Thanks Jalexa. I did google what I thought was the part and came up with similar figures yet they are quoting £350 (though I did see a similar part at around £200, perhaps they're quoting for both?). They have been on the phone to arrange an appointment for a senior engineer to visit tomorrow. The chap I spoke to was just arranging the appointment so I have no idea why this engineer is coming or what he expects to do. I'm not paying £350 though.

Thaks for the advice. I've got a chap (only does Vaillent) coming tonight to give me some of the idea of the costs of a new boiler and some additional radiators and that will be the way I go eventually. :)

Rufass:

The only one I can see that they could use is:

54. This agreement does not cover the cost of repairs required as a consequence of sludge or limescale.

Well its "plausable" that limescale could affect the plate heat exchanger. That would affect the hot water but not the radiators. As a minimum I don't see why you shouldn't have the heating performance restored at no charge.

I don't know how much much is involved in replacing the plate heat exchanger in a Halstead, but the parts cost is unlikely to be even £100.

(later edit - possibly £120, see here...

http://www.mjtcontrols.co.uk/Part_Type3.aspx?Manufacture_ID=34&Part_Type=Heat+Exchanger+)

If you go for a new boiler my advice is to go for a reasonable brand and take the boiler manufacturer's service contract, not a third party's.

Funnily enough I can't see any.

http://www.ssehomeservices.co.uk/maintenance-and-protection/main-terms-and-conditions.aspx?page=1

The only one I can see that they could use is:

54. This agreement does not cover the cost of repairs required as a consequence of sludge or limescale.

Though no-one has mentioned sludge or limescale. It was more like "this part is expensive therefore chargeable" / "this one is cheap and therefore free."

The boiler's a Halstead Finest (if this was the finest then they are in big trouble) and I was planning to replace when convenient.

Rufass:

Have you found the clause in the T&Cs that allegedly lets them charge for expensive parts?

What make is the boiler BTW?

Thanks for the reply.

I perhaps wasn't clear. I meant that I didn't feel there was any hidden agenda on the part of the engineers who've attended. They tried to fix the issue without using chargeable parts. Unfortunately they neither informed me of any risks nor did they put themselves in a position where they could reverse what they did. They were not very competent but I don't believe they were trying to put me in a position where I am forced to pay them (or someone else) if I want hot water and heating. However that doesn't alter the fact that their actions have left me without any hot water and almost no heating.

Not sure how old the boiler is (was in the house when I moved in in October), not old enough to qualify for the scrappage scheme at any rate.

Rufass:

I don't think that the engineers have done anything other than their best.

Why do you say that? On the face of it the contrary would be a better negotiating position.

For starters you need to look out the service contract and go through it with a fine tooth comb, in particular looking for a clause which gives effect to the charge for parts.

Also possibly relevant is how old is your boiler?

During the recent cold snap our combi-boiler started to struggle to cope. The heating was unaffected but the hot water would run hot then cooler while using the shower and the water in the kitchen wasn't hot enough to wash up in unless supplemented by water from the kettle. So I called the SHIELD part of Southern Electric and they sent an engineer out, after several visits, each of which needed to be subsequently chased we had an engineer turn up on Saturday to install some parts (thermistors). After he had done this he remarked that it was much worse (the boiler now hardly heats the water at all), he explained that the newer thermistors might be more sensitive, the fault was with the plate but these new parts were cutting the burner out much earlier than the old ones. As he couldn't get online he said it would need to wait but that the plate was likely to be chargeable. He then left, leaving us without hot water.

By the end of Saturday it was apparent that not only was the boiler no longer able to generate hot water but the heating had also been badly affected, it was now only capable of making the radiators slightly warm to the touch, offering almost no heating at all.

I chased it this morning and the engineer phoned my wife at home quoting £350.68 for the new part, though they said they couldn't give any timescales as that was a different department.

I have escalated as a complaint but I want to understand what my rights are here. I don't think that the engineers have done anything other than their best. However I find myself in a situation where I now don't have heating or hot water unless I either pay them £350.68 to try the next thing or buy and install a new boiler. Before they touched the boiler I had working central heating and some hot water.

Can anyone give me any idea of where I stand and what I should be doing?