Corgi homecare plan any good?

[ParaJack]

Hi all, hope I have posted this in the correct forum?!?

Anyway I have received a letter offering me cover for all my heating (including a yearly service), all my electrics and plumbing, no call out or parts & labour fees, all for £16.99 a month!

My boiler is a worcester greenstar 30si and will be three years old in May.

Has anyone else taken up this offer and are they any good?

Thanks in advance for your help

 

[Dannypipe]

No, they come in and condem the boiler as standard. Then they smash the place up and steal family heirlooms...finally they torch the place.

Sorry, couldn't help myself, as a small business contending with people like Corgi Home Care, British Gas, and now the AA.

£17 a month seems like a good deal. I thing BG is about £28.

But if they're anything like their competition, they have there good points and bad...i.e they will wriggle out of repairing certain things, despite you having paid up all year. It's a gamble and for some it pays off big time, for others its a waste of money and their £17 a month would have been better placed in a jar on the fridge until somthing went wrong in the home.

Just my opinion.

 

[ParaJack]

lol.

That's what I was thinking, it looks good on paper, but then they have a massive list of what is and what's not covered! We all know that insurance companies try to get out of paying, so how would I know if it's right when they say A+B= C which means it's not covered!!

I also thought about just putting the money to one side and then if it did go wrong then just calling a local guy/girl such as yourself to fix it.

Hmmm don't know what to do!!!

 

[Dannypipe]

LOL! Tricky I know.

But I need money to buy food for my wee kids...think about the children!

No seriously, it can be brilliant. I've been to jobs where people have the same boiler in a street, and the neighbours have all had their boilers break with the same fault, and BG have fixed some as part of their home care plan, and others have had to pay oiks like me because they cancelled their plans before it went puffft!

A service will normally set you back no more than £100.00.

So you could put the other £100 a year towards the next break down of the boiler (they all break eventually).

However your boiler could break down next week, in which case you'll be wishing you'd paid your money (if its covered).

Its all very tricky. Sorry!!! Good luck whatever you decide mate.

You have a decent boiler and its still young, so you should be ok...should!

 

[GQuigley67]

the thing with the homecare is your paying all this money for cover on a boiler which may or may not break down, so why not just put money away incase of unexpected repairs and damages ? with the likes of these companys you need to pay an excess of usually around £50 for repairs anyway so its not as if your just paying monthly there are still other charges. and just get a local guy in to do safety checks or services on appliances every year to make sure everything is in working order

 

[the_ace]

Do corgi have their own guys or is it all contractors?

 

[BLOD]

So where did Corgi get the contact list of people with boilers to write to ? - surely it can't be information taken from installers notifications through Corgi ?

 

[gaspastemania]

From what i have heard the big companies come in initially with all sorts of scare mongering , the inspect the appliance then give the story of its potentially at risk or this needs doing etc etc .Sounds like the push for a new appliance then do the yearly checks once its new.Thats only what i have heard thop from others .

 

[yrwyddfa]

Good morning friends
I came across this forum (excellent BTW) after receiving a similar invitation, only this time they are offering to include free[?] 12 year boiler replacement.
So that takes care of the boiler beyond economical repair et al but still no posts as to how good their customer service and tradesmen are though.
TIA
M

 

[Barry98]

take the money and put in a post office account then if anything goes wrong youve got the money to pay for it and have it serviced yearly

 

[truemanufan]

Best thing to do is put money a side to pay a proper plumber/ heating engineer to come and solve your problems! People like the aa for example are there just to make temp repairs in the event of an emergency there for if u have a bad water leak somewhere in the house they will prob just turn off the main stop tap and say " that's all I can do"

 

[bert large]

Had a customer last week with a seized & badly leaking DV on a crappy old Halstead combi. I priced up the parts & labour & let her know. Next day she said that she was getting BG to repair it for £99, which was about £30 less than the cost of the part alone. No mention of a maintenance contact. Anyone know if this is their loss leader or leads to the heavy sell on the old powerflush con ?

