General Discussion
Help for the elderly
If you have an elderly neighbour needs help with their their gas boiler etc, who do you contact. Please don't give me an address of a rip off merchant
I have just been told of a scheme from the government that will replace old boilers for new, does anyone know of this scheme.
Just make sure you dont use the plumber in Exeter road, he charged a friend of mine (elderly) £300 to change the inner workings of the toilet cistern, and even took him to the bank to get cash, I checked with what was then Corgi and he was registered and they have no control over what they charge.
He has been doing that sort of thing for years, I think the first name is Mike, but dont hold me to that.
The boiler scrappage scheme is to replace boilers with the lowest energy efficient rating with A-rated ones. The Govt contribution is £400 towards the cost of replacement. Note however that the cost of purchasing and installing these boilers can be in the region of £2000 - though they are likely to mean that you will have savings of £300 per year off your gas bill. The only plumber I can recommend is my brother, but he lives over 200 miles away! Sorry.
If you are elderly, Age Concern will give you the names of local plumbers who have been tried and tested by previous clients. The best thing to do is to ask 3 of them to come and look at the work and to give you an estimate for the job. You can then decide which of them you wish to give the work to and will ensure that you don't get taken for a ride by one of these rip-off merchants.
British Gas are also very good, they maintain my boiler for about £15.00 per month, this includes all call-outs, parts, labour and an annual service (the boiler) they are very proffessional and highly skilled.