Boiler service contract

[michaeljcliff76]

Does anybody know what are the requirements for me to offer customers boiler service contract like bg npower eon do as i can do a better job than they do. I just dont know the legalities behind it all

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

the ability to fix it when it dies all call out and labour inc be careful in what you cover though i dont do timers or roomstats

 

[diamondgas]

Does anybody know what are the requirements for me to offer customers boiler service contract like bg npower eon do as i can do a better job than they do. I just dont know the legalities behind it all

Having a 3 Million+ customer base helps!!! Can kind of offset the expensive repairs against the payers who don't need repairs! :welcome: to the forum michael...76

 

[michaeljcliff76]

well i can fix them i just need to know if i can just offer them cover get there bank details and thats that

 

[diamondgas]

well i can fix them i just need to know if i can just offer them cover get there bank details and thats that

What if .. lol

What if your first custard has an unvented cylinder leaking? Live in an area of Ideal Isar's and all the neighbours tell them of a muppett offering a great contract that'll repair these heaps for £140 a year? lol

 

[michaeljcliff76]

well as im not wet behind the ears i will have exclusions.

 

[villa_tom]

I wouldn't bother. You wouldn't be able to have any time off you never be allowed to have a drink, and you couldn't go on holiday.

 

[RGII79]

only offer this on your own installations where you know the system is good otherwise your on a slippery slope

 

[Ray Stafford]

Hi MichaelJCliff76

I think there are several questions mixed together here.

Any two or more people can enter into a contract - in this sense of the word, a contract is simply a legally enforceable agreement where both parties agree to do something. In the case of a boiler service contract, the customer agrees to pay you money regularly, and you agree to mend their heating if it breaks down, subject to certain conditions.

The next question is how to express that agreement and all the conditions clearly and without leaving too many areas of uncertainty - for that, you would need a lawyer - preferably one with experience in this field.

Finally, there is the question of whether this would be a wise contract to enter into for either you, or your customers. For example, for it to be attractive to your customers, you are going to have to guarantee a certain call out time - say within 24 hrs. Are you a big firm or a one-man-band? What if you go into hospital? Or, at the worst case, you die - people who have paid for their contract will expect their boiler fixed, whether you are ill, dead, or on holiday. As others have said - a service contract is actually a form of insurance - the payments from everyone whose system is trouble free pay for the occasional customer whose system keeps going wrong. Thats fine if you have 100,000 customers, but not so great if you have 20 - which might include 5 unlucky systems or lemon boilers.

I can't see it working unless you have a large business with several thousand customers, a dozen or so engineers, and some fairly heavy duty admin back up.

 

[michaeljcliff76]

like most contracts its all in the wording. boilers will need to pass a pre contract inspection. repairs if needed will be paid for by customer before its taken on. if you can hear a boiler kettleing customer is told its going to need a power flush before taken on contract. more £££.
either way if they dont want to pay for these repairs and dont get on the contract there boiler is going to end up en even bigger bag of in the long run then they have to fork out for a new boiler then get ripped of by bg or npower if they prefer there terms.. But first and formost the main question was can i just offer customers a contract take there bank details and thats that ?????????????

 

[michaeljcliff76]

if i die and there boiler doesnt get fixed will i give a toss ? no ! but youve got to start somewhere. bg didnt come into existence the size that it is now microsoft was started in a garage

 

[diamondgas]

like most contracts its all in the wording. boilers will need to pass a pre contract inspection. repairs if needed will be paid for by customer before its taken on. if you can hear a boiler kettleing customer is told its going to need a power flush before taken on contract. more £££.
either way if they dont want to pay for these repairs and dont get on the contract there boiler is going to end up en even bigger bag of ****e in the long run then they have to fork out for a new boiler then get ripped of by bg or npower if they prefer there terms.. But first and formost the main question was can i just offer customers a contract take there bank details and thats that ?????????????

Yes You can offer your customers any kind of contract you wish ... whether it's binding or not depends on your integrity I'd guess? AND the wording on your contract! There's no certainty in this game though and numbers of customers opting for your contract will decide whether it'll prove fruitful! IMHO ....

 

[Ray Stafford]

if i die and there boiler doesnt get fixed will i give a toss ? no !

But your customers will. And they will consider that before entering into a contract with you. Would you insure your car or house with the bloke in the pub? Or would you choose the huge financial institution that you can be reasonably certain will be around to honour their end of the bargain?

but youve got to start somewhere. bg didnt come into existence the size that it is now

Well, yes it did, pretty much. British gas was a government created monopoly with the full power of the state behind it. It only became privatised in the 1980s - it was never a start up firm. If you see Sid - tell him!

microsoft was started in a garage

Yes it was - IIRC writing operating systems for traffic monitoring equipment. It only became big off the back of a contract with IBM.

I admire your ambition, but I don't think you are being realistic.

 

[michaeljcliff76]

jesus christ im sorry i asked. still not answered the question though.

 

[acecharly]

I have thought about this a few times never done it though due to whats already been said.

The only one ive ever realy thought of going for would be a service by where if there was a leak you would go round as an emergency service to isolate supplies to stop flooding and further damage.