My boiler broke in 2011 three days before Christmas. At the time no one was willing to come out to us until the new year.
We did not have cover with BG at the time, but they was the only people who would come out on Boxing day.
Also I wasn't charged labour on the call out as long as I joined their homecare scheme.
That alone saved me £150 that would've been labour costs.
Since then I have had them out a further 4 times, which alone would cover call out fees from a normal person.
As parts are covered as well in the scheme I have basically got them for free, plus 2 free servicing as well.
Personally for me I have had a great deal out of them, and would recommend!
I had a new house an boiler 16 years ago. During that time I have had two major faults and servicing every 2-3 years (supposed to be annual but heh). Total cost around £1300, or just under £7 a month.
Reckon I am quids in not having it. But if it is peace of mind you want, then why not?
Self-insure against boiler failure. Put the money you would have spent on boiler insurance away in an ISA, P2P lending or a savings account.
Unless you are very unlucky, over a period of 20 years or so you will save a lot of money.
Same applies for extended warranties.
Never had boiler insurance in nearly 25 years. It has failed once. It cost about 3 years of my boiler repair fund to fix it. So I am currently over 20 years, or about £5000 up.
Also, if you have an old but perfectly OK boiler, many of these schemes immediately condemn it to force you to get a new one.
Also, if you have an old but perfectly OK boiler, many of these schemes immediately condemn it to force you to get a new one.
My old but perfectly OK boiler was costing me around £250 in gas bills per year. Since we had it replaced, our monthly payments have gone down by over £20.
Not so at all. Go look at their website. The cost is only dependent on the level of cover required. Whether or not they chose to cover a system is dependent on a survey visit, they may not cover a very old system especially if parts are no longer available.
They offered us a slightly higher monthly cost to cover our boiler last time, not the normal price rise but slightly above as it is going wrong more often now. That was what made me think they did it that way.
My old but perfectly OK boiler was costing me around £250 in gas bills per year. Since we had it replaced, our monthly payments have gone down by over £20.
No, I meant that because replacing the old boiler with a new one had reduced the bills by around £20 per month, the old boiler was therefore costing me a needless £250 a year in blowing unburnt gas up the flue! Do keep up!
We have the top level Homecare package, I think it's about £32, something like that, which covers gas, electrics and water. Our boiler is getting on a bit, and had one year about five years ago where virtually everything went wrong with it, but they fixed it every time. I was on first name terms with the engineers in the end.
It also covers water tanks, which a lot of policies don't. Ours burst, we were looking at a substantial cost to replace, but Homecare replaced it. One thing though, if you have very old pipes that might be made from lead (outside), they're not covered.
Can anyone let me know if the Homecare service is any good? I had a look at it online but there,s 14 pages of terms and conditions basically I want to know if its worth joining or am I better of getting it serviced or if repairs are needed by my plumber
We've had the cover for several years now, and it's well worth it even just for peace of mind.
Don't assume that a local plumber is qualified to work on all boilers & heating systems. We ended up signing up to British Gas after we were left without heating & hot water for 5 consecutive days, after two local plumbers came out and then said they weren't qualified to work on our central heating water tank (that was after waiting over the weekend on the second one as they didn't work weekends :rolleyes:). The second one recommended British Gas, who came out within a few hours and fixed it for 'free' as we signed up to homecare there and then. If only we'd tried them first!
Very Good we pay £52 a month top care scheme covers everything
You must have additional cover for kitchen/gas appliances included in that, because that's way above the cost of their top homecare package. We pay £41 a month, and that covers the top homecare package of boiler/central heating/plumbing/drains/electrics plus our gas fire.
Also you're obliged to wait until BG can come out to see you, which in a cold snap might be an unacceptably long time - you might prefer to be able to phone round plumbers and see who's available.
I've never experienced an unacceptable waiting time. We get their priority with boiler problems as we have someone in the house over age 70, but even with any other issues where there's no priority, it's usually within 24 hours. I've gone online and been able to book a slot half an hour later. The only time we were made to wait (other than for an annual service, which can be up to a month's wait), was for a dripping tap, which was 6 days and completely understandable given that it was a low priority during the harsh winter two years ago when many people had burst pipes. They do seem to be good at prioritising.
