British Gas homecare

[Bigmac versus]

HI Fishmilk i work for myself (gas engineer) and your baxi back boiler will not pose any probs, it may be old but you will be able to get all the parts required for it no problem whatsoever.

BG homecare is very expensive and you do not always get the experienced engineer you think you are paying for due to a big influx of adult trainees, 6 months and they are sent out in their nice vans with laptops, servicing is a thing of the past with most of them they use a telegan flue analyser, probe put in boiler flue and out pops a reading, what ever happened to the cleaning of the exchanger and checking the working parts etc. They have a very high tendancy of saying systems are in need of renewal or upgrading this is because the engineers in question are on a bonus system and have targets to meet, selling of C/Monoxide alarms is a favourite one or your system is now classed as Not to Current Standards (NCS). The service you may find was carried out at the start when they service and insperct at the same time before going on the plan but it is now overdue and needs to done asap, they are famous for dragging this out though so good luck.

[Bigmac versus]

Right so if your £200 valve pump on your boiler brakes. Who will replace that for free ? ..... No one will you are paying an insurance for it, what i am saying is that the service they offer for what they ask is not value for money, there are plenty of competitors out there and unfortunately a lot of people think yes they are dearer but hey its BG we wont have any probs, yeah right, insurance is available elsewhere cheaper, to put it in comparison for you Karma1 ask them for a quote for new boiler or heating then come back to me that they are value for money, hey and thats another thing you can phone company (A) out for a quote and say they say £2500 then contact BG who quote £4750 and feel that although BG are dearer you feel as a big company you wont have any probs so decide to take the BG offer, guess what: BG a lot of times sub contract the work out which could go to YES YOU GUESSED IT company (A).

Im not saying BG are bad, they have good engineers also, but for value for money im afraid there isnt any.

[Bigmac versus]

Hi screech and after reading your posts id like to add my thoughs also.

 

As you know all engineers have their own thoughts of different boiler manufacturers and models and of course some firms also, we all have nightmare stories to tell and report like many other trades also.

Generally speaking my work is 90% word of mouth work which as you know dosent come through bad workmanship, when i started my apprenticeship i was at college for five years which included city and guilds for BOTH plumbing and gas central heating fault finding and rectification, i know experience is required to become a good engineer, but i personally do not accept that after a short period of one year which includes being out with an engineer doing on site repairs makes you qualified to be out there in the thick of things, i have insurance plans within my company and i can assure you some of them who used to be with BG came to me for that reason alone. (multiple visits for fault that never seems to be fixed and this is not only the adult trainees im talking about here)

The problem BG have is a similar one throughout the country, in past years how many apprenticeships are there to be taken in comparrison to say 25 years ago, this is now being addressed and there is more funding made available now for this and i for one have taken advantage of this and have an apprentice stating shortly, the point is i would NOT send this apprentice out within such a short time of being with us as he would not be competent to deal with the many situations that arise out there and this would lead to a poor reflection on my companies reputation that i have worked hard to make, but BG are according to many customers and this is reflecting their reputation. Im all for training of adults who wish to join the proffession but feel they should go through a full apprenticeship which includes going out with tradesman before being released upon the public.

[Bigmac versus]

Hi davie dont you have a copy of the terms and conditions for your contract?

[Bigmac versus]

It really depends on whats in your T&C's as they say "or faults which existed before you entered into the agreement and which we could not identify on our first inspection of that particular system or appliance using reasonable care and skill."

How long have you been in this contract and did they have a reasonable amount of time to carry out an inspection? If they had ample time and didnt carry out an inspection then the policy is of no use and as such your payments taken should be returned. They cant have it both ways although they would like to think they can.

[Bigmac versus]

I hear you and understand fully, however I wouldnt let up on BG.

 

You say the engineer said the pipe was porous and had pinholes in it?

I doubt this is the truth and you should keep the pipe in question and pursue BG for the return of any premiums paid towards this cover.

[Bigmac versus]

Hi mackem67 firstly let me say how disgusted i feel when people are pressurised into accepting a new boiler or system.

 

The AR sticker is AT RISK. (Appliance should be turned off)

 

The ID sticker is IMMEDIATELY DANGEROUS. (Appliance disconnected from gas supply)

 

The NCS sticker is NOT to CURRENT STANDARDS (Advise the responsible person thats all, no further action required)

 

I have came across this practice many times in my work and I can assure you that a lack of ventilation for your boiler is only NCS rating. By issuing an AR sticker it gives the wrong idea to the householder and may influence a decision into buying a new boiler/system which will provide a healthy bonus for that engineer.

 

I would ask for a detailed explanation as to why the boiler was classed as AR and not NCS it may be there was something else wrong but more than likely it would be only the ventilation. Have a second opinion by a corgi registered fitter who can calculate the exact amount of ventilation required and if it needs increased then they will give you a fair price for doing that.

 

£188 isnt a fair price for that work.

[Bigmac versus]

This is how they make their dosh, pretty annoying isnt it.