Boiler been under service contract since new, so annual check etc.
Took out maintenance policy for a Baxi 100HE with a new national company.
They sent an engineer who carried out service, and as house is to be
rented out they also did the Landlord gas certificate. (both were at
cost separate to maintenance fee)

No advisories all notes say boiler was fine & serviceable ... it is 11
years old.

Last week ( 3 weeks after service) boiler failed, Contract company sent
a guy out ... he pronounced new fan needed.

Sub-contract gas fitter quote was £145 +vat for fan and £45 +vat to fit
it.
Company advised this made it beyond economical repair.
Would I like boiler replaced for special offer of £1800 +vat

I hit the roof - called local branch of PTS ... price of genuine Baxi
spare fan .... £55 +Vat
After a great many phone calls, they agreed to fix boiler.

They explained they have algorithm where they take initial cost of
boiler knock 10% off per year, to get to current value. If repair
greater than 40% of this value they will class as uneconomical to repair
.... and quoted some small print in t&c that they had not even sent me.

Is this the way service contracts are going - or have I just got a bad
company.

On 01/10/2020 19:54, rick wrote:
Boiler been under service contract since new, so annual check etc.
Took out maintenance policy for a Baxi 100HE with a new national company.
They sent an engineer who carried out service, and as house is to be
rented out they also did the Landlord gas certificate.Â* (both were at
cost separate to maintenance fee)

No advisories all notes say boiler was fine & serviceable ...Â* it is 11
years old.

Last week ( 3 weeks after service) boiler failed, Contract company sent
a guy out ... he pronounced new fan needed.

Sub-contract gas fitter quote was £145 +vat for fan and £45 +vat to fit it.
Company advised this made it beyond economical repair.
Would I like boiler replaced for special offer of £1800 +vat

I hit the roof - called local branch of PTS ... price of genuine Baxi
spare fan .... £55 +Vat
After a great many phone calls, they agreed to fix boiler.

They explained they have algorithm where they take initial cost of
boiler knock 10% off per year, to get to current value.Â* If repair
greater than 40% of this value they will class as uneconomical to repair
... and quoted some small print in t&c that they had not even sent me.

Is this the way service contracts are going - or have I just got a bad
company.

Service contracts are designed for people who can't / won't think for
themselves.

rick Wrote in message:
Boiler been under service contract since new, so annual check etc.
Took out maintenance policy for a Baxi 100HE with a new national company.
They sent an engineer who carried out service, and as house is to be
rented out they also did the Landlord gas certificate. (both were at
cost separate to maintenance fee)

No advisories all notes say boiler was fine & serviceable ... it is 11
years old.

Last week ( 3 weeks after service) boiler failed, Contract company sent
a guy out ... he pronounced new fan needed.

Sub-contract gas fitter quote was £145 +vat for fan and £45 +vat to fit
it.
Company advised this made it beyond economical repair.
Would I like boiler replaced for special offer of £1800 +vat

I hit the roof - called local branch of PTS ... price of genuine Baxi
spare fan .... £55 +Vat
After a great many phone calls, they agreed to fix boiler.

They explained they have algorithm where they take initial cost of
boiler knock 10% off per year, to get to current value. If repair
greater than 40% of this value they will class as uneconomical to repair
... and quoted some small print in t&c that they had not even sent me.

Is this the way service contracts are going - or have I just got a bad
company.


I'd feck em off & not let them touch it unless supervised (& you
are upto it)?

You will be the "problem customer" & they might be tempted to
"serve you right" by mangling something in the repair process by
(cough) accident...

Shurely the goodwill has gone from this relationship?
--
Jimk


----Android NewsGroup Reader----
http://usenet.sinaapp.com/

In article ,
rick wrote:
Boiler been under service contract since new, so annual check etc.
Took out maintenance policy for a Baxi 100HE with a new national company.
They sent an engineer who carried out service, and as house is to be
rented out they also did the Landlord gas certificate. (both were at
cost separate to maintenance fee)

No advisories all notes say boiler was fine & serviceable ... it is 11
years old.

Last week ( 3 weeks after service) boiler failed, Contract company sent
a guy out ... he pronounced new fan needed.

Sub-contract gas fitter quote was £145 +vat for fan and £45 +vat to fit
it.
Company advised this made it beyond economical repair.
Would I like boiler replaced for special offer of £1800 +vat

I hit the roof - called local branch of PTS ... price of genuine Baxi
spare fan .... £55 +Vat
After a great many phone calls, they agreed to fix boiler.

They explained they have algorithm where they take initial cost of
boiler knock 10% off per year, to get to current value. If repair
greater than 40% of this value they will class as uneconomical to repair
... and quoted some small print in t&c that they had not even sent me.

Is this the way service contracts are going - or have I just got a bad
company.

Par for the course. My brother has paid out on two new boilers because the
service company claimed they were beyond economic repair.

