The cost of living crisis is sadly on going, causing issue for millions of people across the country.
And whilst many are trying their best to save up cash, there's one more thing that they can try doing, according to an expert, who says some common mistakes could be costing people thousands.
Experts at BOXT have revealed that not getting your boiler serviced could be costing you more than you think. Here's what they want you to know.
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Not servicing your boiler every year
The experts from BOXT explain that not servicing your boiler every year could invalidate the manufacturer’s warranty.
This means that if you still have any remaining warranty left on your boiler, make sure you’re getting it serviced every year in case you ever need to claim. Not having an annual service invalidates the warranty, meaning that if anything goes wrong, you’ll have to fork out money for the bill.
It could invalidate your home insurance
If something goes wrong with your boiler such as a gas leak, you’ll want to ensure your insurance provider will cover the costs of the damage. If you don’t get your boiler serviced annually your insurance provider may not cover the costs if something goes wrong.
Not servicing your boiler will cut its lifespan
Boilers are not cheap to repair - or replace. Nowadays the cost of a boiler with installation is, on average, between £1,500 and £3,500 - money that you could really do without losing. However if you have your boiler checked on a regular basis early warning signs of damage may be spotted and in the long run, this can help to prevent bigger issues developing, maximising your boiler's lifespan of between 10 to 15 years.
Not servicing your boiler won’t allow it to run efficiently and your energy consumption could increase
With the current energy bill increase, keeping your energy consumption as low as possible is crucial for many households.
However, if you don't get it serviced, your boiler may underperform and therefore have to work harder. Because of this, it can end up using more energy.
Discussing the mistakes to avoid, Andy Kerr, founder at BOXT, said: “ You may save money in the short term, but not having a regular boiler service can put you and your family at risk, not to mention financially out of pocket. The average cost of repairing your boiler can be between £100 and £500, depending on the issue, and if you need an emergency repair this can add around £400 to the final bill. This costly expense can easily be avoided, and the best way to ensure that your boiler isn’t costing you more money than it should is by regularly servicing it.
"While one-off services may seem cheaper in the short term, with a boiler service or full cover plan, you get the peace of mind that your service will be arranged and the cost is covered by your monthly payments, and, depending on the type of cover plan you have, any necessary repairs could be covered too.
"A one-off service will cost you between £80 and £150, depending on the kind of boiler you own. A service plan, however, could cost you less than £8 pounds a month , under £100 each year, and will guarantee everything you need for your annual service is sorted.”
Andy continued that people should be checking that they are finding the best cover plan available suggesting that you will want to verify the following:
What type of issues the plan covers, and the ones that aren’t included
If your boiler is too old to be repaired
If there are any call out fees for repairs
If there are any additional fees that aren’t built into the standard price
If there’s a limit on how long the engineer can spend on repairs
If you’ll only be able to make a limited amount of claims in a year
If there’s a waiting period after you take your policy out during which you won’t be able to claim
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