24 hour call out

<mini rant>

hah - what a joke. My boiler has conked out - conveniently on a cold
weekend. While I accept it is "peak season" for central heating call
outs it has taken hours to find someone who can turn up earlier than
"sometime early next week". Still doesn't stop them trying to sign you
up to their annual service package - do it now sir and we can give you a
discount. Err excuse me I don't sign up to things over the telephone
without knowing the T&Cs. But sir ...

British Gas were the biggest joke - their adverts say fast response, 24
hour 365 day service. Shame the reality doesn't match the marketing
hype.

 

We've got their cover, and (so far) have found them generally very
good. Always been out either the same day or the next day without
fail. Perhaps they think that the cold will do you good?

 

Perhaps Paul doesn't have their cover, ergo he has to wait longer as
they are looking after the customers who have taken the cover out?

--
Lesley
CBR600FW
SBS#11 (with oak-leaf cluster)
BOTAFOT#101A UKRMHRC#12
BONY#54P BOB#18
Real burds don't take hormones, they rage naturally

 

SP emerged from their own little world to say

That was my interpretation.

My mum paid £13.99 a month to SWALEC for a service/repair policy. When
the boiler packed up in October a plumber arrived the following morning.
The boiler was declared unrepairable due to its age. SWALEC were willing
to pay £75 towards a new one.

This is when the fun began. She had to pay a princely sum to get a new
boiler fitted. Even then, she was nearly 2 weeks without central
heating.

On balance, these insurance policies are worthwhile, especially for the
elderly. Mum does not have to worry about servicing as someone phones up
once a year to arrange this and most faults are fixed on the first
visit. Once the warranty runs out on her new boiler she will probably
take out a new service contract.

 

But the ad he refers to is for their cover, not anything else.

 

Lucky her. When a person of my acquaintance who shall remain unnamed
for 'security reasons', living in Scotland, had her boiler pack up on 23
December, despite having paid £100 a year for ten years for annual
'checks' (and the boiler packing up a week after one of the 'checks'),
she asked when they could put a new one in. 'A week Tuesday' (or
whatever) was the reply.

The person in question (who, incidentally, is 71 years old) thus spent
Christmas and the three or four days following it, huddled in one room
with an electric fire and hot water bottles. The boiler was thus fitted
a week later, and she shelled out £1,500.

The cunts. The fucking slimey capitalist cunts.

 

It isn't doing me much good at the moment.

I don't have it and £25 a month (£300 a year) seems a hell of lot to me
for central heating cover.

Yes but even if you are a British Gas customer without their cover you
can still get a fixed price call out service for £132 or £144 in London.
I asked for this and was told it would be Monday. I expect they do
prioritise but I dread to think what the "service" is if you don't even
buy your gas from them,

 

It's a Vaillant combi boiler. It is only 3 years old. I initially
thought it was low water pressure (as it had dropped below the minimum)
but I adjusted that and no joy. The diagnostic display indicates a
problem with the air flue so that's a definite call out job.

 

Turbomax IIRC

Err a kind offer but I would have declined. I know my limitations and I
would not dare fiddle with something containing gas, water and
electricity. The potential to blow my flat and the one above to kingdom
come are too great.

 

Got one, I absolutely hate it. engineers out twice and the only way to
make it work is to give it a clout when the water is running.
Pants.

 

Des emerged from their own little world to say

SNIP tales of boiler woes

Same rate in S.Wales.

You can buy the boiler they fitted for £700 but the manufacturer will not
validate the warranty unless it is fitted by an approved contractor.

 

Our boiler had a dry solder joint on a relay in the igniter box thingy.
Just took a few minutes to fix with a soldering iron and solder sucker.

 

It was somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember Paul Corfield

But it'd be entertainment surpassing the Great Dodger Rebuild.

--

Dave

GS 850 x2 / SE 6a
SbS#6 DIAABTCOD#16 APOSTLE#6 FUB#3
FUB KotL OSOS#12? UKRMMA#19 COSOC#10

 

I dread to think. I have thought about taking up their very 'nice'
option for a monthly fee, especially as my boiler is currently making
very noisy noises constantly.

But, as I know a gasman or two, I'll wait until it goes tits-up,
hopefully after the winter, and after I get the clutch replaced in the
Fiat, and other important things like road tax.

--
Lesley
CBR600FW
SBS#11 (with oak-leaf cluster)
BOTAFOT#101A UKRMHRC#12
BONY#54P BOB#18
Real burds don't take hormones, they rage naturally

 

Have you tried contacting Vaillant?
http://www.vaillant.co.uk/folder.ph...=10468-10524&folder_default_netfolderID=10524


--
Dan L (Oldbloke)
My bike 1996 Kawasaki ZR1100 Zephyr
M'boy's bike 2003 Honda NSR125R
Spare Bike 1990 Suzuki TS50X
BOTAFOT #140, DIAABTCOD #26, BOMB#18 (slow)

 

No but even more bizarrely the bloody thing is working now - water and
heating. Did nothing to it - it just resumed in the middle of the night
and no it wasn't the timer kicking in.

 

3am at Mr Corfields...

"Right my bonny lads, you know what we have to do. You, monkey boy,
climb up and get that ladder secured. You, yes you at the back, no
sloping off, get the window open. Then I want the plumbing sub section
straight in there, no messing about, split up, one to the tank, one to
the boiler. Right everyone got the soldering irons? And remember if he
wakes up, sway side to side singing, he'll think it is the YMCA dream
again, we'll be fine. OK Wrenches at the ready - Let's go..."

 

It does. we have our boiler annually serviced by the bods who installed
it (local firm; within walking distance) for ukp70 or so.

On the one occasion when we came back from a skiing holiday and found it
U/S, they got a bloke out within 24 hours and fixed it. The bill was
about ukp90, IIRC.

I'm working on the basis that as we're regular customers, we get
slightly better attention. And the cost of an annual service (and the
occasional breakdown) is way cheaper than a service contract.

In other words, as with so many things, it comes down to service.

 

Well, no it wouldn't. That went on for ages

All we'd have in this case is the posting: "I'm going to sort it out
myself...."

And the rest would be silence, possibly broken by the sound of sirens
and ambulance bells.

 

A man after my own heart.

"But it's easy!"

"I don't care. I know nothing, and I have endless faith in my ability to
cock things up. I'm getting a man in"