help old 'ideal' boiler British gas service has condemed it

[fusspot]

hi

have a:

Ideal boiler
Elan 2 50 F
GC No: 4141572
19/20 years old

Arrived at 10.30am

Not too happy had my usual annual service by british gas which usually takes about half an hour. About 3/4 of an hour later he adviced that it was an old boiler and think about replacing in future. fair enough!

He then gave me a kit to check for carbon monoxide which i was informed by friend there at the time, it cost her £38.00! but i was given it for free!!!

Went away for another half an hour, made a few phone calls, told me the boiler was classed as dangerous and would need disconnecting and made safe and no longer usuable!

He said that parts for this boiler were no longer available and have been discontinued since 2005, i am very annoyed that i have been paying for a monthly gas protection plan, which was useless should anything go wrong that needed parts!!!

We need a new case seal. where can i get one from and what shall i do?

thanks fusspot

 

[Dick Puller]

I'm afraid BG employees are on commission to try & sell you a new boiler

There's every chance you'll get your boiler repaired, ask around friends and family, for the name of a good CORGI RGI they would recommend.
Also, your boiler will last for years and is much easier to maintain than a new boiler it would be replaced with.

Lastly as detailed in Which magazine, the 'smart money' put the amount you pay these con men into a high interest rate bank account and in most cases this will cover you for an annual service and breakdowns etc.
HTH

 

[BOB D.O.L.E]

hi

have a:

Ideal boiler
Elan 2 50 F
GC No: 4141572
19/20 years old

Arrived at 10.30am

Not too happy had my usual annual service by british gas which usually takes about half an hour. About 3/4 of an hour later he adviced that it was an old boiler and think about replacing in future. fair enough!

He then gave me a kit to check for carbon monoxide which i was informed by friend there at the time, it cost her £38.00! but i was given it for free!!!

Went away for another half an hour, made a few phone calls, told me the boiler was classed as dangerous and would need disconnecting and made safe and no longer usuable!

He said that parts for this boiler were no longer available and have been discontinued since 2005, i am very annoyed that i have been paying for a monthly gas protection plan, which was useless should anything go wrong that needed parts!!!

We need a new case seal. where can i get one from and what shall i do?

thanks fusspot

This is what its all about once again i can smell corprate corruption why the hell people think that British gas are the dogs dangglers i,ll never know, they are con merchants they have been doing this for years and where are rough traders on this, yes you quest it they wont bother the big cheese, they are doing there best at the mo bg to undermine self employed if i come across any jobs bg have been out on i will rip it to bits if i can and have mi RIDDOR FORM READY.

 

[weareleeds]

If your case seal has gone your boiler will be dangerous especially if as i believe it is a positive fanned flue which is probably why he gave you a co detector rather than risk going to court accused of corporate manslaughter

 

[mmalone]

If your case seal has gone your boiler will be dangerous especially if as i believe it is a positive fanned flue which is probably why he gave you a co detector rather than risk going to court accused of corporate manslaughter

yes and bg are only allowed to use the exact case seals for the boiler, if the case seal shows as part not listed then the engineer is not allowed to put another case seal on and bg only use genuine parts thats where the problem lies...

Its not the engineers fault its the regime he's working under, it sounds like the engineer has followed correct proceedure !

 

[HarrogateGas]

If your case seal has gone your boiler will be dangerous especially if as i believe it is a positive fanned flue which is probably why he gave you a co detector rather than risk going to court accused of corporate manslaughter

yes and bg are only allowed to use the exact case seals for the boiler, if the case seal shows as part not listed then the engineer is not allowed to put another case seal on and bg only use genuine parts thats where the problem lies...

Its not the engineers fault its the regime he's working under, it sounds like the engineer has followed correct proceedure !

And it shouldnt just be BG following that policy........it should be all RGI's

 

[nickso]

hi

have a:

Ideal boiler
Elan 2 50 F
GC No: 4141572
19/20 years old

Arrived at 10.30am

Not too happy had my usual annual service by british gas which usually takes about half an hour. About 3/4 of an hour later he adviced that it was an old boiler and think about replacing in future. fair enough!

He then gave me a kit to check for carbon monoxide which i was informed by friend there at the time, it cost her £38.00! but i was given it for free!!!

Went away for another half an hour, made a few phone calls, told me the boiler was classed as dangerous and would need disconnecting and made safe and no longer usuable!

He said that parts for this boiler were no longer available and have been discontinued since 2005, i am very annoyed that i have been paying for a monthly gas protection plan, which was useless should anything go wrong that needed parts!!!

