Yeah, I know what you mean.
At one point BG announced that they would not be able to do anything with it should the HE fail as parts were no longer available.
Haha - I was going to put this in my last post, but i thought the story was too long. British Gas did the same to us!!! I have since discovered it is a well know tactic they use...find some fault with an old boiler just before winter and hope the home owner is a bit naive and capitulates....
They have been telling us parts are not available for 20 years or so...but nevertheless they come and clean it and do a safety check every year......last year just as winter started we had the usual check...he took a lot longer than normal....(thought he was being through)....he then did a final carbon monoxide test, said there was a leak, and suddenly announced he was condemming the boiler....no questions...he capped it off...I was furious.....what was his evidence...(we basically had to trust how he got a reading)...our own carbon monoxide detector had not gone off etc....the only solution in his eyes was a new system....
Eventually got the area supervisor..he said the asbestos rope seal had probably failed.......as it was no longer manufactured by Glowworm themselves.....they could not make a repair ...he also said the whole unit would need to be removed to access and check the rope seal and it would be impossible to remove without damaging it....again only solution ....new system or surviving on electric.....
I had a sneaky suspicion all was not quite right.....went round to the local plumber....he said he would give it a go....came round.....lifted the front off and after two seconds accessed the old rope seal...which although old looked ok....he got a new generic brand rope seal....double wound it round the flue, resealed any gaps in the flue that "may" have given a reading....put it back together and it fired up fine...charged £200+
I then wrote a 2 page letter to British Gas informing they that had basically tried to rip me off and force me into getting a new system, that they did not even attempt a repair using the guise that "parts were not available". They ended up refunding me the full repair costs!!!
I would understand if a major bespoke part had failed, but this was a generic rope seal, what did they expect, Glowworm to still manufacture an asbestos one!!! To be honest, I am not convinced the seal failed...it is the type of boiler that if you wanted to find somthing wrong...you probably could, they probably figure that people are unlikey to argue with a "professional" no matter what they tell you...
I feel sorry for whoever falls for these tricks they play
Needless to say I have cancelled my Homecare policy as it is not worth the money I paid for....
Also folks on the forum...check you are not already covered for "Homecare" type repairs on your House insurance (it does not count as a claim if you use it). If you have that, you basically have a Homecare equivalent...usually they cover repairs up to a certain amount.
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I removed the label......