Homeserve - don't do it!!

[Honestly]

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.

 

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?

[Emmalauren]

I will get a report from my own engineer.Homeserve have really sickened me.I have a child who was in hospital and she cant have a bath or shower or even use the wash hand basin due to the incompetency of the people this company send out when you eventually get through on the phone.

Homeserve replied to my complaint and state if the leak is not there when the water is switched off then they have nothing to repair!!!! They told me all they have to do is put a bit of tape on a pipe and that is their repair.They said you are always supposed to get your own plumber because they only do temporary repairs.

Why pay them money if you need to get your own plumber anyway.Is that not fraud? taking money for a service they are not going to provide.

[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.

[labrat]

please do not contact the above person with problems untill he is confirmed by the site team

 

all confirmed company representatives names will show in green

[Archipelego]

Usually I'm never one to complain but after my on going experience with Homeserve I felt I needed to let people know so they may think twice before using this company.

 

2 months ago (November 2010) my boiler developed a grating noise and then stopped working. A Homeserve engineer visited and diagnosed a faulty fan, he logged it for a replacement part and left. Two weeks later an engineer turned up with a Fan, when he came to fit the fan he noticed it didn't have a seal and wouldn't be able to fit the fan. He also noticed that the condensing bottle was damage and would need replacing. A week later another engineer arrived with another fan (no seal) and condensing bottle. This engineer however decided that a generic o ring would work and proceeded to fit the fan and condensing bottle. Everything seemed fine for a week and a half before I noticed water leaking from the boiler followed by the boiler failing to work. I contacted homeserve again who attended a week later and reported that the engineer who fitted the condensing bottle hadn't fitted a seal on it and that was causing the water to leak and had tripped out the boiler. He said he would order a new condensing bottle.

 

This is where I am at now, four weeks after the engineer reported needing a new condensing bottle, after calling homeserve on a weekly basis and after the coldest winter on record, the Homeserve engineer visited today WITHOUT a condensing bottle ..... He reported that the reason the boiler had tripped is that water had leaked from the condensing bottle onto the PCB and would require a new PCB.

 

I still have no heating and a boiler that needs a new PCB and condensing bottle.

[Honestly]

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.

[HomeServe Customer Service]

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

[Honestly]

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

[Honestly]

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

[bernie129]

Anyone who takes out a repair contract with any company would in my opinion be better off saving the money in an account and using this for boiler repairs.All companies want to take on only newish boilers or ones with a good reputation for reliability.Most people do not know but under european law you have to be given a minimum 2 year guarantee on a new boiler so your ok for 2 years anyway.

 

What you find is most boiler breakdowns happen in winter obviously and as these companies are understaffed in order to make more money that is why you get the 2 week delay for parts etc its not they cant get the parts its a delaying tactic as they have no engineers available to do the work.What they want is for you never to call them or if you do they want to only carry out inexpensive repairs and that is why they write a big repair off as uneconomical.

 

Basically they want you to pay them about £160 a year for them to do nothing.During the recent cold weather when a lot of condensing boilers have broken down due to the external pipe freezing they have been refusing to do the repairs as they say its not a breakdown.

 

If you remember years ago people on a British gas repair contract that guaranteed a call out within 24hrs were actually waiting 2 - 3 wks to get a repair.

[HomeServe Customer Service]

To enable us to review and resolve the case you have referenced, please contact heretohelp @ homeserve.com and provide us with the details of the complaint you have. As a regulated business we are not able to speak publicly about individual cases and therefore require your contact details to enable us to respond in writing as you have requested.

[Honestly]

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!

[culpano]

Here's my recent experience with wonderful HomeServe after ten years with them on two policies and I have never made a claim.....

 

Received this letter last week.... "As a valued customer of HomeServe introduced to you by United Utilities we wanted you to be aware of an easier way to manage your cover for home emergencies. As a customer with more than one policy we would love youto have one policy, one payment and one number to call in an emergency - keeping eveything simple for you. Call free on....."

 

I have two policies, one for plumbing/drainage and one for electrics. It's not much money but they are quarterly payments at different times and when I renew I can never remember what I'm supposed to be renewing. Yep it's easier to consolidate into one monthly payment so I rang them.

 

The agent told me she would combine the policy and said "let me re-cap on what you are covered for..." and reeled off a load of stuff.

