BG Sold, Maintained & Condemned MIL Boiler

LizPhillips

Hi, hoping for some advice - my mother-in-law (currently 80yo) had a boiler installed from British Gas 18 years ago and signed up for one of their HomeCare plans at around £18 per month. The annual boiler service was done every year. This year, the service guy said the back panel was rusty and condemned it and now they're trying to sell her a new one.

We don't live close by so I haven't seen this rusty part myself yet it all sounds a bit dodgy to me (my boiler is about 30 years old and going strong) - how can they have serviced it every year then suddenly condemn it? but my MIL doesn't want to make a fuss - and now she's afraid to come visit over xmas in case her pipes freeze as she has no heating. She's basically ended up paying around £3500 for 18 services.

Is it reasonable for the boiler to be condemned even with regular servicing? Should I put my foot down and complain to BG? Should I get someone else in to look at it?

btr30

If boiler is unsafe to use then engineer would have correct to isolate it.
However, a rusty back panel in itself is a bit of a subjective call. Does rusting mean that the fixing screws are at risk of failing?.
My advice would be to seek a second opinion from a local gas servicing company, who can tell you if boiler is safe or not.
It may be that a replacement back panel, is available as a spare part if required to fix.
I don't know if Homecare engineers are incentivised for generating sales leads, and saw an elderly lady as an easy target? If the work is found to be exaggerated, you should be reporting the engineer to relevant trade bodies.

footyguy

LizPhillips wrote: »

Hi, hoping for some advice - my mother-in-law (currently 80yo) had a boiler installed from British Gas 18 years ago and signed up for one of their HomeCare plans at around £18 per month. The annual boiler service was done every year. This year, the service guy said the back panel was rusty and condemned it and now they're trying to sell her a new one.

We don't live close by so I haven't seen this rusty part myself yet it all sounds a bit dodgy to me (my boiler is about 30 years old and going strong) - how can they have serviced it every year then suddenly condemn it? but my MIL doesn't want to make a fuss - and now she's afraid to come visit over xmas in case her pipes freeze as she has no heating. She's basically ended up paying around £3500 for 18 services.

Is it reasonable for the boiler to be condemned even with regular servicing? Should I put my foot down and complain to BG? Should I get someone else in to look at it?

Your MIL presumably decided to buy the breakdown insurance for peace of mind.

It's like buying AA/RAC motor insurance and never needing it.

However, unlike motor breakdown, the BG cover included annual servicing too. (so at least she got something for her money)

Servicing does not include anti-corrosion protection application that makes a boiler last indefinitely.
Asking how a 30 year old boiler is suddenly condemned because of rust is like asking how a 30 year old car that has been regualrly maintained, suddenly fails it's MOT because of severe rust that weakens the car's structure.

If the boiler is deemed unsafe, it should indeed be condemned.
Unless your MIL has advised BG you may act on her behalf, BG will not entertain any complaint from you in this matter (even if there were grounds for one)
You could certainly arrange (with your MIL's permission) for someone else to look at the boiler, and indeed provide an alternative quotation ... which will probably be a lot chaeper than BG's.

Not sure what your MIL electing not to visit you over Christmas has to do with any of this, If MIL has no heating, her pipes will freeze whether or not she visits you. Perhaps that is just her excuse to you? :cool:

Are you suggesting your MIL has paid the same monthly premium for every month for the last 18 years? Your calculation appears to assume that, despite the reality being much different.
Whilst prices are individual, the typical current prices are here
https://www.britishgas.co.uk/home-services/home-cover/

For £18 a month, you not only get boiler servicing, but cover for the boiler and the controls, also cover for the entire CH pipework & radiators, also cover for drains, and indeed all water supply pipes. (showers are excluded) Accidental damage is covered too.
To not have even suffered a dripping tap in the last 18 years would be more than remarkable.

