Twee:

The BG engineer suggested that a stuck valve may have been the cause

From your description I would say that the person who serviced your boiler was negligent and a referal to CORGI was indicated.

That said and to return to issue of service contracts, in the main most people get a response and importantly an annual safety inspection and/or service. The small number of highlighted service contract "failures" suggest to me, as if I didn't already know it, a failure of regulation in the UK.

For most people without deep enough pockets to meet uncertain repair costs I would still recommend installing a good quality boiler from a manufacturer with a repair organisation and to take the boiler manufacturer's service contract. That increases the likelihood of product familiarity and spares stockholding in the breakdown respose. Regardless of CORGI, and now GasSafe, general gas competence, the plethora of boiler types makes "yellow page" repairer product familiarity and spares stockholding uncertain.

The BG engineer suggested that a stuck valve may have been the cause

The only compensation received from BG was a big bunch of flowers for my wife - she was beside herself with worry after the explosion - and this was only because I suggested it to BG

We were so glad to get a new boiler running that I didn't take it any further - the replacement cost us approx £2000 (similar to the service costs paid to BG over the years)

Twee:

- a valve had become stuck closed - pressure built up and BANG !!!!

Who said that? I don't believe there is a single point of failure which could have that result. However the proximity to a service call is quite likely relevant.

So did you ever get a proper explanation and compensation?

Don't let the horror stories here put you off if you think the product is right for you. Definately don't ignore them but just remember - very few satisfied and happy consumers visist consumer forumns to say how happy they are with something, sure it does happen its just not often. More often than not people come looking for answers to problems their experiencing - so you're far more likely to come across the horror stories you see here. Also take into consideration the size of the company (i.e. its potential customer base) vs. the number of concerns raised here.

I'm not advocating for or agianst boiler cover only that you should consider what's best for you, given your own circumstances.

We had a BG service contract for 5 years - then a little over 2 years ago - our boiler literally exploded - this was 6 hours after BG had serviced it - It was a cold November evening and the water, gas and electricity had to be shut off - a valve had become stuck closed - pressure built up and BANG !!!!

I phoned BG - only to be told that nobody could come out until the following evening

My wife was in tears and they wouldn't help - and I kept phoning them ........

Eventually someone came out and made the boiler safe and restored out power, water and gas

We had paid over £2000 over the years for what ?

We had a local company fit a new Bosch combi boiler and avoid BG like the plague !!!

And as for service contracts - what do you think ?

On my recent experience I would have to say no. I had a combi boiler that started struggling to heat the water consistently in the cold snap, I called in the engineers through my cover plan to get their advice and by the time they left I had no heating and no hot water. I had about 4 subsequent visits none of which did anything but meant someone had to be in, we suffered over a week without heat or hot water until we could get the boiler replaced by a local firm.

There's obviously an element of luck involved but you are not going to get the best engineers around and the sort of fixes they attempt may be based on cost. In our case they replaced the thermistors on a hunch because they were a cheap, non-chargeable part and in doing so stopped the boiler functioning almost completely. They then seemed to be unable to go back to a position of working boiler and the next part was a more expensive one for which they wished to charge (£350), despite the fact the T & Cs don't state that any parts are chargeable. Then they started to talk about sludge and effectively stalling, which in this cold weather worked as I cancelled and got the boiler replaced.

I think if you're prepared for the fact that if something happens which isn't easily and cheaply repairable then you could be in for a lot of visits, a battle over the T & Cs, potential additional costs and an extended period without heating, hot water or both then you should consider it. Personally speaking I will never do it again.

I had British Gas cover for about 3 years and have no complaints about them. At the time my boiler was nearly 20 years old and pretty knackered, but they still came out and fixed it about 4 times, including once when I'd somehow done something to it while draining the heating system. The only problem was the cost -- they were quite expensive, especially as I was paying for electrics and plumbing cover which was a waste of money. Your electrics won't go wrong and neither will your plumbing unless you're very unlucky.

Since I got a new boiler 2 years ago I figured it is now much less likely to go wrong so I pay the equivalent into a savings account. If it breaks and costs more than I have saved up I'll just pay it on my credit card and carry on paying that off instead of paying into savings.

So there are ups and downs to both ways. If you have confidence in your boiler and it is in good condition I would say save the money, but if you don't trust yourself not to dip in then get a policy.

Well in all honesty there's no-one company that haven't had their issues. British Gas were in the press heavily for a billing system that was utter rubbish, Npower are in the press for overchariging customers, its all much of a muchness, with the big names. Still I prefer a big name over the lesser known ones - but that's probably a psychological thing.

If I could I would go down the route of self-insurance. Start a savings account and pay into it - and just hope your luck holds out until you have enough capital - failing that E.on is currently slightly edging it for me.

Well, I havent narrowed it down to only them. Just more to do with the companies i know offer it.

Who would you recommend then based on what you know? Other companies included.

Ultimately the choice is yours - if you've narroed the field to just E.on and British Gas, and don't feel confident the E.on as it appears then you've really made your choice.

From my own personal experience and opinion (so its not an unbiased view) I wouldn't go near British Gas if you paid me. Please don't take this as a personal recommendation tis just my view -- in the end you have to go with whichever company you feel most comfortable with.

I've looked at their website but there's not too much to go on as its currently "being updated" which basically means its broken atm, although I do notice their FSA registered.

I work in the energy industry so have a little bit of inside knowledge so to speak (well i wouldn't call it inside knowledege per se -- just more targetted infomation where we need to know what's going on to do our jobs). From what I understand they've got a new managing director in place whose making huge changes to deliver a business that works.

If you need peace of mind then cover is definately a good idea for you. -- as for SeeUs2Save until now i've never heard of them and will need to do a little research.

SeeUs2Save

Hi guys,

In my quest to find a good central heating cover company, I've seen mention of the above company.

Are they any good? I've read people mentioning S and S. Is this the same people? if not who are they?

thanks in advance.

Thanks for the post.

I just have a question about where you heard that Eon were much better now than in previous months/years?

I am convinced a package is better for me. The reassurance is something that appeals heavily to me.

I look forward to your reply.