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.

 

[julesverne]

everything said so far is very valid. but if you have the determination then you will suceed in the long run. but not without research to make it pay. i looked into it but there is so much you need to consider that to be honest i reckon i am a good 5 years away before being confident to do it seriously mainly because i would need cover for me to take holidays and sickness. but please look into it further its not just about contracts and fixing it is so much more than that but it can be done im sure of it.

 

[Colin68]

As Villa said .. no time off no drink .. there will always be some git who knows he has a bag crap that can't be fixed cause' BG already told them a week earlier, you'd be better off giving them some incentives to use you again for servicing .. like a 'return service' discount or a referral payment for their friends or neighbours

 

[michaeljcliff76]

acecharly its how you approach it. i know loads of small firms where i am that offer it.if everybody had ray staffords drive and enthusiasm to futher there lives and jobs we would still be opening cans of beans with a rock

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.

 

[michaeljcliff76]

of course it can be done thats why i posed the question im not about to bet all my chips on it right now im still researching im still fishing for customers im leafleting and putting ads in news paper. its all still in its nucleus form. But thanks for the POSITIVE reply:smiley2:

everything said so far is very valid. but if you have the determination then you will suceed in the long run. but not without research to make it pay. i looked into it but there is so much you need to consider that to be honest i reckon i am a good 5 years away before being confident to do it seriously mainly because i would need cover for me to take holidays and sickness. but please look into it further its not just about contracts and fixing it is so much more than that but it can be done im sure of it.

 

[michaeljcliff76]

Theres always time for drink.

As Villa said .. no time off no drink .. there will always be some git who knows he has a bag crap that can't be fixed cause' BG already told them a week earlier, you'd be better off giving them some incentives to use you again for servicing .. like a 'return service' discount or a referral payment for their friends or neighbours

 

[acecharly]

I dont know why you came on this forum, It sounds like you have it all worked out, british gas will be gone in months...

 

[michaeljcliff76]

Ha ha i know they are running scared

I dont know why you came on this forum, It sounds like you have it all worked out, british gas will be gone in months...

 

[villa_tom]

Your attitude is really bad mate. If you treat your customers like this then there's no way people will pay you X amount if pounds to look after their central heating system.

Why ask for feedback if all you do is shoot it down. FairPlay to yourself if you make a go of this and I really hope you do. But I'd change your attitude first.

All the best anyway.

 

[michaeljcliff76]

iv not got it worked out not yet anyway give me a few more days.

Ha ha i know they are running scared

 

[michaeljcliff76]

Attitude i wasnt aware i was displaying a bad attitude. im sorry if you think that

Your attitude is really bad mate. If you treat your customers like this then there's no way people will pay you X amount if pounds to look after their central heating system.

Why ask for feedback if all you do is shoot it down. FairPlay to yourself if you make a go of this and I really hope you do. But I'd change your attitude first.

All the best anyway.

 

[REDSAW]

there was a previous thread last year on this from those who have walked the walk.
some who had done it and those who tried.
i think you needed somewhere like 1000-1500 customers to make any money!!
do a search.

 

[michaeljcliff76]

yeah a 1000 customers is a nice round number to start. I got 1000 leaflets printed and started posting on tuesday didnt realise how much graft is involved in posting leaflets. i wont mind getting takeaway leaflets through the door anymore. think i only managed 100 or so if that

there was a previous thread last year on this from those who have walked the walk.
some who had done it and those who tried.
i think you needed somewhere like 1000-1500 customers to make any money!!
do a search.

 

[REDSAW]

yeah a 1000 customers is a nice round number to start. I got 1000 leaflets printed and started posting on tuesday didnt realise how much graft is involved in posting leaflets. i wont mind getting takeaway leaflets through the door anymore. think i only managed 100 or so if that

should get all of 3 replies from them then!.. just another 30,000 and 4 pairs of trainers or so left to go

 

[michaeljcliff76]

not to mention my knee joints

should get all of 3 replies from them then!.. just another 30,000 and 4 pairs of trainers or so left to go

 

[Ray Stafford]

.if everybody had ray staffords drive and enthusiasm to futher there lives and jobs we would still be opening cans of beans with a rock

I'm sat here wondering how the beans would have got in the can!

Seriously Michael, all joking aside - if you ask for opinions, you are going to get them. As I said in an earlier post, I admire your ambition, but there is a difference between ambition and a realistic, workable business plan.

For what its worth, I have spent 27 years helping build a business, one slow step at a time. Maybe we lack ambition, but we don't owe the bank anything, and I sleep soundly every night. Over that time I have watched some businesses with ambitious ideas grow and succeed, but have seen a lot more go bust when the business plan wasn't as great as the ambition.

To leave you on a positive note - have you thought about getting together with a few other engineers and forming a co-op? That would get you over both the holiday/illness issue, and give the customers some peace of mind that they wouldn't be left in the lurch.