British Gas & Power Flush

[heating-eng]

I am sure that is the price now. But this was in 2006 and British Gas themselves admitted that he should have quoted no more than their £450-ish at the time. Obviously if you raise the price by £200, then £350 looks as though the mate would have done it for 'half price'.

 

Normally a plumber will be about half the price and if the plumber does a good job then the plumber would be best.

But normally the plumber will not do the job correctly and then BG will not cover you ..

So it all comes down to if you don,t mind paying more to get the job done right.

[Desperate Daniella]

Sorry, I think you are missing the point here, or maybe I didn't make it clear.

 

The official British Gas engineer quoted me £650. The official British Gas price at the time was £450-ish. The British Gas engineer told me his friend who was ex-British Gas could do exactly the same job for £350 and gave me his mobile number. He was actually taking money away from his employer, and I doubt if this idea was just out of the goodness of his heart. I expect the friend would be paying him for these referrals. I doubt if I was the only person he suggested his friend to. Nice little earner.

[heating-eng]

Sorry, I think you are missing the point here, or maybe I didn't make it clear.

 

The official British Gas engineer quoted me £650. The official British Gas price at the time was £450-ish. The British Gas engineer told me his friend who was ex-British Gas could do exactly the same job for £350 and gave me his mobile number. He was actually taking money away from his employer, and I doubt if this idea was just out of the goodness of his heart. I expect the friend would be paying him for these referrals. I doubt if I was the only person he suggested his friend to. Nice little earner.

 

you can look at this a few differant ways really.

Maybe the lad was trying to help out out by getting the job done cheaper for you. Maybe he didnt want to do you a quote.

or maybe he was trying to rip you off.

I would guess that he was trying to help you but maybe i am wrong ...who knows

 

As for what the quote should have been ..this would depend on the engineer.. example ..

 

Engineer A quotes for powerflush at £450 to slove the problem

Engineer B quotes for the powerflush at £450 but then thinks that adding a filter on would be better for the customer so the quote is £650.

 

 

this is just an example but a lot of the prices are not just a fixed price but are dependent on what the engineer thinks is best for you..

[Desperate Daniella]

No, actually, he was trying to get me to use his friend for a backhander.

 

He fixed my heating so it didn't work, and what he did resulted in major damage to my property. I ended up suing British Gas who finally settled out of court.

 

There wasn't a quote from a second engineer, it was the price quoted by British Gas themselves at their head office for a straightforward powerflush.

 

At around the same time I had five different recommendations from five different BG engineers about what was wrong with the boiler. My plumber did it. It's worked ever since.

[heating-eng]

No, actually, he was trying to get me to use his friend for a backhander.

 

He fixed my heating so it didn't work, and what he did resulted in major damage to my property. I ended up suing British Gas who finally settled out of court.

 

There wasn't a quote from a second engineer, it was the price quoted by British Gas themselves at their head office for a straightforward powerflush.

 

At around the same time I had five different recommendations from five different BG engineers about what was wrong with the boiler. My plumber did it. It's worked ever since.

 

I don,t know if he was getting a backhander or not. I would guess you don,t either so saying that is somewhat unfair.

Bg work on more gas boilers than anybody else and do make mistakes as we all do i guess.

As for the quote from head office. they can only advise you what,s down as a fixed price and not any other work that might be needed.

 

Just to make it clear i no longer work for BG but i still feel they are the best gas company. And like i say can make mistakes.

[Desperate Daniella]

Well, if he didn't want me to think I needed a powerflush why did he deliberately fix my heating so it wouldn't work?

[heating-eng]

Well, if he didn't want me to think I needed a powerflush why did he deliberately fix my heating so it wouldn't work?

 

You come across as you have some axe to grind.

I am not really sure what you are saying or what you are asking I have tried my best to explain from what you have told us.

I don’t think any engineer would deliberately make your heating not work.You have sorted your problem now is that correct ? if so why are you raking it back up. I am more than happy to help anybody who needs advice but as I have said it looks like you are just moaning afterwards ? you say BG sorted it in the end by paying you money so I guess that should be and end to it. No need in putting their good name to shame on this forum

[Desperate Daniella]

This thread is about power flushing and you seem to be saying that no British Gas engineer would suggest one when it wasn't necessary. My experience was very different, and yes, I did get money in the end, after many months and taking them to court, but was it worth the aggravation just to get paid for the damage they did? Of course not. I certainly didn't get paid for the hours I had to spend on it.

 

Even their own loss adjustor inspected what he had done and couldn't believe it. Before he changed the radiator and just "fixed" a couple of things the system worked perfectly.

 

Good name? Are you kidding? They have more customer complaints than most other companies in the UK. They repeatedly head lists of customer dissatisfaction.

 

There are many British Gas threads on this forum and elsewhere and apart from employees of British Gas obviously, most people posting are not happy with them.

