Worcester Bosch boiler service, repair and cover costs

The short version

• Worcester recommends a yearly service by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and the service is yours to pay for, in or out of guarantee.
• Out of guarantee, Worcester publishes a chargeable service as a "from" price. Read the current figure on its out-of-guarantee service page.
• An out-of-guarantee repair is also a "from" price, and Worcester says it covers "your Worcester boiler and its Worcester controls for labour, VAT and most parts".
• For a significant or structural part, or a boiler "beyond economical repair", Worcester says the engineer "will quote a revised charge on the day".
• Worcester's two plans are provided by Domestic & General. The Maintenance & Support Plan covers repairs "up to the value of £1,500 per year"; the Repair Care Plan covers the boiler and controls "for 6 months".
• A Smart Plan cover plan is a different product again: modular, capped at a stated limit, and not tied to the boiler brand.

Out of guarantee: a Worcester Bosch boiler service

Worcester recommends "a yearly boiler service to help ensure that your boiler is running as efficiently and safely as possible". Once the guarantee has ended you can still book one through Worcester, and it publishes the price on its out-of-guarantee service page as a "from" figure. That means the price advertised is the floor rather than the ceiling, and Worcester can change it, so take the current number off its own page before you budget.

Two lines on that page are worth reading before you book. Worcester says "We will reserve our breakdown and service fee at the time of booking, to cover the cost of any parts that may be required for your product." It also says "If significant or structural parts are required, or the product is beyond economical repair our engineer will quote you a revised charge on the day."

Whoever services the boiler has to be qualified for gas. The Health and Safety Executive is explicit: "Anyone employed to work on gas appliances in domestic premises must be a Gas Safe registered engineer and competent in that area of gas work." Check the engineer's card against the Gas Safe Register before work starts. HSE also "strongly advises that all gas appliances, flues and pipework should be installed, regularly maintained and serviced at least annually".

Still in guarantee?

If your Worcester Bosch is still in guarantee, book a covered repair with Worcester and keep the yearly service up, which you still pay for. Not every call-out is covered by the guarantee. Our Worcester Bosch guarantee guide, linked at the foot of this page, covers checking it. The rest of this page is for boilers whose guarantee has ended.

Out of guarantee: what a Worcester Bosch repair involves

Worcester still sends an engineer to a boiler that is out of guarantee, it just charges for it. It publishes the repair price on its out-of-guarantee repair page as a "from" figure, and says the charge will cover "your Worcester boiler and its Worcester controls for labour, VAT and most parts". Note the word most. Worcester goes on: "should the boiler require a significant/structural part, (such as a shell, a tank or back plate), or if the boiler is beyond economical repair, then the engineer will quote a revised charge on the day."

Read what the boiler is showing before you book anything. Some problems are not a fault in the boiler itself. Even in guarantee, Worcester lists "Self maintenance tasks such as, re-pressurising and resetting the product" among the things its guarantee does not cover. Check the thermostat and timer, look at the pressure gauge, and follow your boiler manual for a pressure top-up or a single reset. Never open the boiler casing. For anything else, book a Gas Safe registered engineer. Our Worcester Bosch fault code guide, linked at the foot of this page, will place a code for you first.

If you ever smell gas, 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 straight away. If it is safe to, turn off the gas at the meter, leave the property and make the call from outside.

The table below sets out what Worcester itself publishes, and deliberately does not pin Worcester's prices to this page. Worcester changes them, and a stale figure repeated here would mislead you. The service terms come from Worcester's out-of-guarantee service page, the repair terms from its out-of-guarantee repair page, and the plan terms from its Maintenance & Support Plan and Repair Care Plan pages. The service and repair pages are linked at the foot of this page and carry the live price. Worcester's plan pages do not show a price, so ask Worcester for a quote. Eligibility depends on the boiler's age, on it being out of guarantee and on not already holding a Worcester plan. Worcester's own pages give different age limits, so confirm the limit for your boiler with Worcester.

Worcester Bosch's own published options, side by side

So which route makes sense?

If the boiler is still in guarantee, keep the yearly service going, because skipping it can put the guarantee at risk.

If it is out of guarantee and healthy, and you would rather absorb an occasional bill than a monthly one, paying per service and per repair is defensible. Worcester's published service and repair prices are the numbers to hold against any monthly figure you are offered. Take them off Worcester's pages on the day you decide, remember each is a "from" price rather than a ceiling, and multiply any monthly plan by twelve before you compare.

If it is out of guarantee and a large surprise bill would hurt, a plan is the point, and the question becomes which one. Manufacturer plans are tied to the appliance brand; Smart Plan's cover is modular. Our compare boiler cover guide, linked at the foot of this page, sets out what to check on any of them.

Where a Smart Plan cover plan fits

For completeness, our own product described honestly. Smart Plan is a service plan, not insurance, from UK Boiler Company Ltd, trading since 2014. We are independent of Worcester Bosch, and our plan is not a Worcester product. It is modular, so the boiler and central heating module can be taken on its own. That module funds parts and labour up to £500 in a 12-month cover period where the boiler is under 7 years old, or up to £200 where it is over 7, and anything above the limit is yours. A £95 call-out fee, paid in advance, applies during your first 30 days, for faults the plan does not cover, no-access visits and early annual service requests, and cover itself is live from day one. Where our engineer identifies an existing defect on your equipment, we quote for that work separately rather than covering it. Using a module starts a 12-month agreement period, the 14-day cooling-off period ends the moment a service is carried out, and leaving early after that costs the remaining months or 75% of the outstanding balance. Our boiler and central heating cover page, linked at the foot of this page, has the module detail.

Worcester Bosch service, repair and cover FAQs

Worcester out of guarantee? Tell us what it is doing.

Send us the model, roughly how old it is and what the boiler is showing, and we will tell you honestly whether this is a one-off repair or a cover job. Cover is live from day one, and using a module starts a 12-month agreement period. A £95 call-out fee, paid in advance, applies in your first 30 days. Cover-plan call-outs are booked Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 18:00. A service plan, not insurance.

Helpful links

• Worcester Bosch guarantee: check and register
• Worcester Bosch fault codes explained
• Boiler service cost: what you pay and why
• Compare boiler cover: what to check before you buy
• Boiler & central heating cover
• Tell us about your Worcester
• Worcester Bosch out-of-guarantee service prices (official site)
• Worcester Bosch out-of-guarantee repair prices (official site)
• HSE gas safety advice for home owners