Cheapest Boiler Cover Discussion

System

Hi,
I've posted a question re the Homecare 200 which is currently £15.33 with £30 CB with Quidco here :
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=29862941&posted=1#post29862941
If anyone is able to help answer I would really appreciate it. Am weighing up signing to this versus paying £70 for a service with a local plumber.
Thanks in advance..

captiva

Does anybody know of anybody providing annual cover for electric boilers? I can't find anyone.

Thanks!

Unhappy_BG_Customer

Inflexible and surly are sadly appropriate descriptions of the BG Customer Service Team. The answer to my question " Would your answer be the same if I were to tell you that I will take all of my business away from British Gas (Gas, Elec & Homecare)" was answered with a "yes".

For the purposes of a rant, I am going to detail the situation. I have been a Homecare and British Gas customer for over 15 years, and have been happy with the service - perhaps because I have never asked for anything out of the norm. With my Homecare agreement I also have the appliance cover (5 kitchen appliances - engineer call-out, new for old parts & labour).

In March 2008 my washing machine was a right-off, and they gave me a lump sum towards a new machine, so I was able to buy a better model than I perhaps may otherwise have been able to afford. I was very pleased.

In February 2010, the motor on the new machine went, so I called BGH to get an engineer out. I was told my machine was not covered. I said 'of course it is, I bought it through you' but the reply was that I should have formally re-added it to my 5 appliances after the free 1 years manufacturers guarantee ran out. 'we sent you a letter' . As I had been so chuffed to get this machine, paying for these appliances for 15 years etc etc, I either didnt get or accidentally discarded the letter - I am ready to admit I just cant remember. I asked if they could make an exception - got it through them, always had it as one of the 5 appliances, good will etc.

FLAT NO was the answer, and they told me that legally they have to have my permission to put it on. They were quite happy to put my plumbling and drainage on without my asking a couple of years ago - which I paid for for months before I noticed (and didnt even ask for a refund for), but NO. I asked to speak to a manager, and re-stated my case. NO, and NO again even when I stated my disgust, and threatened to take all the business elsewhere. I am amazingly uncaring as to whether they do have to legally get my permission to add the appliance on - I got nothing from them - I would have been molified by a "sorry that we cant help you"

OK - Doing that tonight, in fact - Gas and Electricity going to alternate suppliers, and as soon as I can find a comparable alternative to the Homecare agreement, that will go as well. BG has lost £1740 of my business due to red tape!!

So please do let me know if you find a decent alternative - and cheers if you had the patience to listen to my story.

Gerrard_8_lfc

Unhappy_BG_Customer wrote: »

Inflexible and surly are sadly appropriate descriptions of the BG Customer Service Team. The answer to my question " Would your answer be the same if I were to tell you that I will take all of my business away from British Gas (Gas, Elec & Homecare)" was answered with a "yes".

For the purposes of a rant, I am going to detail the situation. I have been a Homecare and British Gas customer for over 15 years, and have been happy with the service - perhaps because I have never asked for anything out of the norm. With my Homecare agreement I also have the appliance cover (5 kitchen appliances - engineer call-out, new for old parts & labour).

In March 2008 my washing machine was a right-off, and they gave me a lump sum towards a new machine, so I was able to buy a better model than I perhaps may otherwise have been able to afford. I was very pleased.

In February 2010, the motor on the new machine went, so I called BGH to get an engineer out. I was told my machine was not covered. I said 'of course it is, I bought it through you' but the reply was that I should have formally re-added it to my 5 appliances after the free 1 years manufacturers guarantee ran out. 'we sent you a letter' . As I had been so chuffed to get this machine, paying for these appliances for 15 years etc etc, I either didnt get or accidentally discarded the letter - I am ready to admit I just cant remember. I asked if they could make an exception - got it through them, always had it as one of the 5 appliances, good will etc.

FLAT NO was the answer, and they told me that legally they have to have my permission to put it on. They were quite happy to put my plumbling and drainage on without my asking a couple of years ago - which I paid for for months before I noticed (and didnt even ask for a refund for), but NO. I asked to speak to a manager, and re-stated my case. NO, and NO again even when I stated my disgust, and threatened to take all the business elsewhere. I am amazingly uncaring as to whether they do have to legally get my permission to add the appliance on - I got nothing from them - I would have been molified by a "sorry that we cant help you"

OK - Doing that tonight, in fact - Gas and Electricity going to alternate suppliers, and as soon as I can find a comparable alternative to the Homecare agreement, that will go as well. BG has lost £1740 of my business due to red tape!!

So please do let me know if you find a decent alternative - and cheers if you had the patience to listen to my story.

