Homeserve - don't do it!!

[lilleys]

hi we have plumbing and drainage cover with homserve,called them out with a leak coming through ceiling ,took 2 days for a plumber to come out he told us overflow of water from bath and left,we waited for water to dry up never did leaks became worse ceiling filled up with water we had to put holes in to drain water away, plaster falling off wallls stains all over two rooms.we decided to look our selves we ripped our shower out no leak, we pulled floor boards up and found cold water pipe had pin hole in it we rang them again another plumber came he couldnt believe the other fella had missed the leak which by then had caused extensive damage to our walls.

we made our complaint and they offered the goodwill gesture of £50 which we declined and then after more discussions a £75 which we also declined. we have since put our story in writing and waiting for a response.

[7194Knight]

Sorry to hear about 'YET ANOTHER' despicable service (Or lack of it) by this Rip Off company (In mine and it would appear many others, opinion)

I was offered £300 and then £350 but my plight is worth considerably more than that.

As the appear to have 'NOT RECEIVED' around 20 of my communications !!! as they were not produced in my Subject Access Request, I am now referring the matter to the 'Information Commissioners Office' (They deal with breaches od Data Protection issues) to see if that IS the case. HOW ON EARTH can a company that their customers can ONLY CONTACT via their 'CONTACT US' form or by phone suggest that they did not receive all of these messages ? The thing is I sent them to many of their departments INCLUDING their Press Office over a period of 2 weeks ? If you believe that you believe in the Tooth fairy !!!

From there it is the Ombudsman's Office who, with the wealth of evidence I have, should find in my favour.

[kungfu]

hi we have plumbing and drainage cover with homserve,called them out with a leak coming through ceiling ,took 2 days for a plumber to come out he told us overflow of water from bath and left,we waited for water to dry up never did leaks became worse ceiling filled up with water we had to put holes in to drain water away, plaster falling off wallls stains all over two rooms.we decided to look our selves we ripped our shower out no leak, we pulled floor boards up and found cold water pipe had pin hole in it we rang them again another plumber came he couldnt believe the other fella had missed the leak which by then had caused extensive damage to our walls.

we made our complaint and they offered the goodwill gesture of £50 which we declined and then after more discussions a £75 which we also declined. we have since put our story in writing and waiting for a response.

 

 

I hope Homeserve is going to pay to fix the damage to your walls after the first plumber missed the leak. If they refuse to pay then write to the Ombudsman. If they still refuse, then go to small claims court. I have not done this myself yet but am considering it after homeserve messed me about with my boiler cover. If anyone out there has taken Homeserve to small claims court I would love to hear your story.

[bulletpoint]

I thnk I am in the minority here, but I have had Homeserve poicies for 5 years and EVERY time I have made a claim I have received excellent service, right the from the person in the call centre taking the call to the plummer...electrician etc coming out. However, I am quite alarmed to read all of these stories...I hope I don't have to use them again soon!!

[lilleys]

thanks for replys

not only are the walls and ceilings are a total mess but the original leak started via my light fitting so i havent used the light since and also there is a wall socket on the wall where the plaster all coming off so worried about using that,and where the water built up under the plaster my picture fell off the wall and cracked that.I cant understand how these people can get away with keep trading and taking our money, ireally want to cancel my policy but not sure if it would effect my complaint

[jj24473]

I too have had problems with homeserve, I contacted them as my boiler kept locking out. They advised they would send someone within 2 hours, When he didnt arrive i called them and was told he was on his way this went on for 3 days.

Eventually they sent an engineer who was not a homeserve engineer, was given the job by homeserve. The engineer left me the details of his company and advised he needed parts. The next day I contacted homeserve to find out what was happening and was advised that the parts needed to be ordered and would take upto 7 days to arrive. I then contacted the other company and asked them what was happening. They advised me that the parts were avaliable and they were waiting for authorisation from Homeserve.

After another 3 days i contacted the other company to see if they had been given authorisation and they advised they were still waiting. After speaking with Homeserve they advised that they had ordered the part and it was due to be delivered in 3 days.

Another 3 days passed and the engineer from the other company arrived, fitted the part and all is working fine. After speaking with this engineer he advised me that the authorisation had come through at 10am that morning and he went str8 and collected the part and was here with in 2 hours. Looks like i didnt need to wait a week.

 

I have now cancelled my poilcy with Homeserve and moved my cover to this other company (Flush Home Services, incase anyone wants to know). As they seam to be able to resolve any problem with in 24 hours of it being reported to them. I am yet to make a claim on my policy with this company but i will let you know if and when how i get on

[IbKA]

I was with British Gas years ago, and had a bad experience which, at least, they put right when I complained.

