Boiler warranty call-out charge: when you get charged for the visit

Is a warranty call-out free?

A manufacturer's warranty covers the boiler itself, and where the repair is covered the maker does not bill you for it. Worcester Bosch says as much in the terms that govern an engineer visit: where the product is registered and under the manufacturer's guarantee, "the repair services are likely to be free of charge, provided that you have complied with the guarantee terms and conditions".

Some makers also ask for money up front and give it back afterwards. Baxi's warranty terms say that if the boiler breaks down, "we may ask you to pay us a deposit before we visit you to repair it. We will return the deposit in full if we find a fault that is covered by this warranty." Vaillant says a refundable deposit "may be required prior to the commencement of any works or any visit". Being asked for a card number is not proof you are about to be charged.

What turns a free visit into a bill

All four come from the makers' own published terms.

• No annual service you can evidence. Worcester Bosch: if you cannot provide evidence the service was done, "we reserve the right to charge you for the provision of the repair services".
• The fault is not in the boiler. Vaillant: "All installation related, non-boiler or external system fault calls will be charged to you and could also invalidate your guarantee."
• Nobody in, or the boiler is boxed in. Baxi may keep the deposit; Vaillant applies an abortive charge.
• Diagnosis only. Worcester Bosch charges an Investigation & Fault Analysis Fee where the engineer does nothing beyond diagnosing the fault.

When a warranty visit becomes chargeable

The annual service is what catches most people

The service you skipped two winters ago is the likeliest reason a warranty visit turns into a bill, and makers ask for evidence rather than take your word for it.

Worcester Bosch requires that "the Product must be serviced annually by Bosch or any other competent and officially certified engineer", with the details recorded and available for inspection. Its engineer visit terms then close the loop: "we will ask you to provide evidence that the annual boiler maintenance service has been completed. If you are not able to provide such evidence, we reserve the right to charge you for the provision of the repair services…"

Note what none of them pay for. Vaillant states "the cost of annual servicing is not included in the guarantee", and Baxi excludes the "costs of each annual service, including parts such as seals or electrodes replaced at this time". The service is a condition, not a benefit. Our boiler service cost page, linked at the foot of this page, covers the going rates.

Practical version: dig out the last service record now, before the engineer arrives. A dated invoice from a Gas Safe registered engineer, or the completed service section of the Benchmark checklist at the back of your boiler's installation instructions, is what they want to see.

If you cannot prove when the boiler was installed

Warranty length runs from installation, so if you cannot prove the date, the maker dates the guarantee from its own records instead, and a boiler you think is still covered can turn out to be chargeable. Worcester Bosch runs its guarantee from installation where the product was installed within six months of manufacture, and otherwise from six months after the manufacture date.

So find the date before you book. The Benchmark checklist at the back of the installation instructions is the first place to look, and Baxi says that checklist "must be made available to us if we ask". The installer's invoice and the maker's own online guarantee checker are the other two. Our page on how to check your boiler warranty, linked at the foot of this page, walks through all three.

Faults outside the warranty, and diagnosis-only visits

The second big category is the fault that is real but is not the boiler's. Every maker draws the same line: the warranty is on the appliance, and the heating system around it is yours. Baxi's warranty "only relates to the boiler and integrated controls, not to any connected system or accessories such as time switches, thermostats, motorised valves, external pumps, external expansion vessels and so on". Worcester Bosch excludes "external system components such as radiators, water, gas and oil pipelines/services, electric wiring, pumps, fire valves, third party filters, third party controls".

So this happens: an engineer attends free under warranty, finds a seized zone valve or a sludged circuit, and the visit converts on the doorstep. That is the written terms working as designed. It is also worth thinking about before you book, because if you already suspect the pipework rather than the boiler, a warranty call may be the wrong call to make.

Worcester Bosch also charges where the engineer only diagnoses. If it cannot repair the fault, or the fault comes from a faulty installation, a component outside the service, a system needing cleansing or power flushing, or user error, then "if the engineer or approved service partner does not provide any maintenance and repair services other than diagnosis, we will charge you the Investigation & Fault Analysis Fee". The same fee applies where the boiler is beyond repair or you decide not to repair it.

One safety point sits above all of this. If you can smell gas, do not wait for any engineer. Do not touch electrical switches, do not smoke, put out naked flames, open the doors and windows and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. Work inside the casing of a gas boiler is for a Gas Safe registered engineer only.

What a chargeable visit actually involves

At the point the fault is identified as one the warranty does not cover, the engineer should tell you and set out the options. Worcester Bosch's wording is that any advice "is done so in good faith and should be confirmed by a suitably qualified third party before such works are undertaken". You are entitled to stop there, pay the diagnosis fee and get a second opinion. While the boiler is still in warranty, book through the manufacturer before you call whoever can come out today: Worcester Bosch excludes repairs it has not authorised in advance and in writing, so an unauthorised repair can cost you the cover as well as the bill.

Prices vary by maker and by job, and none publish a single flat figure, so treat any number you read online as an estimate rather than a quote. What the terms do tell you is how the money moves: a deposit comes back in full where the fault is covered, and is kept or converted to a charge where it is not.

If the answer turns out to be that your warranty lapsed some time ago, a warranty and a cover plan are different products and worth comparing properly. Our page on boiler warranty versus boiler cover, linked at the foot of this page, sets out what each one pays for.

Boiler warranty call-out charge FAQs

Warranty lapsed? Cover the next breakdown instead.

Build a plan from the modules you actually want. Boiler and central heating pays parts and labour up to £500 in a 12-month cover period where the boiler is under 7 years old, or £200 where it is over 7, and anything above that is yours. Cover starts from the next breakdown, so a fault the boiler is showing today counts as pre-existing and is handled as a one-off repair instead. One-off repair appointments run Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 17:00, a £95 call-out fee is paid in advance, and the engineer tells you what is needed and what it costs before any work goes ahead. A £95 call-out fee, paid in advance, applies during your first 30 days, and to faults outside the plan, no-access visits and an early annual service request. Cover itself is live from day one. Cover-plan call-outs are booked Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 18:00, and we aim to get an engineer out to you within two working days. Using a module starts a 12-month agreement period from the first time you use a service. There is a 14-day cooling-off period, which ends the moment a service is carried out, and leaving early after that costs the remaining months or 75% of the outstanding balance. It is a service plan, not insurance, from UK Boiler Company Ltd, trading since 2014.

Helpful links

• What a boiler warranty does not cover
• How to check your boiler warranty
• Boiler warranty vs boiler cover
• Boiler service cost
• Tell us about your boiler
• Worcester Bosch guarantee terms and conditions
• Worcester Bosch service engineer visit terms
• Vaillant domestic boiler guarantee
• Baxi boiler warranty terms and conditions (PDF)