Al_Ross

Your mother in law should qualify for a new free of charge boiler from British Gas as her 18 year old one won’t be energy efficient. She will have to pay for fitting only and this will be extortionate.

System

Al_Ross wrote: »

Your mother in law should qualify for a new free of charge boiler from British Gas as her 18 year old one won’t be energy efficient. She will have to pay for fitting only and this will be extortionate.

How so? No mention in the above posts of MiL’s financial circumstances.

FWIW, the BG ts and cs state:

A replacement for your boiler if we can’t repair it and:

• It’s less than seven years old

• Or, it’s between seven and ten years old, we installed it and it’s been continuously covered by British Gas under either a warranty or HomeCare agreement

Boilers being deemed unserviceable/unsafe for rust is not that unusual. The casing is often an important part of a balanced flue boiler. The problem often is a lack of spares. I would though get a second opinion.

LizPhillips

Thanks for all the replies.
I do appreciate with the HomeCare she has been paying for peace of mind and she's been very lucky with only one call out over the years. She has a coal fire with back boiler that gives her hot water and heats the house enough while on (she was worried about visiting over xmas as obviously the fire would need to be extinguished and the house gets very cold, hence the worry about her pipes)

It is difficult as we weren't there when the service guy came round and all we get is a sudden phone call from MIL saying it's been deemed unsafe to use - a cynical part of me thought 'that's convenient, winter approaching, 80yo living alone, maintained boiler condemned, let's sell her a new one'

It sounds like it's not out of the ordinary, even for a fully serviced boiler so I will do as suggested, get a local second opinion and quote and see if we can arrange some kind of payment schedule for a new one - she only has her pension but we should be able to contribute a bit towards it as well.

Thanks for your help, much appreciated

brewerdave

To give you some further info.
My daughter's boiler failed earlier this year - BG wanted over £4k for replacement/fitting/flushes etc. A local Gas Safe plumber did the job for £2180 - DON'T USE BG

AndyCF

Grandfather used to have BG service his combi boiler as well as a little gas heater that was fitted in the kitchen every year, same thing the "Home Care" , from memory he had them do this for say eight maybe even up to about twelve years.

Couple of times there were minor issues with the boiler they put them right with no extra charges, usually meant someone came back a few days later with whatever part was needed (sensor or something) and that was that.

Anyway he stopped using them and switched to a highly recommended independent, this worked well for about 3 or 4 years, same service etc. Unfortunately the boiler died and was informed the parts were not available (unsure on how true it was but I could not find them via a cursory search but tbh I was not 100% what I was looking for) was more a "is it truthful" than anything else.

Summary here was I'd wished he'd kept BG, the independent was very good mind you but if he'd still had BG no doubt they would of either been able to source a replacement part or had to replace the boiler I expect.

When I need to setup something on this line aka "having something serviced yearly" I'll probably go with them if I can simply so that if anything expensive does go, the cost will hopefully not be too much. Then again...

earlsgate

my sister was on a scheme which stipulated the boiler would be repaired. When it broke down the company said it could not be repaired. after a fight she had all her payments into the scheme returned and some compensation

not sure who her scheme was with but if yours states repair then failure to do so would mean breach of contract and similar outcome as my sister's

far too easy for these insurance schemes to condemn the boiler and think they can get away with it

footyguy

earlsgate wrote: »

...

not sure who her scheme was with but if yours states repair then failure to do so would mean breach of contract and similar outcome as my sister's

...

Perhaps you missed it where the OP stated it is BG Homecare?
The terms & conditions of this plan can can be found in the link I provided above

Al_Ross

I own a property that had an old un-reliable heating system that worked in conjunction with a boiler mate hot water tank. I took out a contract with British Gas. They were out repairing it every month.

The Engineer eventually told me because I had heating cover and the boiler was not efficient that I was entitled to a free boiler and I would have to pay for fitting only.

The quote for fitting was about £4000.I got a local firm to supply and fit for £2500 all in.This was Setember last year.