We need a new case seal. where can i get one from and what shall i do?

thanks fusspot

the case seal is indeed NLA. most of the other parts are special order from the manufacturer as well. even if you did get the case seal repaired in some dodgy manner it may only be a matter of time before you are back in a similar circumstance. maybe you should take is advice and get the boiler replaced. i certainly wouldnt recommend getting joe plumber round with a random bit of case seal.

the phone calls he made were probably to his manager and the parts desk. his manager is the only one who can authorise a free COD nowadays. strange though that he gave you a COD when he was going to leave it as immediately dangerous. that says he was initially swaying towards only leaving it as at risk. i think he has done his best for you, cant see what else he could have done.

have you never recieved a letter or verbal advice regarding the parts situation on this boiler?

another point to note is that the service is done for your safety and chopping the boiler if its unsafe is part of that.

 

[mmalone]

If your case seal has gone your boiler will be dangerous especially if as i believe it is a positive fanned flue which is probably why he gave you a co detector rather than risk going to court accused of corporate manslaughter

yes and bg are only allowed to use the exact case seals for the boiler, if the case seal shows as part not listed then the engineer is not allowed to put another case seal on and bg only use genuine parts thats where the problem lies...

Its not the engineers fault its the regime he's working under, it sounds like the engineer has followed correct proceedure !

And it shouldnt just be BG following that policy........it should be all RGI's

totally agree mate, others would try a different case seal but if it aint for the boiler it aint meant to be there. bg only this at the begining of the year and no doubt for a valid reason !!!

 

[ollski]

Well to be fair it isn't so much the policy of Bg but that of the manufacturers who have stated the case seals used must be approved by them and they don't approve any case seals other than genuine. Would imagine the engineer was trying very hard to keep your old boiler going and trying to downgrade it to at risk to do so but supplying you with a 40 quid detectoer for your safety and his peace of mind, changing his decision on official guidance.

 

[gas4you]

Always amazes me that customers get a qualified corgi in then doubt his recommendation/action afterwards. That is what they are asking for and paying for isn't it

 

[Soggy_weetabix]

Always amazes me that customers get a qualified corgi in then doubt his recommendation/action afterwards. That is what they are asking for and paying for isn't it

Hear hear.

In the times its taken me to read this, boiler would be repaired, and give many more years more service.

David

 

[ollski]

He said that parts for this boiler were no longer available and have been discontinued since 2005, i am very annoyed that i have been paying for a monthly gas protection plan, which was useless should anything go wrong that needed parts!!!

Why annoyed? as Nickso said that is why engineers advise a replacement and letters are automatically generated by bg for appliances over a certain age, withdrawn or on a reduced parts list. This is primarily to sell you a new boiler so you can avoid being caught in the predicament you are now. You have been paying for a protection plan which you were made aware of would be useless should anything go wrong with unavailable parts yet chose to continue. Your system, rads, pipes, tanks and all available parts were still covered.

 

[scatmanjohn]

Always amazes me that customers get a qualified corgi in then doubt his recommendation/action afterwards. That is what they are asking for and paying for isn't it

Hear hear.

In the times its taken me to read this, boiler would be repaired, and give many more years more service.

David

What...with one of your famous bodge jobs

 

[the.ideal.man]

If your case seal has gone your boiler will be dangerous especially if as i believe it is a positive fanned flue which is probably why he gave you a co detector rather than risk going to court accused of corporate manslaughter

yes and bg are only allowed to use the exact case seals for the boiler, if the case seal shows as part not listed then the engineer is not allowed to put another case seal on and bg only use genuine parts thats where the problem lies...

Its not the engineers fault its the regime he's working under, it sounds like the engineer has followed correct proceedure !

recent changes in the corgi regs state that it no longer has to be the exact seal from manufacturer, as long as the seal provides an adequate seal and no combustion leakage is present on a test of the case seals then the boiler can be repaired and passed.

however the boiler is getting on in its years, as i work as an engineer at ideal boilers i will enquire if there is a seal that will be ok, but you may want to consider a new energy efficient boiler, you will see the benefits.

but if the boiler has been chugging away ok then just get an independant heating engineer to replace the seal. my advice would be to speak to corgi, explain the situation with the seals and they will confirm what i have told you about the fitment of different seals other and manufacturers specs.

this was highlighted by a recent issue on the baxi range where they couldnt get the seals, and lots of boilers were condemned, therefore corgi stepped in and used common sense.

hope this helps

 

[ollski]

What has it got to do with corgi if the decision has been made by the manufacturer?