Official Free Boilers and Insulation guide discussion

captainhindsight_2

b!!!23 wrote: »

Ive been on the EST website and apparently we do qualify for a free boiler.

What is the role of the EST? Is it not better to just go direct to the companies??

Yes the est are there to offer advice, the quickest way would be to find a local installer

writeaboutnow

captainhindsight wrote: »

the quickest way would be to find a local installer

My personal experience of 'battling' through the never-ending obstacles of this scheme would tell me otherwise, so would have to disagree regarding finding a local installer - in my area there were none and, annoyingly, those that were advertising had withdrawn.

It seems that whether you finally get a 'free' boiler or not depends very much on each individual set of circumstances as well as your location, but mainly, just how Damned Determined you are to get one! Sheer perseverance plus assertive (but always polite!) persistence paid-off for me in the end - but that's not before having an independent company waste 6 weeks of my time and then quote me £600 for the privilege!

I decided to start the process again with British Gas through EST and although second time round wasn't exactly plain sailing either, British Gas did respond and react to my particular situation and regular chasing-up, and so it finally came to be that 5 weeks and 5 days later, I was up and running with my Vaillant boiler, no charge! :j

In the meantime, I remind myself on a daily basis to never take hot, running water for granted again!!!

OAP80wallace

writeaboutnow wrote: »

My personal experience of 'battling' through the never-ending obstacles of this scheme would tell me otherwise, so would have to disagree regarding finding a local installer - in my area there were none and, annoyingly, those that were advertising had withdrawn.

It seems that whether you finally get a 'free' boiler or not depends very much on each individual set of circumstances as well as your location, but mainly, just how Damned Determined you are to get one! Sheer perseverance plus assertive (but always polite!) persistence paid-off for me in the end - but that's not before having an independent company waste 6 weeks of my time and then quote me £600 for the privilege!

I decided to start the process again with British Gas through EST and although second time round wasn't exactly plain sailing either, British Gas did respond and react to my particular situation and regular chasing-up, and so it finally came to be that 5 weeks and 5 days later, I was up and running with my Vaillant boiler, no charge! :j

In the meantime, I remind myself on a daily basis to never take hot, running water for granted again!!!

Yes, one has to be persistent.So glad you succeeded in the end but it takes a lot of energy. I too am delighted to have a lovely warm house and hot water but it was quite a hassle. Thanks to all on this Forum, it kept me going. Signing off now and putting all the frustrations behind me. Farewell and good luck.

Zunky90

Hi all,

I have to ask does anyone else feel there is a scam going on with these free boilers?

My Gran is 82 claims pension credit and disability benefit. Her boiler is over 15 years old. I phoned energy saving trust after trying two local companies. The local companies both came out and said my Gran qualified, they got a "Govt rep" to check and all confirmed was ok, the silence! The first one claimed my Gran wasnt in their cacthment area even though they came to her house to check the boiler and her eligibility. The second one claimed the Govt had run out of funds and would have to wait until new tax year, that came round and they then said she didnt qualify. Even though they came out and a "Govt rep" who confirmed she did. Through the energy saving trust I selected EON who say they cant fit a free new boiler unless the old one is broke even though this isnt written down ANYWHERE on their eligibility criteria.

I know some people appear to have got a new boiler but the vast majority of people I know havent. I have to concolude something dodgy is happening with this process and implore Martin to investigate.

Thanks

the_matrix

Zunky90 wrote: »

Hi all,

I have to ask does anyone else feel there is a scam going on with these free boilers?

My Gran is 82 claims pension credit and disability benefit. Her boiler is over 15 years old. I phoned energy saving trust after trying two local companies. The local companies both came out and said my Gran qualified, they got a "Govt rep" to check and all confirmed was ok, the silence! The first one claimed my Gran wasnt in their cacthment area even though they came to her house to check the boiler and her eligibility. The second one claimed the Govt had run out of funds and would have to wait until new tax year, that came round and they then said she didnt qualify. Even though they came out and a "Govt rep" who confirmed she did. Through the energy saving trust I selected EON who say they cant fit a free new boiler unless the old one is broke even though this isnt written down ANYWHERE on their eligibility criteria.

I know some people appear to have got a new boiler but the vast majority of people I know havent. I have to concolude something dodgy is happening with this process and implore Martin to investigate.

Thanks

I think they ran out of money.

captainhindsight_2

Zunky90 wrote: »

Hi all,

I have to ask does anyone else feel there is a scam going on with these free boilers?