[heating-eng]

This thread is about power flushing and you seem to be saying that no British Gas engineer would suggest one when it wasn't necessary. My experience was very different, and yes, I did get money in the end, after many months and taking them to court, but was it worth the aggravation just to get paid for the damage they did? Of course not. I certainly didn't get paid for the hours I had to spend on it.

 

Even their own loss adjustor inspected what he had done and couldn't believe it. Before he changed the radiator and just "fixed" a couple of things the system worked perfectly.

 

Good name? Are you kidding? They have more customer complaints than most other companies in the UK. They repeatedly head lists of customer dissatisfaction.

 

There are many British Gas threads on this forum and elsewhere and apart from employees of British Gas obviously, most people posting are not happy with them.

 

Like i have said already i no longer work for BG but did do for many years so i am passing on my knowledge and advice.

All companys have complaints ,my best friend deals with them at BG and some are clearly customers where BG have made a mistake but most are people trying it on.

I have done many hundreds of powerflushing jobs and thats why i have tried to help.

 

Glad yours is sorted now anyway.

[Mrs Frustrated]

Hi we are currently disputing a case with British Gas about a power flush we felt we didnt need as it did not rectify our problem !

We were having probs from Nov til finally fixed in March !

During all this period we had no hot water !!!! We had several engineers out that told us it was several things wrong but none of these things worked so when we was told it was coz we needed a power flush at the cost of £695 we agreed . Low and behold we stil had no hot water !

A engineer came out 2 days later and spent a long time (instead of the usual 10 mins ! ) going over the boiler he discovered 2 probs 1 was the gas pressure was low and the other was the pins in the sensors was bent , he comment that this could of been done if we had ever had a new diverter vale fitted which low and behold was done as the 1 st job in Nov !

Our argument is why wasnt the sensors checked before the power flush ?

BG are trying to say that the sludge in the system will have done this but the engineer who did flush commented on it not being to bad also the boiler is only 6 y old and had protection chemicals alreay in stalled !

Does anyone know were we can go from here ?!

Edited May 1, 2010 by Mrs Frustrated

[slick132]

Hi Mrs Frustrated and welcome to CAG.

 

Anyone who has already posted on this thread will be notified of your new post and I hope one of the experts will come back and comment for you.

 

Be patient though as people tend to be less available over the weekend, particularly as it's a (cold and windy) bank holiday w/end.

 

[Sludge-Fighter]

I was with BG homecare contract for 11 years before moving to my new house. The same contract continued for another 7 years in my brand new house. Then I was told to get a powerflush for £860 as BG changed the contract to stipulate that it is not included in the plan. I was left without heating and hot water for 7 days in the winter when the boiler sprung a leak. BG said that they cannot help me as I did not agree to the powerflush.

I got a local guy in to fix the problem.

BG should have put inhibitors in my CH system or advised me to do so:mad:, when I moved into the new house. Because of their undoing, I ended up with a big repair bill. Needless to say, I had cancelled my homecare plan and many supply accounts with BG. BG - not a good company

[heating-eng]

I was with BG homecare contract for 11 years before moving to my new house. The same contract continued for another 7 years in my brand new house. Then I was told to get a powerflush for £860 as BG changed the contract to stipulate that it is not included in the plan. I was left without heating and hot water for 7 days in the winter when the boiler sprung a leak. BG said that they cannot help me as I did not agree to the powerflush.

I got a local guy in to fix the problem.

BG should have put inhibitors in my CH system or advised me to do so:mad:, when I moved into the new house. Because of their undoing, I ended up with a big repair bill. Needless to say, I had cancelled my homecare plan and many supply accounts with BG. BG - not a good company

 

I donot agree with you BG have never covered for a system powerflush so you are incorrect when you say they did.

BG do not charge £860 for a powerflush so this is wrong.

You say that BG should have put inhibitors in your system but this should have been done when the central heating was fitted.

 

BG are not always correct but are a very good company that try very hard to make customers happy.

 

BG have lowered there prices now so you can buy a boiler for around the same price as a plumber would charge.

Edited July 30, 2010 by heating-eng

[slick132]

Hi Sludge Fighter and welcome to CAG.

 

Maybe you have a large house which is why the PF quote from BG was this high.

 

[Aly1704]

I think some people on here are getting a bit carried away with their 'expertise'! I am a BG engineer, and indeed an engineer who carries out powerflushing on a regular basis (everyday just now!) Ideas like 'just turning your pump up a notch' and 'I bled the radiators and now we dont need a new boiler' are complete rubbish!

 

When a system is drawing air in and needing bled regularly, a powerflush will temporarily cure the problem, however, when we carry this work out we will normally cut & clear system blockages (normally occuring in the cold beed pipe where hot & cold water meets), combine the cold feed & expansion pipes if possible (open vented systems) only if the appliance has an overheat protection device. We will also balance the system and set the correct pump speed. In most cases the pump, and and valves (pump, motorised or manual) will be replaced.

