Cycling UK Forum

Hi,
Yet again a BG boiler insurance turns up on the door mat, at £192 per year.
Me finks that would I actually save that much on my gas bill if Itake up the insurance on my old non condension gas boiler
No competition, I would simply be wasting my time and hard erned money on my old boiler, as it neaver goes wrong.
Now if I fit a shiny new Condensing boiler, I would have peace of mind and cheaper bill.....No Ah its the £ 192 per annum plus the past history to taken into account for next years pricing
You being conned too...not me.
My neighbor's boiler has packed up after just seven years and have been advised on fitting a new one
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bill ... money.html
P.S. Th BG pamflet " Boiler Repair Bill " used to have the quib, something like "why keep your old boiler its like running a chealsea Tractor"
I complained by email and pointed out that I own a 4 X 4 and its MPG would put a lot or cars to shame, it was descriminating 4 X 4 drivers as wasting fuel, when it should of said something like old style indirect injection diesels, they promptly dropped the quib.

10years ago when I rebuilt the house we're now living in we had a new central heating system fitted,it cost £2,500 IIRC,the boiler is a combination type.
In that time it's gone faulty twice both times a sticky DHW valve,first time I had a new valve fitted,£70,second time I decided I'd give it a squirt of GT85,Hey Presto! that was about four years ago no problems since.
I looked at the BG scheme at the time of installation and thought it too expensive at £120 pa at the time.
I would've spent £1,200 at that annual price(I realise it's gone up since) for one repair and a bit of servicing.
Yep it's a con alright,without doubt

NATURAL ANKLING wrote:http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-1710224/Are-condensing-boilers-a-waste-of-money.html

Hmmm, nice scientific piece by the DT, not!

In a well-designed, well-insulated new home that incorporates the latest heating technology, a condensing boiler might be more efficient.

£192 sounds like a lot. I suggest you shop around, plenty of insurance companies that will take your business!

Hi,

Mark1978 wrote:£192 sounds like a lot. I suggest you shop around, plenty of insurance companies that will take your business!

Hi the point for me is I still have an old style NON condensing boiler
So I WOULD need some type on insurance or take pot luck on it will not break down IF I decide that a new condensing boiler would save more on my gas bill than I would spend on the insurance Thats the big question.........if you are a big gas user then it might weigh in favour of a more effecient boiler.
But you will always have to add in the cost of a replacement boiler, as you might tinker to fix something simple like I do but a new boiler Just because the PCB card is no longer available or a big percentage of a new whole boiler

On energy prices I have for the last two years or more inserted all the info on numerous tarrifs into a spread sheet to work out the best deal for me.
Then the gov made the big firms reduce the number of tarrifs available, BUT all they did was make it even more confusing by adding in Standing charges Did you notice that
I was with eon and they had the habbit of adding and removing tarrifs monthly, so by chance when I went online to look at my energy account on the eon site I noticed a tarrif which if I changed without penalty I could save a whole 17.5 %
So I did, trouble is if you scan the Uswich web sites then wont give all the details so you still have to visit the suppliers sites.
Like all thing in life today the firms market things to get the price they want by reverse equasions, they now how many clients they have and thier habits, just move the slider to match the proffit.

Is it at all legal to attempt any DIY on these machines?

I do remember a man getting jailed for manslaughter after his repairs went wrong, mostly because he wasnt CORGI qualified.

I have heard tales from friends of having to wait a day for an engineer to attend (from 50 miles away) to look and arrange to return with and fit the needed part another day. So well worth checking what the insurance policy offers to provide.

You cant expect these things to run forever, for free. My old 1950's solid fuel back boiler costs something like £60 a year in fire bars and should be chimney swept annually for another £20.

7 Years ago I updated our boiler, the old one was a fire back one, I also replaced thewater tank and added a new radiator to the the system, The saving in fuel was about 60%. A great saving yes but when I calculated how long it would take to cost in, It was over 10 years, however the new system does work better than the old and the thermostic control is much better

I spent most of my working life as an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). Call me cynical but I make a point of not insuring anything that I am not obliged to by law. I don't even have contents insurance, and so far I am quids in. Of course it may all go pear shaped tomorrow, but I will stick to my policy of not lining the insurance companies pockets

Anything other than the gas side you can fix....

Oh, and the electric, unless you have part P,or someone who will sign it off, or it's in a commer ial property.

I have homecare, and I'm easily quids in, will be for years to come as well....

My boiler is about 40 years old. It has cost me £180 for a thermocouple and an electrical wiring failure in the last 20 years. I would have changed the thermocouple myself if I had known. Seems pretty cheap to run in comparison to people I know with condensing boilers. They all seem to have had problems or had to have them replaced within a few years of installation.
I'm not tempted to have mine replaced.

I think it's incorrect to say these polices are a "con", however, extended warranties, breakdown insurance and the like are for those who never save any money for a rainy day.
The insurance companies make money on them, or they wouldn't offer them.

If you never have money left at the end of the month, perhaps you should either spend less on non essentials and put the savings into a rainy day pot, or buy these insurances.

The best thing to do is, each year pay the cost of the policy into a savings account, then, if and when you need to pay for the breakdown, use that money. It won't be long before you have saved far more than the cost of the repairs.

Binkyboy wrote:I think it's incorrect to say these polices are a "con", however, extended warranties, breakdown insurance and the like are for those who never save any money for a rainy day.
The insurance companies make money on them, or they wouldn't offer them.

If you never have money left at the end of the month, perhaps you should either spend less on non essentials and put the savings into a rainy day pot, or buy these insurances.

The best thing to do is, each year pay the cost of the policy into a savings account, then, if and when you need to pay for the breakdown, use that money. It won't be long before you have saved far more than the cost of the repairs.

Assuming that repair doesn't come up in the first few years...

If I *could* work on the gas side then I'd be tempted, but newer boilers are black boxes - like modern cars. They're not user serviceable.

To clarify:

Only a person recognised as qualified through an approved scheme ( currently Gas Safe Register, used to be CORGI ), can work on a gas appliance as part of their business. Work includes undoing the screw or nut to remove the front cover, not just touching the gas parts.

HOWEVER, a house holder may work on their own appliance so long as they comply with the relevant gas safety regulations. If you are not familiar with the regulations, it's unlikely you'd comply with them.

Binkyboy wrote:I think it's incorrect to say these polices are a "con", however, extended warranties, breakdown insurance and the like are for those who never save any money for a rainy day.
The insurance companies make money on them, or they wouldn't offer them.

If you never have money left at the end of the month, perhaps you should either spend less on non essentials and put the savings into a rainy day pot, or buy these insurances.

The best thing to do is, each year pay the cost of the policy into a savings account, then, if and when you need to pay for the breakdown, use that money. It won't be long before you have saved far more than the cost of the repairs.

I have an identical policy for cover which costs me £117 per year,and on an older boiler,which BG would not insure.They make excessive profits,which constitutes a con in my view.

Whippet wrote:To clarify:

Only a person recognised as qualified through an approved scheme ( currently Gas Safe Register, used to be CORGI ), can work on a gas appliance as part of their business. Work includes undoing the screw or nut to remove the front cover, not just touching the gas parts.

HOWEVER, a house holder may work on their own appliance so long as they comply with the relevant gas safety regulations. If you are not familiar with the regulations, it's unlikely you'd comply with them.

I think you will find any competent person may work on a boiler if the gas stream is unaffected.For example the replacement of a diverter valve does not impinge on the combustion process,neither does the replacement of a PCB nor a fan.Are you a gas qualified tradesman?