My Gran is 82 claims pension credit and disability benefit. Her boiler is over 15 years old. I phoned energy saving trust after trying two local companies. The local companies both came out and said my Gran qualified, they got a "Govt rep" to check and all confirmed was ok, the silence! The first one claimed my Gran wasnt in their cacthment area even though they came to her house to check the boiler and her eligibility. The second one claimed the Govt had run out of funds and would have to wait until new tax year, that came round and they then said she didnt qualify. Even though they came out and a "Govt rep" who confirmed she did. Through the energy saving trust I selected EON who say they cant fit a free new boiler unless the old one is broke even though this isnt written down ANYWHERE on their eligibility criteria.

I know some people appear to have got a new boiler but the vast majority of people I know havent. I have to concolude something dodgy is happening with this process and implore Martin to investigate.

Thanks

Hello i'll try and explain what is going on:

The money for this scheme is from the big six + first utility.

The initial scheme ECO1 runs from 1 Jan2013-31March2015 and is made up of three phases

Phase 1 - 1 Jan2013-31March2013 - £0.83bn savings
Phase 2 - 1 April 2013 - 31March2014 - £1.68bn savings
Phase 3 - 1 April 2014 - 31 March2015 - £1.68bn savings

According to the latest report from ofgem here 119% of phases 1-2 have been met this means there is £1.2bn of savings left until 31March2015.

The fact that the obligated energy companies are ahead of target means their is no urgency for them to release any money to installers so people can get free boilers.

So although the scheme is still running, almost all the targets to date have been met or are close to being met and no money is being released to installers...

So no its not a scam there has been almost 200,000 boilers fitted, its just the scheme has worked better/faster than expected so it has been forced to slow down.

Based on what you have said your gran is eligible, its just you'll have to wait until money starts been release to installers from the big six and I will happily post on here once this has started happening.

Also the complicated way in which the money is released, there has not yet been an opportunity to release any money this tax year. Then next opportunity will be the 8th May.

Smiley_Dan

captainhindsight wrote: »

Yes you would qualify for CERO post the 1st April changes, however since the changes no money has yet been agreed to be released to installers... due to the way the money is released the next date money may or may not be available is the 24th April the big six have to meet their annual obligations so money will be released eventually...

Hey captainhindsight, you seem knowledgeable on the workings of the industry! Any news on this - has the next tranche of funding for CERO been released?

Where do you get your info from so I can stop bothering you?

Ciya

Hi

Has anyone had any experience with the current BG free insulation offer of getting then to install sheeps wool loft insulation?

Reading into their T&Cs it seems down to what the surveyor recommends, my concern is regarding their independence and understanding for this old house's need for sheeps wool due to moisture issues.

ka7e

After 6 months of delays, Dyson/EDF finally fitted my new boiler yesterday!

The installation did not go as planned as they realised the survey was rubbish and they couldn't vent a condensing boiler through the roof (too far from a useable drain and the exudate would damage the lead!). 2 hours of head-scratching and floorboards up everywhere and an alternative site was found.

The team from Dyson were great and treated each new obstacle with Yorkshire stoicism! Gas, water and electrics had to be re-routed and everything was put back more or less perfectly - some carpets have to be tidied, but I expected that.

Our installation was fully-funded by EDF due to the age and inefficiency of our 30 year-old boiler and the low EPC rating the house scored.

captainhindsight_2

Smiley_Dan wrote: »

Hey captainhindsight, you seem knowledgeable on the workings of the industry! Any news on this - has the next tranche of funding for CERO been released?

Where do you get your info from so I can stop bothering you?

Hi, I run a small company doing all these installations through CERO, CISCO and HHCRO we are all four 'hats' of the process of getting the money all the way to install.

All the money for ECO is traded through the ECO Brokerage this is green deal providers selling future savings to the energy companies so they can meet their ECO obligations. If you look nothing or very little has traded and what has has been at very low prices (i.e about £700 to fit a boiler) even since Phase 3 of the obligation started 1st April.

If you look here this is ofgem reports on the energy companies progress towards meeting the obligations. As you can see they have met phases 1-2 HHCRO but no where near meeting CERO and CISCO targets. The latest report doesn't include phase 3 of the obligations.

There is some CERO funding about at the moment but it's not paying very well.

If you keep an eye on the brokerage as soon as you see lots to start selling thats when ECO will go back to delivering free installations. Essentially there is no funding until this starts to happen.

Hope it helps.