Good price?

[Gixxerman]

I have had some quotes for a boiler replacement.
I wanted a Worcester Bosch 12Ri, a full power flush, magnaclean and rad valves.
In the end I decided to go with British Gas as you know the job will be done right (not that independant plumbers won't do it right, but you know what you are going to get from BG).
Anyway this is the quote:-
Replace Apollo 15/30b with Worcester Bosch 12Ri.
2 years HomeCare 200 free of charge.
Flue.
Brick work.
Water treatment and powerflush.
Magnaclean professional.
Chrome rad valves throughout.
Wireless room thermostat.
Inside routed condesate pipe.
This includes the fitting of new 22mm gas supply pipework (if required - they will try it with existing 15mm to see if it works to save hassle), lifting of floorboards to fit pump run-on connection.
Total price £3200 which reduces to £2800 when I get £400 back from Mr Brown from the boiler scrappage scheme.

Is this is competative price?
I reliase BG are are going to be more expensive than everyone else.

 

[Blake]

As you have already stated, BG are gonna be more expensive then a sole trader or smaller company.

Is it a good price? depends what you want to compare it to. compared to powergen and other big companies, prob yes. Compared to someone like me, a small sole trader, no.

My price would be £1k less.

 

[Plucky]

Please dont assume that because BG are doing it you will get a good job. I have been to some installtions done by them and come accross some right howlers.

 

[Gixxerman]

Please dont assume that because BG are doing it you will get a good job. I have been to some installtions done by them and come accross some right howlers.

Thanks for cheering me up!

 

[newbie1]

dear god
nothing is free
the boiler comes with a 2 year parts and labour warranty from worcester bosch
i would be gobsmacked if they do a proper powerflush as this can take the whole day
worcester do combined wireless stat/controllers
you get the 400 whoever does it as long as you have the voucher allready as its too late otherwise
and independant guy would knock a thousand off that price so you could prob get it done for around 2200 less scrappage 1800

 

[moony]

the bloody cheek of it - we're all sole traders on here and you come on here saying british gas will do a proper job implying that we dont?

i know of hundreds of horror storys from bg, phone my mum she'll tell you that they forgot to solder the gas pipe on her main 7, 4 months later she smelt gas they come bouncing around - who done this they exclaimed~! you replied my dear old mother.... faces dropped lol


what would be really funny is if like british gas are offering to do at the moment is they sub contract the job out to joe bloggs round the corner from you - but hey at least you'll get a proper job done then or wont you? well you would of paid over the odds for it which must mean its a proper job lol

 

[oldplumber]

the condensate pipe has to be inside for it to work in the first place! looks like youve had £500 of bullsh*t in the quote already, but go for it, youll be calling on our services when bg fail to turn up even tho they ring ahead first. Its taken them years to learn to ring ahead, ive done that from my first day in the job, saves wasting time when the customers gone out expecting you not to turn up, as bg have always failed to do!!!!!!!!!

 

[moony]

the condensate pipe has to be inside for it to work in the first place

condense can be run outside just has to be lagged or enlarged to inch and a quarter to stop freezing

for op's information we would of done this for 2000, minus the scrappage allowance cost to you us 1600...
if we were told that youd had a qoute off bg then immediately our qoute would of gone up 500 meaning 2500, cost to you 2100, still a saving of 700 to you.
am i worse than bg? well i could of told you straight away whenther 15mm gas pipework was enough, i would powerflush most of the first day and fit everything by the second day.

 

[REDSAW]

£2,400 inc 2 year maintenance.

for £3,500 i will even turn up in a blue van.

 

[Ockyvines]

I have had some quotes for a boiler replacement.
I wanted a Worcester Bosch 12Ri, a full power flush, magnaclean and rad valves.
In the end I decided to go with British Gas as you know the job will be done right (not that independant plumbers won't do it right, but you know what you are going to get from BG).
Anyway this is the quote:-
Replace Apollo 15/30b with Worcester Bosch 12Ri.
2 years HomeCare 200 free of charge.
Flue.
Brick work.
Water treatment and powerflush.
Magnaclean professional.
Chrome rad valves throughout.
Wireless room thermostat.
Inside routed condesate pipe.
This includes the fitting of new 22mm gas supply pipework (if required - they will try it with existing 15mm to see if it works to save hassle), lifting of floorboards to fit pump run-on connection.
Total price £3200 which reduces to £2800 when I get £400 back from Mr Brown from the boiler scrappage scheme.

Is this is competative price?
I reliase BG are are going to be more expensive than everyone else.

That's the power of TV advertising.
People seriously believe that B.G. will do the job properly just because Ricky Tomlinson says they are nice people.
I can be really nice too if you pay me a grand more on every job.
]

 

[Gixxerman]

Look, I seem to have rubbed people up the wrong way.
That was not my intention - honestly.
I didn't say that sole traders will do a **** job hence my statement:-
(not that independant plumbers won't do it right, but you know what you are going to get from BG).
To be fair, where did I say the sole traders would do a **** job? I did not.
It was just my inpression that you are less likely to get a poor standard job with BG. Maybe I have been sucked in by their advertising.
I just want it done with no worries.