 

She then said the combined monthly direct debit is £18.50 so I was ready to have the change made. Just before I did I had a quick look at the two policies I have now. One is £11 a quarter and the other is £16 a quarter. This works out at £108 a year and the new policy works out at £221 a year !

 

I asked her why the policy had shot up and she told me I was being covered for more things. "What other things ?" I asked.

 

It was in the list of "let's recap on your policy" statement she made - very cleverly hidden in the mounds of stuff she read out was the extra stuff.

 

I read her the letter and said "it does not saying anything about selling me extra stuff on the letter. Just to combine policies."

 

She replied "oh yes that may be mis-leading".

 

I'm not bothered about the £18.50 a month. I am bothered about being tricked into paying them more money for stuff I don't need and been sold it in the most devious way possible. Ten years I've had a policy with them and this is how I'm treated.

 

I told them to shove their policy and I will look around elsewhere.

 

What is this country coming to - it's just rip-off after rip-off everywhere.

[MichaelNW]

Just had my "automatic renewal" notice from Homeserve (premium up nearly 50% over last year, despite no claims!) - found this forum on a quick web search, and am very glad I did!

 

I've not had to make any claims so far, but reading this thread gives me a clear idea of what would happen if a claim became necessary!

 

To all the previous posters on here, thank-you. I will certainly not be renewing with Homeserve.

[BoilerStory]

My recent and 2011 HomeServe Experience:

 

This is the 12th day with no heating and no hot water…

the emergency service was told on a Sunday and was here 3 days later...

did nothing

another 2 days after that, they said that we should get an electrician and then call them to come back…

before they left they said that all the electrics is fine

when he was checking the electrics he said everything is fine and I saw the tester was indicating there is no problem

then they tell my managing agent that they cannot fix it because it needs to be correctly rewired!!!!!!!

 

 

The boiler was installed in 2004 (when the property was built) and the last 2 years as far as i know they themselves do the gas safety inspection...their engineer accessed the Megaflow tank area saying that everything has to re-done and he is not even a nu-heat engineer. He was asking about different bits of the system like a school boy...HomeServe is known for not wanting to do repairs. I encourage everyone to read what other people say about their service...just google homeserve complaints and you will see mountains of complaints about their service, attitude, etc. 2 years ago there was also a electrics safety test and inspection conducted and a certificate issued. Just google homeserve complaints.

 

Well, what a surprise! We called an electrician and said there is no electrical fault and no need or re-wiring. It is just the PCB board that needs to be replaced!

This is what it is:

min. Gas Safety Inspection charge £45

PCB board replacement £150-200 plus say £40-60 for labour

allow their annual overhead expenses per account of say £20

add this it gives you min.of £255 and a max. of £325 pure cost

and then subtract the amount from the annual charge of HomeServe which is £444 (£37x12months)

then their revenue from this customer is between best case £189 and £119 worst case.

minus taxes, this and that and then they are left with almost nothing for this year... (note that there is another 9 months they are supposedly covering and it's crystal clear...)

 

No wonder HomeServe people fabricate stories...

 

How stupid do HomeServe people think their customers could be not to understand these tricks?

 

SAD AND LAME SERVICE

 

on the 9th day still with no heating and no hot water, we received this fabulous letter exhibiting how dedicated to serious business practices this company is, the HomeServe people were actually unable to provide any kind of reference to the policy .

 

We would have at least expected a letter of apology and an answer to our complaint which was supposedly formally registered from the customer service, but apparently this is not in the HomeServe book...

SAD SAD SAD

 

last year they came 5 times for the Gas Safety Inspection out of which 4 they failed to show…

they sent the Gas Safety Certificate 9 months after…

they tell you you have to wait from 08:00 to 18:00…

imagine when they do not show…

[CW1979]

Another disgruntled Homeserve "customer". Three times I've had to deal with Homeserve now and each time they've managed to screw up or take money off me without completing the work.

 

The most recent occasion happened just last week. Our back door wouldn't lock. It was 1am and stupidly we just went direct to Homeserve. They said they'd fix it for a flat fee of £164 and they'd give us one year's free security and lock insurance. Within two hours an emergency locksmith arrived who said that the fix wasn't covered by the £164 and that it was the mechanism in the door and he was just an emergency locksmith, didn't know anything about mechanisms and this wasn't part of his job. He put two sash swipes on the door to secure it at an additional cost of £25 which I had to pay there and then over the phone via debit card. He said we should contact Homeserve about getting a permanent fix.