--
*Can fat people go skinny-dipping?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Dave Plowman (News) formulated the question :
One would hope it also provides the service you are paying for, though,

Not if they can get away with it, they don't. That's why they have lots
of small print, which no one ever reads and large print, basically
true, but with lots they don't tell you unless you read the small
print.

Most of these contracts have little value for the customer.

In article ,
Harry Bloomfield wrote:
Dave Plowman (News) formulated the question :
One would hope it also provides the service you are paying for, though,

Not if they can get away with it, they don't. That's why they have lots
of small print, which no one ever reads and large print, basically
true, but with lots they don't tell you unless you read the small
print.

Most of these contracts have little value for the customer.

I totally agree. I've never had a service contract or paid for an extended
warranty etc, and never regretted it.

--
*Men are from Earth, women are from Earth. Deal with it.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 02/10/2020 13:48:37, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
rick wrote:
Boiler been under service contract since new, so annual check etc.
Took out maintenance policy for a Baxi 100HE with a new national company.
They sent an engineer who carried out service, and as house is to be
rented out they also did the Landlord gas certificate. (both were at
cost separate to maintenance fee)

No advisories all notes say boiler was fine & serviceable ... it is 11
years old.

Last week ( 3 weeks after service) boiler failed, Contract company sent
a guy out ... he pronounced new fan needed.

Sub-contract gas fitter quote was £145 +vat for fan and £45 +vat to fit
it.
Company advised this made it beyond economical repair.
Would I like boiler replaced for special offer of £1800 +vat

I hit the roof - called local branch of PTS ... price of genuine Baxi
spare fan .... £55 +Vat
After a great many phone calls, they agreed to fix boiler.

They explained they have algorithm where they take initial cost of
boiler knock 10% off per year, to get to current value. If repair
greater than 40% of this value they will class as uneconomical to repair
... and quoted some small print in t&c that they had not even sent me.

Is this the way service contracts are going - or have I just got a bad
company.

Par for the course. My brother has paid out on two new boilers because the
service company claimed they were beyond economic repair.

Which is why I repair my own boiler as and when required. It's hardly
rocket science.

The only thing I can't do is check combustion after any calibration. But
if you can see a healthy flame chances are it is fine.

Not so long ago I changed a gas valve. I seriously wonder how much that
would have cost if I had to GAMI.

On 02/10/2020 14:58, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
Harry Bloomfield wrote:
Dave Plowman (News) formulated the question :
One would hope it also provides the service you are paying for, though,

Not if they can get away with it, they don't. That's why they have lots
of small print, which no one ever reads and large print, basically
true, but with lots they don't tell you unless you read the small
print.

Most of these contracts have little value for the customer.

I totally agree. I've never had a service contract or paid for an extended
warranty etc, and never regretted it.

Me neither.

That's not to say, though, that particularly in the commercial world
"service" agreements of various types are quite common, and usually
beneficial to both parties. One big difference is that on the customer
side, the contract manager usually has a good idea of what he needs and
can monitor what he is getting. And for the supplier, there is a
relatively assured source of work so that they don't need a sales team
to go scouting for work. If you put good technical people in sales then
the customers are more confident, and the scoping and pricing is likely
to be better. But then you don't have the good technical people to do
the work.

On Fri, 02 Oct 2020 14:58:48 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:


I totally agree. I've never had a service contract or paid for an extended
warranty etc, and never regretted it.

A bit more than 20 years ago I had a new boiler installed and asked
the installer, a one-man operator, about service. 'I wouldn't bother'
he replied. So I didn't, and thanks to comments on here, I changed the
circuit board myself when that went a few years later - Potterton
Suprima. And it's still going strong.
(But I'm quite sure that the installer scammed me when he said a
replacement pressure vave wasn't obtainable for the previousl boiler,
but I wasalready receptive to the notion of changing it.)

They may well print that, but they do not always invoke it. I guess you get
the odd company who feels they can get a lucrative contract out of a job
from time to time.

I think they always cover themselves with the small print as I'm sure they
get some real dogs of systems to look after!
Brian

--
--
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"rick" wrote in message
...
Boiler been under service contract since new, so annual check etc.
Took out maintenance policy for a Baxi 100HE with a new national company.
They sent an engineer who carried out service, and as house is to be
rented out they also did the Landlord gas certificate. (both were at cost
separate to maintenance fee)

No advisories all notes say boiler was fine & serviceable ... it is 11
years old.

Last week ( 3 weeks after service) boiler failed, Contract company sent a
guy out ... he pronounced new fan needed.

Sub-contract gas fitter quote was £145 +vat for fan and £45 +vat to fit
it.
Company advised this made it beyond economical repair.
Would I like boiler replaced for special offer of £1800 +vat

I hit the roof - called local branch of PTS ... price of genuine Baxi
spare fan .... £55 +Vat
After a great many phone calls, they agreed to fix boiler.

They explained they have algorithm where they take initial cost of boiler
knock 10% off per year, to get to current value. If repair greater than
40% of this value they will class as uneconomical to repair ... and quoted
some small print in t&c that they had not even sent me.