We've had the cover for several years now, and it's well worth it even just for peace of mind.
You must have additional cover for kitchen/gas appliances included in that, because that's way above the cost of their top homecare package. We pay £41 a month, and that covers the top homecare package of boiler/central heating/plumbing/drains/electrics plus our gas fire,
We also cover water pipes to drain in street and to drain in back which is 10mts away from house.
If water pipes from house to drain fail it will cost thousands to put right.
Is that not included as standard in the drains part of Homecare 400 that I already mentioned?
Drains yes but from house to drains in street and house to drain in back garden or under your kitchen floor,
Don't worry we're not over paying my wife goes through everything with a fine tooth comb before buying anything we. Are happy enough with our £52 a month would like cheaper but its not possible when you think full sky package is far more I would defo rather full HomeCare.
I agree to a point. However, you have to pay the local tradesmen every time you call them out. With BG its covered, as is the cost of any repair and so on.
You very rarely get anywhere near back what you pay out, if you did they wouldnt offer it for the price they do.
You very rarely get anywhere near back what you pay out, if you did they wouldnt offer it for the price they do.
I like it for the security and convenience. Whatever the day or time, if our boiler is up the wall a saviour from british gas will come and save the day. Beats frantically calling around local tradespeople in the hope one is available and won't charge the earth (which we had to do on Sunday night once before we got the homecare package).
My husband is quite insistent that we have it, so who am I to say no to him makes it easier for me that's for sure.
We did have it, costing £32. Then we thought - hang on, what exactly realistically will go wrong? If we had the care for 2 years, that would cost us £768. For £768 we can get a new boiler fitted.
So do I think it is worth it? No.
It is ok for peice of mind, and worth knowing the maxiumum you will pay as well as having someone on stand by 24/7, but it reality, the cost of the care cover would cost more than it would have cost you to get the repairs paid for yourself. The only exception to this is if you are extremely unlucky.
We did have it, costing £32. Then we thought - hang on, what exactly realistically will go wrong? If we had the care for 2 years, that would cost us £768. For £768 we can get a new boiler fitted.
So do I think it is worth it? No.
£768 for a new boiler + installation seems cheap to me, but I get your point.
People are buying peacve of mind. Companies are making nice profits. That's why insurance companies exist, and I buy as few of their products as possible. Likewise extended warranties.
I like it for the security and convenience. Whatever the day or time, if our boiler is up the wall a saviour from british gas will come and save the day. Beats frantically calling around local tradespeople in the hope one is available and won't charge the earth (which we had to do on Sunday night once before we got the homecare package).
My husband is quite insistent that we have it, so who am I to say no to him makes it easier for me that's for sure.
I have it for the same reason, its always midnight or bank holidays when something goes wrong!!!
Some local tradesmen are not the most reliable as far as I'm concerned.
Not sure if its the same thing but I had a burst water pipe under the patio a few years ago, I thought it was going to cost a fortune but got it fixed for £60
We also cover water pipes to drain in street and to drain in back which is 10mts away from house.
If water pipes from house to drain fail it will cost thousands to put right.
BG asked me if I wanted to add drains cover for £1 a month. Took them up on it. Couple days after first payment noticed damp on the outside path by the toilet down pipe. Sunny day had not rained for days. Called them up they sent out a camera team and confirmed the down pipe had dropped and cracked and was leaking. Two days later they sent a team out it fix it.
Comments
We did not have cover with BG at the time, but they was the only people who would come out on Boxing day.
Also I wasn't charged labour on the call out as long as I joined their homecare scheme.
That alone saved me £150 that would've been labour costs.
Since then I have had them out a further 4 times, which alone would cover call out fees from a normal person.
As parts are covered as well in the scheme I have basically got them for free, plus 2 free servicing as well.
Personally for me I have had a great deal out of them, and would recommend!
Reckon I am quids in not having it. But if it is peace of mind you want, then why not?
Unless you are very unlucky, over a period of 20 years or so you will save a lot of money.
Same applies for extended warranties.
Never had boiler insurance in nearly 25 years. It has failed once. It cost about 3 years of my boiler repair fund to fix it. So I am currently over 20 years, or about £5000 up.
