What Constitutes an Emergency Call Out for Boiler Repair?

Callout/Breakdown?

Plumbing & heating specialists

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It’s a good question because let’s face it, if your boiler is working but just isn’t working properly it still feels like an emergency to you. However, it most certainly is an emergency if you experience a full boiler breakdown and have no hot water or heating. And at a Grand Union Plumbing & Heating we understand that even if that’s not the case… you still want a fast response.

So what counts as an emergency?

An emergency call out for boiler repair is warranted when it’s a matter of health and safety for a household. If you experience any of the following, you need an experienced and appropriately qualified engineer on site ASAP: when you have no hot water or heating, particularly if you have young children or it’s during the winter; when you have to stop using it because your carbon monoxide monitor has alerted you to a problem; or, of course, if you can smell gas.

However, with that said, we also understand that intermittent problems can create difficulties for a household. Thus we always aim to be on site as soon as we can, unless every engineer is out tackling an emergency; you get what we’re saying, eh? So even if it’s just a problem that happens now and again… we know it still needs prompt attention.

Do I need a fully qualified heating engineer for an emergency boiler repair?

The short answer is yes, so we recommend you ensure the person who’s going to look at your boiler is a Gas Safe registered engineer, or if your boiler uses oil, that they are an OFTEC technician.

How quickly will they turn up?

If it’s an emergency repair, they will ideally be with you as soon as possible, with the aim of getting you back up and running within 24 hours. Though bear in mind certain problems can take a bit longer, for example if your boiler requires parts that need to be ordered in.

Common problems requiring an experienced engineer

Air in the system
Low boiler pressure
Broken thermostat
Fan failure
Diverter valve failure

Symptoms suggesting there is a problem

All sorts of things can occur that suggest you need a qualified boiler engineer to have a look, even if it’s not an emergency. For example:

You can smell gas (this is an emergency, call 0800 111 999)
The water is hot but you don’t have any heating
You have heating but no hot water in your taps
You have neither hot water nor heating
Your boiler is leaking
Your boiler is making odd noises
Your boiler won’t ignite
Your boiler switches off too soon or keeps switching off

If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms then we advise you to call a Gas Safe engineer as soon as possible. A stitch in time saves nine, as they say, for with a bit of TLC your boiler could be fixed and up and running again quickly, whereas if you leave it too long and you may need a full replacement.

If you’re worried about your boiler, you can always give us a ring on 01908 034194. We’ll be delighted to help if we can.

Are you a landlord looking for a plumber?

If you’re a landlord and you need experienced and swift action taken to replace an old cranky boiler, please don’t hesitate to give us a ring on 01908 034194. We’ll work quickly to get the problem resolved and keep your tenants happy.

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Areas we cover

Milton Keynes
Aylesbury
Bedford
Leighton Buzzard
Northampton
Olney
Towcester
Woburn Sands

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What Our Customers Say

I’ve used Grand Union 3 times and every time the service is excellent and the price very reasonable. Engineers are very good at letting you know what they are doing and there are no hidden charges. They even managed to do a job at short notice. They work tidily and even followed up with a message to check my heating was still ok the following day. Highly recommend

Claire Edwards

Excellent service from Mitch!
Responsive, courteous and informative.
Work swiftly done too, with clear explanations throughout.
Thanks again, Mitch.

Tim

Used grand Union plumbing to service my boiler and couldn’t of asked for a better service. They were on time and actioned the job in a clean and professional manner. Very nice to see they were operating in a covid secure manner without being promoted too

100% will be used again in the future

Tom Holland

Highly recommend Grand Union Plumbing & Heating. We called Mitch after getting nowhere with the first 2 heating engineers we contacted. In contrast to them, Mitch quickly diagnosed the fault, ordered the part and replaced. Totally professional and good value for money.

Mike Kennedy

I found Grand Union on local heroes. Id given up on British gas and NPower/homeserve.

Mitch was honest from the get go. Came round and gave me quote got the worl done within a couple of days once parts came.

Very highly professional. Very friendly. Perfect on time. Clean. Safe. What else can I say. I will be using only Grand Union here on and cannot recommend enough.