Is this the way service contracts are going - or have I just got a bad
company.

After serious thinking Dave Plowman (News) wrote :
I totally agree. I've never had a service contract or paid for an extended
warranty etc, and never regretted it.

Exactly - put all the money you would have paid out for service
contracts in an account, then when you have a problem you would have
plenty of money to pay for the work.

In article ,
Peter Johnson wrote:
On Fri, 02 Oct 2020 14:58:48 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:


I totally agree. I've never had a service contract or paid for an extended
warranty etc, and never regretted it.

A bit more than 20 years ago I had a new boiler installed and asked
the installer, a one-man operator, about service. 'I wouldn't bother'
he replied. So I didn't, and thanks to comments on here, I changed the
circuit board myself when that went a few years later - Potterton
Suprima. And it's still going strong.
(But I'm quite sure that the installer scammed me when he said a
replacement pressure vave wasn't obtainable for the previousl boiler,
but I wasalready receptive to the notion of changing it.)

My brother had that with a BG service contract. Told a new part needed
wasn't available. (I found one in minutes) What they probably meant was
they didn't have one in their stores.

They persuaded him to have a new boiler (on 'special' offer). The infamous
Potterton after they were taken over. Made a real mess of the
installation, moving it to a different place from the old one with pipes
running along walls at near ceiling height. Just because it was easy for
them. And it broke down several times a year. And after a few years said
they would no longer service it as it was too unreliable.

He went elsewhere for a new boiler.

--
*A picture may be worth a thousand words, but it uses up a thousand times more memory.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
Harry Bloomfield wrote:
After serious thinking Dave Plowman (News) wrote :
I totally agree. I've never had a service contract or paid for an
extended warranty etc, and never regretted it.

Exactly - put all the money you would have paid out for service
contracts in an account, then when you have a problem you would have
plenty of money to pay for the work.

Yup. Given all insurance is there to make a profit, on average you'll come
out better. Obviously for things like house insurance it is not so clear.

--
*I stayed up all night to see where the sun went. Then it dawned on me.*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
Peter Johnson wrote:
On Fri, 02 Oct 2020 14:58:48 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:


I totally agree. I've never had a service contract or paid for an
extended warranty etc, and never regretted it.

A bit more than 20 years ago I had a new boiler installed and asked
the installer, a one-man operator, about service. 'I wouldn't bother'
he replied. So I didn't, and thanks to comments on here, I changed the
circuit board myself when that went a few years later - Potterton
Suprima. And it's still going strong.
(But I'm quite sure that the installer scammed me when he said a
replacement pressure vave wasn't obtainable for the previousl boiler,
but I wasalready receptive to the notion of changing it.)

My brother had that with a BG service contract. Told a new part needed
wasn't available.

Happened in our village hall. Found another person prepared to look. he
rang someone "George, have you got a **** for a **** boiler?" "Thanks, I'll
collect it later." We got another 5 years out of that bolier, giving us
enough time to build up funds for a new one.

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

On 03/10/2020 11:23, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Yup. Given all insurance is there to make a profit, on average you'll come
out better. Obviously for things like house insurance it is not so clear.

It's still true on house insurance. The only thing is that many of us
can stand the risk on a boiler, and few of us can stand the risk on our
houses.

Andy

In article ,
Vir Campestris wrote:
On 03/10/2020 11:23, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Yup. Given all insurance is there to make a profit, on average you'll
come out better. Obviously for things like house insurance it is not
so clear.

It's still true on house insurance. The only thing is that many of us
can stand the risk on a boiler, and few of us can stand the risk on our
houses.

I'd be happy with house insurance that only covered fire and flood, etc.
Not theft or accidental damage or anything else they seem to throw in to
make it look like you're getting good value.

--
*Why do we say something is out of whack? What is a whack? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Monday, 5 October 2020 10:58:44 UTC+1, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
Vir Campestris wrote:
On 03/10/2020 11:23, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

Yup. Given all insurance is there to make a profit, on average you'll
come out better. Obviously for things like house insurance it is not
so clear.

It's still true on house insurance. The only thing is that many of us
can stand the risk on a boiler, and few of us can stand the risk on our
houses.

I'd be happy with house insurance that only covered fire and flood, etc.
Not theft or accidental damage or anything else they seem to throw in to
make it look like you're getting good value.

I'd be happy with TPO car insurance but it's either not offered or /increases/ the premium over comprehensive.
Mind you IME car insurance is very scammy.


NT

On 02/10/2020 14:58, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
Harry Bloomfield wrote:
Dave Plowman (News) formulated the question :
One would hope it also provides the service you are paying for, though,

Not if they can get away with it, they don't. That's why they have lots
of small print, which no one ever reads and large print, basically
true, but with lots they don't tell you unless you read the small
print.

Most of these contracts have little value for the customer.

I totally agree. I've never had a service contract or paid for an extended
warranty etc, and never regretted it.


National Insurance for 'free' NHS treatment ?