 

[WHPES]

I thought Corgi was finished and replace with Gas Safe Register? (I'm oil only so don't know what happens with gas)

 

[CES]

CORGI still exist as an industry group, they just don't hold the register for gas installers anymore, and therefore the dog has had its teeth removed, at last!!

 

[abcgascare]

Think the lads have sumed it up its a waste of money up North but maybe down south different story but they sell theys to make money lots of it whish I could get that type of dosh but then I sleep at night & the old ladys dont get robbed .

Good for any one who worries unless you have a old system then wait for it .parts for this are discontinued we may be not able to repair next time etc but we can put you a new boiler in

 

[RickC]

How do they know your boiler is out of warranty!!!

 

[WHPES]

Most of my customers seem to think Corgi is history and hence anyone displaying the Corgi symbol on their van is out of date so if I were gas registered I would not have a corgi symbol anywhere on my stuff.

 

[bostonhanwell]

So where did Corgi get the contact list of people with boilers to write to ? - surely it can't be information taken from installers notifications through Corgi ?

I am a Gas Safe engineer (formerly Corgi). 3 years ago I fitted a boiler in my own house and registered it with Corgi. I came home today to find a letter from Corgi offering their insurance and presumably all my customers that I fitted boilers for will have got the same letter.

It is an absolute disgrace that they are using information gathered under a mandatory registration scheme to undermine hard working people's businesses. I phoned them immediately and complained but was fobbed off by the woman who had the cheek to tell me that they were just trying to make a living like everyone else and that I could apply to be one of their network engineers!!!!!! I am absolutely furious about this. I will write and complain in the full knowledge that I will be wasting my time. Doesn't the data protection act prevent this?

 

[Puddle]

I am a Gas Safe engineer (formerly Corgi). 3 years ago I fitted a boiler in my own house and registered it with Corgi. I came home today to find a letter from Corgi offering their insurance and presumably all my customers that I fitted boilers for will have got the same letter.

It is an absolute disgrace that they are using information gathered under a mandatory registration scheme to undermine hard working people's businesses. I phoned them immediately and complained but was fobbed off by the woman who had the cheek to tell me that they were just trying to make a living like everyone else and that I could apply to be one of their network engineers!!!!!! I am absolutely furious about this. I will write and complain in the full knowledge that I will be wasting my time. Doesn't the data protection act prevent this?

Part of the reason they lost the right to run the register,they became just to commercial, bending rules to suit themselves
Like now,they pretend to be concerned with the safety side of things,if that was the case,they would have stopped using the 'corgi' logo to avoid customer confusion,people may have a go at the gas safe set up but it is ten times better than what corgi became/has become

imho

 

[DalesPlumbing]

No...
British Gas are not stupid.. If they think they will be out of pocket then they won't re-contract, they will condemn it.
You are a good customer to them because it's a newish boiler..
If it was fitted by a Worcester accredited installer then it still has a couple of years on warranty..
If the boilers fitted properly, system powerflushed, a scale inhibitor fitted and serviced yearly you should have no problems unless unlucky..

 

[WHPES]

My advice get an independent guy to look after your boiler and put £16.99 in cash into a moneybox every month and don't dip into it until you need to replace your boiler!

PS I thought Corgi was defunct and replaced by GasSafe (I only do oil so don't follow gas closely)

 

[dontknowitall]

Corgi still going strong. Here's one of their latest examples:

 

[DalesPlumbing]

Schuks did I say British gas.. I always knew Corgi wouldn't go quietly.. Tried there hand at getting the plumbing industry under Corgi failed & suppose this & their sales catalogue is another attempt at staying afloat..

Opinions are like arsoles, everyone's got one....

 

[paulgamston]

Corgi Homeplan - Yes well I'm one of their repair engineers, well should I say I was....They try to get the repair done as cheap as possible, they employ the cheapest contractors availible and there is no quality of work checks - I repeat NO FOLLOW UP on the repair as to see if it was completed to any type of standards etc.
I've distanced myself from them as the whole service is floored and doomed to fail and when it does I don't want to be associated with it.

