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?

 

[Welder]

Thanks everyone for your advice so far 🙂
I was under the impression

Unfortunately, it appears that you have been mislead. I'm afraid that your 'impressions', as valid as they may appear in your (and often our) minds are worthless. Companies like this, and of course the law, rely on what is written.

The best advice, as already mentioned, is to develop a local relationship with a local plumber so they become 'your' plumber.🙂

We, on here, hear it all and from all sides. Please don't be offended by what is written as it's not aimed directly at you. It simply is as it is.

You are now endowed with the Holy Grail of life - experience. YOu can now use that when you talk to the local plumber you'll find and you'll be all the better for it.

Personally, I'd be stopping payment immediately. Why throw good money after bad? Cut your losses, chalk it up to experience, and get on with what is important - enjoying life. 😉

 

[Fatbenny]

Thanks again for your input 🙂
I am obviously not offended by anything here ,as you are all giving me your opinions and experiences
It's better to be told "as it is " rather than what you expect to hear . If that makes sense 😀

One thing I would say though , regarding local plumber: when I first found the local plumbing co, the person I saw ( Paul ) was a nice guy and I got a good vibe . His dad owns the company . So I said to myself , that if anything went wrong I would use them again . So, in April last year, I contacted them again . Another chap came ( another Paul ) , and he couldn't really tell me the condition of the boiler etc
That's why I chose somebody else . The rest you know 🙂
So, I'll have to find another local plumber in the coming months .
I was lucky to find a decent builder though..🙂

 

[Riley]

Hope so. Most builders don’t know one end of a radiator from the other

 

[Scott_D]

Good jobs it’s not an emergency!

 

[Welder]

Hope so. Most builders don’t know one end of a radiator from the other

More the point, some SAY they do but really don't!

Thanks again for your input 🙂
It's better to be told "as it is " rather than what you expect to hear

Our pleasure. Life is rarely as it's portrayed in the media. For example you have honest, no axe to grind comments here from. What we all want is for you to have something genuinely usable and applicable in the real world. Good luck and remember, try to only ask questions you already know the answers to! 😉

 

[Fatbenny]

More the point, some SAY they do but really don't!



Our pleasure. Life is rarely as it's portrayed in the media. For example you have honest, no axe to grind comments here from. What we all want is for you to have something genuinely usable and applicable in the real world. Good luck and remember, try to only ask questions you already know the answers to! 😉

🙂

 

[Fatbenny]

So , things seem to have got slightly worse.
The same thing seems to be happening to the rad next to my boiler .
What also seems to happen , is that the rad in the hallway seems to go cold at times .The rad next to the boiler gets cold behind the rad at the bottom . Also I have to try to get the boiler to turn on again by adjusting the thermostat in the hallway by turning the dial below 20 degrees and then above 20 degrees ( it clicks after 20 degrees ). I was under the impression that the boiler is always on once I turn the dial past 20 degrees . It doesn't seem to be the case.
The thermostat is a Drayton combi -stat .

So, the questions I now have : do I contact the heating Co I have contract with ,and just let them turn up and sort out the problem ?
I assume it's best not to get the builder to replace rads ?
Also , any idea what the problem is ?

How costly is it ? Over £450 ?

Thank you

 

[Riley]

It’s likely that the stat is satisfied and you’re going further than 20°c

 

[Fatbenny]

Update: yesterday , I decided to text mr builder and arrange for him to replace the two rads. A few moments later, would you believe I get a call from the boiler people . They asked again what the problem was. I was polite as always and repeated everything . Apparently , they are going to get an engineer out to have a look . If / when they show up , I will go for the cheaper option . Mr builder seems favourite a this stage .
I now have another concern, with my boiler. Another thread is being started
Thanks ...

 

[Riley]

I would ask in fact what each is offering don’t go cheapest go for the quote that does it right

 

[Fatbenny]

I would ask in fact what each is offering don’t go cheapest go for the quote that does it right

Thanks Riley .
Good point

 

[Riley]

Go for the one that offers correct installation, balancing of the system and a dose of inhibitor

 

[Fatbenny]

Will do . Thanks again 🙂