A new boiler?

On Monday, British Gas Man came to service the boiler, which was working fine.
"It's 16 years old now," he said, "I'm supposed to persuade you to get a new one, but, don't worry, the parts for this one are still available."
After a conversation about why I objected to the fact that the only boilers that we are now allowed to have are condenser boilers, which, I have read, are not very reliable in very cold weather and about Dad's boiler which is now 45 years old and still going strong, he left.
Yesterday, Keith had a call on his mobile phone, asking for me. (Don't ask!) It was British Gas Call Centre Man. In tones of deepest gloom and darkest warnings, he began to tell me that, as our boiler is now 16 years old, it is FAR more likely to break down and it will be ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE to get parts for it if it should. Boilers are only meant to last ten years, so I should really be thinking of replacing it and would I be interested in a free, no-obligation quote?
"No," I said.
"Can I ask why?" he said.
"Yes," I said, "I am certainly not going to spend over £2000 buying a new boiler when the old one is working perfectly well. If boilers only last ten years, they're really not worth the money, are they?"
I could almost hear the shuffle of feet as he backed away from his phone in shocked silence. Then,
"OK, no problem," he said in a faint voice.

6 comments:

Daphne said...

Yessssss! I think all boiler-owners should use this blog post as a script for all future interactions with gas salesmen!

Jennytc said...

You're welcome to borrow it,Daphne. :)

Anonymous said...

Well, ours is 26 years old. No, make that 27... and we have stopped having this conversation with British Gas by going elsewhere for our servicing.
Lucy
PS And alternative servicing is a lot cheaper.

Jennytc said...

Yes, I think we will have to find someone else, Lucy.

British Gas Boiler Boss said...

Dear Madam,
I have been informed that you did wilfully abuse and grossly upset a member of our dedicated call centre team when we called to discuss your obsolete, rusty, dilapidated and dangerous antique boiler that is a hazard to you and the rest of your neighbourhood. We will not tolerate such maltreatment of our workforce and we will shortly be disconnecting your gas supply.

Yours officiously,
Douglas Jobsworthy O.B.E., G.C.S.E.

Jennytc said...

Over my (and your!) dead body, YP! ;)

Plaster board and dust

So, we're still no further forward on the British Gas smart meter front and I've given up making non-existent appointments with them...