Well the chap off ratedpeople recommends Glow-worm over Vaillant (tells me it's made in the same factory) but will quote for both. Wants £1400 but can't really do it till Tuesday. Seems nice and professional. Don't know whether all plumbers are like him but he had some weird outer black vest and a cool utility belt. A cowl and a cape and he could be.....plumberman! The important thing is that he's Gas Safe rated, whereas the others who we know through the family aren't.

Right. Chappy wants payment for boiler upfront (or I can buy it myself) but labour etc will be invoiced after installation.

Is this normal? [/bratty]

It is probably a way to avoid having a big purchase like a boiler going through his books and avoiding tax man noticing. It could also be because it will boost his turnover over the VAT threshold. Try a couple of other plumbers to see what they offer.

No!

No-way would I pay a plumber upfront -sounds very dodgy - are they about to go bust?

The plumber I used only wanted payment once the boiler and new pipeworks was all fitted ok and tested.

No idea about going bust. Plumber was from ratedpeople.com.

Either I can buy the boiler myself and he will fit for £400 or I can pay him £1000 for a boiler and once fitted and tested I can pay the rest. The end cost to me is the same either way.

I'd buy the boiler, then pay him after the fitting. It's unusual, but I'm trusting, at least you know you have the boiler and that's all you've paid for. You don't pay for his bit until after the job is done.

If he's happy for you to do this, it shows he doesn't want the liability, but he's not trying to rip you off. If he was trying to rip you off, most likely he would want payment for the whole lot in advance.

One caveat is to make sure you're buying the boiler from whoever's selling it and not paying him up front to buy it on your behalf.

Any good builder, plumber etc should be able to get it on credit from the supplier for a month and then pay teh supplier after you've paid them.

That was my thought but at the same time I've asked for a particular boiler to be installed and no idea if this has an effect.

Spoke to my grandad earlier who knows someone but it's the same situation - need to give the money for the boiler first. But he's not Gas Safe and has no formal qualifications (and gets paid cash in hand).

Go for the best most efficient boiler that you can it makes sense in the long run.

Well it's up and running. Hot my first proper hot shower in a week. Absolutely awesome. Pressure was better too.