British Gas Fixed £99 boiler repair & Cover

Fixminx

After recently buying our house and forgetting to get Boiler/Heating cover from anywhere, sods law dictated that our boiler broke the other day.

Searched online for options and found the British Gas offer of a £99 fixed price repair and ongoing cover for £22 a month. Suited me fine so booked it.
The fixed repair says quite clearly A fixed price. No matter how long the job takes or what parts we need.

Now the engineer is here and there are some minor issues he is fixing but says the main problem is the main part of the boiler which needs replacing. He needs to call his boss because he doesnt think its covered under the £99 repair as the part would cost around £500 to replace.

Am I right in thinking this goes against the "contract" which states fixed price no matter what parts we need?

Browntoa

no extra charges I can see


https://www.britishgas.co.uk/aem6/content/dam/britishgas/documents/chargeable-work-terms-and-conditions.pdf

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.


No you are not correct! All of these types of contract are subject to an initial inspection by BG(or other firms for their scheme) before acceptance on the scheme. If for example your boiler was total 'kaput' you could hardly expect any firm to replace it for £99.

Browntoa

and here , nothing about extra


https://www.britishgas.co.uk/aem6/content/dam/britishgas/documents/homecare-range-terms-and-conditions.pdf

Browntoa

Cardew wrote: »

Welcome to the forum.


No you are not correct! All of these types of contract are subject to an initial inspection by BG(or other firms for their scheme) before acceptance on the scheme. If for example your boiler was total 'kaput' you could hardly expect any firm to replace it for £99.

on the page


https://www.britishgas.co.uk/products-and-services/boilers-and-central-heating/boiler-repairs.html#repairandcover


You’ll get a fixed price repair and our ongoing cover for your boiler, controls and central heating system with HomeCare.
You’ll get:

• An appointment that suits you. Book online to get a time that works for you.
• A fixed price. No matter how long the job takes or what parts we need

Fixminx

Thanks for the responses. Engineer managed to fix it in the end and no cost. But did say the heat exchanger is in urgent need of replacement so cant guarantee how long it will last. Thats the costly part apparently.

But he has fixed for now and not mentioned the heat exchanger on the worksheet so we can get it repaired under the contract at a later date if needed.

So options now are hope it lasts for a month or two and if it then breaks it will be covered under the service contract. Replacing heat exchanger circa £500. Or think about replacing with either a new boiler or a combi boiler in the new year.

Cardew

Browntoa,


However look at page 27 of the real terms and conditions.


https://www.britishgas.co.uk/content/dam/british-gas/documents/HomeCare_Range_Terms_and_Conditions.pdf




First service


Your first service will usually be within 42 days of you first taking out the product or changing your address.
At the first service our engineer will check that your boiler is on our
approved list and your boiler or central heating and ventilation
don’t have any pre-existing faults.


If we find it’s not on the approved list or it has a pre-existing fault we’ll either:


• Tell you what needs to be done to fix it – and how much it’ll cost


• Or, offer you a different product or level of cover


• Or, cancel your agreement or product

Cardew

Fixminx wrote: »

Thanks for the responses. Engineer managed to fix it in the end and no cost. But did say the heat exchanger is in urgent need of replacement so cant guarantee how long it will last. Thats the costly part apparently.

But he has fixed for now and not mentioned the heat exchanger on the worksheet so we can get it repaired under the contract at a later date if needed.

So options now are hope it lasts for a month or two and if it then breaks it will be covered under the service contract. Replacing heat exchanger circa £500. Or think about replacing with either a new boiler or a combi boiler in the new year.

Hope you are correct!


However I will 'lay you better than even odds' that your Central Heating system will require a 'power-flush' soon at the cost of £x hundred and that isn't covered under any of their servicing agreements.

Browntoa

the terms and conditions are for the service contract part , not the "fixed fee" repair

macman

£500 for a heat exchanger? Hmm. What is the make and model of your boiler?
BG will typically be charging up to 40% more than an independent for parts/repair.
And they have an inability to find parts available that anyone else can find online in minutes.

Cardew

Browntoa wrote: »

the terms and conditions are for the service contract part , not the "fixed fee" repair

The service contract is for the customer to pay £22 a month and then £99 a callout for a repair.


The customer and BG are not on a contract,(or it can be cancelled) until BG's conditions are met, as outlined in my post#7, i.e. an initial inspection to ensure there is no pre-existing fault etc.


Also there are a host of other exclusions, including age of boiler.


If your interpretation was correct, someone with a completely knackered boiler(pump, heater exchanger, gas valve etc) could ring up BG and demand to have it fixed for £99.