Would you recommend British Gas Boiler Cover?

[flippetyflop]

For those of you who have used this type of cover, would you recommend it? We have had eye-wateringly huge bills to fix the boiler during the last year (it's only five years old and was perfectly fine when we lived there ). Can't bring myself to write down the total cost but I want to do all I can to avoid any more extortionate invoices.

It's for our old house that we now rent out. I think I've been reluctant to sign up until now as I had heard of British Gas etc taking several days to sort a problem. A lettings agent is managing the house and has managed to get people in quickly, but at huge cost.

So, do the companies offering the boiler cover service respond quite quickly? If you're a landlord, were your tenants happy with the service?

TIA

I used to have it when I had an old boiler. In the long run, the companies expect to make a profit out of you, so the annual charges will add up to more than repairs are likely to cost.

They will want to inspect the boiler before taking it on, and charge for bringing it up to standard if necessary. Or, they may say when a fault is discovered that it was badly installed and charge to improve it.

It is very common for them to tell customers that the system needs a powerflush which costs hundreds of pounds. I strongly recommend that you have a system filter fitted before that happens, and give it at least a chemical clean, which you can DIY or the plumber can do. It is much cheaper than a powerflush. Cleaning and adding a filter is not gas work so a plumber can do it. Have this done before you take out a contract.

The larger electricity companies offer a similar service to BG at similar prices; so does the AA. They tend to poach each other's workers. They are not going to go bust or run off with your money.

Also, ask your boiler manufacturer if they have a scheme.

p.s.

You are sure that the lettings agent is not bumping up the bills and passing the work to his mate?

Thanks for your reply. Lots to think about there. Will talk to DH about the cleaning/flushing. It all sounds very technical and we have zero plumbing knowledge/skills. Will do anything we can to avoid another year of crazy bills though

I didn't know there might still be charges if we took out the cover. Will look into it further. I was just looking for some general feedback before going through the small print.

The agent may well be taking a cut from all the tradesmen they organise. It often crosses my mind to be honest. What can we do though? We live a long way from our old house now and don't really have any contacts in the trade or family nearby so we're a bit stuck. I can't wait to either sell the house or move back to be honest.

Thanks for your help. Anyone else used one of the boiler cover schemes?

if you don't live locally, see if you know anyone local who can make a recommendation.

For some reason, local traders who advertise in parish magazines seem to be quite reliable. I expect they have a reputation to maintain.

We took out the boiler cover last winter when ours went on the blink.

It is only 5 yrs old, and was fitted by British Gas (full central heating system).

I phoned to are how much BG would charge to repair, and was informed that I could pay a fee upfront (£100 iirc), and then monthly for 12 months min . Our payments per month are £21.

The repair was dealt with promptly, and I believe it would have been more expensive to pay for it independently.

I think we will keep up the cover, as it was worthwhile at that time, and it is useful knowing that we can get someone out, rather than phoning round local gas repairers who are all busy...

Hi, we don't have it because one of my family members who had a 4 year old child was left without heating or hot water by BG for over a week (had to order a part, wrong part came, ordered another part etc)they really didn't give a toss...

My next door neighbour lives abroad and I have a spare set of keys for her. She was having this problem as the letting agent would bring in someone they knew who seemed very expensive- what she did was to ask for a recommendation for a local guy, and then offered them a small retainer (think it was £50 a year) to be on standby for them...when the tenant has a problem they just text the plumber who goes round, sorts the problem out and emails them the bill which they then pay by transfer. Occasionally I've gone round to let the plumber in if the tenants aren't around. This has been much cheaper for her than the letting agents deal with things and also much faster to get things fixed.

sorry that wasn't very clear, when there is a problem the tenants email the owner who texts the plumber...also think technically he is a gas engineer doing boilers but who also can do plumbing stuff, sorted out a burst pipe for them last winter.

I wouldn't be without it.

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like it works well for you, Princess and Primal. I really, really want the peace of mind of knowing that there won't be any more expensive bills.

That sounds like a great system, Armadale. I just don't any good plumbers/heating engineers! I'll see if any of my old friends do. Good tip about the parish magazine. I wonder whether there's an online version now?

We have British Gas 4*. Works well for us. Never had a problem getting an engineer out at short(isn) notice. Costs just under £500 a year (but we use them enough to break even). The cost goes up each year though - even more if you call them out lots, we've argued a couple of times and had the new bill reduced. It's a good idea, especially if you don't know anyone reliable.

