Central heating maintenance contracts

[smittims]

As a possible adjunct to the 'keeping warm' and 'meter readings ' thread I thought it might be interesting to hear how others get on with the various schemes we pay for to keep our heating reliable.

For forty years now I've been in the British Gas scheme under its various changing names (Five Star, Homecare, etc.) and have seen the quality of service, once good, decline as steadily as the price has risen. I've stayed with them for fear that an unknown alternative may be worse. BG engineers are generally good, they do turn up, and we've never been left without . Its' the office management which seems to be at fault. Whereas they use to tell us when they were coming for the annual boiler service, now we have to make the appointment , and they will commit themselves only to some time in a five-hour band, which has us sitting waiting, alert for the call, afraid to start anything that can't be interrupted; I've come to dread visit day (and, not surprisingly, it's this morning!).

Twice they've failed to turn up, once because of a mistake at the office, and once when they claimed thay had been and found no-one in, a clear lie, as we were for the full five hours in a part of the house where we would have both seen and heard them arrive.

Meanwhile, three-end-a-half hours to go before I give up for this year and start yet another complaint letter. I'll let you know how I get on.

[Old Grumpy]

As a possible adjunct to the 'keeping warm' and 'meter readings ' thread I thought it might be interesting to hear how others get on with the various schemes we pay for to keep our heating reliable.

For forty years now I've been in the British Gas scheme under its various changing names (Five Star, Homecare, etc.) and have seen the quality of service, once good, decline as steadily as the price has risen. I've stayed with them for fear that an unknown alternative may be worse. BG engineers are generally good, they do turn up, and we've never been left without . Its' the office management which seems to be at fault. Whereas they use to tell us when they were coming for the annual boiler service, now we have to make the appointment , and they will commit themselves only to some time in a five-hour band, which has us sitting waiting, alert for the call, afraid to start anything that can't be interrupted; I've come to dread visit day (and, not surprisingly, it's this morning!).

Twice they've failed to turn up, once because of a mistake at the office, and once when they claimed thay had been and found no-one in, a clear lie, as we were for the full five hours in a part of the house where we would have both seen and heard them arrive.

Meanwhile, three-end-a-half hours to go before I give up for this year and start yet another complaint letter. I'll let you know how I get on.

We were with BG for years for all sorts (CH, boiler, plumbing, electrics, selected appliances), but cost kept rising and we decided to quit. Emergency boiler (and other) cover is available as an adjunct to several home insurance policies and we took advantage of this (and had cause to use it). Boiler, CH and hot water annual maintenance is easily arranged through a certified independent local provider.

[french frank]

I don't do contracts. I book a boiler service once a year with a long established local company. My plumber (formerly a secondhand bookseller) has just retired. We have two local booklets that circulate monthly with 'news' - but mainly adverts from (very) local tradesmen and when I need someone I'll book one of them.

[gurnemanz]

I didn't do contracts for several impoverished decades of mortgage and kids and we got away with it. We now find we can well afford a service/plumbing contract, even if not so cheap (British Gas,/Dynorod) and just pay up for convenience and peace of mind in our old age. Any problem and someone turns up to fix it, from a new radiator to dripping outdoor tap.

[cat]

I've heard lots of reports of people trying to claim under such contracts and the company not being able to send anyone out for weeks. I'd far rather phone up my local company who installed the boiler and service it every year.

[Serial_Apologist]

Like Smittins I've always been with British Gas. 13 years ago they installed a new boiler on grounds the old one could not be maintained for lack of spare parts provision; it provided hotter water than the previous one (I should jolly well hope so, it being twice the size), but soon started squirting out water from a valve underneath whenever the heating switched on. Each year the service engineer declared to have found the source of the problem, and done some sort of replacement, but the problem has persisted, necessitating a receptacle placed at the point where the downpipe passes through a wooden working surface to prevent timber rotting. This year 3 email notices have arrived "advising" me on what to do in such-and-such a circumstance - an apparent substitute for the annual check-up visit, namely the main reason for my subscription. They also periodically message me to arrange an automatic registering meter, even though twice they've sent engineers round, only to find the premises here cannot accommodate one, suggesting that no one bothers to process information details, even those presumably registered by their visiting people. Like everyone these days, customers are just taken for granted, and I doubt if it would be any different were to change service provider.

[smittims]

Thanks, some useful tips there.

[oddoneout]

The first home we bought had a recently fitted boiler with BG contract which we took on as it wasn't expensive and it covered the cost of an annual service. After a few years there started to be niggles - more limits to what the cover included in the way of repairs etc, sudden cost increases, but what put an end to BG was when we had a combi boiler installed about 4 years later and the BG engineers didn't seem as knowledgeable about it as we thought they needed to be; we were early adopters (for the UK, other half's family abroad had been using them for years) but even so. We went with the manufacturers contract for a while, but after a few issues looked for an alternative and went with a local chap who had already done some plumbing work for us and was starting to specialise in combi boilers having seen which way things were going with the new housing developments. When he had to give up due to poor health the hunt started again and led to some odd encounters. One chap insisted on doing an inspection of all the gas appliances in the house, finding fault with the gas fire, and the flue arrangements for the boiler, and said if he agreed to take on the annual service we would have to fix all the faults, and that in fact by rights the boiler should be shut down as unsafe because of the flue. The one thing he did approve of was the gas hob - which was a DIY job(in the days when it was allowed). Ironic as the other "faults" he identified were all done by BG or the boiler manufacturer engineers, ie not jobbing plumbers. We did find someone in the end who did the annual service for several years and also some odd jobs on the CH itself - moving a radiator, fitting TRVs.
My move to an all electric house solved the problem for me for a while then on getting back into a gas CH home I got a local plumbing company I had used previously to take on the boiler service. The engineer sends me a reminder each year for the service; I do the inbetween bits - bleeding radiators and re-pressurising the boiler as needed. The only problem that arose other than servicing was when the heat exchanger went(a common combi issue) but on checking the paperwork it turned out it was still under guarantee so a Worcester engineer came out to do that. I hope that the gas engineer continues in his job - he is the only one in the firm - as I don't fancy trying to find a replacement. Sufficient unto the day - a more immediate issue is that the boiler will need to be replaced sometime in the next two years, with all the decision making that entails.