Also, if you have an old but perfectly OK boiler, many of these schemes immediately condemn it to force you to get a new one.
My old but perfectly OK boiler was costing me around £250 in gas bills per year. Since we had it replaced, our monthly payments have gone down by over £20.
They offered us a slightly higher monthly cost to cover our boiler last time, not the normal price rise but slightly above as it is going wrong more often now. That was what made me think they did it that way.
I just noticed one of your posts the other day in which you said it was your very last post and you were never ever posting again.
I hate to see people leave even though I dont know them so like I said, I am glad you have had a change of heart and started posting again.
Eh? So now it costs virtually nothing.
No, I meant that because replacing the old boiler with a new one had reduced the bills by around £20 per month, the old boiler was therefore costing me a needless £250 a year in blowing unburnt gas up the flue! Do keep up!
It also covers water tanks, which a lot of policies don't. Ours burst, we were looking at a substantial cost to replace, but Homecare replaced it. One thing though, if you have very old pipes that might be made from lead (outside), they're not covered.
Don't assume that a local plumber is qualified to work on all boilers & heating systems. We ended up signing up to British Gas after we were left without heating & hot water for 5 consecutive days, after two local plumbers came out and then said they weren't qualified to work on our central heating water tank (that was after waiting over the weekend on the second one as they didn't work weekends :rolleyes:). The second one recommended British Gas, who came out within a few hours and fixed it for 'free' as we signed up to homecare there and then. If only we'd tried them first!
You must have additional cover for kitchen/gas appliances included in that, because that's way above the cost of their top homecare package. We pay £41 a month, and that covers the top homecare package of boiler/central heating/plumbing/drains/electrics plus our gas fire.
I've never experienced an unacceptable waiting time. We get their priority with boiler problems as we have someone in the house over age 70, but even with any other issues where there's no priority, it's usually within 24 hours. I've gone online and been able to book a slot half an hour later. The only time we were made to wait (other than for an annual service, which can be up to a month's wait), was for a dripping tap, which was 6 days and completely understandable given that it was a low priority during the harsh winter two years ago when many people had burst pipes. They do seem to be good at prioritising.
That's fair enough thank you
Realised how cold everyone on here is so decided to stay to tell them home truths when needed. :cool:
We also cover water pipes to drain in street and to drain in back which is 10mts away from house.
If water pipes from house to drain fail it will cost thousands to put right.
Seems people are prepared to quite a premium for this service.
Drains yes but from house to drains in street and house to drain in back garden or under your kitchen floor,
Don't worry we're not over paying my wife goes through everything with a fine tooth comb before buying anything we. Are happy enough with our £52 a month would like cheaper but its not possible when you think full sky package is far more I would defo rather full HomeCare.
I like it for the security and convenience. Whatever the day or time, if our boiler is up the wall a saviour from british gas will come and save the day. Beats frantically calling around local tradespeople in the hope one is available and won't charge the earth (which we had to do on Sunday night once before we got the homecare package).
My husband is quite insistent that we have it, so who am I to say no to him
So do I think it is worth it? No.
It is ok for peice of mind, and worth knowing the maxiumum you will pay as well as having someone on stand by 24/7, but it reality, the cost of the care cover would cost more than it would have cost you to get the repairs paid for yourself. The only exception to this is if you are extremely unlucky.
£768 for a new boiler + installation seems cheap to me, but I get your point.
People are buying peacve of mind. Companies are making nice profits. That's why insurance companies exist, and I buy as few of their products as possible. Likewise extended warranties.
Has anyone evere come across that happening?
I have it for the same reason, its always midnight or bank holidays when something goes wrong!!!
Some local tradesmen are not the most reliable as far as I'm concerned.
Not sure if its the same thing but I had a burst water pipe under the patio a few years ago, I thought it was going to cost a fortune but got it fixed for £60
I know one neighbour 20 years ago so yes it can happen.
BG asked me if I wanted to add drains cover for £1 a month. Took them up on it. Couple days after first payment noticed damp on the outside path by the toilet down pipe. Sunny day had not rained for days. Called them up they sent out a camera team and confirmed the down pipe had dropped and cracked and was leaking. Two days later they sent a team out it fix it.
Excellent service!