Baxi Boiler Help!

[stripeywhitey]

We have a baxi boiler (Baxi wm51/3rs) - on Monday the pilot light went out and the boiler would not re-ignite.
Engineer out Tuesday - it re-ignited while he was here but went off again later.
While here the engineer said it could be:
1. the "TC Lead"
2. the gas valve
3. needs a service
We have been in the property 5 years and the system has not been serviced so this is the likely culprit.
I'm after some advice on how much the 3 problems mentioned will cost - want to avoid being ripped off.
Thanks
Phil

 

[Agile]

I can never understand why people apparently have engineers attend who dont complete the repair! Did you pay him or was it a free visit that you are going to use to find someone cheaper.

Its irrelevant what it will cost until the problem is correctly diagnosed. I hope that you do not manage to find an engineer who gives you a free diagnosis.

To avoid being ripped off by customers we always charge for diagnosing faults.

By your own admission you have not had the boiler serviced for FIVE years and I presume that you know that it is recommended that its serviced every year.

Not getting it serviced indicates a very mean person who spends the absolute minimum possible until it goes wrong. Even then you come on here expressing fears that you may get ripped off! The reality is that there are more customers who rip us off than engineers who rip off customers.

You have already identified that you are probably a rip off customer because you dont bother to get it serviced and probably did not pay this engineer whom you were hoping would give you a free diagnosis.

Tony

 

[stripeywhitey]

Appear to have touched a nerve...you can't be naive enough to think that there are no unscrupulous dodgy folk out there - there's hundreds of TV shows about them!!!

You're right to say that we have spent as little as possible on it - as first time home owners we have a very limited budget, rather than being mean we have had to prioritise what we spend on - while the boiler was working we had our fingers crossed it would hold out.

Anyway now it has, inevitablely, gone wrong we were after some advice on how not to be stung by the cowboys that us in the real world realise are out there.

Cheers for the advice - oh and no he didn't charge for the call out

 

[joe-90]

Why didn't you ask him for a price?

 

[stripeywhitey]

I forgot to as I was busy trying to remember the technical terms he used for the problem. Realised a soon as he was up the road that i should've asked.

I came on the forum for a bit of advice around ball park figures for jobs, so i have an idea if any quotes we get are realistic.

 

[expertgasman]

Stripey, I think we are all strugling to understand why an engineer came out, identified possible faultys, and left. Did you send him away, or did he say he would get back to you. It is rather bizzare. If you had phoned me, I would have had a quick chat with you. As you would have said it hasn't been serviced in 5 years, I would have said we will service it, at our standard rate, clearing the injector (standard element of my "service"), and check electrode and HT lead. I carry the parts - injector, HT lead, Pilot assy and thermocouples, so could change these parts if immediately identifiable as being neccessary.

This would, more often than not, sort the problem. the proviso being that further charges for parts and labour may be incurred if the fault occurs again, asnd we didn't change parts on the service.

Do not expect EVERY RGI to carry parts.

Tony, you're being a bit harsh again, you don't know the full circumstances. You charge £87 (?) to identify fault. If you fitted, say, a gas valve on that 1st visit, does your £87 cover the repair charge (labour)?