Gas Boiler Maintenance

Robert5988

It's crazy, but what's even more crazy is to pay £150 for something which isn't even insurance - just some vague suggestion that they might try to mend it, but if they can't/can't be bothered, they don't have to! Big wow!

Considering you have never had BG service(and have made incorect statements about them in this thread) you really have little knowledge of the service they provide.

You think its bad value - fair enough; you don't have to use the service. Why the campaign against them though? A lot of posts that add up to nothing. Had a bad experience with the company?

There are plenty of people who consider that BG does provide a good service and value for money. There are testimonies in this forum from plenty of people who have actually had the Service and are satisfied.

Of course they have conditions in their contract that safeguard them against uneconomic repairs to a clapped out and obsolete boiler. However that is only part of the service - pumps, tanks, radiators and all of the othe CH systems are covered.

In my experience they come out straight away, the fitters are great and I have never had any attempt to rip me off.

But what does my 30 years experience with the firm count for against your obvious knowledge.

MarkyMarkD

I haven't made incorrect statements about BG.

I'm not campaigning against them - I just know that there is huge amounts of anecdotal evidence from their customers that they DO rip people off. It is also self-evident that the "cover" provided is over-priced and far, far more expensive than self-insurance.

There are people who are very happy with them - great. I've said so before. If you are happy to pay £3,000 over 20 years for cover to a boiler (no, as you say, an entire central heating system) which you could have replaced several times for that money if it had even needed replacing (and my experience is that boilers last a lot longer than 20 years), then that's fine too.

I will keep my money and pay the repair costs as they arise - a HUGE amount less than £500 over the 15 years I've owned a house.

And, for goodness sake, radiators (one of the things they "cover") don't go wrong. They are inanimate lumps of metal with holes for water to pass through. The only reason they ever have any problems is if they get corroded due to the system having air leaks in it ... which shouldn't happen if the system is being regularly serviced.

chateau42

It is alleged that they sacked all their engineers and replaced them with salesmen. Do we really believe that ???

MarkyMarkD

No, I don't believe that.

They certainly gave voluntary redundancy pay-offs to lots of their engineers during the privatisation phase, but that's similar to most ex-nationalised industries.

And the thrust of the training of their engineers has certainly moved from the nationalised industry's training approach (where they just trained them how to fix your boiler) to a profit-making company's training approach (where they train them how to fix your boiler, but also how to maximise BG's profits by selling services which you may or may not need).

If anyone wants to claim that the engineers are NOT paid bonuses for selling extra services, or getting you to have a new boiler installed, for example, I won't believe them. And that certainly wouldn't have been the case 20 years ago.

Robert5988

I haven't made incorrect statements about BG.

Well try these for size!

But BG do NOT include an annual service.

WRONG

If you go to most garages they will do a free "safety check" on your car. It's a means of touting for work. In other words, they'll suss if they can sell you some brake pads, or tyres, or an exhaust.

BUT THEY WON'T ACTUALLY FIX ANYTHING.

The BG "safety check" is much the same. It might give you reassurance about the safety of your boiler. But it doesn't involve them actually replacing any parts or actually doing anything.

WRONG

But BG's instant response when anything goes wrong with an older system is to make out you need a new boiler.

That's your experience is it? Not mine or the others in this forum who have commented.

But I've never had their cover and I've spend well less than £200 on central heating related problems in the past 16 years of home ownership.

I'd have paid BG at least £2000 over the same period:

Care to let us have your arithmetic on the "at least 2000" total.

As for not conducting a campaign against BG - just read all your posts in this thread.

I accept like any insurance scheme - and it is insurance -that on balance the the cost of repairs for the majority of people will not equate to the premiums paid. BG are a commercial company with shareholders and they exist to make a profit.

You have not had insurance and that has been a financially sound decision for you - no problems with that.

Many want the peace of mind that comes with that form of insurance - also no problems with that.

If you are going to put forward an argument I suggest that it would be more effective if your comments were balanced and/or you had some first hand experience of the Service of which you are so critical

MarkyMarkD

Do you work for BG or something?

