Issues with central heating policy and other shenanigans ..

[Fatbenny]

Howdy
First time poster here
Trying to be as brief as possible : Glow worm Flexicom 30 Cx boiler .

Moved into home March 2017. Got boiler checked by local heating co. The engineer made a good impression .

Around jan2018 , boiler started playing up in the coldest weather for years .
18/4/18 Different engineer from same co found a leaking air vent and supplied and fitted new one . This engineer didn't fill me with confidence .

24/4/ 18 Found engineer from another co who I googled .
This engineer replaced diverter valve/ plated heating exchanger/ replaced secondary heating exchanger and tested

Fair enough

Through this engineer I found a company that would maintain my boiler etc for £17.56 monthly
All well and good . I assume boiler is serviced annually and I am covered for home heating plus .
However, in mid December I noticed the 2 radiators furthest from the boiler ( living room & bedroom 1) are both freeezing at the bottom . Rest of rads are fine so far .
I called the company up, and was told an engineer would contact me to arrange visit . This was 11 Dec . I know that trades people are busy in this time of year and am laid back .
I decided to call again on 18/12/ 18 and an engineer did get back to me . He did say , it sounds like it could be a powerflush . He did say " I don't know what cover you are on "..Okay .
Trouble is , looking at the policy : power flushes/ balancing are two of the things not covered .
What is covered : The central heating system including the boiler, pipe work, radiators ,thermostatic valves and thermostat .
So I send a polite email when I had to complain on the 4th jan. I pointed out that I understood it was busy etc. I did point out the terms and conditions and asked them what am I actually paying for ?
I received a reply ,and the company are investigating my complaint . I was told that an engineer would be contacting me to arrange a visit 'next week'.
Last Friday 11/1/19 I replied to the email , briefly stating that nobody has been in touch . I received an automatic reply advising me to call the no. / email engineers ..

So, a few things come to my mind :

I know a builder who would replace the 2 rads and I'd pay him for that and a days work . Approx £200
Should I use him?
Do you think it's a powerflush that is needed?
Would this heating company compensate me in any way ?
I called them from my mobile and got cut off .
Do I try again, baring in mind they are supposed to contact me?
Btw I have paid 6x £17.56 and they have acted like ghosts .

Sorry for the long winded post with many questions

Thank you

 

[Riley]

99% of monthly care contracts aren’t worth the paper they are written on and the providers use every way possible to wriggle out of it. I’m not sure what powerflush covers if it’s not radiators pipework and boiler? I’d perhaps ask them the same. I say you’d be far better off putting £20 a month into a savings account for emergencies such as this then you’re not bound by small print. In my opinion if you have cold spots on the bottom of the rads then there is likely some muck gathering. By replacing them yes you get a quick fix but what about the muck still in the other rads and pipework that will just work into your new rads. If I were you I’d ask around and get a recommended gas safe engineer to give your system some TLC.

 

[steadyon]

1. You have a policy. That will state what is covered, and you would be wise to assume nothing else is covered.
2. You state that balancing and power flushing are not covered, I would consider them both to be normal installation / maintenance on changes, activities, not the sort of breakdown you could expect cover for.
3. Radiators cold at bottom / hot at top are typical symptoms of "sludging up" of the system, or an unbalanced system. They can also be caused by unsuitable changes to the system, such as new radiators with under-sized pipe work.
4. You need to establish as a first step what the problem actually is.
5. If the problem radiators have TRVs, remove the heads, and make sure the pins, when depressed, spring up again. Don't pull the pins up. If they are sticky, rotate with a pair of pliers to see if they free up.
6. Try turning all other radiators off, and see if the two problem ones heat up. If they do, the problem is not sludge but likely to be a balancing issue.
7. If 5 and 6 don't yield results, take a sample of the system water and send it to Fernox for analysis (or I think Sentinel do a test kit).
8. If the test indicates high levels of dissolved solids, consider cleaning the system.
8a. You could also try adding a cleaning chemical (e.g. Sentinel X400 or X800) and follow the instructions, particularly relating to the time it can be left in the system.
8b. Consider fitting a filter like a Magnaclean to the boiler return pipe. This will removal magnetic debris, typically caused by the internal rusting of radiators). Again follow the instructions for fitting and use.
8c. Have the system power flushed. Have a look at the Kamco web site for what is involved. I'd reckon on a full day for a 10 radiator system, and an additional 45 minutes per radiator after that.
9. I don't see why the company would compensate you for not doing something which is not covered in their contract with you. Is there anything guarantee in the contract about a guaranteed speed of response?
10. If you want plumbing work done, e.g. the installation of radiators, you are more likely to get a good job done by a plumber rather than a builder.
11. You are paying your (lack of?) service provider over £210 per year. Consider putting it in the bank and calling a local plumbing / heating firm when you need them.

 

[Riley]

Ps builders build plumbers plumb

 

[fronty]

I could be wrong but I don't know of any service/maintenance policies that include a powerflush. I seem to recall being quoted something like £400 by BG recently. So if you need a powerflush you'll be lucky if your agreement covers that.

 

[Riley]

That’s cheap for BG but I guess it boils down to the wording if they agree to maintaining radiators pipework and boiler then to me that’s maintainence of these. Depends on the ambiguity of their wording. If it specifically says no powerflush then I’m sorry you haven’t a leg to stand on

 

[Chuck]

The purpose of these policies is to make a profit for the company providing them. In rare cases the customer may come out on top but on average they'll cost you between 50 and 100% more than finding a reputable independent local heating engineer and sticking with them long term.

Consider opening a bank account and start paying into it whatever you would otherwise be paying for this type of 'cover'. When bills arise use this account cover them. It's a near-certainty that after ten years you'll have a nice positive balance.

 

[Fatbenny]

Thanks everyone for your advice so far
The question I now have, is should I call them again? It does seem odd that they haven't bothered with me .
Regarding the cover, I was under the impression that it was always best to have it as your boiler is always maintained and you don't get nasty surprises etc. I must say that I am surprised by what's been said here.
Seems like I should just not renew when the policy is up for renewal in June . However, judging by the outcome of my complaint , they still have to service the boiler before then . I thought that this issue would have been sorted by the time the really cold weather arrives . Seems not ..

 

[Riley]

Well I think you’ve found yourself that often what you think you are paying for you do not receive. These companies are only in it to make money and they won’t do that by carrying out every little thing that ever goes wrong. Get a small independent company to look after you and look after them. You’ll find it a much better relationship

 

[Riley]

A service does not mean that parts will be replaced etc again it will come down to he terms of your agreement but they won’t make a penny if every time they come out they throw parts a your boiler. Think about it, look at when you have your car serviced. You don’t expect parts to be included do you?