Bill from a plumber

Obviously not in your case because your boiler is so old but generally…

As it’s 17 years old I doubt it has a warranty but for safety’s sake I would always have a boiler serviced every year. And if you don’t you may be sure it will choose a bad cold snap to break down!

Gas engineers are expensive.

A boiler lasts 7-10 years imo listening to what is said. (I don't mess with gas!)

I only use people on personal recommendation, and when I book them, I start the call with 'XYZ has told me how good you are''. XYZ might be a regular customer or a joiner recommending a decorator.
When I've moved area, I've asked work colleagues; failing that the local newsagent.

Our boiler was here when we moved in 24 years ago, our engineer looked after it before we moved in and still services it every year, he works for the Company that supplies our oil.
He says we would get marginally better performance with a new one, but it wouldn’t be economical and to wait until it is no longer worth repairing.
So, a boiler can last for years, if it’s a decent one and is looked after.
Having said that it’s a bit like Triggers broom…….only the casing is original!

joann12, Are you new to your current house or do you not have your boiler servced every year? We have a local plumbing company who have been servicing our boiler every year for 25 years. No contract per se. They just ring up every October and tell us the service is due and we book it.

Regular servicing with one company who will look after your equipment every year is the best.

Companies and individuals go out of business or retire monica I had a gas engineer for years but he retired and finding a new one was difficult not knowing who to trust

was there no discussion of how much the work would be, hourly labour, cost of parts.
you could calculate how much you think it should be and offer them that.
then they would have to sue you for the rest.
was there a written contract. they cannot impose fines.
you need to put everything in writing, why you are querying it, how much you are paying.
then it's up to them to sue you. or maybe not bother.
good luck.

Sorry to read about your worries joanna12. I wish you luck with getting a clear breakdown of that £850. What puzzles me is why he carried on repairing it. Most would suggest another boiler. You say it is only one year old. Did you have it serviced in the guarantee period?

Our Baxi Combi is now 5 years old and a new one would cost only slightly more than your repair.

We had ours serviced by a Baxi engineer at a cost of £90 two months ago. The boiler came with a 7 year warranty which states services must be regular. A month after the service the boiler packed up completed but as it was covered by the warranty, there was no cost and they came out within 24 hours of me ringing.

I wouldn't discuss it on the phone with him. Get everything in writing from him joanna12 and good luck.

i think a replacement boiler and fitting is going to be well over 2k.
that's what people around here have had to pay recently.

It’s not unusual for T&Cs to state that if an invoice isn’t paid within x days interest will accrue. However the T&Cs must be supplied before the contract is entered into if they are to be enforceable.

Really glad to know that now GSM, thank you, very valuable information

I hope you manage to get your bill sorted. It infuriates me that some tradesmen see older customers as an easy mark.

It is always better to get a price even for additional work found to be required. You can ask for a breakdown but it will be done to suit him. I would contact him saying that you are surprised how high his charges were and could he please have a look at it, you may get a small reduction in which case I would pay it and not use him again. You could get a n estimate from another plumber to show what you expected to pay. Good luck.

Ouch, that is so much! We have an annual contract covering boiler, central heating, plumbing, drains and electrics. I have to battle the price down every year, but I’m the sort that likes peace of mind. I was dithering about whether to renew this year as we only had one call out and a boiler service last year, but it’s worked out to our advantage in the past. Swings and roundabouts.

If boiler is 9 years old has it been regularly serviced? If yes who carried this out before and why not use on this occasion. I estimate trades folk charge approx £80 an hour these days. The initial hour seems okay. Doubtful about cost of replaced items and time next day though. I did have a part on 12 year old boiler replaced, part cost £200.
Can you research the replaced parts for an idea of basic cost? Ask for itemised breakdown of costs. For the total cost the plumber could have advised about cost of a new boiler!

Me too Maggiemaybe. I’ve had the service contract for years and, in the past, haven’t had any call-outs, other than annual boiler service. However, as the house and everything in it (including me) is getting older, I’ve had several call-outs & repairs via the contract recently. Definitely worked out to my advantage - as well as peace of mind. I would suggest to OP (once you get this huge bill sorted) that an annual service contract might be something to look into. It definitely avoids large, unexpected bills!

What IS IT with the Brits and their inability to stick up for themselves?!? COMPLAIN! Some eejit has taken your hard earned money FOR NOTHING IN RETURN! Wow! Go for their throat, thriving, that's the simple truth. Get someone who's not afraid to do the call/email for you , but you must not let them off! Think of everyone else they've ripped off?

The OP's boiler is *one year old*and the OP has told us that she has now emailed the company.

She subsequently said that was a mistake and it’s nine years old

I pay £70 to have my boiler serviced

Ffs Mummer, OP apparently didn’t get a quote for the work. What’s this ‘going for the throat’ business? She’s laid herself open to whatever the company decides to charge and her only hope of legal redress would be to lodge a ‘quantum meruit’ (literally, ‘what’s it worth’) claim. I doubt any solicitor is going to advise her to do that and potentially throw good money after bad.

Seems like an absurd price to me. I always ask for a total cost quote before I agree to any work on anything.

Germanshepherdsmum

She subsequently said that was a mistake and it’s nine years old

Thanks GSM I missed that.

Plumbers are in short supply and can charge high prices (same with some other trades) since the Poles went home after Brexit: thank you, Leavers!

Plumbing tends to be expensive. I assume you asked for a proper quote before booking him in for the job.