Hp or Credit card

ambercan

Hi, We desperately need a new boiler and central heating putting into our new home. We cant afford straight forward cash,and we're not on benefits so don't qualify for any grants. We are looking into whether paying by credit card would be better rather than paying via HP. Any advice would be greatly appreciated please, thanks

CliveOfIndia

Can you even get HP for a central heating installation?  Or do you mean some sort of finance package offered by the supplier/installer?

A credit card is certainly one possibility.  You'd want one that offers 0% or low APR for purchases though, otherwise the standard APR of most credit cards would be crippling if you're carrying a large balance.  This option assumes that (a) you'd be accepted for one, (b) you were given a high enough limit, (c) the supplier will accept payment by credit card and (d) you'll be able to clear it in full by the time the promotional rate expires.

A second option, if the installer doesn't accept credit cards, would be a Money Transfer Card, for which there's usually a transfer fee to pay, and the same caveats as above still apply.

The third option, and probably the more likely, is to see if you will be accepted for a standard personal loan at a reasonable APR.

Finance options aside, do make sure you get at least 3 quotes from reputable and properly qualified/registered companies.  A decent local independent heating engineer is likely to be substantially better value than one of the big national companies.  But do make sure you get at least three quotes, and make sure you fully understand and agree precisely what is and isn't included in the price.

MEM62

British Gas often have offers for new boilers.  Not sure if that extends to complete systems but no harm in asking them.