I Qualify for a Free Boiler But......

Scottishmummy

I got my free boiler from British Gas. The scheme they use means they will only fit Potterton ones. No option to upgrade even if willing to pay difference. A different scheme apparently uses Vallients but that is not the one I qualified for. So far I have had no problems whatsoever and couldn't fault the fitters either who were sub-contracted.

trundlecat

matelodave wrote: »

The alternative is not to accept this free gift that's being paid for by the rest of us and keep your old one

I think my 15 years paying higher rate income tax probably means I've paid for a lot of things for you; healthcare, education etc. No doubt I will be back to paying the big whack again once I've finished this (self funded) PHD (which is the reason why I'm only running my business part time at the moment, thus, qualify for working tax credit). Also, last time I looked I'm pretty sure I'll be paying back all my undergrad loan to student finance hence, I have NEVER lived off anyone else's money. In other words, unless you have something constructive to say just go away. In my experience people such as you are generally the ones who take most from society and don't even give so much as a kind word in return. I genuinely pity you, living with such burning bitterness can't be easy.

Everyone else, thank you very much. It's a Gloworm 30kwflexicom that they want to fit. I'm going to postpone the installation, phone round a few other companies that I know are participating in the scheme & see if I can find one who will fit a variant.

Thanks again,
TC

brewerdave

...From your original post you have a "conventional" boiler with a hot water tank??? Why are they fitting a combi? Are they also removing the hot water tank???

vm2pensioner

I tend to think that if the old boiler is working ok, leave well alone. Putting a new boiler, especially a condensing one (now obligatory) with narrower tubes through the heat exchanger on a CH system with old pipework can be a nightmare since, even after power flushing, debris from gradual deterioration of radiators and old pipework can block pump and exchanger, as boiler often running hotter. Old Potterton, cost about £200 in servicing and 1 breakdown in 25 years. New condensing boiler has already cost me over £1000 in five!

Ken68

brewerdave wrote: »

...From your original post you have a "conventional" boiler with a hot water tank??? Why are they fitting a combi? Are they also removing the hot water tank???

The old tanks are worth a bit, make sure you retain and sell them yourself.

pammii

These schemes are in fact true and do work if you qualify. I went with HelpLink and would recommend them. There was a bit of confusion to begin with about the type of system I was getting. I had a gas fire with a back boiler and wanted to change to a combi boiler. I fitted all the criteria and now have an A Rated Worcester boiler that provides instant hot water and having had a couple of radiators replaced due to age and the whole system flushed as part of the installation, my radiators are now so much warmer.

Pincher

trundlecat wrote: »

It's a Gloworm 30kwflexicom that they want to fit. I'm going to postpone the installation, phone round a few other companies that I know are participating in the scheme & see if I can find one who will fit a variant.

Hey, watch it, I have a Glowworm Flexicom 30SX, system boiler with hot water cylinder, not combi. The Flexicom range has a bigger bore heat exchanger so it is less likely to clog. This makes it slightly less efficient than the Ultracom 2 range, by less than 1%. It is also capable of weather compensation if you install it with outdoor thermostat, Smart Wiring Centre, and Climastat.

No problem with the boiler, but did have problem with the plumber who didn't understand how to wire voltage free controls.

With the weather compensation and condensation optimisation working, I get maxmum heat out of the gas I burn. If they give you a bog standard Honeywell programmer, it's just a dumb boiler, unfortunately.



http://www.plumbnation.co.uk/

Glowworm is offering 5 year warranty, although Vaillant is doing 7 year, and ten years on a Baxi.

matelodave

trundlecat wrote: »

I think my 15 years paying higher rate income tax probably means I've paid for a lot of things for you; healthcare, education etc. No doubt I will be back to paying the big whack again once I've finished this (self funded) PHD (which is the reason why I'm only running my business part time at the moment, thus, qualify for working tax credit). Also, last time I looked I'm pretty sure I'll be paying back all my undergrad loan to student finance hence, I have NEVER lived off anyone else's money. In other words, unless you have something constructive to say just go away. In my experience people such as you are generally the ones who take most from society and don't even give so much as a kind word in return. I genuinely pity you, living with such burning bitterness can't be easy.


Thanks again,
TC

As it happens I left school at 16, went to work and worked right through until I retired, so I didn't even have the benefit of a student loan - I paid for myself to go to night school to improve my qualifications so I good get on.

I paid higher rate income tax, paid into a pension scheme and am still paying income tax on my pension payments. I'm also paying for my own house and all it's maintenance out of my own income as well as my own electricity & water bills so I do feel that I can have a bit of opinion on those who want freebies on top of their benefits which I've been paying for over the past 50 odd years - especially when they are being picky about it