yes you can ask for a SAR, they may charge. But dont worry by the sounds of it they could be facing some steep compo. The letters are pretty much system generated and it is easy for them to fob you off with non compliant resolutions. You have a letter of resolution, best bet is get it fixed at your own cost, fill in FOS application form, mark down all facts of inconv no heating or hot water for the amount of days. There will be a charge of £500 to the business (dont let Homeserve know you know this) write down how many days off work, forwrd copies of your own engineers reports and Homeserves. Write a letter of complaint to Halifax aswell. they are also regulated so they dont know what they are on about. Over time you will see that Halifax will pursue. As a rule its about £400-£500 per month for no heating or hot water. around £50 for days taken off work. The truth is they dont have enough contractors to complete the work. Also email [email protected] of your intentions to go to the regulator or phone up the complaints dept direct and demand to activate your escalultion rights. Ask to speak to the Head of the Department. You will be suprised with the threat of legal action, they have circa 9000 complaints and wont want the media and legal attention.

Dear Homeserve, In reply to our concerns I understand that your generic reply above is widely used within the business. I certainly do not expect you to talk about any individual cases (quite possibly an infringment on D.P.A) and we are fully aware that it would not be in the best interests of business to discuss the errors on this type of medium. However, it is plentifully clear that in order have a quick resolution (according to regulation), individuals would need to use this mode of highlighting the failure of your service, whilst continually accepting premiums. It is also clear that Homeserve have adopted a philosophy in these extremes that you shall try to rush the complaint resolution through. Unfortunately (for you), you already have my details and still we are waiting for an explanation into your findings. In essence, all I am asking for is your final response and I am not concerned with whether you are upholding or rejecting the complaint. I have contacted you on eight occasions and the complaint has moved from four agents.I understand that one agent has processed the complain,t another has investigated the complaint and then it was transferred to an agent for a response. I have just found out that this has now moved to another agent who during my call gave me an overview of the resolution. The investigation was totally incorrect and was not concerning the boiler not being covered but the pipe causing the leak. Had efforts to contact me from the outset been made this time may not have been wasted. Meanwhile, I have had the leak repaired (at my own cost) after the neglect the neglect by your engineer. So, I am surprised that you can not find the details of the complaint already and yes I expect you to have knowledge of the complaint. Am I right in saying that there should only be a minimal amount of complaints (after all you continually confirm that "in the unlikely event of a complaint") . Or could it be true that your numbers are reaching a stage that is of serious concern and that the business is not as serviced based as presented when you took the premium. It is grossly unfair on the rest of your customer base where complaints have been raised that you prioritise mine, as I have raised this negative publicity. I feel for the customers who have raised concersn, hence my registering to this service to fight back against multi million pound business that that abuse customers rights. Regardless, I have decided to take the matter to the Ombudsman and postively decided to be at ease and give you the(whole) four weeks for the response. Should I not receive the response then this shall only add to the amount I shall be claiming for inconvenience we have experienced, not withstanding your liability for the damage caused, distress and the negligent work carried out. I shall be writing to Mr Richard Harpin (Chief Executive) and highlight the shameful efforts displayed to address the concerns by your Complaints Department and Staff in a regulation endorsed manner and recommend customers do the same in the event of a complaint handled unsatisfactorily. Quite righlty you can see from the above that I am very dissponited so I dont feel there is any response that will reaffirm the relationship. As far as I am concerned, every complaint that is transfered to the Ombudsman Servce will impose a penatly fee to the business and hopefully lead to fines being imposed due to the inert promises by Homeserve. Thank you for nothing!

Dear Homeserve, I am led to believe that staff dealing with complaints are being granted early leave on any working day if they indivually exceed their targets on that day. Please confirm

Dear Homeserve representatve above, you have had your time and it is abundantly clear that you are unable to resolve the matter in my time. In order to reestablish some faith, please reply according to regulation. I should not have to raise my concerns on this blog in order for you to respond to my concerns. I am awaitin your written response so that the matter can be advanced. I am currenty in the process of highlighting te matter with watchdog. regards

I have recently assisted a work colleague with a complaint which has been with Homeserve for sometime. The issue concerns a leaking pipe at the property which their representatives failed to address. Damage has been caused and we have not received any details of the investigation that has taken place. Having spoken to a complaint handler the woman mentioned that the business has employed temporary staff with no experience in resolving ones complaint. The agent also confirmed that approximately 8000+ complaints await attention and apologised for the delay. HOMESERVE PLEASE RESPOND ACCORDING TO FSA GUIDELINES SO OUR MATTER MAY BE CONSIDERED BY THE OMBUDSMAN SERVICE. Note to readers...if you do not receive a response within 4 weeks to a complaint you can take the matter to the regulator. This will not only impose a charge of £350 per complaint to Homeserve but will also help you receive the fairness you deserve.

I can certainly help you with this, have you got all receipts and reports from your own engineers and HomeServes? Who is your main insurer?

Have you gone to the Ombudsman Service - you will be pleasantly surprised, make sure its within six months of your complaint

Unfortunately, I disagree with Busbys comments that you cannot expect Homeserve to reimburse any costs. I recently had the same problem and I appreciate that Homeserve may have had an overwhelming amount of claims considering the weather. This is not your problem - you pay for a service and the consumer expects. I will be receiving my reimbursement of circa £200 along with compensation as the business has quite rightly admitted that inconvenience was caused and the service was below expectation, you also have grounds for compensation. This will be reinforced by regulation, I know this as my daughter had taken a similar matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service for 2 missed appointments for a burst pipe issue at the property. The argument was that an 'Emergency' was present and causing damage a key point of the contract. Whilst it may have been that the problem was isolated, 5 days without water deemed the business liable for still creating an emergency at the property, being unable to use the toilet and drinking water. Thankfully, the Ombudsman service found in favour and she received a total costing of £800. (this took into account the hotel allowance, which was never offered) What you need to do is measure the level of inconvenience and distress the whole matter may have caused. A generic apology without any formal investigation is usually sent by businesses as I can guess the complaint levels there will be very high. Companies gamble on the fact that an apology will deter you from proceeding with a complaint further and dare I say it the consumer can often be ignorant to the principles of 'Treating Customers Fairly'. the key is to be patient with your response in order to find what is fair. what response have you had?