 

Twin entry radiator valves (valves with one valve & 2 pipes) require to be split & replaced with a valve either side of the radiator before a powerflush can be done, as there is a small tube which circulates the water attatched to these which can become dislodged during a flush. If you have had a powerflush but still have twin entry valves, chances are the system hasn't been flushed correctly.

 

We now use a magnaclean filter (a strong magnetic filter) incorporated into our powerflush machines to extract any iron oxide in the radiators & pipework. We can supply & install a permanent magnaclean filter to any system at additional cost.

 

I read that one user reckons 4 hrs is a good time to powerflush a system, BG powerflush (including remedial work to rectify faults) is normally done in around 8 hrs and priced accordingly. Our price includes all parts (irrespective of cost) and labour.

 

The powerflush lifetime guarantee was only introduced in 2004 (I think) but we will do a re-flush if needed as long as the same customer owns the property. Any radiators which corrode badly and leak will be replaced if a powerflush has been carried out. Our average price is around £600, and we use fixed price quotations (subject to region) but if the powerflush is done correctly it IS good value for money when you look at the work we do. Lets see if your £250 flush gets you anywhere near a service like that, I'd think not.

 

Hi BG eng out today, recommends power flushing £592.00. I am unconvinced this will sort out the problem. My system is is increasing the temp by about 1 degree per hour, i.e. 14.5 to 18.5 in 4hrs (room temp) Rads all very hot without cold spots at the bottom etc. He says it is a circulation problem and this will cure it. Says pump and boiler are working fine if so how are the rads and domestic water very hot . Should I insist under the homecare agreement that they should consider checking out or replacing the rad valves first to improve flow before embarking on this high cost solution and will it make a substantial difference to the system performance. My system , new boiler gas 2001 with majority of new rads, some pipework has been in place 30 years. A substantial difference in the heat up time this year, can you offer any advice.

Regards

Aly:???:

[Bigmac versus]

BG have lowered there prices now so you can buy a boiler for around the same price as a plumber would charge.

 

You are having a laugh, take those rose tinted BG glasses off m8 and think on.

[plubingforfun]

Firstly price: That is really is too expensive for a flush I had one done for £200 by a power flush association member . Why did they not just fix the problem in the first place?

[slick132]

Hi Plubingforfun,

 

If you are connected to the PowerFlushing Thingy, please see site rules about promoting and/or advertising.

 

8)

[plubingforfun]

Not connected. Just saw the silly prices being charged for power flushing, thought I would mention it. The insurance companies really take the.

[heating-eng]

Well, I'm finding out more than I wanted to know about powerflush. We've had 5 Brit Gas visits on the Homecare contract. They changed the pump and all the stats on the Potterton 100 boiler which keeps tripping out on overheat. Yesterday they recommended powerflush and magnaclean for £848. Although, still not a guaranteed fix. Claim I wouldn't pay if it didn't work. I would be prepared to get a powerflush although not at BG prices but as we can get all the rads hot before the boiler trips I don't see how it can be a circulation/debris problem.

Any ideas anybody.

if all the rads work then fitting a filter might be good enough

[doctorfox]

Hi

 

New member having just found this forum. Currently have BG Homecare 400 agreement for a boiler which is approx 18 years old.

 

Been covered since 1998 with BG - had to have a power flush before they would take the boiler on back then. Anyway, last week hot water stopped (central heating works fine) so booked an engineer. Engineer comes out and says that I need a powerflush (£700 quote) however due to the age of the boiler I'd be better off getting a new boiler. Engineer persuades me to book an appointment with BG for a new boiler quote this coming Friday.

 

Questions I have are (if anyone can help) -

 

- As I have already had a powerflush from BG (albeit sometime go) should I be entitled to this powerflush free? as per the homecare agreement.

 

- If I get the powerflush done by a local company will this invalidate my agreement with BG?

 

- Would I be better advised to get a new boiler?

 

Thanks

[MrHandyman]

Hi Doctorfox

 

The BG powerflush currently comes with a lifetime guarantee as long as you keep a continuous homecare agreement. I'm not sure when the lifetime guarantee was introduced (2001 rings a bell) but what I would do is contact the call centre, tell them you want your "free reflush" as you have previouly had a flush.

 

If they say that you had it done before the lifetime guarantee was introduced, ask to have the details escalated to the Service Manager and escalate higher until they re-do it for you - make enough noise and you should get a reflush, and hopefully avoid any costs.

 

Mr H

[ihateyes]

Quote the guarantee of the powerflush. Again kick me fuss, and raise a complaint which would get passed to a sevice manager.

[doctorfox]

Thanks Mr H & ihateyes

 

Spoke to the contact centre who agree it appears I am entitled to a free powerflush. They have put a callback request through to the heating engineers who I'm told will call me back within 48hrs to discuss a convenient time. Sounds too easy......???

[MrHandyman]

Glad to hear it.

 

They will have passed your details to the area planning team - you'll simply get a call to book the appointment at a convenient time. Hopefully that will be you sorted.