 

With Homeserve, the fridge part of my fridge/freezer went down in May just after I'd had an operation. I rang Homeserve and they sent an engineer out who 'briefly' looked at it and said 'it's the gas that has run out'. I asked why the freezer bit was still working and he just shrugged and said he would request a gas engineer as he wasn't skilled to do this'. I kept ringing to chase and update the call that the freezer had also gone by now(and I was still recovering from the operation as well as trying to feed a family of 6, including my pregnant daughter), and 'a few weeks later after e-mails to their entire Board and CEO - never acknowledged by the way - eventually a gas engineer came out and replaced the gas. Before he left, he accused me of fraud, by claiming my fridge is over 7 years' old', when it's just over 5 years' old' (their cut off period for cover is 7 years').

 

In June, the same problem occurred i.e. the fridge portion went, and I rang Homeserve, an engineer came out and said there's an internal leak causing the gas to slowly escape and he'd have to write the fridge off. By this time the heatwave had started, I still had health problems, daughter still pregnant. I thought a week was enough for the engineer to have reported back to Homeserve and have been chasing them since then to settle the claim. The heatwave has just got worse, the freezer of course went down too, and I'm without iced water or cold drinks in the house, can't store dairy products in a fridge and I'm getting to the end of my tether.

 

Oh, they did offer £14 compensation in June, i.e. a month's free subscription, but took it out of my account anyway; but I didn't bother to contact them as all I ever wanted is a working fridge/freezer.

 

I've just rung them out of desperation, and was put through to someone in the insurance department who said she can't find any updates on my notes since the May incident!!!

 

I sent an e-mail to complain to customer relations, their CEO, the FSA, and Trading Standards during the week; and I'm going to chase things up on Monday and see what on earth is going on with this company.

 

Once my yearly contract is up with them, I'll be switching 'fast'!

[lilleys]

hi, well ive got kinda good news regarding our leak with homeserve,after declining there offer of £75 I decided to put it all in writing and then recieved a letter from them and then a phone call saying they would send out an accessor to access the damage,he then reported back to homserve and they rang us to tell us to get estimates to get the damage repaired, cant believe putting it in writing has made such a difference to them considering they said they had exhausted their investigations and were closing the case, so keep persevering. we are still in the process of getting estimates but that another story, so many electricians just dont turn up when they say they will.

[ascint57]

in the last 8 months Homeserve have spent around 850 pounds in parts alone as well as the cost of 7 visits to repair the sudden mess of problems I've had with my central heating system.

 

At times the delivery of the service has not been as good as I'd have liked but overall I'm more than satisfied I have gained full value for my monthly payment.

 

Its not like me to be that lucky, but there you have it a satisfied Homeserve customer, so far

[HollyWillow86]

Kungfu..

Unfortunately, it would seem, you can throw logic into a conversation till you're blue in the face, yet some people will still not be able to wrap their mind around it and seem to sidestep said logic at every turn.

You are one of those people.

 

I wish you good luck in your future ventures and pray, for the sake of mankind, that you never reproduce.

[aliali]

i had a really bad experiance with homserve, they did not fix my boiler for two months and did not show up for 6 appointments, then lied about it all.

my house is damaged and they also told me to knock down my ceiling, for which there was no need.

they are rude and just want your money.

the maximum they will pay out is £200 for boiler repiar , even though they take more for the policy.

DO NOT USE HOMESERVE. TRY BRITISH GAS.

[kungfu]

+++++++++++

After writing to the OMBUDSMAN they have ruled in my favour. HOMESERVE were forced to repay all my contributions. I will NEVER again take another policy with HOMESERVE. I urge anyone with a bad experience with HOMESERVE to complain to the ombudsman. They are getting so many complaints there is a good chance you will get your premiums refunded.

+++++++++++

[lilleys]

i had a really bad experiance with homserve, they did not fix my boiler for two months and did not show up for 6 appointments, then lied about it all.

my house is damaged and they also told me to knock down my ceiling, for which there was no need.

they are rude and just want your money.

the maximum they will pay out is £200 for boiler repiar , even though they take more for the policy.

DO NOT USE HOMESERVE. TRY BRITISH GAS.

hi well after my last ouote 10th july isaid we were in the process of getting estimates for homeserve to repair the damage they caused to our property, well after seven months they eventually have sent us a cheque of £610 to cover replastering of walls putting up new ceiling, checking electrics, and new light fitting, couldnt believe it ,keep on at them and make sure you put it all in writing,it makes a difference

[deerok]

Don't do it. I urge anyone not to sign up to the HomeServe service. In my experience, from this weekend, this is why you shouldn't do it.

 

- If they think the repair will cost more than £150 the engineer employed to fix the job won't do it as they only receive £150 from Homeserve.

