Leading Milton Keynes Plumbers & Heating Engineers 

The number one consideration is that they should be Gas Safe registered. They should show their accreditation on their website, but you can double check by looking them up on the Gas Safe Register itself.  

After that, it comes down to normal commercial considerations, such as how much they charge and what warranties they offer. If your needs are urgent, you’ll need to know how quickly they can come out and what they’ll charge for such emergency visits.

The equivalent body to the Gas Safe Register for oil-fired boilers is OFTEC, which stands for the Oil Firing Technical Association. If your boiler is off the grid and you have your oil delivered, this is the accreditation you should be looking for. 

Oil-fired boilers tend to be in rural locations, where the cost of connecting to the mains gas is prohibitively expensive. 

Although boilers do pretty much the same job whoever makes them, there’s certainly an advantage to knowing particular brands and models inside out. 

The large manufacturers offer training and accreditation of their own, which plumbers can use to enhance their expertise. So if you’re aiming to install a specific model, or want to make sure the plumber understands your boiler, look for professional accreditations on their website – or just ask.

The easiest way is to look for independent reviews online. Most companies will put positive testimonials on their websites, but for a rounder picture look for a larger pool of opinions on services like Trustpilot or Google Reviews. 

The plumber has no control over what people say there, so look for ones with overwhelmingly positive reviews. If you see a negative review, see if the company has replied with an explanation, as that can sometimes show that the original complaint was not justified or was mistaken (and sometimes it’s just malicious). 

And it doesn’t matter if you’re looking to hire a plumber local to Milton Keynes specifically or a national company providing plumbing contractors, it’s imperative that you do the research beforehand. 

Reputable companies should be open and transparent about their costs. Although some jobs will require an investigation before a quote is made, others are routine, such as safety checks and services. These costs should ideally be easily findable on a Pricing page, along with hourly rates and out-of-hours call-out fees.

The vast majority of boiler manufacturers say that a boiler should be serviced once every 12 months, with the first check-up taking place a year after installation. In fact, you’ll probably find that your warranty will only be valid if you do have this check performed once a year. 

The check makes sure everything is safe, especially things like carbon monoxide emissions and proper venting. It also checks that gas and water are flowing well, that all switches, valves, sensors and pumps are working properly, and that your expansion vessel (if you have one) is at the correct pressure. It all adds up to a safe and efficient boiler.