 

[CES]

Corgi Homeplan - Yes well I'm one of their repair engineers, well should I say I was....They try to get the repair done as cheap as possible, they employ the cheapest contractors availible and there is no quality of work checks - I repeat NO FOLLOW UP on the repair as to see if it was completed to any type of standards etc.
I've distanced myself from them as the whole service is floored and doomed to fail and when it does I don't want to be associated with it.

I carry out work for them, so does that make me the cheapest contractor available???
I always carry out a quality service, same as I would with any of my customers. I don't see the issue with quality work checks unless you are not confident enough in yourself to carry out repairs to a high enough standard?
I understand the point at not wanting to associate yourself with them if you are surrounded by dodgy contractors but don't shoot it down by tagging us all as dodgy. I used to sub for BG and there is not much difference in the way CORGI Homeplan work to BG, except I get paid quicker from CORGI.

 

[paulgamston]

Yes - I've got no dought what so ever that your fully proffesional & competant etc. But I was constantly asked to drop my prices/hourly rates and they always challenged prices of parts - this lead to me loosing faith in their system and I was told by customers that other tradesmen had been and not returned to complete the repair. I did/do complete all repairs and follow up with curtosy calls afterwards also on behalf of Corgi [something they never did].
No I don't think your anything but good at what we do, it's Corgi who are off the mark.

 

[CES]

Yes - I've got no dought what so ever that your fully proffesional & competant etc. But I was constantly asked to drop my prices/hourly rates and they always challenged prices of parts - this lead to me loosing faith in their system and I was told by customers that other tradesmen had been and not returned to complete the repair. I did/do complete all repairs and follow up with curtosy calls afterwards also on behalf of Corgi [something they never did].
No I don't think your anything but good at what we do, it's Corgi who are off the mark.

That's business I'm afraid. I set my prices in agreement with them and we did haggle a bit, but when it comes to parts etc, I tell them that's the price take it or leave it. I understand that we are probably in different parts of the country and my rates are slightly lower than normal but due to the work load I can come and go a bit. I was offered contract work at £18 a service so in comparison CORGI is quite good. As far as tradesmen not completing repairs then i agree they should get rid of them and they probably should up their processes a bit, but to be honest I'm only interested in getting the work done and getting paid.

 

[GQuigley67]

whats the deal with the leaflet drops ?? do they want you to advertise their services to your customers, and then they pay you for the service and repairs of that boiler ?? i didnt really understand that part don't think it was clear enough

 

[doitmyself]

The name was changed to Corgi Homeplan as BG "owned" the word "homecare"!

The CORGI HomePlan is operated by Green Installer Ltd, Buchan House, Enterprise Way, Carnegie Campus, Dunfermline, KY11 8PL.

The CORGI HomePlan is only available to homeowners who have installed or upgraded to a high efficiency condensing boiler in the last seven years.

 

[ihateyes]

Yes Green Installer have been naughty. up and running for about 42mths.... they cae out with a devious plan to use the Corgi logo and name without permission. were taken to task by Corgi, and website shut. Now due to a financial arrangement they can use the name and logo.

Also as above they were naughty in using homcare, BG took them to court, had an injuction on them and won.

Various compaints were on the front of the letter: IMPORTANT INFORMATION FROM CORGI. when in fact it wasnt from Corgi, it was rom Green Installer.

Their t&c's are turd. Dont represurize boilers.... dont cover parts that fail due to wear and tear!!! sorry but thats why most things fail.

Touch t your own peril,you have been warned.

 

[adrian816]

Sounds like they don't add inhibitor to the system after working on it either?

 

[CES]

I think you will find that they don't employ their own engineers (well not in my area anyway) so generalising scenarios that have occurred isnt really a good idea.
I carry out my work professionally and with pride. If you have a beef with the CORGI Homeplan set up then i suggest you write to them, don't come on a public forum and disrespect the self employed independent installers who happen to carry out work for them.
That's a bit like me saying that BG are crap when I know for a fact there are a lot of good engineers working for them.

 

[bostonhanwell]

I am starting to feel uneasy. Reading on here and elsewhere that

Green Installer used the Corgi logo without permission
Green Installer subsequently have been granted a license to use the logo.
Their website and literature make no mention of the fact they are not actually Corgi but in fact a licensee (as far as I can see.) That may (will) mislead the public into thinking that they are dealing with Corgi and their employees/engineers.
That there are a "there is no quality of work checks - I repeat NO FOLLOW UP on the repair."