 

[Blackcatgas]

BG are pricey,.like any firm they will have good engineers and poor engineersluck of the draw. They will probably sub it out to a local sole trader anyway, also a sole trader might be able to give you a 5yr warranty on the WB boiler if hes been on the WB training course.

 

[moony]

Look, I seem to have rubbed people up the wrong way.
That was not my intention - honestly.
I didn't say that sole traders will do a **** job hence my statement:-
(not that independant plumbers won't do it right, but you know what you are going to get from BG).
To be fair, where did I say the sole traders would do a **** job? I did not.
It was just my inpression that you are less likely to get a poor standard job with BG. Maybe I have been sucked in by their advertising.
I just want it done with no worries.

see other thread on here

http://www.ukplumbersforums.co.uk/gas-safety-register-forum/8518-work-british-gas-offer.html

so british gas are actually contacting the likes off us to fit your boiler....
charging you the earth and offering to pay us peanuts! so in theory you could get a sole trader rushing your job because they are getting paid low money for an install thats costing you over the odds.

so perhaps you can see why i for one dont think you should be judging BG just because years ago they used to hold the monopoly on gas....

they are a marketing business, hence the sales bloke demanding you take there care scheme, fitting magna cleans, to validate such a scheme and then blaming everything on sludge in system lol.

Up to you what you do - we have just had a customer cancel a quote from bg for a glow worm new system boiler change for 3400!!!! 600 quid for boiler and flue!

anyone to even suggest changing to a glow worm for that sort of price needs to wear a mask!

 

[Kip]

The boiler scrappage scheme has stopped so it will be still be £3200.

Get a quote from a sole trader and save some money, the job will be done better aswell.

 

[andf380]

Went to one of my customers the other day a retired couple and like a lot of people think they are getting a fantastic job if you have BG, only she was not that happy with the Chaps that did the work i had a quick look at the work, pipework not brilliant, flux left on pipework (PET HATE) used alot of fittings rather than bends (PET HATE) and fitted the magna clean on the flow rather than return then charged them over the top !!!!!

 

[REDSAW]

people need to realise in general that b.g is nothing 'british' at all, its a corperate share holder run business out there to make as much money as posible.

gone are the days of the boys in blue carying the 'standards' of britain.

 

[pauls]

ive had a couple of jobs from bg one was a magna clean they wanted £300 to supply and fit and another was they quoted 5k to fit a combi up in the loft i went in a 3k had to get someone in to fit the flue through the roof dont like heights

 

[archiedale]

Can only agree with Red, years ago BG where the professionals we all looked up to, took on the best people around, now just number crunchers. Engineers turned in to salesmen, all about the bonus culture and Joe public pays.

 

[WHPES]

A customer of mine was charged £600 for a powerflush of 10 radiators from BG. Said they were only there for a couple of hours.

 

[peteisfishing]

Where in the country are you Gixxerman?

 

[Deleted member 2053]

Maybe I have been sucked in by their advertising.

Actually I think it would be fairer to say that you are about to PAY for their advertising! I had a potential customer last week where BG were doing a repair to her boiler and 'only going to charge you for the part luv'. The price they charged her for the part was more that my combined parts and labour would have been but she was not to be persuaded.

Guess if you see it on the telly then it must be true!

 

[unguided1]

The easy way out of this is you have a quote from BG, now get a couple of quotes from some sole traders or other heating companies, and if these companies are any good, they should have a number of customers you can contact so you can inspect their work.

I love /hate BG myself as I get a lot of work because of their prices and their scams

 

[WHPES]

I belive that a lot of people are happy paying a premium to use BG as they seem to think they will be looked after better if something goes wrong.

 

[Gixxerman]

Where in the country are you Gixxerman?

Market Rasen in Lincolnshire.
I have my boiler scrappage voucher, but it has to be returned before 3 June. I have already give BG a deposit, but I suppose I could cancel it. I only gave it to them 3 days ago.

OK I have been onto BG cancellation team and complained about the high quote and they have reduced it by £200. They say that this is the very best they can do as charging less that this they would make a loss.
Not sure I trust them anymore.
Would an sole trader do ALL the work, including electrics, lifting floorboards and bricking up the hole?
I am down to £3000 (this falls to 2600 with my voucher).
I estimate the parts at (all inc VAT):-
Boiler 650
Powerflush 350
Flue 100
W/Less room stat 100
Rad valves 100
Magnaclean 100
Fernox 50
Total 1450
So labour comes in at: 1550, which I assume will be 2 blokes for 2 days.
I will be ringing round some sole traders today and getting some quotes.
I will then decide whether to cancel or not.
Advice please.

