Difficulty In Getting A CH Boiler Service

[Stuart B]

My new Alpha boiler was installed in Feb 2007 and it has a 3 year warranty dependent on getting it serviced every 12 months . I phoned the original installers today to be told that they do not do services which I found surprising altho' they are a very small company so maybe have enough to handle doing other work .

I then phoned Alpha and they gave me numbers of two places they use . The first company said they did not do services until Summertime as they are busy doing breakdowns and said they believed most companies did the same . When I explained about the need for the service because of the warranty she expressed surprise about the service not being included in the warranty ( but should I be surprised at that in this day and age ) Called the other place ...called Homeserve... and they said the same so " Stuff this" I said and opened up Thomson's Local Directory and called the first place ( Corgi) that I spotted and they are doing it on Monday . £91 incl vat .I don't know if that is typical but it gets it done .

They did mention the cost if they find anything but I doubt they will but even if they do they will not be fixing it .Alpha can do that .

Is it common for companies not do do services in Winter months ? and why Don't Alpha do services ? It would get them money. Stuart

[john]

It's so you can't complain too much when they order parts you don't need and keep you waiting weeks. It wouldn't be so much of a problem in the summer.

[Andy Hall]

Two reasons:

- They can probably make more money from call out charges to fix breakdowns.....

- They have a finite number of staff and can keep them busy during winter with breakdowns, there being more of those in the winter. If they added services to the winter activity, they would end up being overstaffed in the summer.

[Stuart Noble]

Most insurance companies have a higher rate which includes the annual service for about £50. Not much use in this case though.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I'd be inclined to put the 91 quid in a high interest account and take the gamble as to the boiler giving problems. The so called service usually is no more than a check that things are ok - and if not the boiler installation details should say what's required.

[Stuart B]

Well I did consider that but I had it in my head that a condition of the Alpha 3 year warranty was that the boiler had to be serviced every

12 months and the first 12 months is almost up .However,having looked again at the documentaion for the boiler and the Alpha website ,I cannot see where it says this .I wouldn't want something to happen requiring repair and them turning round and say it was because it wasn't servived annually . I have managed to get the charge down to £72 to match the " Booking On Internet" price .

Stuart

[Dave Plowman (News)]

If push came to shove and a court was involved they'd have to prove the lack of 'service' had caused the failure. It's not like a car where routine servicing is required to prevent wear, etc.

[Ed Sirett]

with a 3 year warranty dependent on the 'service history'. You would be gambling the next two years against a problem.

On my new van I decide to pay the high cost of a 'service' after the 12 months at the expensive and questionably competent main dealer. The second year I took it to the local garage and had it 'serviced' for a third the cost but I forewent the last years warranty (which indeed turned out not to be needed).

[Stuart B]

You are correct about car servicing .That "rule" was outlawed or removed a while back . AlphaBoilers have said in an e-mail to me that not doing an annual service will not invalidate the 3 year warranty .I have printed it out and kept it with the boiler documentation.

Well I got the guy out to do the service and ,as I suspected would happen ,I'd have been as well not getting it done and save myself the £73 . I was hard pressed to see what he actually did for the money .I got the impression he was fiddling around to make me think he WAS doing things but I could see he wasn't . He knew from speaking to me that there had been no problems except for a small leak that Alpha had fixed . He certainly didn't do all the things listed for a service in the Alpha documentation . From speaking to him it was clear he was an Ex Scottish Gas fitter now working on his own but also on the books of the company that I contacted . Acht well..once bitten twice shy .

.