Warm Front advice

SueBirmingham

I asked Warm Front if I could have radiator thermostats, but they said that it was my landlord's responsibility to provide them. Has anyone managed to get anything like this from Warm Front?

jellymid

Hi Sue, and welcome to MSE.

I haven't heard of anyone getting radiator thermostats independently of a heating system, but they did put them in as part of Mum's complete system. I can only suggest ringing them back and hoping that you get somebody who is willing to help you. The call centre staff vary dramatically in their friendliness, willingness to help and competence. They cover loft insulation and cavity wall insulation, so if you need that doing they may just extend to thermostats. They also provide the low energy light bulbs, so can't see why radiator thermostats shouldn't be included....after all, it's all about saving energy.
Good luck,
Al

sebastianj

That is funny, the person who came to look at the insulation requirements said that they will fit thermostats to radiators and temperature control thingy as well. As I told him that I need the boiler changed as a priority, they only did the loft insulation and nothing else. I think I will check up on this.

The Heating surveyor was supposed to come yesterday but never did, I have to contact Warm Front on Monday, it is so rude not to even call and say sorry. Does this happen often??
kind regards,
seb

jellymid

Hi Seb,
Mum's appointments were frquently changed at the last minute, but she always had a phone call at the very least. How frustrating for you. What did Warmfront have to say?

plumb1_2

margaretclare wrote: »

Yes, you're right, the law changed 3 or 4 years ago now, and only condensing boilers are allowed.

Condensing boilers and Combination biolers(Combi) are not the same.

A lot of people get confused and given the wrong information.
Condensing mearly neens how the boiler operates.

sebastianj

Hi Plumb1, thanks for the info it will help to know which is better or pitfalls of having one rather than the other.
seb

sebastianj

Hi Jelleymid,
Well at last the surveyor made another appointment and came, looked around and said that the Boiler is too old and needs to be replaced. He reckons that the Radiators also need to be changed because of Rust. He was thinking aloud a lot of possibilities and ended up with 'Sir you need a new system', Combi Boiler and 5 radiators, that is 3 radiators less than what you have. To get these additional radiators it will cost in the region of £750-1500.
And then he stopped writing and said that he needs to discuss this with his supervisor. So I am waiting again, not sure if I should call someone regarding this or what.
rgd seb

jellymid

Hello Seb,

Glad he turned up at last. Puzzling that he stopped writing, though. It seems pretty standard to be able to pay extra for extra radiators, even if some of their installers don't offer this service. I reckon £1500 for 3 extra sounds very steep - Mum paid £240 per extra radiator, a flat rate regardless of how closeto/far from the boiler they were. I thought that was expensive!
Did he give you any idea of when he would be back in touch? It sounds as if he was trying to be helpful, so it might be worth giving him the chance to sort things out before involving anyone else from Warmfront. He may be trying to track down an installer that doesn't charge too much for the extra radiators. I think I would wait for a few days if I were you.
Hope that helps,
Regards,
Al

Gordybrock_2

The installer for my Warm Front replacement boiler grant work is Iguana Ltd. The labour charges are extortionate to say the least. Prices for materials seem fair (£800 for boiler and hot water cylinder), but to charge £2300 for less than 2 days labour is an absolute rip off. They say I must pay an excess of £1,200 which I can ill afford. The scheme is being abused by Warm Front, THEY AWARD YOU THE GRANT AND THEN SNATCH IT BACK FROM YOU in the form of unrealistic, exorbitant and highly inflated labour charges. I am disgusted with the lot of them.

k66

Can you apply to your council for the excess? I tried but none was available in our area.
I agree with you - the labour charges are excessive and I would VERY STRONGLY advise potential customers to request a written quotation for any work.