 

[peteisfishing]

I have no doubt they will beat £3000.00, i know i would.........good luck.
If you get stuck, pm me as i am 40 miles away

Out of curiosity, why are you not considering a combi boiler?

 

[mani]

I personnaly stay away from the big companies, as if anything goes wrong then, the engineer who fitted it has nothing to lose, no reputation as it's not his but the companies and yes he still gets paid at the end of the week.
Where as the sole trader has to think of his reputation as not only will he be cheaper the the the big boys but he also knows that if he does a botched up job, not only will he lose this customer in future but also the word of mouth customer's that this customer would have bought for him in future if the job was correct in the first place.

 

[Gixxerman]

I have no doubt they will beat £3000.00, i know i would.........good luck.
If you get stuck, pm me as i am 40 miles away

Out of curiosity, why are you not considering a combi boiler?

So where are you then?
I have a guy coming on Saturday morning. I have known him many years and he reckons he can do it in the next couple of weeks, and to quote him "I could do with the work". He also reckons he can do it for quite a bit less, and as he is acredited with Worseter Bosch, I get a six year guarantee.
He has even agreed to try it with the 15mm gas feed. Most others I have talked to dismiss the out-of-hand. Only BG said they were prepared to try it. I am an engineer myself (work on gas turbines) and I have read the specs on the 12Ri and it does say that 15mm is ok provided that the consumer unit is not too far away and there are not too many bends in the pipe en route. My consumer unit is about 3m away as the crow flies.

Here is the bit from the spec:-
Provided that the correct gas supply working pressure and gas rate can be achieved (see technical data table page 4 commissioning section, page 30, also refer to BS 6891) Then it may be possible to reduce the gas supply pipe diameter to 15mm. Generally speaking, the appliance would need to be within 3 to 4 metres of the gas meter. However, this will depend on the distribution pipe size and route.

He also says that just because it has BG on the voucher, I can still get another engineer to fit it and the voucher will still be valid. Is that true?

As an asside, I have been told that have to have my meter changed (obviously FOC). Is it a good idea to get this done before, during or after the install?

I am just very dissapointed with BG. I have been a customer of theirs for many years (HomeCare and dual fuel supplier) and they give me a poor quote and one that anyone could get whether a loyal customer or not. What price loyalty eh? If I get a six year guarantee with it, I might just cancel the HomeCare agreement and simply pay for an annual service.
Afterall the only call outs BG have had from me in the last few years is to fix problems with my aging boiler. With a new one fitted, the chances of anything going wrong with it a slim + if it does it will be covered by the guarantee.

I didn't go for a combi as I like my baths, and didn't really want the hassle of all the repiping required to fit it. Although I did toy with the idea as the airing cupboard is next the the bathroom, and ditching the airing cupboard would make the quite small bathroom a bit bigger. I even thought that I might be able to use the space freed to fit a proper shower. I might run it passed the guy when he comes. Am I correct in thinking that there will be a lot of repiping required to replace a conventional boiler with a combi?

Hopefully he will be able to save me some money and give him some much needed work to boot and everybody will be happy. Thanks for the advice on here guys. I will repeat, I did not come on here to wind up sole traders in saying that they are not as good as BG. It is just that it is (or a least seemed) that the BG is the easiest and safest option. As people on here have said, maybe BG aren't what they use to be. About 10 years ago they changed my hot water tank (covered by HomeCare) and they made very good job of it.

 

[peteisfishing]

The issue with the gas supply pipe is, like you say, distance from the meter also what other appliances you have in the house. IE if you have a gas cooker and the pressure at the boiler is only just at the 20mb pressure, as soon as you turn on the cooker the pressure may drop. But the guy coming on saturday will advise you of this. It might be perfectly ok with 15mm.
If you put a combi in the same place as the HW tank the extra pipe work may not be too much as long as the return from the rads is close by and as it is close to the bath room there should be no problem with the condensate pipe. If there is, this can be overcome with a condensate pump. The flue can go through either an outside wall or the roof.
If you enjoy your baths you can get boilers with a very good flow rate. I have a 28KW combi and have no probs with either baths or showers. It is very difficult to give you an idea of price without looking at your house but
Good luck and i hope it goes well.

PS recently installed a combi, taking out old boiler and tank, remote room stat and flue through roof, for £2350.

 

[Gixxerman]

After due consideration I have decided to cancel the BG install. Having taken advice on here plus discussed it with friends / work colleagues it is obvious that it is a very high quote. It actaully started at £3600 but they 'match' the scrappage the govenment give you so it reduced to £3200. Which sounded it bit high, but I didn't realise how high until I posted on here / discussed it with friends / work colleagues. I did ring up cancellations to complain about the high price, and the best they could do was knock £200 off, making it £3000. Judging by comments on here I am confident that a sole trader can comfortably beat that and do I good job.
Thanks for the help guys. I will let you know how it goes.

 

[REDSAW]

no problem gixxerman, glad we could help.
look forward to recieving the £200 fee.lol.