Are you a Scottish pensioner wondering where to look for a boiler replacement?
Whether you or a loved one needs a boiler replacement, the last thing you’ll want is to be left out in the cold – or get ripped off!
If you’re on a pension, it’s understandable if you don’t have money to throw away. Unfortunately, there are certain companies and salesmen out there that are notorious for showing up on your doorstep and giving you the hard sell – or promising the world for free (or a deal that’s just too good to be true).
As a heating engineer with over 20 years’ experience in the Edinburgh area, I just hate to hear about people getting ripped off. Especially if a job’s been botched and then they have to come to us to fix it. There are also lots of scam artists out there offering boiler replacements for pensioners when really what they’re doing is taking advantage of your trust.
So, if you’re worried about who to trust, and want to ensure you get a good deal for your boiler replacement, read on.
Where to look for your boiler replacement
I’m going to mention a few trusty resources that should be your go-tos when looking for a good deal on your boiler replacement.
1. The Energy Saving Trust
Whenever you’re looking for any kind of help at all, you’ve always got to check the Energy Saving Trust. Most of the time, it will change just in time for the financial year – that’s when they get their grants. However, PRO TIP: Always check mid-year and three-quarters of the way through the year.
The reason being, sometimes they’ve had a budget to spend. Once that’s been spent, it can be re-introduced. As for checking three-quarters of the way through the year? They often have funding that has to be spent before the end of the financial year.
So, always check around December/January too, because sometimes if government organisations don’t spend their budget, it’ll get reduced for the next year.
2. MoneySavingExpert.com
Now, I’m sure you’ve probably heard of either Martin Lewis or his famous website, MoneySavingExpert.com. Over the years, he’s become one of the most trustworthy authorities when it comes to not breaking the bank. He has sections on his website which cover heating, along with things such as boilers and insulation.
So, it’s always worth checking whether there’s anything helpful or new with regards to boilers that Lewis’s team might have posted recently. After all, if it’s not featured on his website, or the Energy Saving Trust, it’s probably not worth knowing about.
3. British Gas
Finally, British/Scottish Gas is another place that’s worth checking, as they’re usually up-to-date with the latest money-saving initiatives. They also have people poised to give you advice if you need it.
Just be wary of signing up for an expensive contract you might not need – if you were to get a new boiler with a nice, long 10-year guarantee, you likely won’t need it (and smaller heating companies can usually offer you better-value deals if you want to cover your radiators and pipework).
Advice from an experienced heating engineer
If someone comes to your door or calls you on the phone saying you can get free windows or a gas boiler, here’s what to do. Ask them if you can have a phone number – or ask to see their ID. Tell them you’ll call them back to make an appointment. That should have them running for the hills (if they’re fraudulent, that is)!
Never, ever commit to anything on the phone, or allow someone to doorstep you into agreeing to a sale. Often they’ll tell you that you’re eligible for whatever they’re supposedly giving away, and then start talking about a small cost involved. There’s are many sales tactics out there, such as saying you can have a free boiler, but then charging you £2,000 for labour!
Always do your research, and make sure you’re getting your money’s worth. If a small contractor is telling you there’s an initiative or grant out there, you should be able to find it on websites like the Energy Saving Trust or MoneySavingExpert.com. If you can’t find anything about it on an official government website or trustworthy source, it’s probably not real.
We’ve carried out a lot of jobs in the past year where people have got interest-free loans through an Energy Saving Trust initiative. This has helped people replace their boiler and windows, along with other energy saving measures. Two older clients asked me about this recently, and I told them to call the Energy Saving Trust.
Because they were both over 75 and on pension credits, they ended up getting a free boiler fitted through the government scheme. I also find being helpful in this way means we end up being referred to do work for other family members.
Conclusion
I hope this blog has been of some help to you. We all pay tax, and it’s important we get the most for our hard-earned money when we can. Look out for things like £400 cashback, government incentives and interest-free loans. Just be wary of anyone promising you a deal that sounds too good to be true.
Do you have any questions about boiler replacements for pensioners? Let me know in the comments’ section. I’m always around to help!
