Domestic an General and boiler issues!

[Feelingdownandout]

Help please, anyone...

 

I have an insurance policy on my boiler.

 

it pays for repairs / call outs up to 1500 per year.

Made no claims over last three years or so.

 

Have a leak at the moment,

called them out,

this was last weekend.

 

heard nothing today, until

 

out of the blue I received a phone call asking me if my boiler was working

and that he could replace it for free but I had to pay the install charges of £1000!!!!!

 

I asked my he was calling when I was waiting to hear from D&G about a part.

 

He apologised and said that he probably shoulnt have called me

and that I would probably hear from D&G in the next few days!

I was disgruntled at this point.

 

I left it a couple of hours and finally rang D&G,

only to be told that the boiler had been written off days ago!

no-one had bothered to call me to tell me.

 

the policy states that in the event of a breakdown and not cost effective etc that a contribution could be offered from D&G of up to 1500..

....oh no, not the case, they offered me £127.03.....

 

in the space of an afternoon I have been told that a boiler that needed a part is now written off as the part is not available.

 

my annoyance is that I am being penalised because the parts aren't available and £120 is not going to buy me a new boiler.

 

I am a working mom with two small children, and after spending nearly two hours on the phone to D&G I don't know where to go next,

 

so any help, or advice or anything would be appreciated.

[honeybee13]

Hello there.

 

Having experienced boiler problems for a lot of this winter, I sympathise.

 

This doesn't sound right really. They haven't been to see the boiler, or did they before you got the call out of the blue?

 

How old is it please?

 

I'm sure people who know more than me will be along with advice for you.

 

Hugs, HB

[Feelingdownandout]

they came to see it on Saturday and told me it needed a part, and that D&G would be in touch on Monday... nothing not a word until the random call out of the blue this afternoon.

 

Boiler is 14 years old, but apart from a leak it works a dream!

[honeybee13]

I'd be miffed too, poor you.

 

Hopefully some techies will be along later, if not I'll let the site team know about your thread.

 

HB

[unclebulgaria67]

A bit confused. A new boiler or £127.03 ?

 

A new boiler would be atleast say £800.

 

£1000 to install a new boiler is expensive, if the boiler is just being put in the same place as the old one.

 

If D&G are offering you a new boiler, you could get a local gas safe engineer to do the installation, probably for a lot less. But you would need to get quotes.

 

What does the D&G policy say in regard to what the policy covers in the event of a part not being available ?

 

Have you asked them what part has broken ? If not, it may be worth asking, so you can phone around to see if the part is still available. Sometimes you will find that a company who specialise in parts for a particular boiler make, can source the parts.

 

Is there a local gas safe boiler engineer who you trust, who can come to look for you and see if they can do the repair ?

 

You have to be careful that the D&G engineers sent out are not looking for extra work for themselves, for you to pay out, as not within the scope of the policy. I am sure I have heard of reports of people being told of unecessary work in these situations, which is why you need to check, as I have mentioned.

[Feelingdownandout]

hi UB, apparently Baxi offer a service to D&G customers whereby in the event of a boiler failure they offer the D&G customer a new boiler but I have to pick up the install charges, which were told to me to be approx. £1000.

 

the part that I need is a cold water intake manifold, which apparently is no longer available. I wasn't actually given much more information than that when I called D&G. when I spoke to D&G they said that a cash offer was£127, they said this was based on the repairers estimate cost if this repair which was £305, less the premiums for the rest of the year which are £180, hence I get left with £127.00. So what is the point of a clause that says that they can offer up to £1500 contribution in the event of a mechanical breakdown. I'd like to know which part plus installation costs £1500, as it seems to me we are being penalised because the cheap unavailable part is not available!

 

so my options so far are find £1000 (impossible) to give to Baxi to install a new boiler or take £127 from D&G and have to find the rest to buy and install a new boiler..... I live hand to mouth as it is, my life far from easy we just manage to keep our heads above water and feed the children. we cant afford a load of money I would take months to save 1000, so any advice please

 

the policy says nothing about parts not being available, as I told four people yesterday, its not my fault that a part is not available, yes the boiler is over 10 years old, and I appreciate that parts may start to become more difficult to obtain however, they still collected my money over the last dew years without complaint. one chap I spoke to yesterday made mention of 'if your car broke down and parts wernt available you would have to buy a new car, yes I agree, but I cant buy a new car or £127!

