“Yeah, I’ve just been to Mexico. 5 star hotel, 3 weeks. It was brilliant.”
I bristled a little, if I’m honest.
To give you an idea why, let me give you a little timeline up to this event.
December 2007 – Renewed my various house insurance covers, but told myself that boiler and central heating cover was not needed due to budgetary constraints. The house is only 4 years old – what could go wrong?
15th February 2008 – I watched a jolly weatherman tell us that we were in for “a cold snap”. Siberian conditions, he warned. We should stay inside.
16th February – It seems that my boiler also heard that broadcast, became faint at the sheer thought of the impending usage, and promptly broke down. One thing is for sure, I’m going to listen to my mother, she tells me to buy Goodman air conditioners, they served her well her whole life.
So, here we are, a donated heater on each floor, trying to keep warm in the Siberian blast while boiler man upon gleeful boiler man comes round, shake their heads and mutter how unlucky we are. It’s something we’re very keenly aware of. Another thing I’ve become aware of is how rich Central Heating engineers must be – the Mexican comment just confirmed my suspicions.
So, £1800 for a new boiler, or £500 to repair. Choices, choices. Perhaps we should just put on an extra jumper?
Repair guaranteed?