Cosy Homes Boilers and Roofing Worth it?

ronjefferson

Hello,

I am about to begin working as a door canvasser selling boiler upgrades for Cosy Homes. I've never done this kind of work before and I'm keen to find out as much about the company as I can before I start, because I don't want to represent an unscrupulous company. There is not much feedback about this company, and nothing about the boilers they do. The 'interview' wasn't difficult, I felt like I could have said anything and they'd have taken me, though this is hardly surprising for a commission-based door-to-door salesman job.

From what I know so far what they're basically looking for is people who have boilers that are 8 years older or more. They claim that a boiler this old will only be 50% efficient, and they also claim that the new boilers they are hoping to install (for which they charge upwards of £3500) will be 90-95% efficient. So they say that if someone's boiler is at least 8 years old, they can be saving £40 on every £100 gas bill after the boiler upgrade. I'd like to know if this information is true, as I don't want to be spouting a company lie.

Has anyone ever had a boiler or anything else installed by Cosy Homes? Does anyone know anything about the price and efficiency of boilers?

System

The general rule with gas CH boilers is that if it is working then it is uneconomic to replace it. The amount saved will depend on the amount (in kWhs/year) of gas used. I have my 15 year old boiler serviced every year and the engineer always recommends that I stick with it. Why - simply because it is working; it is still well above 50% efficiency and it has a cast iron heat exchanger. Modern CH boilers are not designed to last.

http://www.thegreenage.co.uk/should-i-replace-my-boiler/

Edit:

Just out of interest, I have done the maths. My boiler is currently rated 76.1% efficienct. Let us assume that my new boiler is 100% efficient and my old boiler has dropped to 50% efficiency.

I currently use 10000kWhs of gas a year which at 50% efficiency means that I could save 5000kWhs of gas per year and get the same amount of heat in my home if I bought my new SupaDoopa boiler.

In real terms, 5000kWhs of gas with VAT would save me £124.35 per year.

If the capital cost of installing a new boiler is £3500, then the payback period is over 25 years.

In truth, my old boiler is nowhere near the 50% efficiency figure and the new boiler falls short of 100% efficiency, so my annual saving will be less than £124 per year which gives an INCREASED payback time.

Bigphil1474

On the face of it, it sounds like their claims are based on made up statistics aimed at conning people into replacing perfectly serviceable boilers. Whilst it might be true that a boiler over 8 years old may be only 50% efficient, there's no way you, as a salesman, could establish that with the customer. Some customers might believe you and go have their boiler changed unnecessarily. If instead they said - we could send an engineer round, do some tests, establish how efficient your current boiler is, do a break down of potential savings against installation costs, and give you an idea of how much you could save so you can decide whether to have a new boiler - then they'd be providing a reasonable service.
Even if it was all true, as Henus says, it could take years to make that money back. If they are saying a boiler over 8 years old needs replacing, you'd expect to get the return from getting a new boiler in 8 years - otherwise it would be due to be replaced again? I pay £55 per month for my entire gas bill - most is from the boiler but some is from the cooker. Even if I saved £25 a month, it would only be £300 a year, and £2,400 over 8 years, so they'd be back knocking on my door in 8 years time telling me I could save money, when I've already lost £1,100 from the last time.
The problem IMO isn't necessarily that they may be a bad or good company, but they are asking you to give customers advice which isn't necessarily true.

teddysmum

If the replacement, upwards from £3500, price is just the price of like for like with no upgrade of pipework, then it is expensive.


OK,two years ago, but my boiler was not the smallest available (so not the cheapest) and I paid under £3000 for boiler replacement,new pipework,new radiators, gas fire removal /fitting and a replacement of the toilet syphon and drainage pipe.

poppasmurf_bewdley

ronjefferson wrote: »

Hello,

I am about to begin working as a door canvasser selling boiler upgrades for Cosy Homes. I've never done this kind of work before and I'm keen to find out as much about the company as I can before I start, because I don't want to represent an unscrupulous company. There is not much feedback about this company, and nothing about the boilers they do. The 'interview' wasn't difficult, I felt like I could have said anything and they'd have taken me, though this is hardly surprising for a commission-based door-to-door salesman job.

From what I know so far what they're basically looking for is people who have boilers that are 8 years older or more. They claim that a boiler this old will only be 50% efficient, and they also claim that the new boilers they are hoping to install (for which they charge upwards of £3500) will be 90-95% efficient. So they say that if someone's boiler is at least 8 years old, they can be saving £40 on every £100 gas bill after the boiler upgrade. I'd like to know if this information is true, as I don't want to be spouting a company lie.

Has anyone ever had a boiler or anything else installed by Cosy Homes? Does anyone know anything about the price and efficiency of boilers?

Many, many years ago, my late mother worked in a sales organisation. Her supervisor was a delightful lady with whom she became very friendly for many years. I remember her saying that any company that did not pay a decent basic wage was not worth working for. She said "if they don't trust you enough to pay you a salary, then you shouldn't trust them to look after you".

That advice is still as valid today as it was then. If you aren't getting a decent basic salary, then look for a job that will give you that.

macman

The assumption here is that many boilers over 8 years old will not be condensing boilers, which are indeed more efficient. But even if that were the case, the payback period in gas savings is likely to be longer than the life of the boiler. Even if they spent say £1000pa on gas (high), they would take 8-10 years to break even.
Older boilers may well cost more to maintain as they age, but no-one can predict the actual economics of this with any accuracy, and a 40% improvement in efficiency is highly unlikely.
The odds are that they are also flogging cheap budget boilers and using the cheapest installers.