 

[paulgamston]

Yes well that as true as it sounds, Corgi have sold the name as they need business. No quality checks, no follow up calls to customers, no loyalty to the contractors that they use to carry out the repairs or grading of quality the contractors that they use.
If a top of the range gas installer does work on behalf of them one week they will not use him the following week if a low grade gas installer will do the repair for a fiver less! That's as true as it sounds also [ no dissrespect to any of the present contractors but you are just a fiver away from being off their list ]

 

[CES]

I am starting to feel uneasy. Reading on here and elsewhere that

Green Installer used the Corgi logo without permission
Green Installer subsequently have been granted a license to use the logo.
Their website and literature make no mention of the fact they are not actually Corgi but in fact a licensee (as far as I can see.) That may (will) mislead the public into thinking that they are dealing with Corgi and their employees/engineers.
That there are a "there is no quality of work checks - I repeat NO FOLLOW UP on the repair."

Why do you feel uneasy? What is your point for posting these facts?
If as your first post says you are GSR then surely you know what you are dealing with, or are you just posting to vent about a bad experience? It may have escaped your attention but CORGI is just another commercial brand name now, it has been for the past few years, it is not an official registration body anymore and the fact they have a licence to use the "brand" should give it away, so how can that be misleading the public?
I can say a lot of things about BG as I used to contract for them until they laid all their contractors off, fancy working for BG? at £18 a service (minus CIS).
You are very naive if you think that businesses such as BG, SSE , CORGI Homeplan & the AA actually employ their own engineers in every single job. I suspect that you are angry at the use of registration details and how they came into the hands of this licensee, I can understand that but the fact is that its happened and people have already signed up to the service as its cheaper than BG and they use independant installers for the work.

Paulgamston - as I said previously, I work on a contract basis for CORGI Homeplan, I have no false hopes or aspirations to become a huge partner to this firm, as I see it they provide me with work for a negotiated rate that i agreed upon, its in the contract I have with them so if they break that then fair enough, I will probably come on here and shout about it, but as I already said, its only business and I dont care if their system has no follow up checks, thats a consumer issue not a contractors issue. I provide labour and materials and a quality service.

Actually guys, I don't need to post on here defending why I'm working for them, if you are a customer that doesn't like them, fair enough you have obviously had a bad experience and nothing I say will change that. If you are an engineer who is considering working for them then you have to decide for yourself what you want to do. You may even be an engineer who feels betrayed by CORGI using registration details (how they got them no-one knows). If that's the case then blame the previous registration body who put money before loyalty to the registered gas installers they were supposed to look after.

 

[bostonhanwell]

Why do you feel uneasy? What is your point for posting these facts?
If as your first post says you are GSR then surely you know what you are dealing with, or are you just posting to vent about a bad experience? It may have escaped your attention but CORGI is just another commercial brand name now, it has been for the past few years, it is not an official registration body anymore and the fact they have a licence to use the "brand" should give it away, so how can that be misleading the public?
I can say a lot of things about BG as I used to contract for them until they laid all their contractors off, fancy working for BG? at £18 a service (minus CIS).
You are very naive if you think that businesses such as BG, SSE , CORGI Homeplan & the AA actually employ their own engineers in every single job. I suspect that you are angry at the use of registration details and how they came into the hands of this licensee, I can understand that but the fact is that its happened and people have already signed up to the service as its cheaper than BG and they use independant installers for the work.

Paulgamston - as I said previously, I work on a contract basis for CORGI Homeplan, I have no false hopes or aspirations to become a huge partner to this firm, as I see it they provide me with work for a negotiated rate that i agreed upon, its in the contract I have with them so if they break that then fair enough, I will probably come on here and shout about it, but as I already said, its only business and I dont care if their system has no follow up checks, thats a consumer issue not a contractors issue. I provide labour and materials and a quality service.

