After having a new Ideal CH boiler installed the Corgi engineer gave me a guarantee form to fill out and either post it off or telephone the 0800 number printed on the rear.

Making sure my boiler would be registered I telephoned the number and registered the boiler but I was uneasy because customer service didnt seem to know about this new IDEAL model.

Now I thought I was ringing IDEAL, but when I jokingly said " its strange you dont know about a boiler you manufacture" I then realised I was talking to HOMESERVE.

After a long winded registration I was then bombarded with offers of insurance to cover plumbing, electrical failures etc. The offer was £1 for each policy for the first 3 months - now after 20 minutes of pressure sales talk I relented and gave them my Direct Debit details knowing full well I could cancel within 14 days.

I put the phone down mentally exhausted after what should have been a very quick registration call.

I only wish I had posted the registration form and not phoned up.

A few days later the policies arrived, by return I cancelled them and stopped the Direct Debit.

Two days before the payment was due I received another call from HOMESERVE asking why I had cancelled the DD.

I told them I was pressurised into buying a product I didnt require and I had returned the policy documents the same day.

I told the lady, I didnt appreciate high pressure selling and that was end of the story.

But Oh NO, I was once again bombarded with a sales pitch telling me the risks of not having adequate protection ...

I was so mad I just put the phone down whilst she rambled on about " how HOMESERVE were there to help people like me"

More like, gaining commission on a sale if you ask me !

The moral of this story:-

If you think you are phoning IDEAL Boilers to register a boiler you will be talking to HOMESERVE

Post the guarantee form and do not talk to these people who have only one aim in life and thats to get you to part with your money.

I would have probably dealt with it by saying, "Sorry I'm not interested in the cover, bye!" on the first phone call and then hung up before they had a chance to say anything else. Then I would leave the answerphone on for the next hour or so and not answer it unless it's someone I know.

I know it's normally considered rude to hang up on someone and I wouldn't usually recommend it, but I'm not a particularly assertive person and I can't cope well with high-pressure sales tactics, so I probably would have reacted in this way.

You didn't lose any money from the direct debit, did you?

No, there was no money lost as I had already cancelled the Direct Debits.

When HOMESERVE rang back to ask why I had cancelled the DD, my mind was preoccupied. My son had just been rushed into hospital an hour earlier with severe abdominal pains, so when the phone rang I picked it up immediately expecting a medical update.

But OH No it was the dreaded HOMESERVE

Not only did I explain I no longer required their insurance, I had other things on my mind as my son had just been rushed into A & E and I was in no mood to discuss insurance.

This didnt deter HOMESERVE for one moment, of she went on her sales pitch about the problems I could endure with a broken pipe.

Enough is enough, I explained but the rant continued....at that point I hung up the phone.

Just an update.

3 days after posting the last message I receive 4 letters through the post all from HOMESERVE.

2 of them asking why I had cancelled the DD and to ring Customer Services.

The other 2 acknowledging the cancellation of the policies.

Will I ever shake them of ????

I appreciate this is getting boring, but 3 days later letters are still arriving from HOMESERVE.

I am now "returning them to Sender" unopened

Yes homeserve are a bit on the naughty side by the look of things. They have sold my mother-in-laws aunt who's in her 80's and has age related mental problems all sorts of useless policies and are taking a fortune in direct debits from her account every month.

Only came to light at the weekend. I spoke to somebody at homeserve who was about as helpful as a chocolate fireguard.

Will right to them and ask for her money back but if they refuse will go down the miss-selling route and court action if necessary.