LongRoad is spot on. He mentions dehumidifiers. These are a must in big cases of escape of water, and what he talks about is completely right. I have seen shoddy de-humidfying attempts and they are shambolic to say the least. If your insurer wont provided de-humidifying, the best one I am aware of is Munters. Not sure if LongRoad agrees, but these guys are certainly not half arsed.

Otisan, Take your own pictures, and re-submit them in writing detailing your claim and even quoting your statement they are relying on. State that you are refuting their assertion that you are not covered. I'm not sure how to go about it, but if you can get a second opinion (an upholster perhaps?) then get that. The risk is you pay and it still gets repudiated, although if you can prove that theri assessment is incorrect, you could reclaim the cost. It all comes down to how certain you are that the fault is covered in your opinion. If you do not receive the response you expect, contact the FSA, stating that in your view, your complaint is not being handled correctly and you have submitted evidence refuting their assessment. Give it a go. All the best

KellyMike, Horrendous tale. I work for a company contracted by insurance companies, so this isnt unusual. Forgive me, but I will give you some background to the "way it works" which may help. Once you register a claim on your policy one of 2 things will happen - they will appoint a plumber (or drainage expert, locksmith etc) to stop the problem. This is called stabilisation. Or, as in your case, you find someone yourself. Then, they appoint sometime to work out how much it will cost to "make good", called "Reinstatement" in the wonderful world of insurance. Now, this could be one of 2 sorts of people - loss adjusters or loss assessors. I have not come across the company you mention, which suggests to me they are loss assessors as I know the major loss adjusters. Strangely, the insurers are moving away for loss assessors as they know how to milk the system to get maximum money for their own company, whereas loss adjusters tend to work more on behalf of the insurer (their "titles" imply this). First, the bad news - your insurer, Halifax, is doing its best to accommodate you, as I know of some who would not be putting you up in a hotel! However, there are a couple of things I find particularly worrying. 1) The quote is so far off your other quotes. Either your quotes are milking the system (possible), or the assessor is underestimating (also possible). I'm not much help on this front due to the vast difference in figures! 2) Contacting you to give the quote is something I have never heard of! The contract is between you and the Halifax, and the assessor who attended is contracted by the Halifax. Usually, assessors are contractually obliged to return reports to the insurer within 48-72 hours for their judgement. There is no reason for the assessor to contact you. Unless, and I must stress I am being highly cynical here, they have worked out a way of quoting less and charging the Halifax more. Trust me, Halifax will be considering this so well done you for reporting it to the Halifax rather than just accepting it! My suggestions: 1) There is an increase in "cash settlement" in the industry. You get the quotes, submit it the insurer and they pay it (the cheaper one usually!) rather than appoint someone on your behalf. This is actually designed to knock the more "unscrupulous" assessors out of the market. Strange I know. But the assessor will say it costs £4000, knowing they can get the work done for £3000 by contracting it out to a tame network. Perhaps request this as a route. Postive: you get your way. Negative: you are at the whim of an unvetted builder and when he can do it, and time is of the essence here, clearly. 2) Begin collating all the information you have - the whos, the whens, the hows and get this down on paper. You will need this. 3) Allow the other assessor to conduct the report and insist that Halifax deliver you satisfaction. 4) Submit a formal complaint, in writing, with the all the info from point 2. Highlight the conduct of Waylett & Co. Essentially, state that you do not feel you "have been treated fairly". Your insurer is FSA regulated, and the guiding principle at the current moment is called "treating customers fairly" or TCF. If you feel you are not being treated fairly, note in the letter that if you do not receive satisfaction, you will be contacting the FSA to escalate your complaint. In my view, you insurer is trying to act in your interests. However, they have appointed an assessor who is not working to usual industry standards and they do have some responsibility for that. From your comments, this will not be an instant fix which is incredibly tough to take, but they have a responsibility to make you as comfortable as possible during this time. Keep up the pressure to ensure you stay top of the pile - detail your conversations (remember FSA regulated companies have to record phone calls so timings are essential) and ensure you get the service you have been paying your premiums for. Good luck, all the best