[smittims]

I sympathise. I had an engineer come simply to give the boiler its annual check; no probelms, But he insisted on examining the gas cooker and said he would have to condemn it! I was outraged.

Thankfully, yesterday's visit went well, so BG are reprieved.

[Anastasius]

I'm with French Frank...never had a maintenance contract and never saw the need for one TBH. Mind you we are on oil and so maybe that's not as finicky as gas ? Interesting aside is that we hope to move this year and be interesting to see 'whats-out-there'. Certainly don't want to cook with gas but if the boiler was gas then probably will keep it. Not a great fan of gas, it has to be said.

[Serial_Apologist]

I'm with French Frank...never had a maintenance contract and never saw the need for one TBH. Mind you we are on oil and so maybe that's not as finicky as gas ? Interesting aside is that we hope to move this year and be interesting to see 'whats-out-there'. Certainly don't want to cook with gas but if the boiler was gas then probably will keep it. Not a great fan of gas, it has to be said.

Fortunately or un- we are obliged as part of the collective freehold to have a maintenance contract for each flat in our 14-flats apartment block. It makes sense and provides some reassurance.

[Dave2002]

Meanwhile, three-end-a-half hours to go before I give up for this year and start yet another complaint letter. I'll let you know how I get on.

Don't get me on to British Gas - or their maintenance contracts.
My blood might explode! Watch their accounts department, too.

[Mandryka]

As a possible adjunct to the 'keeping warm' and 'meter readings ' thread I thought it might be interesting to hear how others get on with the various schemes we pay for to keep our heating reliable.

For forty years now I've been in the British Gas scheme under its various changing names (Five Star, Homecare, etc.) and have seen the quality of service, once good, decline as steadily as the price has risen. I've stayed with them for fear that an unknown alternative may be worse. BG engineers are generally good, they do turn up, and we've never been left without . Its' the office management which seems to be at fault. Whereas they use to tell us when they were coming for the annual boiler service, now we have to make the appointment , and they will commit themselves only to some time in a five-hour band, which has us sitting waiting, alert for the call, afraid to start anything that can't be interrupted; I've come to dread visit day (and, not surprisingly, it's this morning!).

Twice they've failed to turn up, once because of a mistake at the office, and once when they claimed thay had been and found no-one in, a clear lie, as we were for the full five hours in a part of the house where we would have both seen and heard them arrive.

Meanwhile, three-end-a-half hours to go before I give up for this year and start yet another complaint letter. I'll let you know how I get on.

A friend of mine who’s a heating engineer advises against all such contracts. He says that if there’s a problem which needs a part you may find yourself waiting a while, because BG have to obtain the part from a certain supplier, presumably chosen because they’re the cheapest. While an independent can just go to a local supplier.

Re British Gas generally, their great advantage for really big jobs like complete new installations is that they will get it done, and if there’s a problem they’ll fix it. The big disadvantage is the price. For something simple like a new boiler I wouldn’t use them.

[Lordgeous]

As a possible adjunct to the 'keeping warm' and 'meter readings ' thread I thought it might be interesting to hear how others get on with the various schemes we pay for to keep our heating reliable.

For forty years now I've been in the British Gas scheme under its various changing names (Five Star, Homecare, etc.) and have seen the quality of service, once good, decline as steadily as the price has risen. I've stayed with them for fear that an unknown alternative may be worse. BG engineers are generally good, they do turn up, and we've never been left without . Its' the office management which seems to be at fault. Whereas they use to tell us when they were coming for the annual boiler service, now we have to make the appointment , and they will commit themselves only to some time in a five-hour band, which has us sitting waiting, alert for the call, afraid to start anything that can't be interrupted; I've come to dread visit day (and, not surprisingly, it's this morning!).

Twice they've failed to turn up, once because of a mistake at the office, and once when they claimed thay had been and found no-one in, a clear lie, as we were for the full five hours in a part of the house where we would have both seen and heard them arrive.

Meanwhile, three-end-a-half hours to go before I give up for this year and start yet another complaint letter. I'll let you know how I get on.

Gave up on BG years ago. Always been happy to call local trader when necessay. Reliable and works out cheaper. BG Always trying to sell me a new boiler!

[smittims]

Maybe I'm just wary of 'a local man' from the fear that when I call him in an emergency it'll be 'Oh, 'e's not 'ere at the moment', or 'Yerrs, I'm a bit busy just now; I'll give you a call...'.


I'm sure there are good and reliable 'local men' ; I'm just not sure I could find one.