Are you getting what you pay for?

Many people will be paying £30, £40 or more every month for a boiler service and repair cover plan....but are you really getting the service you're paying for?

Sometimes as a 'freebie' an energy supplier will offer you a 'free' boiler service when you sign up.

I've been a self employed gas engineer for a while now and, like many engineers, when I started out I carried out servicing for these companies.

I always did things properly, took a little longer but I was happy that things were safe.

They pay the engineer as little as £20 to carry out a boiler 'service' so naturally the engineer will have to pack the jobs in to pay the bills....some will be in and out in 5-10 mins (I know because customers have told me so)

Sometimes they don't even take the case off the boiler, again customers have told me this, comments like 'the last guy never did this' were common.

Customers being told that cleaning the filter wasn't part of the service was also common.

Having your boiler serviced regularly has a number purposes.

If you're boiler is under warranty it maintains that warranty (if there is no evidence of regular servicing the manufacturer will refuse to honour the warranty)

Proper servicing, removing the case and visually inspecting it, can pick up on signs of distress/leaks.

Helps to keep the boiler running efficiently helping to save you money on your gas bill.

These companies are forcing a race to the bottom, offering you a boiler service that isn't always worthy of that title while underpaying the engineer to protect their profits.

Trust local, honest engineers that will do the job properly.