Actually guys, I don't need to post on here defending why I'm working for them, if you are a customer that doesn't like them, fair enough you have obviously had a bad experience and nothing I say will change that. If you are an engineer who is considering working for them then you have to decide for yourself what you want to do. You may even be an engineer who feels betrayed by CORGI using registration details (how they got them no-one knows). If that's the case then blame the previous registration body who put money before loyalty to the registered gas installers they were supposed to look after.

It's all about opinions. You obviously feel it is okay to talk about the failings of BG but not for anyone to raise concerns about Corgi who are giving you work. Personally my opinion is that using the Corgi name and logo for a company doing gas work that has nothing to do with Corgi is not right. Many people trust the Corgi brand implicitly because they have had it drummed into them for years when Corgi was the regulating body. It should at least be made clear on their literature and website that they are not actually Corgi at all.

I think it is fair to ask questions about their operation and standards. I am not sure why you seem to take this personally. I make no comment on your ability as an engineer or the fact that you choose to work for Corgi that's entirely up to you.

 

[GQuigley67]

I have just signed up and agreed fair prices for work which i may get off them, just went live yesterday, hopefully its an extra little earner in the quiet times

 

[CES]

It's all about opinions. You obviously feel it is okay to talk about the failings of BG but not for anyone to raise concerns about Corgi who are giving you work. Exactly how do you make that assumption? When did I say BG is crap and CORGI is great?? I would say however that I'm probably qualified (if thats the word) to talk about the working practices of both seeing as I have worked under both these conditions.
Personally my opinion is that using the Corgi name and logo for a company doing gas work that has nothing to do with Corgi is not right. Many people trust the Corgi brand implicitly because they have had it drummed into them for years when Corgi was the regulating body. It should at least be made clear on their literature and website that they are not actually Corgi at all. Ok so by that basis, CORGI Insurance should not operate, CORGI Certification should not exist either, what about CORGI VAT saver???
Maybe you should look at this website? CORGI Services | Supporting Trades People

I think it is fair to ask questions about their operation and standards. I am not sure why you seem to take this personally. The reason Im taking this personally now is that you are stating opinions rather than facts, this could affect my income as a business however small a work load I receive from them.
I make no comment on your ability as an engineer or the fact that you choose to work for Corgi that's entirely up to you. This is true, but unfortunately the tones in previous posts are suggesting that CORGI and anyuone working for them are cowboys.

I think Ill just agree to disagree on this one. Its getting very tiring saying the same old thing. If you're not comfy with it, don't use them, simple as.

 

[jfzepster]

If you read Corgi's terms and conditions for HomeCare Plan it states they won't cover

" Replacement of parts for the domestic gas central heating boiler which need to be replaced as a consequence of natural wear and tear, gradual deterioration or corrosion"

When i called them about this and suggested that if anything goes wrong with my boiler then its generally down to wear and tear they had no answer - they also couldn't define what this meant and how they could tell. How else would your boiler breakdown if its not wear and tear?

I wouldn't trust them - its not even COrgi but a company called "Green Installer Ltd" they don't tell you that either when the gumpf comes through the letter box.

 

[Mrs_mac]

Do corgi have their own guys or is it all contractors?

Corgi employ engineers that dont have a clue what they are doing and they will put all problems down to sludge. They will not service your boiler in the first year, they are just very poor and although you pay them £16.99 per month for years they will not actually do anything that is remotely worth it. The customer services talk to you like you are a stupid child as well.

I do not recommend them at all

 

[lame plumber]

reviving an old one

 

[Mrs_mac]

Customer service very poor. They diagnose a problem you have not got. Cost you hundreds of pounds and then say it is because you have sludge. Powerflush engineer stated that we did not have sludge, and we got another independent engineer in to look at the boiler and both cost us £500 we did not have. Both engineers stated that we did not have sludge in our system and stated that we were not covered which is breach of contract on their part. This is going further I will let you all know how we get on.

 

[Frelon]

Had a proper GSR plumber try to fix a problem with my boiler! £200 later, all fixed, he said! Following day, same problem, hm maybe PCB, he says, but maybe something else!
Following day receive letter from Corgi, for £17 per month all gets sorted, even replacement boiler if they cannot fix it! Just spent £200 on a proper engineer who didn't fix it, that would have paid for my first year's insurance!