I would recommend it. Our boiler is only 5 years old and there are hardly any original parts left on it! We have had BG out every single year to sort out one problem or another so yes, it's been worth it. You can book the visit on-line and IME they are prompt and have the parts either on the van or get it by the next day.

We have boiler cover with them and find it reasonable. They send us a reminder when it needs servicing which was handy, and last year when they came to service it the guy picked up on a gas leak. We had to pay extra to get that fixed as we needed new pipe work fitted, but they booked it in while they were there for us as I was 6 months pregnant and it was winter. They left us with a couple of electric heaters for free as well.

We have it despite living in a newish house (8 years old).
We had BG when we moved in then when it expired we went local. They visited and cost less but after five years BG were called out and condemned the boiler! We had it replaced by them in Mid December after a week without heating and at great cost. Having had two years more cover we have just renewed with BG.

WE have the home are 400 which includes electrician and plumbing and
I call them out on average 4 times the last couple of years not including the annual service. It is about the same as the local chap but includes parts and labour and they have been really good when I have called them out.

Would recommend it as it has helped me out many times.

I tried to help out 'local tradesman' but have been let down and overcharged in the past. Professional and prompt service IMO.

WRT to whether there is an online version of the parish magazine, have you tried mumsnet local for the area? We have got a couple of good people off it based on their customer feedback on there!

Thanks all . If I can't find a recommended local tradesmen then I'm definitely going to go with one of the boiler cover policies. There are quite a few out there which I didn't realise. I'm sure we can find one that suits us. It should be easier for the tenants, too, if they know they can just phone them without having to go through the agent first.

Thanks again.

To give the other side, I have just cancelled mine after about 10 years. I have had the boiler, pipes, plumbing and electrics covered. We have spent more on it than we would have done for individual call-outs over the years.

The service is not always that good. One very cold Christmas Day we tried to call them out and were told they couldn't get anyone for several days. We had no hot water at this point. Paid for a local plumber who came out within 2 hours and only charged 75 pounds.

Also when I phoned up today to cancel they immediately offered me the same service with 20% off because I have been a long-standing customer. So I now feel that I have been over-charged for years.

Having said that in your position I might go for it. But check that the pipes are covered as well. When we just had the boiler covered BG charged us £500 for a gas problem that apparently wasn't covered.

Well that's not quite what I wanted to hear Beatrice! Thanks for the tip though - hadn't thought about the need to cover pipes as well as the boiler. Repairs to these things can be so expensive can't they? And when they need repairing they need doing urgently. Hence the need to make sure I have a good policy! There are more than I thought and I'm slowly working my way through the options...such fun! Thanks for the advice.

Homecare boiler cover policy is just a scam to take your money.
Had a fault with my boiler late last year. Engineer called and carried out what I can only describe as a temporary fix.
This proved correct, as the identical issue arose about 3 weeks ago. Requested a further engineer visit and received an email confirming my appointment slot for Tuesday 23/3/21, which was about a two week wait.
However, 3 days before engineer was due to call, BG phoned to say the engineer visit was cancelled and they would be able to re-arrange the visit for sometime in June. ( several months away) Suffice to say I found this to be totally unacceptable. I had a confirmed appointment slot and failed to see why this could not be honoured. I have had to pay for an engineer to call out and complete a proper repair to my boiler, which wasn't cheap. Cancelled my direct debit with this bunch of robbers and will never deal with BG again.

Always had BG cover, on main home and holiday house. They’ve never let us down and we have the full home cover. One night they came out at 2am to a badly leaking radiator, which was sending water down to the kitchen below. Obviously couldn’t provide a new one there and then, but did isolate the radiator so the heating and water still worked. Came back the next day with the new radiator.

I have BG Homecare solely because I wanted to avoid being without hot water or heating for any extended period.

Heating cut out in February. It was freezing. No phone numbers to call, only able to book appointments online - for TWO WEEKS TIME.

I had a 13 month old and was livid.

You can get same cover for a lot less...neighbour has the BG plan...pays an awful lot...it took them 5 attempts to fit one radiator...!!...i think a lot of the work is subbed out these days.

WE have always had it and have been really happy with it until our boiler stopped working at the beginning of March. They could send an engineer in FIVE weeks!! After a lot of to-ing and fro-ing, they said we could get someone else in (from the Trusted Hero website which is owned by BG) and they would foot the bill. Someone came within 2 hours and had sorted it in 4.

He told us that Centrica are trying to impose new contracts on the BG engineers which they don't agree with and consequently nearly all are on strike. So if you have had a bad experience in the last few months, this is likely the reason.