 

I am waiting for a call apparently from their senior management today, so any advice on how I can handle this would be appreciated.

[unclebulgaria67]

The policy cover is only up to £1500. Therefore they won't pay £1500 towards a replacement boiler in this situation. All they pay is what the cost of the repair was, less the outstanding premium. So I think they are correct in getting to £127, as the amount due to you.

 

You need to do some research yourself, to see whether someone can supply you with a cold water intake manifold for this boiler. Do some searching around online for Baxi boiler parts for the model of boiler you have. British Gas offer a fixed price repair and it is possible they may be able to get hold of the part that D&G have not been able to source. But make sure they have the part. Is there a local Baxi boiler specialist, who might be able to help ?

 

If you manage to find that someone can supply and install the faulty part, then D&G should pay for this repair.

 

I am pretty sure that Dominic Littlewood covered a story on his TV programme, where someone had D&G say that a part was not available, so they were left in the same position as you. The D&G policyholder then did some phoning around and managed to find that the part was available.

[Feelingdownandout]

so although its not my fault this is about what is a reasonable offer?

[Feelingdownandout]

I think I have found the part available online which costs no more than £20...?

[unclebulgaria67]

so although its not my fault this is about what is a reasonable offer?

 

I don't know what you mean about reasonable offer. A breakdown of a boiler is not anyones fault, it just happens. D&G are not responsible if a part is not available. You need to find out if D&G have made a mistake. If you find that the part can be obtained, then you will make D&G look pretty silly and they will have to get your boiler repaired. D&G are only responsible for paying the cost of the repair and not paying for a new boiler to be installed. If they cannot repair, it is just a case of paying what they believe the repair would have cost them and they can deduct remaining premiums for the year.

 

If your boiler is 14 years old, it is getting towards its end of normal service life and would probably need replacing within a few years anyway. Many boiler insurances will not cover a boiler that is 15 years or more older, because at that age they become dificult to find parts for.

 

Find out if you can get hold of the part that is broken.

 

If you cannot get hold of the part, you may have to accept that you need a new boiler. D&G if they have offered you a new boiler for free, have been very reasonable. It is just a case of whether you can make an alternative arrangement.

 

Have you made enquiries about whether you qualify for a free boiler elsewhere ? The government were doing a green deal, where energy companies could fit new boilers for free and you could pay installation costs by monthtly payments over a period of time. There are companies who offer new boiler installations and you then pay by monthly instalments over a period of time.

[unclebulgaria67]

I think I have found the part available online which costs no more than £20...?

 

Make sure they have the part in stock and let D&G know of this.

[Feelingdownandout]

I looked into the green deal, and unfortunately we are not on benefits to qualify and as we have a terrible credit score we cant get a boiler on credit. doesn't leave many options. D&G didn't offer a boiler, Baxi offered the boiler as a service that they offer aside from D&G

[Feelingdownandout]

part looks to be in stock?

[unclebulgaria67]

part looks to be in stock?

 

Phone them to find out. Some companies show parts in stock online, but they actually don't always have them.

 

If they have definitely have the part in stock, advise D&G as a matter of urgency. Perhaps they can get the part and do the repair.

[unclebulgaria67]

Phone them to find out. Some companies show parts in stock online, but they actually don't always have them.

 

If they have definitely have the part in stock, advise D&G as a matter of urgency. Perhaps they can get the part and do the repair.

 

Did you manage to get a repair done ?

[Feelingdownandout]

Hi UB, no repair not done. The latest is that the part is not available, and they offered me 305 towards the cost of a new boiler. I did complain as the policy states that there could be an offering of up to 1500, and when I challenged this, I was told that this figure relates to the cost of the insurance period, from inception to she. The machine is written off.

 

I challenged D&G and told them that the period do insurance was that defined on my policy which was a 12 month period and nowhere on the policy does it refer to when the policy was taken out.

 

I didn't get anywhere really, and I tried everything to explain that my boiler had been written off because a part wasn't available, and the money offered was poor.

