Boiler warrenty call out time

Berni1980

.Hi all
So sorry if I'm not posting in the right place, I'm new!
Does anyone know if this is reasonable or not please;
My boiler is under warrenty with Worcester and this morning developed a leak when heating/hot water switched on, so basically, I can't use it. I called Worcester who have given me a call out waiting time of 1 month! So that's one month in winter without any heat or hot water. I said that I didn't think that was acceptable and after some time on hold, they found a slightly improved appointment with a 3 week wait. I asked if I could arrange a fix myself and charge back to them but they won't do that.
It it reasonable to leave a family without heating, hot water and no means to dry washing etc in freezing weather for 3 or 4 weeks?
Thanks in advance for any advice :cool:

Aylesbury_Duck

Berni1980 wrote: »

.Hi all
So sorry if I'm not posting in the right place, I'm new!
Does anyone know if this is reasonable or not please;
My boiler is under warrenty with Worcester and this morning developed a leak when heating/hot water switched on, so basically, I can't use it. I called Worcester who have given me a call out waiting time of 1 month! So that's one month in winter without any heat or hot water. I said that I didn't think that was acceptable and after some time on hold, they found a slightly improved appointment with a 3 week wait. I asked if I could arrange a fix myself and charge back to them but they won't do that.
It it reasonable to leave a family without heating, hot water and no means to dry washing etc in freezing weather for 3 or 4 weeks?
Thanks in advance for any advice :cool:

Warranty rights are not the same as boiler cover/insurance. Do you have the latter?

What are the terms of your warranty? Do they promise a 48 hour repair or similar? I would doubt it. The warranty is probably to cover boiler or parts failure, not a guarantee of continuous use. That's what boiler cover is for. If that's the case for your warranty, then it's reasonable to wait three weeks for the repair.

I think you have three options. Use boiler cover if you have it, or get a local expert in, or make do for three weeks. Presumably you can borrow or buy cheap electric heaters and boil water for shallow baths, etc? You won't be without heating or hot water, you'd just have to work around it. It's doable, albeit a bit of a pain.

BoGoF

How old is the boiler?
Who did you purchase from?
Warranty rights are limited, and you really should buy cover.

Undervalued

Any warranty is in addition to your statutory rights and can have more or less any terms and conditions attached. So unless a particular time frame is promised then I'm afraid yes they can.

As an aside, even if you have a British Gas Homecare contract (or similar from elsewhere) I think you will find there is no hard and fast guarantee of how quickly an engineer will attend.

Any claim under your statutory rights would of course be against whoever sold you the boiler, not the manufacturer.

Al_Ross

Berni1980 wrote: »

.Hi all
So sorry if I'm not posting in the right place, I'm new!
Does anyone know if this is reasonable or not please;
My boiler is under warrenty with Worcester and this morning developed a leak when heating/hot water switched on, so basically, I can't use it. I called Worcester who have given me a call out waiting time of 1 month! So that's one month in winter without any heat or hot water. I said that I didn't think that was acceptable and after some time on hold, they found a slightly improved appointment with a 3 week wait. I asked if I could arrange a fix myself and charge back to them but they won't do that.
It it reasonable to leave a family without heating, hot water and no means to dry washing etc in freezing weather for 3 or 4 weeks?
Thanks in advance for any advice :cool:

No not acceptable at all. I had to call them out for something similar. They came out a few days later. They are probably getting more breakdowns at this time of year though. How old is the boiler? Would it be worth speaking to the firm who supplied it?

Berni1980

Thank you everyone for your replies. Looks like I'm stuck then!
We have what I thought was boiler cover with Homeserve costing 14.75 for per month which includes a boiler service once annually. They were my first port of call this morning when I woke up to a large puddle in my kitchen! However they told me that my actual boiler isn't covered by this, just the central heating/radiators/water tank etc as the boiler is still under warrenty. I said "so I have the wrong cover then?" but the lady I spoke with said no, the cover was right and when my 10 year Worcester warrenty runs out (in 2 years) I will be offered a different policy by them???
I guess I'm just going to have to suck it up, and cough up for a sky high electricity bill after this as plug in heaters are costly but it's freezing in here!

Berni1980

Al_Ross wrote: »

No not acceptable at all. I had to call them out for something similar. They came out a few days later. They are probably getting more breakdowns at this time of year though. How old is the boiler? Would it be worth speaking to the firm who supplied it?

Good thinking. Might be worth giving Helplink a bell (who supplied and fitted it. Thanks

BoGoF

Check your Homeserve paperwork.....I think they are trying to.pull a fast one.

Aylesbury_Duck

I agree with BoGoF. That Homeserve response sounds odd. It does depend on what level of cover you bought though, and if you chose a cheaper option thinking that the warranty would cover the boiler?

Berni1980

BoGoF wrote: »

Check your Homeserve paperwork.....I think they are trying to.pull a fast one.

Will definitely do that, just in case. I thought it odd when she said, but then didn't really doubt it as I am still under warrenty. I should really stop taking people at face value shouldn't I?! Thank

Berni1980

Aylesbury_Duck wrote: »

I agree with BoGoF. That Homeserve response sounds odd. It does depend on what level of cover you bought though, and if you chose a cheaper option thinking that the warranty would cover the boiler?

Will defo look into it.

Thanks to you, and to everyone else who's taken time out this evening to respond to my query this evening. Much appreciated