Court bans mobility equipment boss for 6 years - Churchills Homecare READ MORE HERE: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/court-bans-mobility-equipment-boss-for-6-years

I have an ongoing complaint with British Gas in which they have failed to respond to within 8 weeks. The last letter received from BG Customer Relations basically apologised for the delay in their investigations and that I was entitled to refere complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. I responded given them another 14 days to reply but as of today no reply not even an acknowledgement. I tried phoning the Customer Services but was told that it was still being investigated and a response will be forthcoming. Do I refer my complaint to the Ombudsman or shall I contact the CEO first ? If the latter would someone have the appropriate e-mail address ? I do have a complaints e-mail address but I would rather go straight to the top directly if possible. Thank-you

This also works out of hours, if you tell the advisor you have a heart condition (i.e. Angina) and high blood pressure they prioritise your call! What ever the time of day! Why be fobbed off when you pay for the service?

took out the home care plan with british gas ,when I called them out to fix my boiler ,the fitter said it needed 2 new parts a pump ,(which he fitted the same day) and a new flue which he said would be fitted the next day ,the next day a different fitter came ,he told me that the flue that was ordered wouldn't fit and they don't make flues for my Worchester bosh 240 anymore,he condemned my boiler and said I needed a new boiler, he got one of their salesmen round the same day to sell me one,which wasn't cheap but I was desperate (no heating or hot water) , I have since found out that you can still get a replacement flue for the Worcester 240 boiler , I think I was mis sold this boiler has this happened to anybody else

Hi all, My boiler (Ideal H30 - 6 years old), has been ruled beyond economical repair. They tried to sell me a new install, cost = £2900. I have their formal quote in writing. They recommended a Wocester Bosch (model 30si) for this house in quote. After this - I did research. We infact, do qualify for a free boiler replacement. We meet all the conditions. Spoke to them - they confirmed, you are entitled to free boiler replacement. My question: For the free replacement, they want to use a different boiler than the one recommended in the quote. As my current boiler (ideal HE30) is no longer manufactured, they want to replace it with the closest model (Ideal Logic 30HE). Ideals boilers , get very poor ratings when I've looked (e.g Which? Gas boilers owners' views score = 59%). It has a low reliability rating (below 60%). I would like to get a different boiler fitted. I would like to know what my options are, and what my rights are. 1.How could I viably challenge their choice of the replacement ( now an Ideal H30 instead of the Worcester that they initially recommended). (Preferred). 2.If not, how can I get them to make xxxx funds avaliable, I chip in more - to get the one I want- i.e. their costs remain the same ,but, I make up the difference.(Acceptable). 3.If not what approach can I take take, to get them to send me cheque instead for the value of the boiler - I will chip in more and buy a new one myself.(Worst case). I'm not bashing BG. Nothing like it. Just want to create a win win solution. Thanks all.

Took them 3 months to inspect/service my boiler to check my eligibility for joining. The annual "service" was a 10-minute check. Called them to fix a radiator leak, I had to stay home from work on 3 separate days before an engineer turned up. I discovered after he left the boiler wasn't keeping pressure, so unusable. I stayed home for another no-show engineer, later to be told they had 3-times the usual callouts so couldn't send anyone until after the weekend. That was just an excuse - they clearly don't have enough engineers to cover. After numerous calls from me - still no call from them 6 days after the boiler broke to arrange an engineer. I eventually cut my losses and called my own engineer who diagnosed the problem over the phone - he had emtied the boiler through the pressure relief valve, which is a bad idea. He ordered a new valve and repaired my boiler. Unfortunately they tell me they won't reimburse me the £114 to fix my boiler from a 3rd party engineer and that also invalidates my contract. I don't think they have an ombudsman for this service either, so may have to cut my losses. I am not renewing their contract!!! Does anyone have any advice?

