carried out i.e. how and where they are going to connect the condensate pipe AND get it in writing. I received NO paperwork and signed nothing prior to installation which actually went in my favour when it came to the official complaint.

Good Luck.

angrysharks

pippin18 wrote: »

Im just so confused by it all.... looked on British Gas website, said something about a green deal assessment costs £129.. I cant afford to pay that.... Looks like we will just have to freeze.

Go straight to the Energy Saving Trust - call: 0300 123 1234. From there choose the energy supplier who you would like to pay for the boiler. It's an impartial government advice line so better to start there than direct with one energy supplier.

angrysharks

haz25a wrote: »

I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but.....give British Gas a try. They were pretty quick. They messed up the initial installation and the boiler flooded my living room, twice! I was left with no hot water or heating for 7 weeks but thankfully this was August/September. I had to do a LOT of complaining, including getting my MP involved and even she had trouble getting the complaint dealt with. However, after a long battle, they did repair the 10 day old boiler, rectify the installation pipework and eventually compensated me for the damage to my property when the boiler flooded.

The main problem in my opinion was the lack of information given to me by the initial surveyor from British Gas, I was not informed that extra pipework outside would be required, only that it was "a straight swap, an easy job", he actually seemed really keen to get me on board. I was going to get a few different companies out.

I would recommend that if using British Gas make absolutely sure you know exactly what work is going to be carried out i.e. how and where they are going to connect the condensate pipe AND get it in writing. I received NO paperwork and signed nothing prior to installation which actually went in my favour when it came to the official complaint.

Good Luck.

It's so helpful to see your post as I was starting to mellow about the faults of the work by British Gas installing my boiler but you've reminded me it's, sadly, really common and needs to be addressed. The lack of paperwork is infuriating and I was a day into the installation work and still didn't know which boiler I was getting! That, supposed, 1 day job took 3 days and I've still not had the electrician come to fit the room thermostat - actually, it's been 2 weeks and they've not even called and I have no number to contact them! I am sorry as it sounds like you had an almighty nightmare. I've still got a leak and reading this has encouraged me to not put up with it (I can manage it when I'm home as I can change the dish underneath but I'm going away soon and it'll overflow for sure).

Thank you for pointing out the shoddy service we're all putting up with. PH Jones aka British Gas are getting paid well for this scheme so the work should be as a high a standard as if we were paying ourselves.

haz25a

angrysharks wrote: »

It's so helpful to see your post as I was starting to mellow about the faults of the work by British Gas installing my boiler but you've reminded me it's, sadly, really common and needs to be addressed. The lack of paperwork is infuriating and I was a day into the installation work and still didn't know which boiler I was getting! That, supposed, 1 day job took 3 days and I've still not had the electrician come to fit the room thermostat - actually, it's been 2 weeks and they've not even called and I have no number to contact them! I am sorry as it sounds like you had an almighty nightmare. I've still got a leak and reading this has encouraged me to not put up with it (I can manage it when I'm home as I can change the dish underneath but I'm going away soon and it'll overflow for sure).

Thank you for pointing out the shoddy service we're all putting up with. PH Jones aka British Gas are getting paid well for this scheme so the work should be as a high a standard as if we were paying ourselves.

You need to contact Chris Weston's office in Staines. That's where the elevated complaints department is. Any other department was a waste of time for me. If you google "Chris Weston, CEO, British Gas" (although I believe he is the Managing Director??) you should find the address. Also, let your local MP know about your concerns as it is a Government scheme.

The standard thermostat is a non-wired, bluetooth combined thermostat/timer. This was useless in my house, the thermostat gave false readings so the heating never came on when it should have and kept cutting out. I demanded they install an updated version of the wired timer and a separate thermostat as the wireless one was "not fit for purpose". They fit the wireless ones as it takes less time, less work and is therefore cheaper but not necessarily better.

Good Luck. :-)

Canny_Cav

Hi all, I started this process last year (prob November time). The energy assessor came out and we rated 70 as we have had the insulation and cavity wall done (and use mainly low energy bulbs) - all fine.

The surveyor came out to assess the job - decided that we needed a new boiler our is 20+ years old) and a radiator. The location of the boiler needed to be changed from behind the fireplace to the upstairs airing cupboard but she said this should not be a problem as all the pipework was already in place. Lovely Jubbly... BUT...

