Monthly Boiler Care Plans

[Drollic]

I'm in two minds as to if paying for a monthly care plan for an old Worcester Bosch boiler is worthwhile? Currently with Homeserve and year on year the cost increases - renewal is now £46.50 p/m, which seems excessive. On a recent service we were told the boiler is operating exactly as it should and there's no reason it wouldn't function as normal for years to come, even though it must be now around 14 years old.

Do people bother with such plans, or is it money down the drain given after less than 5 years not paying monthly, you would easily have enough to replace a small boiler with a high end product anyway?

* Edit - Sorry mods, wasn't aware of the home section on the forum.

 

[Adam]

Put the money aside in to a separate bank account and save for a new boiler for when the current one fails. If it lasts 4 years you’ll have a significant chunk towards a new one.

 

[bremen1874]

I know it covers more than just the boiler, but that is silly money. You're virtually paying 50% of the cost of the boiler every year.

 

[manic_man]

I used to pay British Gas £20 pm for boiler care, annual service and central heating care (so rads and any pipes attached effectively) plus cover and service for a gas fire. This included a £50 excess per claim. The understanding is if thy cant fix it then they'll replace it, or certainly pay a good chunk towards replacing it.

Problem is, they only do this for boilers under 7 years old, after that they'll cover you but if they can't fix it, you're on your own.

As my boiler is now nearly 10 years old and they tried to increase my premium to £27 pm (after negotiation!) I scrapped them for Scottish Power.

They do similar cover (executed by D&G) but for £10 pm for 6 months and then £18 pm after, will see what happens in 12 months as to whether I stick with them or move. Importantly though if your boiler is under 15 years old when you take the cover out and they cant fix it then they give you £750 towards a replacement (or less if your boiler costs less, mine would be £1000 just to buy a direct replacement). Got £30 Quidco cashback too! This is also zero excess now.

Personally, I need the peace of mind that I can call an emergency number at any time of the day and because we have a child < 5 years old we are on their protected register and so get a call out within 6 hours, this was the same with BG. Was very useful a while back when it was -3 outside and the boiler wouldn't ignite. I called them and within 3 hours on a Sunday evening there was a guy, with the right replacement part and it was all good to go again.

I know a local plumber *might* have been available, but I seriously doubt it at 23:30 at night on a Sunday...

 

[sad099]

I took out boiler cover with SSE last year.
My boiler broke down, they had an offer where they would come out and fix it for free ( If was a customer which I was otherwise £92 if I recall correctly), if I took out a plan on direct debit. Plan cost me £17 per month.
Plan included repairing the boiler , once repaired doing the annual service and inspection and providing cover for the year.
For me worked out better as they had to replace the pump and fan which would have cost more than the cost of the plan.

We had to manage for a week though whilst they repaired the boiler etc, it broke down in October when we had a cold snap and had to use the immersion and electric heaters
You need to work out if you can manage without hot water / heating if the boiler breaks down, depends on if you have people in the household with needs etc.
until then I'd never taken out a plan , just had the boiler serviced regularly and we never had issues. my boiler is around 13 years old now.
Will decide what to do when renewal comes up.
Based on the prices you have been quoted like an earlier reply said you may be better of putting the money aside and dealing with the issue if/when it occurs.
Just get it serviced regularly so you can see issues happening before they get too serious

 

[Martynt74]

I signed up for the British Gas scheme as it was £23 a month, but we had an issue with the boiler in a house we'd just bought that was looking to cost >£300 anyway. So to pay monthly and get a service along with 12 months cover was handy.

Not sure i'll extend it once the 12 months is up though.


I do however have "Home Emergency Cover" through my insurance. Think it was £40 on top of my usual premium and it's been superb. Again i only got it as didn't know the history of the new house and in the last 7 months we've called them out twice to sort drain blockages. Pretty sure this covers boilers as well.

 

[Admiral Huddy]

I think the cost of your cover seem excessive - yes. British Gas upped my plan by £20 last month but a phone call got it down to £29.. Just told them i was going elsewhere.

Put the money aside in to a separate bank account and save for a new boiler for when the current one fails. If it lasts 4 years you’ll have a significant chunk towards a new one.

