at annual service told boiler was dirty - is this a way to be ripped off

[Millsy 82]

they are serviced each year .. the issue is when the service engineer suggests a power flush and you effectively lose your service plan until you pay many hundreds for a a service you may or may not need .. i have never had one engineer suggest i should put a filter in

Did you ask them how sludge could affect ignition/ flame rectification? If they refuse get someone independent to sort the problem and check the water quality.

I went out to someone 4/5 years ago british gas refused to do anything as "there was sludge in the system" so they got worcester out that replaced loads of parts then refused to do anymore until the system was power flushed as it was apparently checked up. I got the phone call and customer told me what the problem was I said it doesnt sound like a sludge issue so I will come out and diagnose. £110 later boiler working perfectly all radiators hot top to bottom.

The sludge thing gets used far too often to get out of insurances so question them about it as there are only a few that I can think of that would cause an ignition lockout

 

[centralheatking]

Sludge issues. ferric sludge is both a restriction to flow and also a bit like pumping liquid sandpaper round your system. Certain components are prone to premature wear. Diverter Valves, pumps, aav, heat ex. Most people change the oil in their car, if you dont like someone put toothpaste or brasso in their oil and see what happens. Ferric sludge black or worse the brown stuff does the same. centralheatking

 

[OffshoreGas]

Another thread asking am I being “ripped off” is it possible that the engineer is actually right?? Why always so accusatory

Going solely on personal experience the attitude of a not insignificant number of trades people can be a little off putting.

Its not easy I guess working for a big firm who will expect you to be in, out and within an allotted time, the home owner doesn't have any form of relationship with these people and suddenly they’re saying they need to spend £500.

 

[centralheatking]

Going solely on personal experience the attitude of a not insignificant number of trades people can be a little off putting.

Its not easy I guess working for a big firm who will expect you to be in, out and within an allotted time, the home owner doesn't have any form of relationship with these people and suddenly they’re saying they need to spend £500.

Its not just the time pressure. Effectively eg BG do not turn a profit from their annual servicing contracts it is expected that their engineers sell extras...co monitors, hive, full flush outs etc. whatever they are told to sell. Its the add ons which make money
centralheatking

 

[OffshoreGas]

Its not just the time pressure. Effectively eg BG do not turn a profit from their annual servicing contracts it is expected that their engineers sell extras...co monitors, hive, full flush outs etc. whatever they are told to sell. Its the add ons which make money
centralheatking

I guess it's a loss leader to generate work for their over priced installations. It's an expensive hobby doing business legally/responsibly I can see why they don't make much from it.

 

[centralheatking]

I guess it's a loss leader to generate work for their over priced installations. It's an expensive hobby doing business legally/responsibly I can see why they don't make much from it.

The generally accepted cost for BG etc is £65 for one hour, two visits makes a servicing policy a loss maker. Hence pressure to succeed in one go, and sell an extra during the visit. centralheatking

 

[Millsy 82]

Its not just the time pressure. Effectively eg BG do not turn a profit from their annual servicing contracts it is expected that their engineers sell extras...co monitors, hive, full flush outs etc. whatever they are told to sell. Its the add ons which make money
centralheatking

Yet everytime they record record profits they always say that it is down to there service contracts and not down to energy sales.

 

[OffshoreGas]

Yet everytime they record record profits they always say that it is down to there service contracts and not down to energy sales.

I can only ever remember Centrica posting record losses not profits.

 

[Millsy 82]

I can only ever remember Centrica posting record losses not profits.

Profit margins at big six energy firms hit highest level on record

Average pre-tax margin rose to 4.48% in 2016 despite falling wholesale and environmental costs, says Ofgem

www.google.com

Dont think they are struggling somehow.

 

[OffshoreGas]

Profit margins at big six energy firms hit highest level on record

Average pre-tax margin rose to 4.48% in 2016 despite falling wholesale and environmental costs, says Ofgem

www.google.com

Dont think they are struggling somehow.

That was a one off due to the fall in wholesale gas prices being out of step with consumer contract terms.

They've lost about a million customers over the past three years, their share price has dropped from about 300p to 90p, they've shed about 10'000 staff, Ian Conn their COE has just resigned. Doesn't sound like they lost something like £2.2bn in 2017 and £300m this year. Doesn't really sound like a business that thriving.

The cap on energy prices has really hurt them.

 

[Millsy 82]

That was a one off due to the fall in wholesale gas prices being out of step with consumer contract terms.

They've lost about a million customers over the past three years, their share price has dropped from about 300p to 90p, they've shed about 10'000 staff, Ian Conn their COE has just resigned. Doesn't sound like they lost something like £2.2bn in 2017 and £300m this year. Doesn't really sound like a business that thriving.

The cap on energy prices has really hurt them.

Google it and you will find that year on year they are making huge profits. I did put another link up but it didnt work.

 

[OffshoreGas]

Google it and you will find that year on year they are making huge profits. I did put another link up but it didnt work.

Recent profits have included disposal of various assets in an effort to survive, Centrica is not a thriving business, the share price doesn't lie.

 

[Millsy 82]

I would be happy making £300m profit last year and I bet they still make a profit of a couple of hundred million this year. So I fail to see how making even a £1m profit isn't a thriving business!

People are fed up with being ripped off and seeing the likes of bg edf etc making billions profit each year so are now switching more and more but it still doesnt mean that they wont make large profits.

 

[OffshoreGas]

I would be happy making £300m profit last year and I bet they still make a profit of a couple of hundred million this year. So I fail to see how making even a £1m profit isn't a thriving business!

People are fed up with being ripped off and seeing the likes of bg edf etc making billions profit each year so are now switching more and more but it still doesnt mean that they wont make large profits.

Its equivalent to you selling your house, car and van and then pretending you've made great money that year. It's OK when you do it but those assets are gone.

They turned over about £29bn in 2018 and made a profit of £242m, whats that? 8%? And even that's after selling the family silver. Doesn't really seem excessive.

I bet there's not many self employed people on here making a profit of less than 30% and you wouldn't call them greedy would you?

Their reward is proportional to their risk.

 

[doitmyself]

They turned over about £29bn in 2018 and made a profit of £242m, whats that? 8%? And even that's after selling the family silver. Doesn't really seem excessive.

It's not 8% but 0.8%. No wonder the share price is sliding.

 

[OffshoreGas]

It's not 8% but 0.8%. No wonder the share price is sliding.

You are indeed correct, my brain doesn't function that well at the best of times.

 

[centralheatking]

Centrica are actively trying to sell BG esp. the servicing business
but there are many problems from the pension fund to the service contract not being viable as a stand alone business centralheatking

 

[OffshoreGas]

Centrica are actively trying to sell BG esp. the servicing business
but there are many problems from the pension fund to the service contract not being viable as a stand alone business centralheatking

It wouldn't be the first company to charge over the odds and still make a loss due to mismanagement.

Its a fairly well accepted maxim that the bigger the company the less efficient it becomes.

 

[doitmyself]

They turned over about £29bn in 2018 and made a profit of £242m ...

I've just looked at their 2018 accounts. I can see the £29bn, but can't find the £242m anywhere. Where did you get it from?

Further on in the accounts it show the UK revenue of £8,392m and an operating profit of £668m. This gives a return of 6.77%.

 

[OffshoreGas]

I've just looked at their 2018 accounts. I can see the £29bn, but can't find the £242m anywhere. Where did you get it from?

Further on in the accounts it show the UK revenue of £8,392m and an operating profit of £668m. This gives a return of 6.77%.

£242m came from the net profit for 2018 on Hargreves Lansdown. This may possibly exclude one offs.