Hi all, I've just popped around to see my Mum and she was in quite a state. Quite some months ago a British Gas salesman got in contact with her and sold her the most expensive insurance package they have, £17 per month for boiler cover and home electronics. This seem excessive as she already holds home insurance which covers most of the above, cover starts at £4 per month. My mum is a pensioner and very easily confused, it's evident she has been sold a package she did not need. The part that is most concerning regarding their service, bearing in mind the most expensive cover has been sold, is when the time for an annual boiler service arrived a British Gas employee simply stayed ten minutes. Five of those minutes was spent preparing a list of things for her to do herself! He spent the remaining 5 minutes putting a carbon monoxide alarm on a shelf, although we already have one. He billed her £29.99 for this device, which happens to exceed cost of the same and/ or similar product from elsewhere . In total the cost is an unnecessary carbon monoxide alarm £29.99 plus a monthly fee of £17.00 plus parts and labour for her to have the boiler repaired by anyone but British Gas. I'm not sure what she is paying for under these circumstances but she has received numerous letters from British Gas demanding payment of £29.99 for a carbon monoxide alarm sold by a British Gas repairman. She was in a state as a firm called Mackenzie Hall has been instructed to recover the £29.99. Any help available? I'm looking at returning this detector primarily as it's unnecessary.

AIM of this thread: Create a strategy, explore approaches and find a way. Central Heating Insurers' - occasionally "advise" customers that they NEED/MUST GET a powerflush for their central heating system, as it is causing some sort of problem (directly or indirectly). "If you don't get the powerflush then we won't: 'this and that' or, won't cover 'that and this'" etc. So you ask, "How much would you charge?" Answer is usually "£1000,0000,0000 x 10" or so . Then you ask: what if I do get this professional power flush, but from someone else, that I could afford/prefer. Answer: "If it's not done by us, it's not to our standards, and makes no difference, we still won't accept it as sufficient." My Challenge to my fellow forum members: What can we, the public, do to challenge this. Are there any precedents, techniques and tips and ideas. Are there national standards, that mean other contractors are legally qualified to do powerflushes to the same standard, a court would deem sufficient and equal, saying the insurer has no basis to disregard the alternatives', workmanship or skills. I want us to find a challenge to the - 'You need it [assume correct] It has to be done by us, or else' policy [unacceptable]. Explore, suggest, speculate - but - keep on topic.

Hi I have just had an engineer out as my boiler would not turn on. He has told me that the parts I need are now obsolete and I need a new boiler. Whats the point of having this homecare if they just throw that at you. Any advice would really help as I cant afford a new boiler. Thanks.

Hi I wondered if someone could help me? I've had a Homecare Agreement with British Gas for 5 years. I consider myself to be have been a good customer during this time, as I always pay on time, but I have needed to call them out around 1-2 times per year. Just over a year ago, they told me my central heating system needed Powerflushing, after I had a pin hole leak in a radiator. They said I could get this done with any compnay, as long as I had proof. However, if I didn't get this done, I wouldn't be covered if any more radiators developed a leak. I did get this done in Feb 2011 and had a Magnaclean fitted with another company and I have a certificate and the receipt to prove it was done. Now I've had another radiator with a pin hole leak, but they are refusing to replace it, even though I can prove I've had the Powerflush done. They are claiming that the Powerflush was done incorrectly and this is why the radiator has leaked. They are also claiming that the inhibitors added after the Powerflush should have stopped the radiators from corroding completely. I disagree with this, as surely once corrosion has started, it can only be slowed down? They have also said that the water inside the radiators was orange (it was slightly, as I saw it) and that there was a lot of sludge in the radiators. Again, I saw that there was some. However, they failed to ask me if the central heating had been switched on recently (it has been switched off for 4 weeks). Surely the lack of use would have caused some sludge to be in the system? Basically, I'm not sure if BG are trying to pull a fast one or whether the Powerflush hasn't been done correctly. Does anyone have any suggestions? Many thanks for reading.