Sukhie

Amazing service Mitch Andy and Cory all amazing guys came out Xmas Eve went above and beyond to get me sorted and were amazing with my children letting them watch and so polite couldn’t recommend highly enough 10/10

Steaves Jen

Highly recommend the team to fix any plumbing or heating issues. They arrived as scheduled and it was great to have such a high standard of service. Will definitely be my contact for anymore plumbing issues and for boiler services.

Owen Thomas

Contacted them after having three boiler services being cancelled by a Big Five company only resulting to a wait till May for the 4th appointment. From the first day I contacted them Andy came around in a week’s time and provided excellent customer service and serviced our boiler very efficiently and quickly. The appointment ran a bit late due to another emergency call but both Mitch and Andy were apologetic and polite. Appreciate there excellent customer service on top of a job done well. Will be calling on them in future again for sure. Thank you.

Kaanita Khan

Would highly recommend Grand Union plumbing, really knowledgeable team. They were able to identify the problem with our heating pressure gauge, and release valve really quickly and stop our leak straight away. Thanks

Emma Thompson

Love these guys, have been using them for years and will keep using them for years in the future. They’re helpful, do amazing work each and every time, and are respectful of your home, both Andy and Cory took their shoes off when they came into the house recently, Cory put down dust sheets when he was fitting my new radiator in the bathroom (tiled floor wipes clean, but still put it down).

100% recommend them for any and all plumbing works and looking forward to having them do more work for me later in the year.

Ian Kockelbergh

It’s not very often that you find a quality tradesperson who is reliable, honest, and competitive on his pricing. Mitch has done a number of jobs in our house, including installing a new boiler, water tank and radiators. All to a brilliant standard. I will happily recommend Mitch and Grand Union Plumbing!

S C

I have called Mitch out twice since moving into our new house a month ago. Both times he has managed to fit in an appointment fairly quickly to resolve our issues. He has been professional and friendly, offering advice on other issues that I have seen. I would definitely recommend his services.

Simon Edwards

We have used Grand Union Plumbing several times as we had a really tricky fault. We found Mitch to be really excellent. Very happy to recommend, 10/10

Annette McDade

Called Mitch out on very short notice, extremely reliable and great rates, would highly recommend Grand Union Plumbing and Heating. Also provided advice with other queries aside from the job at hand- with no reluctance. Great service, thank you for your hard work and honesty Mitch.

Dushan Gnanakumar

Great service, polite, attention to detail. Would highly recommend.

Ajvinder Dhatt

Had a leak that needed fixing asap and Mitch gave me advice over the phone to deal with it until he could get to me, then came out within the hour on a weekend! Would highly recommend

Hannah Manners

Great company would highly recommend for any heating & plumbing issues

Terry Adolpho

Definitely recommend these guys. Had a job done by them and they wasted no time to get it done and made sure I was completely happy before any payments. Nowadays companies just want to rush and take your money. Big thumps up

Tevaugh Grant

We always use Grand Union for serving and any other unforseen problems. The service and professionalism is 1st class. Would definitely recommend!!

Stephanie Horne

A great company to do business with… I used them recently for an emergency with a domestic heating system which was rectified very efficiently. A second problem (some months later) and there was no decision to make, called them and they sorted it in no time with minimum fuss, mess and very reasonably priced.

Trevor Gordon

Have used Grand Union twice now. They are very quick to respond to enquiries, reasonably priced, tidy workers and very friendly. I can’t fault them. Definitely my go to guys now for any plumbing needs.
Highly recommended

Emma Verrall

Great service from Mitch. Have used a few times for boiler service, repairs and outdoor tap installation. Always very prompt service, turns up on time and reasonable prices. Would definitely recommend!

Jon Hood

I found Grand Union Plumbing through the Gas Safe Register. I had a boiler service and gas safety certificate. Mitchell was very professional and the prices were very reasonable. I would definitely recommend and use again.

Rebecca Hughes

Mitch was very helpful when fitting my new boiler – he was very fair about price and I couldn’t recommend Mitch enough. Thanks Mitch!

Reece Hussain

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