- They advised me that my boiler would be fixed on the same day if I signed up and paid them £300 now - it wasn't. In fact 3 days later it still wasn't - and then they refused to do it because it would cost more than £150 to fix.

- 24/7 doesn't mean 24/7! The telephone number is 24/7 but they don't fix problems 24/7. In fact, in my area they don't even fix problems on a Saturday or Sunday. They forgot to tell me that in their haste to take my £300 off me.

- Having a 5 month old baby and no heating or hot water in October does not constitute an emergency.

- When I asked to speak to a manager or supervisor I was told they don't have any. I'd love to work their - imagine having no manager to report or answer to. No wonder they can't get away with telling you lies.

 

I called British Gas instead and they are sending out someone within 3 hours as having a vulnerable person in the house in the form of a baby does constitute an emergency to them. The cost of fixing the problem is £99 irrespective of what is wrong with it.

 

Anyway, just thought I would share my views.

[mspritch]

Judging by the junkmail they sent to my house earlier, HomeServe are nothing but ****.

 

On the outside of the envelope (addressed to the elderly lady who used to live here), in big letters:

Final Notification of 2010

 

On the letter, the first thing that catches your eye is the big red band at the bottom of the letter, urging you to call them.

 

God knows how a pensioner would react to such a letter dropping through their letterbox!

[Hanief]

Homeserve have given me an experience from hell. i shall be suing them- Their engineers failed to attend and when they do, they have failed to identify the problems ! is anyone else thinking of suing them for negligence!

[Hanief]

i want to sue Homserve so any help is welcomed

[jeanjeannie38]

Hi there, it seems I am one of the many dissatisfied customers of Homeserve. After writing them the complaint bellow I contacted them about the parts they are waiting for. I had been told they should arrive within three to five working days. I said I have now contacted Trading Standards about their appalling service, but was told the delay regarding the parts was excusable because of the adverse weather conditions - they are not to blame!!!!

Here is the complaint I sent them on 22/12/2010, (excuse typo which should have read 24/7):

"Hi there,

my boiler stopped working on Friday 10th December but I was unable to get through on your 27/7 999 emergency line till Saturday 11th December. When I got through on Saturday I was told someone would phone me back. No one had phoned by 9pm so I called again, only to be told that I should have been informed that the call back would be in 24 hours!!!

When someone called back I was initially offered a callout on Thursday 16th December but since I have no hot water or heating I got this changed to Wednesday 15th December.

The engineer phoned before arriving around 12noon. After having a look inside the boiler he said he needed parts in order to repair it. He said he'd be back with the parts the weekend. I heard nothing about the progress being made so called your "hotline" (you have got to be joking) and was later told that parts would not be available for 3 to 5 working days so I should expect the engineer to return next week. Well we are now into the middle of that "next week" and no one has contacted me.

I contacted the 999 emergency number yesterday and was told I could have the loan of two fan heaters and that someone would contact me before these arrived. It is now 12 noon and no one has called!

Why is it that I am having such a problem with Homesure when my friend, up the road, called them for a repair and got this the very next day. She did not have a Homeserve policy so had to pay £240. It seems to me your engineers are quick to grab passing trade but treat policy holders, on the other hand, like dirt!

I will be contacting the finances ombudsman as soon as I've sent you this email.

I will also be contacting the BBCs "Watchdog" about the appauling treatment I have received from Homeserve and Homesure."

jeanjeannie38

[Lapchien66]

Homeserve cannot cope - they are a massive company (in terms of revenue), spend their money on a helicopter for the chief exec and his flat in the south of France, when customers need them they fob them off - if your boiler costs more than £200 to repair it they will knock back your claim and say it's beyond economical repair and refuse to pay out.

 

Save you money on premiums, just bank it yourself and have a look in the YP or online for an emergency plumber (but check the small print in the YP and online, as Homeserve are known to present themselves as multiple brands).

 

HOMESERVE - STAY AWAY

[MetalMickey]

I would like to put my own experience on here.

 

On Wednesday our water pipe in the attic burst, causing a massive flood throughout all levels of our house.. We called Homeserve and after waiting about an hour for somebody to answer we were told that we would receive a call back from someone in a couple of hours.

 

Attempted to call them back on Thursday, nobody was answering the phone. Again attempted to call them today and got through to someone.. We were then told it had been passed to the Home Plumbing Department and to call them on another number..

 

So that we did, and were given the answer that nobody could come out to us until January 4th!!!

We have not had water since Wednesday and we're expected to do without until January?? I told them that this was unacceptable and they said that I would have to call Homeserve back and ask for another plumber.

 

So again I was on hold to Homeserve's 'emergency' line for another 20 minutes until they finally answered and told us they'd find another plumber, promising that someone would ring us within an hour.

