British Gas - Ignoring their own policy

[cooldad]

6 weeks ago I asked BG to install 4 radiators which I bought in Wickes. They said an engineer would first have to come out and assess the work and give me a quotation. A week later the engineer came out and I showed him where the existing pipework was and he said it was a quite straightforward job and the workman should carry it out in 3 hours and the cost would be £285.00. I asked him if this was an estimated figure and he said no, the price is £285.00 and that what BG stick to as he has assessed the work. The only other remark he made was that the piping was not the standard 15mm but as it's a 1930's house, the piping is a micro bore 10mm but the workman should have no problem in fitting the radiators. He also said that they weren't too busy, so it could be done in a couple of weeks. However when I rang back to accept the quote, I was given a 5 week wait because they only had 1 engineer to fit radiators! In the meantime I went back to Wickes and bought 4 10mm universal push on radiator valves.

 

The engineer came out today and the first thing I showed him were the valves. He looked at them and said he didn't know what they were but they were the wrong ones, so I told him I would get the right ones in 15 minutes, so he showed me on the Wickes catalogue which ones I would need. I told him Wickes were near me so I would be back in 15 minutes. He said don't worry, he would go home in the meantime and come back by the time I returned. I came back in 15 minutes and he arrived back 10 minutes later! He started fitting the first radiator then messed about with the valves the said he couldn't fit it because it was still the wrong size. He then rang his office and they told me because of the problem with the pipework they would have to re-quote but it would be most likely a 5 hour job, not as previously quoted!

 

I told them about their policy of sticking to a quote and their reply was that after looking at the job more closely, they can no longer apply the original quote.

 

What do I do now?

[kirkbyinfurnesslad]

6 weeks ago I asked BG to install 4 radiators which I bought in Wickes. They said an engineer would first have to come out and assess the work and give me a quotation. A week later the engineer came out and I showed him where the existing pipework was and he said it was a quite straightforward job and the workman should carry it out in 3 hours and the cost would be £285.00. I asked him if this was an estimated figure and he said no, the price is £285.00 and that what BG stick to as he has assessed the work. The only other remark he made was that the piping was not the standard 15mm but as it's a 1930's house, the piping is a micro bore 10mm but the workman should have no problem in fitting the radiators. He also said that they weren't too busy, so it could be done in a couple of weeks. However when I rang back to accept the quote, I was given a 5 week wait because they only had 1 engineer to fit radiators! In the meantime I went back to Wickes and bought 4 10mm universal push on radiator valves.

 

The engineer came out today and the first thing I showed him were the valves. He looked at them and said he didn't know what they were but they were the wrong ones, so I told him I would get the right ones in 15 minutes, so he showed me on the Wickes catalogue which ones I would need. I told him Wickes were near me so I would be back in 15 minutes. He said don't worry, he would go home in the meantime and come back by the time I returned. I came back in 15 minutes and he arrived back 10 minutes later! He started fitting the first radiator then messed about with the valves the said he couldn't fit it because it was still the wrong size. He then rang his office and they told me because of the problem with the pipework they would have to re-quote but it would be most likely a 5 hour job, not as previously quoted!

 

I told them about their policy of sticking to a quote and their reply was that after looking at the job more closely, they can no longer apply the original quote.

 

What do I do now?

 

first question is why on earth would you use British gas!!!!

 

Use a local plumber....

[cooldad]

I don't know which part of the UK you live in Kirkby, but here in London there are a lot of cowboys around. So I thought I could rely on BG, but it seems they are part of these cowboys!

[Anubis1275]

Microbore 15mm to 10mm adapter on the inlet and outlet pipework to each radiator - about £1.20 each. Fitting shouldn't be a cause for concern for any competent plumber.

[cooldad]

Unfortunately it's not as simple as that. I had another BG engineer round today who looked at the pipes and found that they are neither 8mm or 10mm but somewhere in between. So his solution was to get an end feed soldered 8mm to 15mm reducer and then file down my pipes so that the reducer fits. As I said previously, although I had an engineer come out to estimate the job, what they are saying now is because it's not a straight forward job, the quote they gave me before is now cancelled and they will only do the job if they re-quote, which may be well in excess of their original quote.

 

The question I am asking is, since I already had a quote from them, am I in my rights to hold them to their original quote as per their policy?