Gritish Bas V local Gas Man

thedapper

Hi All,

Just thought i would post my quote from British Gas for a "Combi Boiler" instalation and back boiler removal, this also included a "Full Flush"

Total £4,700
Total Repayable £9,000 ( About )

I advised him this was way too much - then he went into his sales pitch, advising me about the warranty for 10 years my reply was, even if the boiler failed every 2 years it still would not come to £9k, he then left FEW!

Ok so local gas man came round and advised he would do all the work for £1,450 with a 38kw boiler and free "Flush" and free fireplace instalation, he even advised me that if i helped him install new radiator valves he would cut the costs as it would save him time. also comes with 5yrs parts warranty, and he would fit them for free.


I think this is a good offer, compared to BG

Shall i get this guy to do the work?

andrew-b

Hi,

Firstly welcome to the MSE forums!

Forget BG they are just a complete joke. Their quote of £4,700 seems to be a pretty standard figure from what others here have reported and my advice is to completely forget about that quote! I think it's an outrage that a large national company like British Gas can get away with quoting such prices. It concerns me the number of [strike]customers[/strike]victims that naively put all their trust in British Gas to give them a decent service at decent price. Certainly alot of the more elderly population seem to have a misplaced trust in them.

The local guy sounds much more reasonable - in fact it sounds too low to me but then it will vary depending on your location. However i would get a couple of more quotes in if i were you before you make any decisions.

Andy

thedapper

Hi thanks for the reply

The sales rep from BG did say older people and the customer who cannot find that kind of money ( Most People ), the local guy seemed very genuine and has done alot of instalations in my local area ( Telford West Mids )

He advised me he does not care if he earns £400 - £900 per job as long as he has got work.

I do have another question though BG advised me that you "Have To" get a certificate to send to your local council once the boiler is installed and this costs £400 it this right?

jcorbygas

You have to get a CORGI engineer to follow the building regulations as to how the new boiler is fitted and the rest of the system updated to current standards, and then the engineer notifies corgi who in turn notify local building control who then issue a certificate which is needed if you sell your house. It costs corgi engineers £2.50 online for notification. If you dont get your engineer to notify then you have to notify your local authority yourselves who would need to check this installation and could charge up to £250.
The quote you have had from the individual seems low - hes not supplying the boiler as well is he? Check hes properly qualified and is able to provide the correct certification.

lulusaver

I must admit you have two extremes in price!!!

I wouldn't trust BG at all. Our plumber checked out my friends boiler and BG hadn't done the maintenance that she had paid for. We run our own electrical company and compared to a one man band down the road he is able to keep his costs lower but does not provide the security that companies are able to provide.

I would get a couple more quotes but more importantly go on recommendation if you want a good job done

thedapper

yes hes suppling the boiler not sure the name ( begins with an F and is short i think )

He is Corgi registered, the price is for back boiler removal and combi install and with myself changing the rads and T valve? - i will setup fireplace ready for fire installation.

He advised upto 2.5K if he did all the work but im happy to get the rads and get my hands dirty, i will get a couple more quotes but i do not think he will be beat. i am wary though of this price, once he post's the quote i will check there will be no "extra's"

andrew-b

I assume the price was inclusive of VAT ?

What boiler is being installed is important and so is the warranty offered on it. There's no point getting the cheapest installation for an inferior boiler if its going to keep breaking down and be costly to maintain. If you go for a common make you'll have a bigger choice of heating engineers to service it too. You need to strike a balance between cost and quality.

Maybe you should go back to the local guy and ask if he could give you a price to quote a Worcester-Bosch or Vaillant .

My other concern with your quote from the local guy is exactly what work his going to do and what parts your responsible for. Make sure you get this in writing. Personally i'd just get a quote to do the lot then if there are problems it's the heating engineer's lookout. It shouldn't really make that great deal of difference in the price. We paid about £20 per replacement valve. So where is that difference of £1k going?

Andy

thedapper

Good few points there, i need to know exactly what im paying for and what i am laible for - as for the boiler once i get back home i will do a bit off diggin around on the spec etc