Crap would you crash your car then take insurance out after it and then try to claim on it ?

You are just angry because BG won't repair your Kitchen Appliance (which is not on contract.) BG didn't buy your washing machine so why would they add it to your agreement you should have when the guarantee expired. BG gave you comp to get a new one thats it.

The manager let you go with your threats its a free market after al.

p1tse

digging up an old thread after reading the MSE boiler cover article.

i've had Baxi-Team now domestic and general gold cover for the last two maybe three years.

this year cost would be circa £15/month
we've had good service and quick turnround with issues like circuit board, pumps and valve in the upstairs airing cupboard system etc.

however i've decided against going for it for now and looking at options.

other option is barclays active additions which has Home SOS i.e. home boiler cover as long as it gets serviced each year which i got a quote of £50 from a local CORGI registered pumber.

the Barclays active addition is £15/month. why you might ask go for this when my renewal with D&G is the same which covers a service, well Barclays also cover mobile insurance, travel insurance, rac cover etc.

so what are your thoughts, anyone with experience with barclays active additions?

snowcake

I have a rental property with 12 year old boiler and had British Homecare for 6 months, which was a big disappointment. They failed to fix the problem, told me to get a new boiler then cancelled my policy whereas my local engineer fixed the problem at the end.
I read this thread carefully, hoping someone might recommend a better cover but sadly, found none.
Is there any insurance company where I can just claim with my invoice from my choice of plumber rather than companies bundled up with their own engineers?
And one more question, anyone here used Homecall Plus? Any opinion?

denisiw

I've just phoned nPower in response to the latest MSE weekly e-mail regarding the new CH cover they're offering. I asked who would be carrying out the servicing, just to make sure that it wasn't Homeserve. I was told it would be nPower's own "engineers", I then asked if the IW was covered and was told "I'll have to find out and get back to you." A couple of minutes later I was called back to be told, "No."

I've been waiting for over a month now for the first shower I contacted to arrange an appointment to service my boiler. I've since tried someone else who was recommended and he hasn't returned my calls!

That's one of the down-sides of living on an island, they've got a captive market.

Denis

vernon

I think most of us know that any boiler or central heating service/maintenance contract is a gamble like any insurance policy. They give an element of 'peace of mind' when things might go wrong. They also cause anger and frustration when a problem is not covered because of some obscure small print. These contracts are still not written in plain English. After many years of paying for a 'total' maintenance and service contract with Ideal Boilers (no complaints about their Freephone number and quick response on the phone). I have decided to take a gamble. Found a local, registered heating engineer who will annually service the boiler for £50 plus VAT and will repair all c/h faults when they arise. To cushion the possible big bill for a replacement part/labour needed I am going to set up a monthly, dedicated savings account. Will pay the same money in as for a service contract. Agreed, in the first few months it could all go wrong and a big repair job might cost more than the savings pot holds. It is a gamble. If all goes well then after a year I will have saved enough to cover most basic repairs by the local heating engineer. In year two I may have saved enough to keep a safety balance and spend any excess on other things! Now, to try and find a monthly savings account that will pay some kind of interest! Has anyone else tried this approach? Regards.

Cardew

vernon wrote: »

Has anyone else tried this approach? .

I think many of us 'self-insure' if we can find a reliable plumber.

The problem with these servicing schemes is they are fine when your boiler is new and unlikely to go wrong.

However having collected premiums for a few years, they find all sorts of excuses when the system is getting older - parts not available - system needs powerflushing at £several hundred etc etc.

They are much like BUPA - good when you are young and healthy, but charge a fortune when you are old and infirm(so I am told!!)

w50nky

vernon wrote: »

In year two I may have saved enough to keep a safety balance and spend any excess on other things! Now, to try and find a monthly savings account that will pay some kind of interest! Has anyone else tried this approach? Regards.

We decided to do something similar. We used the "service money" to buy Premium bonds each month ( No interest of course). We stopped buying lottery "unlucky dips" on Saturday & Wednesdays at this time too, as premium bonds still gave us our gambling "Fix" and allowed us to save for our servicing costs - a double whammy.

We have been very fortunate to find an amazing self employed boiler service engineer who really knows his stuff. We have had no breakdowns in 7 years.

We have had approx 6 minor wins on the premium bonds in this time. Last year we cashed in 90% of our bonds to pay towards a garage extension and drive so it has worked for us so far. I realise that I will need a new boiler at some point in the future but given the problems when claiming as previously posted by others there was no guarantee the policy would have covered this anyway. You will get a better return on your investment by choosing other saving accounts of course, but this method suited us.

Best wishes!