What to Do If Your Boiler Is Beyond Economical Repair

We know that this isn’t news you want to hear. Your boiler has been working OK. Maybe it’s a bit old but it’s been doing fine until this latest breakdown.

Boilers last forever, right?

Unfortunately, just like most bits of machinery and technology, your boiler is going to get older and reach the end of its effective life. It’s likely to suffer from more problems as the years go by and is probably going to be less efficient resulting in higher gas bills.

A boiler that is installed properly, annually serviced and used in line with manufacturer instructions should last at least 10 years. However, if you start to notice more frequent breakdowns, heating bills going up, the time to heat water increasing, strange noises or odd smells then it’s a sign your boiler may be reaching the end of its efficient life.

Because of this, the economic value of the boiler reduces over time. Perhaps the most commonly understood example of this relates to new cars and their value over time. The value of a car depreciates over time (we can see this easily – it costs less to buy a second-hand car than a new car) and if there is a problem with an older car it can be “written-off”. In other words, the car is beyond economic repair.

Beyond Economic Repair (BER)

If we decide that a boiler is BER it’s because the cost of parts, labour and any VAT are more than the estimated current value of the boiler. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the boiler can’t be repaired but, in our assessment, it means that it’s not cost effective to repair it and it may be in your best interest to invest in a new boiler. It’s likely to save you money on your energy bills. And save you the inconvenience of more frequent breakdowns.

How do we calculate the Current Value?

We calculate your boiler’s current value from its original price (the price of the boiler, not including the costs of installation) depreciated by 10% a year. An example of this is if a 9-year-old boiler developed a fault and our engineer diagnoses an issue with the gas valve. We find the original price of the boiler according to Boiler Guide (Boiler Guide: Quotes, Prices, Comparison & Reviews).

If we see a price of, for example, £954 we then take this original price and reduce by 10% per year. In this case it would be £370. If the estimated cost of parts, labour and any VAT is less than this then we’ll do our best to fix it. We also recognise that simple repairs could get your boiler working again so we will always value it at £250 or more.

This basically means that if the estimated cost of parts, labour and VAT is less than £250 we’ll always do our best to fix it.

Is this just a 24|7 Home Rescue thing?

Not at all. There may be some differences in the approach but most of the firms offering boiler breakdown products (whether they are insurance policies or not) have BER rules and processes. Here are some examples from other firm’s terms & conditions (information correct on 18th March 2025).

Firm A states, “When according to the expert judgement of our claims team the cost of repair is more than the value of the boiler”. They then go on to say “Boilers have a limited life. Depending on the make or model of the boiler this can be between 7-20 years. This means that the value of a boiler falls over time. Sometimes when the cost of the repair for the boiler is likely to be more than the current value of your boiler, we will not be able to carry out the repair and instead declare the boiler beyond economical repair”.

Firm B describes economical repair as “The cost of parts including VAT, using reputable suppliers, should not exceed 75% of the retail price of a new boiler with the same output as your boiler, from our chosen supplier”.

Firm C describes the circumstances in which a BER decision may be made as “The manufacturer of your brand of boiler advises us in writing that your boiler is BER, the parts for your boiler are no longer stocked by the manufacturer of your boiler, one of our independent gas safe registered engineers advises that the boiler is BER due to damage that has been caused by another fault, your boiler needs to be removed from the wall in order to complete a repair, or your boiler is over 15 years old and multiple parts are required to correct the current fault”.

What happens when we decide a boiler is BER?

If your boiler falls into our BER category and you’ve had continuous 24|7 boiler cover for at least 12 months then we’ll offer you an efficient new boiler which is likely to save you money on your energy bills, installed by our approved installers.

If your boiler is less than 7 years old (since installation as new) at the time of breakdown, our approved installers will replace it at no cost to you. If your boiler is at least 7 years old (since installation as new) we’ll offer a 15% discount (maximum £400) towards a new boiler from our approved installers.

If you would prefer to stick with your existing boiler and try to repair it, please ask and we will try to find a solution, but you will be responsible for the repair costs. Due to the potential challenges of BER repairs, we cannot guarantee a successful fix and therefore you may not be entitled to a refund if you choose this option.

What do our customers tell us?

We totally understand that a new boiler can be expensive and so a BER decision is not likely to be popular, even if it could reduce your energy bills. However, less than 5% of our BER decisions result in a customer complaint. Many of these are because we simply haven’t explained ourselves properly. We’re doing our best to get that right in future.