Boiler company wont fix boiler that is under guarantee.

Taucher

Hello all,


I am in a frustrating position. My new boiler (Worcester Bosch) was installed in January 2017. The company that fitted my new boiler also came out and serviced it in January 2018 (as per the guarantee requirements).


Last week my boiler died. The error code indicated that the problem is serious. I called out my boiler man (the same man who installed it originally). He said that *something* needed replacing (cant remember quite what it was) but would have to be done by Worcester Bosch and covered by my guarantee.


Worcester Bosch agreed to come out and that my guarantee would cover the costs. The Worcester Bosch man came to my house, fiddled with my boiler and said he cannot do anything until the whole system has been chemically cleansed and flushed. He recommended, by name, my own boiler installer to perform this and then said he would come out - this seemed suspicious. The problem is, my central heating system was chemically cleansed and flushed at the time of installation just over a year and a half ago. I have the initial quote and the invoice to prove it. My boiler man has gone on holiday and is unavailable for 2 weeks and Worcester Bosch are refusing to fix my boiler until it has been cleansed which apparently costs £400 - £500.


It feels like someone is not being truthful. In the meantime, I have no hot water for I don't know how long.


Any advice?

JohnB47

Taucher wrote: »

Hello all,


I am in a frustrating position. My new boiler (Worcester Bosch) was installed in January 2017. The company that fitted my new boiler also came out and serviced it in January 2018 (as per the guarantee requirements).


Last week my boiler died. The error code indicated that the problem is serious. I called out my boiler man (the same man who installed it originally). He said that *something* needed replacing (cant remember quite what it was) but would have to be done by Worcester Bosch and covered by my guarantee.


Worcester Bosch agreed to come out and that my guarantee would cover the costs. The Worcester Bosch man came to my house, fiddled with my boiler and said he cannot do anything until the whole system has been chemically cleansed and flushed. He recommended, by name, my own boiler installer to perform this and then said he would come out - this seemed suspicious. The problem is, my central heating system was chemically cleansed and flushed at the time of installation just over a year and a half ago. I have the initial quote and the invoice to prove it. My boiler man has gone on holiday and is unavailable for 2 weeks and Worcester Bosch are refusing to fix my boiler until it has been cleansed which apparently costs £400 - £500.


It feels like someone is not being truthful. In the meantime, I have no hot water for I don't know how long.


Any advice?

This seems ridiculous to me. Sounds like a way to generate a nice little earner for someone. Hopefully some boiler maintenance people will comment but this sounds fishy.


Have you actually spoken to someone at WB, rather than relying on what their boiler chap says? Is there a complaints department you could contact, or some form of escalation you could take with them?


All I can suggest is that you read carefully the guarantee documentation that you should have been given. If you can't spot anything that would indicate this sort of requirement and you can't get any movement from WB, perhaps Trading Standards could help? Or one of the newspapers 'Readers Help' columns might be interested in this one?


It might be useful to contact them by email, outlining your views and get them to confirm by reply that they won't fix the boiler until you do the required work. At the moment all you have is verbals, that they could deny in future.

phill99

Virtually all manufacturers of boilers require that the system is 'power flushed' before the new boiler is installed and it is a guarantee/warranty requirement.


It would appear he WB have attended your home and have decided that a power flush HASN'T been undertaken at the time of installation.


Just because you have an invoice from your installer about a power flush, that is not proof that it was undertaken.

JohnB47

phill99 wrote: »

Virtually all manufacturers of boilers require that the system is 'power flushed' before the new boiler is installed and it is a guarantee/warranty requirement.


It would appear he WB have attended your home and have decided that a power flush HASN'T been undertaken at the time of installation.


Just because you have an invoice from your installer about a power flush, that is not proof that it was undertaken.

How would WB determine that a power flush was needed I wonder?

bris

JohnB47 wrote: »

How would WB determine that a power flush was needed I wonder?

Simple, they test the water.


They all do now, it's part of the terms of warranty.


They also check for inhibitor in the system, no inhibitor, no warranty.


Op it would be unlikely your installer did a proper power flush at the time of installation. More likely just a quick chemical cleanse that doesn't really work on many years of built up sludge that sticks to the inside of the radiators.