New combi boiler - am I being bullied and ripped off?

[Blue_Cat_DIY]

Thank you for this advice - much appreciated! I had not heard of BWC or THH before, but I will definitely check them out, and as you say, avoid Checkatrade etc. from now on!

I think he can charge you for diagnosis, but no more. If you followed his advice to not have your boiler repaired, then he can't very well expect to charge you for repairing it

That's what I was thinking. Happy to pay for the diagnosis, but absolutely no more, as no work as such was done.

Don't be pressured...they sound like a bunch of crooks.
99% of leaks on the RHS are the plastic adapter a £5 part (simple job), if the return manifold is leaking that part's under £150 (an hours job).
So add in the legal safety checks and he's ripping you off.
Every part's available for that boiler and there's always the option of Worcesters own fixed price repair.
Offer to pay £60 for diagnosis to get rid of them (of course they had no intention of repairing it) and if they want more tell them they can invoice you and go down the CCJ route...and they are very unlikely to do that knowing how incompetent they are.
These boilers although not always particularly easy to repair are certainly not a nightmare...there are far worse models out there.

Thank you for confirming that I was being ripped off. After the diagnosis yesterday, when he said he'd order the parts and then someone would be round to fit them today...as he was walking out of my front door he jokingly said, "I hope I don't get the job - it's a nightmare - hopefully they send someone else out to do it!" Then low and behold, he arrived today. I jokingly said back to him, "You drew the short straw then?" As you say, I don't think they ever had any intention of ever repairing my boiler, and saw it as an opportunity to "put the hard sell on" and "cash in".

I unfortunately don't know anyone local, so I will try and find someone reputable via BWC or THH. Then I guess I need to decide on which new combi boiler to go for - I'm thinking of sticking with Worcester Bosch, or going for a Viessmann.

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Put up your (approximate) location, there may be someone on here that can help, or knows someone else who can.

 

[Blue_Cat_DIY]

Did you say the boiler was not losing pressure but pump was mentioned as a contributing factor. If pump was leaking, then system pressure would have been dropping too. Might be an idea to talk with trading standards and gas safe as well ( see if he is registered and not working out of scope)

Yes that's correct - no pressure is being lost and we still have hot water and heating. The leak is a steady drip. I think the engineer said it's a pinhole in the manifold when he was diagnosing it. With regards to the pump, he said this appeared to be okay...but he said he may as well replace the pump the same time he was replacing the manifold, as it was "only £40" and it would "make the job easier" (and better than using an old pump on a new manifold) - that's how he explained it to me, any way. I just had to trust his judgement, as I wanted the boiler repairing.

The engineer, and the company he works for, are advertised as being gas safe registered. They also advertise themselves as being "Worcester Bosch accredited installers" (the engineer told me they were "diamond rated" or something). The reviews on Checkatrade and Trustpilot seemed very good, and their website seemed decent...so that's why I chose them. Just shows that reviews aren't everything :-/

 

[Blue_Cat_DIY]

Put up your (approximate) location, there may be someone on here that can help, or knows someone else who can.

Thank you for the idea - I'm in Birmingham.

 

[muggles]

Being a diamond rated WB installer just means you throw a lot of boxes on the wall every year, it's got sod all to do with the quality of their work. That'll be why they're so keen to sell you a new boiler - it keeps their sales figures up so they can keep that top rating. If their annual sales figures drop they'll get downgraded

 

[muggles]

Thank you for the idea - I'm in Birmingham.

Big city. North/ South/East/West/Central?

 

[Blue_Cat_DIY]

Big city. North/ South/East/West/Central?

Sorry - East Birmingham

 

[Gasguru]

Manufacturers do not check the installers on their list....all you need is to go on the days sales course to be a "verified" or "accredited" installer. I've known some absolute crooks that were Worcester accredited.
DO NOT buy a Viessmann...they are full of uneccessary over complex junk. Parts availiabilty is poor, few want to work on them and when the warranty doesn't kick in they have the highest parts prices in the industry.
Germany has not made decent boilers for 20 years.

 

[Blue_Cat_DIY]

Manufacturers do not check the installers on their list....all you need is to go on the days sales course to be a "verified" or "accredited" installer. I've known some absolute crooks that were Worcester accredited.
DO NOT buy a Viessmann...they are full of uneccessary over complex junk. Parts availiabilty is poor, few want to work on them and when the warranty doesn't kick in they have the highest parts prices in the industry.
Germany has not made decent boilers for 20 years.

Thank you for the advice about Viessmann. Would you recommend sticking with WB then? Or is there another brand you would rate? It's all such a minefield.

And geez that's so scary to know about how verified/accredited WB status works - dear oh dear! Just hoping I can find someone decent and honest to install a new boiler for me. Crooks everywhere by the sounds of it

 

[boolie]

I would tell him to stick his new boiler up his ass

He doesn't deserve any money, but for an hours work the usual rate where I live is anywhere between 45 to 90

 

[thomp1983]

Tell them your not paying them anything as they failed to provide the agreed service and go elsewhere.

They'll probably threaten to sue you if so let them get on with it, in court they will be required to prove their losses which without any signed job sheet that supports how long they spent at your house they've no chance of getting it past a judge.

 

[CBW]

Firstly I would get a diagnosis of the repair before contemplating a new boiler. If you want one fair enough, but if you’re happy with your current one, get it repaired. WB also do a fixed price repair, which if it’s the manifold block then they’ll be able to sort it out without jibber jabber about disturbance of old joints, however could prove expensive if it’s the flow adapter.

 

[kidgreen61]

As Gasguru says, it's an easy repair for a competent engineer, RH hydroblock, auto air vent, & pressure relief valve cost around £200. plus labour for fitting.
If you go down the new boiler route, you shouldn't be paying much over £2k in your area.

 

[Chivas69]

I'm in Walsall and just for you to compare I used the company BOXT and needed a boiler more or less immediately.
My quote for swapping out a combi with all the flue stuff etc and a WB 30i was £2400 including a Google nest thermostat. If I could have waited a few weeks I could have had it done for a couple of hundred less. The online quote is free and it will at least give you another number to throw back at them. Personally I'm very happy with Boxt and there was also a 10 year warranty.
I think it sounds like the guy had no intention of fixing your boiler and just wanted to put you a new one in.

 

[DP]

I think it sounds like the guy had no intention of fixing your boiler and just wanted to put you a new one in.

Or has ability to carry out repairs as repairing boilers is a lot more challenging than nailing the boiler on the wall. How difficult is it to put a wall bracket on the wall, hang the boiler on the wall, connect a flue to it (many nowadays do not even cut it to the correct length providing a perch for the pigeons) and then make a hash of connecting the pipes under the boiler. There are so many missed steps yet these chaps have the temerity of calling them selves proffesionals