 

I have since been advised to contact Baxi to see if I can get a new boiler installed

 

All very costly, and not entirely sure how I am going to pay for it. I don't have a pot of money stacked away, wished I did

 

Thank you everyone for the advice given

xx

[unclebulgaria67]

I have had a look at D&G terms online, which I have pasted below. The important parts are in bold. The policy you took out was not a warranty for the boiler, but simply a boiler protection plan to cover the repair costs. In the event that a repair was needed but was not possible, the maximum amount payable was the cost of repair (part + labour). Many years ago my sister was in a similar position and I think she had British Gas install a new boiler and she paid for it over about 5 years with her energy bill. It is worth enquiring about any deals that may be around, where you can can get a new boiler and to pay for it over a few years. Or phone around Baxi boiler repair people in your area and you may strike lucky that they can get the part or know a way to get your boiler working again.

 

e. If a repair is approved, but we decide we are unable to carry out the repair then we may pay you our repairer’s estimated cost of the repair up to a maximum of £1,500 (including any repairs settled in the period of the plan).

 

 

f. If a repair is approved, but the cost exceeds the cost of the current purchase price of new

equipment of the same or similar make or specification then we may pay you a contribution up to a total of £1,500 (including any repairs settled in the period of the plan).

g You are not entitled to a replacement appliance under this plan and we will not be responsible for any installation costs.

[Feelingdownandout]

I know

[unclebulgaria67]

I know

 

Have you spoken to any local advice centres or energy saving trust about your current situation ? If not, it may be worthwhile.

[Feelingdownandout]

As we aren't on benefits we don't qualify on green scheme. As we have bad credit score we can't get credit so we stuck in vicious circle.

 

We will be boiling pans of water to fill the bath at this rate. We do have a gas fire so we do have some form of heating, just no hot running water.

[unclebulgaria67]

As we aren't on benefits we don't qualify on green scheme. As we have bad credit score we can't get credit so we stuck in vicious circle.

 

We will be boiling pans of water to fill the bath at this rate. We do have a gas fire so we do have some form of heating, just no hot running water.

 

Have you applied via your energy company for a new boiler on the basis of needing to pay over a period of time. You state bad credit score, but it may be a bid different getting finance via an energy company. Or accept the free boiler from Baxi and get a guarantor loan for the installation cost or loan from a local credit union.

[Feelingdownandout]

i have today spoken to baxi and it seems that the offer from D&G cannot be offset against the insall charges but goes to baxi instead!

 

i was also told by baxi that i have to continue to ensure the boiler through D&G? they told me that basically the new boiler is in place of a repair but that it will cost me £1000+ to install, they also told me that as it is effectively a repair that i wont get a manufacturers warrantly with the boiler!! I am getting a survey on Friday and the quote is valid for 4 weeks! so i have 4 weeks to find a small fortune.....with two small kids who havent ever had more that a day at the seaside and i have to find £1000+ with no credit score to keep them warm. i cannot afford any more debt - i feel like my arm is being well and truly twisted.

 

please can someone explain this to me as I think my head is about to fall off!

[Feelingdownandout]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]50479[/ATTACH]i have had this letter sent to me - any advice please

[Mr.P]

£1000+ to install a new boiler sounds excessive.

 

Assuming this is a wall mounted combi heater and the rest of the heating/plumbing system is in good order, I would have expected an install cost of no more than £300-500.

 

I would suggest contacting a few local gas heating engineers and getting them in to give you a quote for supply and installation. While they are there, they may even be able to advise & quote to repair your existing boiler.

 

In my opinion, these boiler insurance schemes are a con - The money spent on a policy over 10/20 years would be better off being put in a savings account and used as and when repair or replacement is needed.

 

Edit: Came across this site: http://www.whatprice.co.uk/prices/plumbing/boiler-fitting-only.html

Some of the prices are a little out of date, and a few include the cost of the replacement boiler. Gives you an idea of the real cost though.

[Old Cogger]

unfair contract comes to mind whereas new item but no guarantee, installation cost matches new boiler cost = then would like to see trading standards/etc etc look at this hipe? reminds me of the high cost payday loans fisaco = rob the poorist! just my opinion look into hardware shops etc and see for yourself BQ /etc new boilers less than £1,000! (and no guarantee that you have to stay and shop more with them === it stinks)

 

new boiler replacement is not a repair job,