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Can I haggle with the British gas about a new boiler price

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I'm needing a new cental heating boiler,and I've just had a quote from British gas, which I think is a lot

he's ringing me back in a bit to see if I want to go ahead,

are they the same as double glazing people and always start high,

or is that the one and only price, should |I try for a better price.

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get more quotes.

 

I suspect that you will be surprised at how much lower other quotes will be. British Gas trade on their name and reputation to some extent. The problem is that you may not be comparing like with like though, as there are many types of boiler products and brands.

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We were quoted four grand by BG and went elsewhere. Got three other quotes ranging between £2,000 and £2,700 but eventually went with Bancroft Heating and paid £2,300 for a new combi boiler rads, thermostatic valves and other work doing.

 

They quoted a 3-4 day timeframe for installation but had it done in 2 with very little fuss or mess, we've just had one of the most comfortable winters in the 20 years I've been in the house.

 

BG will quote £600 for a "powerflush" I was told by several companies that they would do it but would not recommend it as it can weaken joints and push crud round and cause blockages. I know it's not very enviro friendly but Bancroft did a few fill and drains then put an inhibitor in.

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I was quoted £4500 by British Gas [they were obviously having a laugh]. I then went to BLAZES near Morrisons in Hillsborough and got the job done for £2300 including flushing, equalizer valve for shower etc. They did the work in one day including removing old tanks and pipework. British Gas are a joke!!

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british gas quoted me £2500, I got it done by an ex british-gas fitter for £1350ish (cant remember exactly!) including flushing out the radiators.

On the whole british gas are ridiculously expensive, even with their frequent "save 300 on a bolier" offers. I would get qoutes from a couple of other places before deciding.

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You can haggle with anyone but the larger the organisation, and the more procedures they have then the chances of achieving anything go down. If you get quotes from people who own the company or who can talk to the owners then they will know what they can cut, whereas a large company will have set prices and set discount structures.

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we also did a job for a customer who was quoted around £4500 by BG, we did more work than brittish gas and came in at 64% cheeper, the customer told us afterwards and we nearly dropped through the floor!

 

give us a call if you want a quote.

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Go for a quote with some of the firms on SF, you will get a better price, and a better job than British Gas can ever do. :thumbsup:

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I agree with the point about getting a quote for "like for like". Cos I didn't know this, and then I asked around for several quotes. BG came back with the highest, but their costs means changing the pipes too! Plus, it was an exact replacement of my existing system. I had a cold water tank, a big hot water tank, and a combi-boiler (I think it was a combi) to connect it up. It means hot water can be on without heating, or heating to be on without hot water.

 

I think you need to look and understand what type of systems are out there, and then ask them to tell you the quote for the exact system that you want. I agree that, it seems like doing their job for them, but you know then what you are getting your money for. Not all companies are set out to cheat us. Plus the quotes do not mean that cheapest is always the best either.

 

I had a scan of the book in a shop called Reader's Digest DIY. I think you can now get this from the library too. It'll show you the type of heating system that you can get. Mine is now a condensing comb-boiler, without a cold or hot water tank. Closed system. It's on all the time, and I can put on the timer to fire up the heating as/when. But hot water is available at all times.

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British Gas get away with overcharging because of the number of people who still think of them as the Gas Board. An elderly person I know was nearly conned into changing her electricity to them because the salesman led her to believe that he was a Civil Servant who'd been sent out by the government to check people weren't being over charged!!

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I'm needing a new cental heating boiler,and I've just had a quote from British gas, which I think is a lot

he's ringing me back in a bit to see if I want to go ahead,

are they the same as double glazing people and always start high,

or is that the one and only price, should |I try for a better price.

we used bg for our cental heating fitted and we were robbed blind, basic setup on/off, no thermostat. and they sent acouple of subbys who left the house in a right mess, going back a few years so i dont know if they still use subbys but i deffo shop around

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as bago says, get exactly what you want, you dont want a boiler that will breakdown every couple of months. i have fitted a biasi, at a friends request as he got it from b+q before he asked me to fit it. when installed(correctly) there was a funny noise coming from the boilerthey had to send thier guy out to change a faulty part! (under warranty). we have been back to this boiler again as the heat exchange had failed

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