Christmas might be ruined

[Wilf83]

Our boiler has broken so no heating or hot water. BG are coming tomorrow but we have previously been told that they no longer make the parts as our boiler is so old. So we know we're going to have to get a replacement but I can't see it being done before Christmas. We were meant to have the whole family round for our dd first Christmas.

I'm trying to not get upset but I can't see how it's going to be ok. Other family members houses are far too small for us all to go round and don't get me started on how we're actually going to pay a new boiler.

[Apophenia]

When our boiler broke this time last year, the whole thing was replaced within two days. Plenty of time before Christmas.

[MaryWestmacott]

OK, deep breath, they might well be able to fix it, or if it has to be replaced, 2 weeks until Christmas does seem a reasonable time frame to get it done.

As for paying for it, I think BG do have payment schemes, not ideal, but not many options.

[LapsedTwentysomething]

A new one will be much cheaper done by a non-VAT registered one man band. We paid £3.5k for a complete central heading system, boiler and shower fitting last year, all properly fitted and under warranty. The job took three days and was done quickly (though it was summer). Look locally - BG were asking double.

[MaryWestmacott]

oh yes, you do have time to shop around, it honestly will only be a couple of days assuming someone can fit you in.

[imalostcause]

Im not sure of your situation, do you know that there are schemes to help people receiving certain benefits to buy a new boiler and have it installed? I think I saw it on MSE ..

Argos sell heaters you can plug in, oil radiators I think, in case you aren't able to get the boiler repaired or replaced, you could place one in the room your guests will be in.

[PingPongBat]

Definitely look elsewhere than British Gas - as other posters have said they charge the earth compared to other companies. Have you got any good local heating companies? Any friends to recommend theirs? Have a look on the trust-a-trader website for recommendations maybe? They are all super busy but it's worth ringing around.

[Wilf83]

Wow didn't know you could get a boiler fitted so quickly.

Thanks for putting things into perspective & for the encouraging words- I was having a 'moment'. Will look into alternative companies. I suppose if things get really tough financially I can always go back to work early from mat leave.

[MaryWestmacott]

Also OP, if you can cook, and borrow some heaters for the time, even if you can't get it replaced/fixed by Christmas, you'll cope - even more so if you are going t have a lot of family over, lots of extra bodies warm the place up. I know last year I had the heating on first thing, but not on at all during the day when everyone was over and the heat from cooking warmed up the house.

[bryonyelf]

What everyone else has said. Shop around. BG are sky high with their costs. Just make sure whoever does the job is CORGI registered.

[grumpyoldgitagain]

Try a local recommended plumber

Last boiler we bought was £1100 including fitting around 3 years ago and think he had it swapped over within a day

[ThinkIveBeenHacked]

Can definetly get a boiler fitted quickly. Ours packed up the day before I went into labour, had dd on the 19th dec, boiler fitted on the 23rd, one and a half days work (he practically ran out the door at lunch time christmas eve)

[Longdistance]

Hey Wilf I'm in the exactly the same position. Our boiler broke on Saturday. The engineer only came out yesterday, and we have cover with eon. Not happy at the slow pace of it all. We are only getting a quote on Friday to replace it
What makes it worse, is that we are building an extension, and the builder's are dragging their feet. There is a gap in the roof where the roof tiles are. It isn't insulated yet, and basically we can't have anyone over for Xmas like we normally do. Also, haven't a clue where to put the tree

[StillProcrastinating]

Does the green deal still include boilers? You might get financial assistance to replace it....

[youlooklikeineedadrink]

Hi Wilf,

Just some encouragement on the pricing front - we had a recommended local Gas Safe guy out, who told us that our repair would be approximately £600, or a new boiler £1900. As I'd been gifted some money, we decided just to get it over with and buy a new boiler as the old one was about 15 years old, and as all things in our house had seemingly been fitted by an incompetent.
As our other local plumbing companies and independent Gas Safe people all said they couldn't fit a new one before Christmas, and all quoted more for the repairs, we got British Gas out for a second quote. After about an hour of faffing about, I was quoted £4500 to fit a new boiler (although, yes, they would have moved it to a new location) or £3700 to fit a new boiler in the same place. The same model boiler that the independent guy had quoted me two days before.
I quickly texted the independent whilst British Gas man was on his selling pitch and he agreed to come out the next day. I got him, another Gas Safe registered plumber and his apprentice at work fitting my new boiler, done within a day (and it was in a really awkward place) for the quoted £1900, plus 5 year warranty on the boiler.

We coped through the week of quotes as our gas fire still worked in the living room and the electric shower also worked so we could be clean and warm. The children wore their onesies and didn't notice at all. In fact they are now back to being naked in the house, despite our heating being on at 14 degrees! I was the only one who complained, but I am the only one in all day and I didn't put the fire on when it was just me in the house.

If you DID go with the extortionate British Gas they do offer payment plans through Barclays. He did a bit of a hard sell on those despite my saying we'd be paying cash.

[ItMustBeBedtimeSurely]

Yep, we had a new boiler in within two weeks - this included shopping around for quotes, and ordering and fitting. The actual work took two days, but that included removing water tanks from loft and doing a power flush.

Agree with others though, avoid bg. We got a Worcester boiler, 8 year warranty and all the fitting done for 3k with a local plumber. The same thing would have cost about 6k with BG.

[Grumpyoldblonde]

I paid 1500 for a new boiler and radiator (one was leaking) would never dream of asking BG to do a job like that, it took 2 days maximum.
good luck

[Wilf83]

Boiler is all fixed But it has reminded me that we do need a new one so will be getting quotes.

[loveareadingthanks]

It's a pain but hopefully you can get new boiler before Christmas.

If not, well, it needn't ruin your Christmas unless you let it. No one had boilers and heating and hot water on tap until very recently if you look at the history of humankind (many people still don't).

Wrap up well, bring in temp heaters if you can. For hot water, can you go and buy or borrow a burco/urn thing (you know the sort that produce buckets of hot water for teas at Village Fetes). Keep it topped up, they don't cost much to run, and you'll have plenty of hot water for strip washing/washing up etc, in a much easier way than using a kettle.