 

[phpaul]

Had a proper GSR plumber try to fix a problem with my boiler! £200 later, all fixed, he said! Following day, same problem, hm maybe PCB, he says, but maybe something else!
Following day receive letter from Corgi, for £17 per month all gets sorted, even replacement boiler if they cannot fix it! Just spent £200 on a proper engineer who didn't fix it, that would have paid for my first year's insurance!

its all horses for corses

 

[lame plumber]

I am a Gas Safe engineer (formerly Corgi). 3 years ago I fitted a boiler in my own house and registered it with Corgi. I came home today to find a letter from Corgi offering their insurance and presumably all my customers that I fitted boilers for will have got the same letter.

It is an absolute disgrace that they are using information gathered under a mandatory registration scheme to undermine hard working people's businesses. I phoned them immediately and complained but was fobbed off by the woman who had the cheek to tell me that they were just trying to make a living like everyone else and that I could apply to be one of their network engineers!!!!!! I am absolutely furious about this. I will write and complain in the full knowledge that I will be wasting my time. Doesn't the data protection act prevent this?

it seems to me the dta they hold is now being used in a manner that is different from thr original reason for holding the data, that is illegal from memory fm when i was a data protection manager for a school. Also once the original reason for holding customer information no longer exists, ie no longer monitoring corgi registration etc, the data should be destroyed. however they could purchase customer lists fm other companies/councils so we will never wina

 

[PowerFlusher2]

it seems to me the dta they hold is now being used in a manner that is different from thr original reason for holding the data, that is illegal from memory fm when i was a data protection manager for a school. Also once the original reason for holding customer information no longer exists, ie no longer monitoring corgi registration etc, the data should be destroyed. however they could purchase customer lists fm other companies/councils so we will never wina

'Fraid it don't work like that any more. DVLA, for instance, take your details for vehicle registration and sell the details to parking fine collection companies. Interestingly, they charge those companies GBP2.50p per pop. If YOU want to get YOUR details from DVLA to check they are accurate, they charge YOU GBP5.00p - work that one out.

 

[deacongas]

I started taking on work from Corgi Homeplan about 6 months ago. I'm a self employed gsr engineer who wants a steady supply of work. Have to be honest, when they signed me up they didn't check anything except my gas safe registration. For all they know I'm the most incompetent engineer out there. Unfortunately for a consumer you just don't know how experienced an engineer you're getting. In terms of adding inhibitor as always it's down to the engineer. every time I've invoiced corgi for inhibitor they've paid it so no problems there.
Sludge isn't covered as previously stated. I'd imagine if it was the premium would increase substatially as there are engineers out there whom "forget" to add inhibitor in the hope a couple of years later customers will be calling for a powerflush. £££
As an engineers point of view, you're almost on 30 days payment. sometimes quicker.

 

[jtsplumbing]

Do corgi have their own guys or is it all contractors?

All Contractors, will take on boiler without pre inspection, your not cover'd for first 30 days, limit on cost of repaires for i think 90 days, and they will ask if you have proof of last service, to make sure its not an existing fault, will not cover megaflo type cylinders / taps / showers / WCs

 

[louforyou]

I beg your pardon.. that was an extremely moronic comment! Corgi's engineers are made up of a mixture of the UKs qualified heating engineers who are independent! So that's like saying "I had a bad experience with a Dr so every Dr in the NHS is incompetent! Most of UKs Dr's work in the NHS!!!!!!!!
Before you start slagging companies off don't be so ignorant before typing it really makes you look uneducated and ignorant.

 

[lame plumber]

I beg your pardon.. that was an extremely moronic comment! Corgi's engineers are made up of a mixture of the UKs qualified heating engineers who are independent! So that's like saying "I had a bad experience with a Dr so every Dr in the NHS is incompetent! Most of UKs Dr's work in the NHS!!!!!!!!
Before you start slagging companies off don't be so ignorant before typing it really makes you look uneducated and ignorant.

bit late to comment on a 2 year old thread, so who looks ignorant and silly now?