If you read the whole of this thread, there are people who agree with you, and people who agree with me.

The BG 3* scheme includes an annual SAFETY CHECK not an annual SERVICE - see the Ts & Cs on the scheme on their website. If you think you are getting a full boiler service - fine.

So how come the customer who posted within the last few days was told they needed a new boiler, when in fact all that was faulty was the thermocouple which would be replaced during the course of a proper service?

How come the same poster was LIED TO BY BG that their boiler was faulty when in fact it needed a 2p repair which was in any case covered under the BG plan?

I'm finished posting on this thread - you do what you like, and I'll do what I like. But I know who will end up better off.

As for £2,000 over 16 years - how do you not get to that amount? Current FIRST YEAR introductory price is £15.50 per month which is a special offer - that's almost £200 per annum. Even allowing for inflation I think it's around £2,000 over the past 16 years.

djohn2002uk

Well said Robert5988.
There is a difference between just putting over a point of view and being totally anti BG as Marky seems to be from his comments.
We probably all have paid BG more than we've gained from the 3* service but we admit that. Do you think if Markys boiler went belly up on Christmas day that he would tell us about that? I think not.

Robert5988

Do you work for BG or something?

No I don’t work for BG and I don’t like the firm as supplier of Gas and Electricity.

The BG 3* scheme includes an annual SAFETY CHECK not an annual SERVICE - see the Ts & Cs on the scheme on their website. If you think you are getting a full boiler service - fine.

In the T & C’s BG carry out a ‘safety and maintenance’ inspection – they carry this out in accordance with the instructions I have in my(old) boiler manual. They remove and clean the burner, check flue gasses etc. etc. Says it should be carried out by a qualified engineer – which I aint!

You make a totally false analogy with a car safety check and, using your extensive knowledge of BG 3* Service, erroneously conclude they are the same thing and add “THEY DON”T FIX ANYTHING”

Well look at the Manuals – some are available on-line – and let us know what BG do not carry out. Oh sorry you have never used the Service have you? More to the point what “full boiler service” do you carry out – or recommend?

On the question of at “least 2000 Pounds” look up the prices charged 16 years ago and up to date and see how they add up. Oh sorry you have never used the Service have you?

So how come the customer who posted within the last few days was told they needed a new boiler, when in fact all that was faulty was the thermocouple which would be replaced during the course of a proper service?

How come the same poster was LIED TO BY BG that their boiler was faulty when in fact it needed a 2p repair which was in any case covered under the BG plan?

What a nasty BG fitter. Now come on Marky you are really clutching at straws if that is the evidence and justification for your diatribe against BG.

I think your decision not to add further to this thread is perhaps the most valuable contribution you could have made.

blackice_2

http://www.midkentwater.co.uk/eshop/HS%20Insurance/gas%20boiler%20emergency.htm this one is only £7.99 a month, has anyone used them????

http://www.servowarm.co.uk/insurance.htm Servowarm is £96 a year, no one seen this???

I personally just want the boiler covered, nothing else as I have a friend who is a plumber but just doesn't do boilers.  

So I only want boiler cover, the MidKent seems a good one, has anyone got any other ones like this?

Ok Ok, enough argueing... has anyone seen the above prices?

from £7.99 surely that is worth it?

StephenB_2

http://www.midkentwater.co.uk/eshop/HS%20Insurance/gas%20boiler%20emergency.htm this one is only £7.99 a month, has anyone used them????

From their FAQ Please note gas boilers aged 15 years or older, and/or where parts are not available, are not covered. That's me out then.

http://www.servowarm.co.uk/insurance.htm Servowarm is £96 a year, no one seen this???

A combination/condensing boiler costs £119.95 and Optional annual boiler service, for just £50.00, and Up to a maximum of £750 is claimable during the period of cover.

Both of those two schemes are administered by "Home Service (GB) Ltd, Green Lane, Walsall,WS2 7PD" https://www.homeserve.co.uk. It's them we need information about. The Advertising Standards Authority knows them well.

SJB