Problem with Worcester Junior 24i combi

[Andrewbullie]

A friend of mine has a Worcester Junior 24i combi and it has developed a problem.

In a nutshell the boiler won't fire up. He can't get hot water or central heating to work. When he tries, the pump kicks in as per usual, but quickly shuts down as the flame doesn't ignite. There is no error message showing, but he has noticed that the electronic ignition isn't making the usual clicking.

He hasn't checked for a gas flow as he is not qualified to do so.

He has arranged for a heating engineer to come out tomorrow, but he is bothered about what the bill is going to be. When he asked the guy on the phone he said that he doesn't charge a call out charge, he will come out for free and fix it then give him the bill.

Any advice in advance of the visit would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

Andrew

 

[PlumbGas]

sorry Andrew but thats pretty much what will happen, you should know an hourly/half hourly rate before he starts, the other option is to call WB who will carry out a fixed price repair including most parts but it ain't cheap,

 

[joe-90]

He has to tell your mate before he starts. Otherwise you are handing him a blank cheque.

 

[bengasman]

There is no way to tell what the problem is without checking the system in most cases. Very few people will come out free and for nothing, diagnose the problem and then quote you without obligation, because too many people called in a dozen different guys to find the cheapest. Only the desperate will do that and they are usually desperate because they aren't good enough.

A practical middle way is to agree a diagnostic fee if he finds the fault but you are not happy with the repair cost.

 

[FiremanT]

He has to tell your mate before he starts. Otherwise you are handing him a blank cheque.

You are so stupid Joe. How on earth can anyone know before he gets there?

Op, the sensible thing is to ask HOW he charges. ie, his hourly rate and minimum charges. Also, does he charge if any quote for further work or parts is declined?

 

[bengasman]

As long as the chap says I charge "X" per hour, he has done what is required. He doesn't have to spec how many hours he will have to work for a breakdown as that is an unknown quantity, and as such accepted under consumer law.

As long as the costs are not demonstrable excessive (which is a damn site more than cheapskates like you can afford) any court will confirm that they must be paid if disputed.
That includes parts which don't have to be offered at the cheapest possible price, time spent getting those parts, time needed to find the fault (and that doesn't have to be record speed) and finally time to actually carry out the repair.

Your claim that the engineer has to quote a fixed amount for the repair before an obligation to pay is utter tosh.
As per usual for you.