..After hearing nothing for a couple of weeks I phoned NPower and was told that our application had been turned down because it was going to cost too much... I asked if we could contribute and was told that this was not an option - the computer had said no.

This was early December, the same time that the energy companies were renewing their contract with the government, so I put it down to bad timing on my part and gave up.

Now, after reading many of the posts on here I'm wondering if we should pursue it again - if not with NPower then someone else.
Does anybody have any thoughts on our situation?

Many thanks
Jillx

pippin18

We have a just been rejected because we failed the ECO scoring... you need to have carbon emissions of 900 ours is 876... we are both unemployed as I lost my job in October 2013, we are claiming Income based JSA and Child Tax credits as we have 2 children, we have had no heating or hot water since 8th December and cannot afford to replace our 18 year old boiler. It seems like a con to me, they told us after the survey it would take 10 days then we would hear from an installer, 3 weeks later nothing and we end up chasing them only to be told we dont qualify. Surely its false advertising as it says when you do the online assessment- congratulations you meet the criteria, theres never any mention of carbon emissions then on when the surveyor visits, so you are lead to believe your getting a boiler! So angry.... in the meantime myself, my partner and our 2 daughters freeze without heating and hotwater!

angrysharks

Canny_Cav wrote: »

Hi all, I started this process last year (prob November time). The energy assessor came out and we rated 70 as we have had the insulation and cavity wall done (and use mainly low energy bulbs) - all fine.

The surveyor came out to assess the job - decided that we needed a new boiler our is 20+ years old) and a radiator. The location of the boiler needed to be changed from behind the fireplace to the upstairs airing cupboard but she said this should not be a problem as all the pipework was already in place. Lovely Jubbly... BUT...

..After hearing nothing for a couple of weeks I phoned NPower and was told that our application had been turned down because it was going to cost too much... I asked if we could contribute and was told that this was not an option - the computer had said no.

This was early December, the same time that the energy companies were renewing their contract with the government, so I put it down to bad timing on my part and gave up.

Now, after reading many of the posts on here I'm wondering if we should pursue it again - if not with NPower then someone else.
Does anybody have any thoughts on our situation?

Many thanks
Jillx

Definitely try another energy supplier. Start the process again by calling the Energy Saving Trust: 0300 123 1234. From there choose the energy supplier who you would like to pay for the boiler. It's an impartial government advice line so better to start there than direct with one energy supplier.

angrysharks

pippin18 wrote: »

We have a just been rejected because we failed the ECO scoring... you need to have carbon emissions of 900 ours is 876... we are both unemployed as I lost my job in October 2013, we are claiming Income based JSA and Child Tax credits as we have 2 children, we have had no heating or hot water since 8th December and cannot afford to replace our 18 year old boiler. It seems like a con to me, they told us after the survey it would take 10 days then we would hear from an installer, 3 weeks later nothing and we end up chasing them only to be told we dont qualify. Surely its false advertising as it says when you do the online assessment- congratulations you meet the criteria, theres never any mention of carbon emissions then on when the surveyor visits, so you are lead to believe your getting a boiler! So angry.... in the meantime myself, my partner and our 2 daughters freeze without heating and hotwater!

It sounds like you're having a rotten time. Definitely worth trying another energy supplier. Start the process again by calling the Energy Saving Trust: 0300 123 1234. From there choose the energy supplier who you would like to pay for the boiler. It's an impartial government advice line so better to start there than direct with one energy supplier.

I don't even remember this carbon emissions assessment happening and I went through the process with Southern and British Gas. I gave up on Southern as 7 months later and many cancelled installation dates had frazzled my nerves. British Gas were faster but their installers are not great and while it only took a month from the initial call to the installation it's still not finished (awaiting electrician) and I have a small leak.

Whichever company you go with - and it looks like N Power is getting a lot of negative comments here - try and get exactly what you will receive in writing. I thought my old boilers would be taken away but only one was removed as it was in the same place as the replacement. The installers told me they would only fit one thermostatic radiator valve but I knew from seeing the Order Form with the failed Southern installation that 7 were needed. If I hadn't known they wouldn't have fitted them all.

Good luck. It sounds like you could do with some of that right now. x