boiler breakdown cover

We have British Gas cover, and did have a great deal of trouble at first with organising them in the yearly check-up. However, our boiler is now over 10 years old, and was not fitted by them, so the cover we have i.e. fitting new boiler if this one is irreparable, is no longer appropriate, so we are finishing this contract and relying on our local engineer who services most of the other houses nearby. We just think the additional expense involved in the full maintenance may not be worth it. British Gas have just done a full check for this year's maintenance, and I have to say their engineers are always very accommodating. (OH!no, not that, helpful).

We have had a service contract with British Gas for years, and it has been very, very good. (oh, oh, am I advertising???) Peace of mind!

Depending on how old the boiler you replace is, you should see a reduction in fuel consumption of between 20% and 40%.

We replaced a 10 year old boiler with a condensing boiler and our consumption fell by 20%. DS replaced a 25 year old boiler and his consumption fell by 40%.

However, what does often happen is because the homeowner can see his consumption coming down they start being more extravagant in the way they use their heating, turning it on earlier and turning off later etc so dissipate some of their savings by using the heating more.

gracesmum there is no doubt that newer condensing boilers save a lot on energy bills - the old ones wasted a lot of heat. I think the early condensing boilers were not that great but the good makes seem to be pretty reliable these days.

Despite having worked for British Gas for many years. I use my local reliable gas engineer and plumbing company. If I ring them up they usually immediately send round the fitter, who happens to be in the office at the time - and we have been known to just walk round the corner just to have a word with them when faced with a problem.

gracesmum We've had various, trusted, plumbers saying the same thing - that the life of new boilers is much less and that they break down more often.

I've heard some bad reports on TV about breakdown cover. It's nice to hear that others have had more positive experiences. I suppose programmes like "Watchdog" inevitably focus on what goes wrong rather than what goes right.

Do I mean "caution against"?? Thought it didn't look right - but y ou know what I meant!

I would caution any rush to replace your boiler. I have read many times that new boilers 1) have a shorter life expectancy 2) cost more to repair while they might reduce running costs, so the additional expense of the boiler itself is unlikely to be paid off unless you are there for YEARS. Have it checked out and then shop around. My next door neighbour has British Gas insurance, recently had a radiator leak, they replaced it without question, came on the day agreed, took the old rad away and generally provided an excellent service. I do not have insurance, but guess who is looking into it right now!

Agree with Jess M about a reliable gas engineer to advise you. We have the (expensive) gas board cover. It is expensive, but such a good service with reliable, well trained engineers. Good luck

We just let out our house and rented a flat. The letting agent not that impressed with the speed of response from some of these companies apparently. We agreed that if our tenants were without heat in midwinter we wanted him to get a local tradesman out there pdq and not wait for a big company to send a subcontractor at their convenience.
Have you looked into whether it is worth getting a new condensing boiler fitted - more energy efficient and under guarantee of course. This shows you the amount of money you could save per year:
www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Heating-and-hot-water/Replacing-your-boiler
I'd be inclined to get a reliable gas engineer (recommended by a neighbour) to do you a boiler service and pronounce upon its lifespan and energy efficiency before taking out a contract.
Funny story:
My cousin was selling his flat and the purchaser sent someone round to survey the boiler. Engineer announced that he could tell by the noise it was making that it needed replacing. Cousin pointed out that the boiler was not on, and the noise was emanating from the dishwasher.