.. but who really does this? £25pm for level 3 heating plan is a no brainier IMO.

I've had cover ever since I brought my new born baby from hospital to a freezing cold house in December and a broken down boiler. Ringing round for an emergency plumber was a nightmare.. Took 1 week to get someone round to fix and my wife had to go to her mothers.

I have probably called them out at least once a year since. The only time I didn't have one was when we had a new boiler installed and we we covered free for three years anyway. Last year we had a big break down which would have cost a fortune and it was back up and running inside 24 hours..

Looking back, I have most likely had my moneys worth. Some will probably never use but the peace of mind that you can get someone round quick and not worry about the expense is worth it.. British Gas upped my plan by £20 but a phone call got it down to £29..

People are odd.. Willing to pay £50 pm for an iphone or smartphone but question essentials.

 

[psd99]

think it depends a lot on the age and quality of your boiler....

if you got a 20 year old boiler then it might be worth it
otherwise for a year or 2 old boiler I don't see the point, just wasting money really.

 

[GinG]

I changed from BG to 24/7 home rescue. Paying £16 for boiler cover and home deluxe cover so drainage, electrics etc all covered. Got this via requesting a callback on their chat.

 

[Drollic]

Might just cancel it for the year given it's just been serviced and given the all clear. Can always sign up again in another year or two by which point it's a fair amount towards a new one.

 

[jpaul]

is the money saving club British gas offer still on, with boiler care thrown in ? (as discussed in energy thread - that had seemed a good deal)

 

[xb8browney]

Not something I have or would buy to be honest, I do take extended guarantees on washing machine, cooker dishwasher though (5 year not monthly)

 

[swillsy]

The other day my heating system was tripping the electrics so I ended up signing up to the BG homecare package - 17 pounds a month for 12 months = 204 quid. The next day I booked a guy to come round who fixed the issue and serviced the boiler which would have cost similar amounts of money from a local guy however I now have 12 months of cover if something goes wrong. I'll cancel towards the end of the year but I've no idea how they make money!!

 

[Slade2]

This thread just made me have a look into mine. Installed in 2008 we moved in to this house in 2009 and I have never touched the boiler, I had the timer changed for a new one about 4 years ago so I could control everything on my phone but since then again nothing. I have friends who fit the model I have who have said it will run for years without any issues, just perhaps check the flue gas occasionally because that will show up any issues. I think its probably time I got it serviced though but at 20 quid a month over 10 years I think I have saved enough to purchase a new one three times over! I do have home emergency cover with my house insurance so if it breaks I`ll just give them a call, to include that on my policy was an extra £9.99 for the year but as I switched and was a new customer it was free for the first year as well!. I am probably a little different to your average Jo as I have friends who work in the industry how I could call on if I had a problem with it unlike other people, might have to give one of them a call to see if its worth getting it serviced

 

[Holst1981]

I wont buy insurance for things that I can afford pay outright.

No boiler cover, no extended warranty ,no breakdown cover.

 

[OpenToSuggestions]

Put the money aside in to a separate bank account and save for a new boiler for when the current one fails. If it lasts 4 years you’ll have a significant chunk towards a new one.

This.

 

[Duke]

I wont buy insurance for things that I can afford pay outright.

No boiler cover, no extended warranty ,no breakdown cover.

Same here.

 

[eviled]

If it wasn’t cheaper just to fix in the long rung then these things wouldn’t exist

 

[manic_man]

I wont buy insurance for things that I can afford pay outright.

No boiler cover, no extended warranty ,no breakdown cover.

Can you buy a guarantee that you can get hold of a plumber in an emergency, regardless of day or time with a fixed associated cost (either zero up front or an excess amount)?

The boiler repair/replacement and the work itself aren't what you are buying into, it's the service level agreement and whether you want that and can put a monetary value onto it depends entirely on your personal views.

For me, if my boiler stops working, I need it working again as quickly as humanly possible, of course we could cope but with a 1 year old in the house I would prefer not to.

 

[robj20]

Local place near me does a monthly plan. Includes priority breakdown cover which includes parts and the annual service.