Hey Flying G, You won't be alone in this scenario. My best advice at this stage is to write a letter - not a rant - to Homeserve laying out in detail your grievances if you havent done so already. Any records you have of who you spoke to and when will significantly help. So many people complain saying they spoke to someone or other on this day or that - the best company in the world will struggle to satisfy your issues if they cannot investigate fully. Maybe a bit "after the horse is bolted", but any information you can give (check your phone bill?) will help. FSA regulated companies have to record calls for "training and monitoring purposes". Provide in detail that you registered the claim in good faith, and re-iterate what you have detailed in your last post - the lack of decisiveness in validating or repudiating your claim is not good customer service and is not a good example of "Treating Customers Fairly". In this letter, you will need to detail what you expect from the company - be reasonable! Demanding £500 for "stress" will get you nowhere. Explaining you have spent £20 on calls before they rejected your claim (and being able to prove it), and all the while the fault worsened threatening the integrity of your property and possessions will be considered. Are you on a water meter? Recompense for this could be considered as well (again - be reasonable). The FSA will be expecting this kind of information. Homeserve will have the "exclusion clause" to fall back on (and you agreed to this by the way), but the delay and threat to property is the area to focus on. Take photos! Photographic evidence (date stamped if your camera has this facility are highly recommended - I have seen complaints and thought that it was mountain out of a molehill, then seen photos and from a corporate perspective, freaked out!) is superb. As for Yorkshire Water, you have very little recourse from them I would imagine. Your contract is with Homeserve - they have an agreement with every water authority to promote their service via the billing system and are not contracted by Yorkshire to undertake the policy. Its different to Home Insurance - Direct Line contract repair works out for example. Yorkshire just permit Homeserve to promote the policy through them (its kind of an unendorsed promotion - "not our problem, it was your choice to sign up"). It may have a cumulative effect if hundreds complained, but don't forget - you're lumbered with your water supplier. They are not incentivised to deliver superb customer service because you have no alternative, so you are likely to be palmed off I'm afraid. Good luck with the Ombudsman. The "Treating Customers Fairly" route is your best course of action. The notion of "TCF" is a bain to the FSA Regulated! All the Best! And sorry for the waffling reply:wink:

Quote: Also, I cannot open the letter for legal reasons, so I cannot open and return informing the court of non-residency without course of action against myself surely? There should be a return address on the envelope. Just place it into another envelope with a covering letter explaining the circumstances. Thats a superb point. I have been relying on the "return to sender" route. Based on the current circumstances with the postal system, this makes more sense. I will do it recorded delivery as well to ensure that I am fully covered in terms of "reasonable endeavour". Thank you for all you comments and feedback. Much appreciated.

Thanks for the prompt reply! The debt is solely hers (credit cards), but I am more concerned about the joint asset being used to recover the debt by the creditors. From your excellent response, you seem to indicate that I can be pursued due to joint ownership of the asset - is this the case even if her personal debt is not secured against the property? Also, I cannot open the letter for legal reasons, so I cannot open and return informing the court of non-residency without course of action against myself surely? Your last point has perhaps focussed my attention in terms of moral obligation of informing her. As it now looks personal! Thanks for the pointers. Any other comments would be welcomed

As I'm in the industry discussed in this thread, there are a number of points: 1) Response times are designed to keep you hooked in. If they say it will take 2 weeks, you will go elsewhere. Legally, there is very little you can do unless you have a written appointment. Verbal indications of attendance can be dismissed (van broke down, on another job, etc etc) 2) If signing up to agreements such as Plumbing and Drainage cover, or heating cover, only do so with a company who is FSA regulated. The FSA come down very hard on those accredited if they make a mistake, and fines are massive. If you are with an FSA company (Homeserve is by the way), attempt to resolve cleanly first, and if no joy, send a letter advising of a reasonable (ie 14 days) timescale for expected resolution, or you will be informing of the FSA of their neglet of duty in "Treating CUstomers Fairly". This is the FSA buzzword of the moment, and guaranteed to get action. 3) Read the exclusions on your policy! You will certainly not be covered for every eventuality, but loopholes exist - mains supply water pipes being lead, not copper is a prime example. The insurer will not want to pay out for relaying pipework to current standard, then making your driveway nice and pretty if they can help it. 4) Home Emergency INsurance policies have a claim rate of 2-5%. Therefore for every 100 policies they sign up, only 5 will make a claim. Calculate how much you spend a year and times that by a hundred. Then times that amount by 5. Whats the difference (ie the PROFIT to the company)? SO do not make unreasonable demands, they will have factored in extraordinary claims. 5) Apart from home insurance covers, if you need a tradesperson - go local, and word of mouth is best by a long shot! Find the small advert in the yellow pages, on the web and ring them. The big nationals subcontract - they will pay the contractor the same as that contractor would charge you, but they charge you extra to pay for call centres, big glossy adverts, and of course, profit.

Hi, Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I split with my ex nearly 2 years ago, and had a mortgage in a joint name. The mortgage provider declined the application to release her from the mortgage due to lack of equity. However we were on good terms so when the market was more conducive, I would pursue this again. She emigrated as so many have done to UAE. Today I received a letter in her name, and due to the nature of business I am in, I have recognised it as a court summons without needing to open it. All mail sent to her since she left has been "returned to sender", and I fear she is going all ostrich and not maintaining her liabilities, chiefly credit card repayments, now she is abroad. So, my questions are 1) As the mortgage is still unfortunately joint, is my property vicariously at risk because of her debt? 2) If she returns to the UK with outstanding CCJs after 6 years of issue, is she going to subjected to severe action outside of the fact that her credit profile will be severely compromised? 3) Am I at credit risk as the debt is registered against the property by means of contact? Any advice (even a "no worries, its her problem should she come back") would be really welcome. I will deal with the moral predicament myself! I work for a major UK provider of emergency and planned maintenance, and will happily (albeit anonomously!) reciprocate with advice on anyone struggling with this marketplace! :grin: Cheers