hello. bit of a story so please bear with me. some time ago, (an embarassingly long time), i had a mobile phone upgrade carried out over the phone directly with t-mobile. i'm self employed so i wanted a phone to keep as backup and i accepted a basic model sony ericsson to keep in case of problems with my other phone. i never intended to use it so i refused the insurance and all extras and within a month or so changed address. fast forward to feb 2012 and a chance conversation about a debit card revealed a direct debit, that i knew nothing about, for £6.99 a month which had been quietly running for an embarassingly long time. the direct debit was to a company called homecare insurance and with a bit of digging i discovered that i had been paying insurance on the backup phone and had had a policy running from the date of my phone upgrade with details supplied by t-mobile. the address that they had on the policy was my parents, where i was living when the mobile upgrade was done. i have never recieved any communication from homecare/fonesafe at any time. i cancelled the policy there and then, explaining that it had been set up without my knowledge, and asked for a refund. homecare insurance stated that i would be refunded if i could prove that the policy had been set up without my knowledge. t-mobile customer services told me by email that they have no knowledge of my having requested insurance and stated that they would provide written confirmation of this fact, but to get it i had to write to their customer admin team, or go into a store to request it. t-mobile have now decided that actually they have no proof either way whether or not i requested this insurance so are now refusing to give me the written confirmation that they had agreed to send. without this letter homecare will not refund me (and are claiming to have sent me a welcome pack and letters. this is a lie as i get any mail addressed to me, from my parents.) obviously these two companies work together so i'm not holding my breath that the one will take my side against the other, but where does this leave me now? i have spoken to my bank (halifax) with regard to the direct debit gaurantee but they want me to exhaust all avenues before they will take it on. if anyone has any suggestions i would be grateful to hear them. oh and yes i check bank statements thoroughly now!!

I had a British Gas Home Care agreement with them for going on seven years, I had them out to do their so called "Yearly Service", every year, lasting typically twenty minutes, they were the only ones looking after boiler during that time. Six months ago I had a problem with the pressure valve, it was dripping water outside, they came out and replaced it. But did not look at why it overheated. Six months later I had a leak from an internal valve, so I rung them up to come out. The "engineer" came out and replaced the part, then left. The next morning I went to have a shower, no hot water, the boiler wouldn't fire up, I called British Gas back, they looked at it and said the heat pump needed replacing, and that they would not do it as "Boiler was old and repair was not viable", and that it would cost me, £398.91 + VAT for the part and £270 for labour to replace it! After I had paid them close to £2,000(!!!!!) over the years, they now wanted me to pay near £700 quid to fix my boiler, a boiler that before their "engineer" turned up was working fine, I had hot water and heating before he arrived, none after he had gone! I rang British Gas, told them I was not happy, they then decided that it was not covered under the agreement because I needed a flush, and that this had caused problems, they based this on the valve I had replaced six months earlier, this is despite the HomeCare Checklist that the engineer left not mentioning this at all, and the only comment on there being about the fact that the engineer didn't think it was a viable replacement. I told them I had no hot water or heating, and it was Friday morning, and I was not going to hang up until I got agreement someone come out to fix the boiler, as I didn't want to spend the weekend with no hot water and heating. Eventually we got to a stale mate, they would not escalate to someone directly, an "Engineer Manager" would have to call me back, I insisted it had to be on Friday, so we could have someone in worse case Saturday. They said ok. To make a long story short, I did not hear from their "Engineer Manager" until 20 days(!!!!) later, they expected me and the family to go without heat and hot water for twenty days!!!! I didn't of course, I went to a local Cogi registered guy, got him to fix it on the Monday. When I finally got a call from the manager, he said "well now that you have fixed it, there is nothing I can do" I pointed out that waiting 20days for a follow up, what the hell did he want me to do??? People, trust me, I have made this mistake, I have nothing to gain from you buying or not buying the Homecare agreement, but I can tell you from experience that if you do, YOU WILL REGRET IT! Keep far, far away.