 

3 Hours later still nothing. So I called them back, again... Only to be told that "we cannot find anyone to deal with your problem - You will have to find a plumber yourself and send us the bill.. But we only pay up to £150 for this type of work"

 

 

So, thanks to homeserve messing us about, we have now been left to find our own plumber, at 3pm on Christmas eve..

My father is a frail old man who suffers with heart problems and I myself am currently on crutches.. We have no transport of our own and we are left to manage on the charity of a few local friends who are trying to keep us supplied with bottled water, although this does not allow us to wash clothes or ourselves!

 

So thanks Homeserve for ruining our Christmas!

 

I can guarantee that we will not be re-newing our cover with them again.

[NJR73]

Well I can only repeat what is said here really.

 

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. PUT THE MONEY ASIDE INSTEAD.

 

Been with them for 8 years now and only needed to use them yesterday.

 

Water pouring through the ceiling, was put on the emergency list and told someone would call me within 4 hours. No one did. Got to 10.30pm and phoned them back.

 

Was then booked in for an appointment at 10.00am today (Monday) by the advisor.

 

No one showed up, so called them and was told i had actually been booked in for Wednesday.

They actually lied to me to get me off the phone.

 

Got no water etc for three days now.

 

The advisor that told me about the above was not even remotely interested.

 

Gutted that i have wasted so much money with these cowboys, should have put it in the bank instead.

[mazalee]

Had a suite off Harveys coloured faded everywhere arms collapsed three times they send out Homeserve repaired the arms, when one came about the colour fading he agreed it was probably a manufacturing fault and did a report, when contacted by Harveys they said the Homeserve engineer said it wasnt a fault and wouldnt pay up. This year had a suite off Homebase, after 10 months noted there was a dark small patch where the colour had come off, Once again they sent out someone out from Homeserve who in my opinion hadnt got a clue, didnt attempt to re-colour the patch said it wasnt a stain but would send photos in and it would be repaired regardless, following day got a call off Homebase saying they had seen the photos and as far as they are concerned it was a stain,put the phone down on them. I got a proper leather repair man out the following week who repaired it on the spot, said the colour had broken down and was a manufacturing fault, my point is all these companys use Homeserve who will always look after their paymasters first. Be warned I know of several people who have Homeserve policies but they always have get out clauses so they dont have to pay out, Cancel your policies I cancelled my dads who had paoid out £20 a month and they dont even cover a stop cock, rip off merchants

[Emmalauren]

I can't believe a company can be so bad.I had water pouring through living room ceiling from bathroom above,wastepipe had collapsed.After numerous phone calls I eventually got to speak to someone who told me I would have to pay first and then claim the money back! He refused to take credit card and demanded debit card.Eventually they agreed for a plumber to come out.He arrived 4 1/2 hours later,came from Edinburgh (I live west of Glasgow)& was not happy at having travelled from there.He said he had been given the wrong information from Homeserve & did not have the correct parts however he said he had fixed the problem.I had to get a furher 2 plumbers from homeserve & the 3rd guaranted he had fixed the problem.However a couple of weeks later water poured through my living room ceiling again.I was told on 31st dec someone would call me back and nobody did.I phoned them again & was told I had my limit of repair £300.They were not sending anybody out to me.The pipes they were suppossed to fix are still leaking.I am now awaiting my own plumber & have lost living room ceiling & walls are a mess.The person who came out re insurance from ceiling said not to let them away with this.

[HomeServe Customer Service]

Sorry to hear you’re having difficulty – please can you send details of the problem to heretohelp at homeserve.com and we’ll get in touch.

[Honestly]

Don't do it. I urge anyone not to sign up to the HomeServe service. In my experience, from this weekend, this is why you shouldn't do it.

 

- If they think the repair will cost more than £150 the engineer employed to fix the job won't do it as they only receive £150 from Homeserve.

- They advised me that my boiler would be fixed on the same day if I signed up and paid them £300 now - it wasn't. In fact 3 days later it still wasn't - and then they refused to do it because it would cost more than £150 to fix.

- 24/7 doesn't mean 24/7! The telephone number is 24/7 but they don't fix problems 24/7. In fact, in my area they don't even fix problems on a Saturday or Sunday. They forgot to tell me that in their haste to take my £300 off me.

- Having a 5 month old baby and no heating or hot water in October does not constitute an emergency.

- When I asked to speak to a manager or supervisor I was told they don't have any. I'd love to work their - imagine having no manager to report or answer to. No wonder they can't get away with telling you lies.

 

I called British Gas instead and they are sending out someone within 3 hours as having a vulnerable person in the house in the form of a baby does constitute an emergency to them. The cost of fixing the problem is £99 irrespective of what is wrong with it.

 

Anyway, just thought I would share my views.

 

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