The return of the boiler scrappage scheme

Household money

Emma Lunn
Updated on 08 June 2011 | 17 Comments

The British Gas boiler scrappage scheme is back, with the offer of £400 off a new energy efficient boiler. But is it worth going for?

It might be summer (sort of) now but it’s the ideal time to think about getting a new boiler if yours is on its last legs. If you wait until yours packs up mid-winter you’ll be at the mercy of busy plumbers and dodgy weather.

That's why it's so welcome that British Gas has relaunched its boiler scrappage scheme. But is the offer as good as it seems?

What British Gas is offering

The energy giant is offering £400 off any model from its Worcester range, or £200 off other boiler models when you ask for a quote to provide and install a new boiler.

The offer is open until 30th June 2011 – but households only need to arrange for British Gas to quote them for a new boiler before then, not actually have it installed.

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Prices for the Worcester Bosch models used in the scheme start from around £2,000, including installation, according to British Gas.

This scheme will help to plug the gap left by the withdrawal of the Government scheme, which finished in March last year. Unlike the Government scheme, which had a cap of 125,000 boilers, there is no limit set on the British Gas scheme as long as consumers apply by 30th June.

Importantly, this scheme isn't just available to British Gas customers, which means that any households interested in a new energy efficient boiler can apply.

Do you need a new boiler?

If you have a boiler that is 15 years old or older you might find it hard to get home emergency insurance to cover it. Likewise, if you call out a plumber to fix it you might find it’s impossible to get the necessary parts.

So, it can be a shrewd move to think about a new boiler now rather than when your old one breaks down in the middle of winter leaving you freezing cold.

Another reason to replace your boiler is to get a more energy efficient one. According to research by uSwitch.com, installing an energy efficient boiler can save households up to £225 a year on heating bills.

Is the British Gas offer any good?

The only way to find out how good the offer is for you is to shop around and got some quotes.

My own experience tells me that shopping around for a new boiler and its installation can result in some wildly varied prices. You might assume that British Gas and the economies of scale it can take advantage of will mean it offers customers the cheapest deal – but think again.

In many cases a small independent plumber will work out cheaper. Generally it’s not the boiler itself that will cost you dear, but the installation itself. If you’re having a full heating system overhaul, including radiators and heating controls, the cost will go up considerably.

So when you’re getting quotes, make sure you look at the total cost: the boiler itself, installation, and any extras such as new radiators or pipework.

Make sure any plumber you hire is on the Gas Safe register as opting for someone unqualified to do a potentially dangerous job could end in disaster.

Don’t assume you’ll get better customer service from British Gas either. It might be a big company but it’s not massively popular with its customers. The most recent Which? customer satisfaction survey of energy providers found that British Gas couldn’t match up to the customer service experience offered by smaller rivals.

Another downside of the British Gas deal is that the £400 discount is limited to its Worcester Bosch range, although you can get £200 off other models. You might find that this isn’t the best boiler for your needs – if you have a limited space to install it in for example.

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mdumasia
10 July 2011
PS> Forgot to add that after installation, my old Aqualisa shower started leaking under pressure and I had to pay another £ 600 to get a new aqualisa thermostatic mixer shower installed that is compatible with combi boilers.
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mdumasia
10 July 2011
I have just had my boiler replaced by British Gas. It was the worst experience I have ever had. My old Servowarm Elite 50 boiler was nearly 30 years old. I used to get it serviced annually by Homeserve. Everything was fine till I saw a leaflet from Npower to switch servicing boiler, paying £15/month. If there was no call out for repairs then at end of year, half the annual price will be refunded to the customer. As my annual contract was coming to an end in March 2011, I switched to Npower scheme. When the Npower engineer called to service my boiler, he just took one look and said they will not service the boiler as it was more than 10 years old. Then Npower said they will send someone to look at my system and quote me for installation, which they did. However, we wanted a new condensing boiler installed to get rid of the hot water cylinder in airing cupboard and the cold water tanks in the loft. The Npower man said we will also have to get a new shower as the old shower used the hot water from the tank. WE also asked British Gas for a quote for the same just to see if they were cheaper or had any alternative suggestions. Both quotations were very similar. However the BG surveyor said the shower will be fine and no need to change anything. We live in a hard water area and when heated it forms hard scale inside the appliances and adjoining pipe-work. The build up of scale will lead to blockages in the heat exchangers in Combination Boilers. I asked if they had a system to reduce scales in the heat exchanger and pipes. The man then went away and about 15 days later sent us a revised quote. It amounted to an extra £150. So we accepted and the installation went ahead. The work was completed in 2 days and we were happy apart from few minor problems. But then we had problems with settlement. First we were charged £250 extra. When we looked at the 2 quotations the price of all items in the second quote had been increased by £200 in a fortnight. No offers, discounts of £400 for boilers etc were given. We managed to get the refund of the overcharging and an extra years free service and maintenance contract off BGas. But we did end up by paying £3658.63p for the privilege of boiler change. Also no compensation was offered to us for the damage caused during the installation and also all the time and calls and efforts to sort out the problems caused by British Gas people. I would never recommend BG Boiler exchange to anyone. If you do check every quotation and bill they give you. It seems that even in this day and age BG employees still have problems in addition and subtraction.
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david smith
16 June 2011
Oh And warm front is a joke Letting people wait months even years for the cheapest system to be fitted by companies who just fit for profit not quality and service The government should let local firms do the work Ega is a joke and just set up to float on tha Market for profit not quality and service
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