 

The following morning I phoned Homeserve and explained the situation and told me that "this is a variation" and not covered by the £164 and that they'd arrange for a quote for the permanent fix. I asked "Will the price include the £164 or will it be on top of £164?" and I was informed that the quote would include the previously paid sum. In fact she said "If it costs £200 to fix, you'll only have to pay £36 because you've already paid the first £164".

 

Since the contractors were closed over the weekend, Homeserve contacted us this morning to inform us of the quote. It's £286. I asked them where they got the quote from since the chap who came around didn't know anything about door mechanisms, hadn't taken it apart to look and thus wasn't really in a position to give a quote. I was then informed that "the engineer was fully qualified and they were a regular contracter".

 

I asked again "So, is the £164 flat fee part of the £286?" and I was informed that no, this was in addition to the £164 plus the other £25 I've already paid. I asked what the £164 was actually for and I was told that this covered the call out, the engineer's assessment and the sash swipes. I then asked what the £25 was for and again told it was because it was a variation and not covered by the £164.

 

I then said, not unfairly, "So what was the point of me paying you £164 to complete a job that you're now not going to do? You sold me this on the basis that I would get my door fixed for a flat fee and now you're not doing the job."

 

At this point both I and the Homeserve person were getting exasperated and I told her to cancel the policy - which they claim they have done - and that I shouldn't be charged the £164 (we'll see on the 28th).

 

I get frustrated with Homeserve every time I phone them. The last two times I've had a problem I've phoned them, told them the situation, they've sold me a policy on the understanding that it's a flat fee and they'll send the engineer around and both times they've failed to complete the job whilst seperating me from my money. The only time I ever got a job done (the very first time we dealt with them) they came around to fix our bathroom sink and somehow managed to put DIFFERENT types of tap on the hot and cold water. This, they claimed, was a satisfactory fix. I wouldn't deal with them at all but other people in my household just won't listen to reason.

[Lapchien66]

I've got nothing but contempt for these cowboys - and to prove it, Watchdog on BBC1 last week featured a guy called Jim Pharoah who had been trained by Reactfast, who are owned by Homeserve -

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2011/04/rogue_drains.html

 

http://www.reactfast.co.uk/htm/news_money_down_the_drain.htm

[emm4p]

Don,t bother with homserve they are rubbish i changed my boiler and heating cover to dial a rod homecover for £49.99 a year and got 6 months free for switching, had a problem with my heating and they fixed it after arriving within 1 hour from my call i have recommended them to any one who has had a problem with homeserve and that,s a lot from what i have seen on the web and heard in conversations with friends there web address is dialarod.tv hope this helps

[ihateyes]

She then said the combined monthly direct debit is £18.50 so I was ready to have the change made. Just before I did I had a quick look at the two policies I have now. One is £11 a quarter and the other is £16 a quarter. This works out at £108 a year and the new policy works out at £221 a year !

 

 

 

Not sure if the above poster knows the difference between united utilities and Homeserve.

 

1) U>Utilities is emergency only with 2 breakdowns on plumbing and 2 on drains... Homeserve -unlimited

2) no replacement washers - homeserve will do (dependin on package)

 

have a look here: http://cover.homeserve.com/pdf/tac_UUIP87A_NW27912.pdf

 

in particular: page 2 definition of emergency repair:

 

Emergency repair(s): repair work by an engineer authorised by

IPA to identify and temporarily eliminate the emergency, as well

as preventing any further immediate damage to the property. A

permanent repair may be completed at our option, however only

where it is as cost effective to complete as an emergency repair.

this is united utilitie t&c's with homerserve.

[ihateyes]

Don,t bother with homserve they are rubbish i changed my boiler and heating cover to dial a rod homecover for £49.99 a year and got 6 months free for switching, had a problem with my heating and they fixed it after arriving within 1 hour from my call i have recommended them to any one who has had a problem with homeserve and that,s a lot from what i have seen on the web and heard in conversations with friends there web address is dialarod.tv hope this helps

 

30yrs experience though one website claims est in 1988 which is 23yrs ago..... seems like a franchise more than anything....

£49 boiler cover, no service - wont last..... 1 call out and the lose money.......

very sceptical this will last.

[ihateyes]

30yrs experience though one website claims est in 1988 which is 23yrs ago..... seems like a franchise more than anything....

£49 boiler cover, no service - wont last..... 1 call out and the lose money.......

very sceptical this will last.

 

 

Again this cover is just like churchill..... www.dialarod.tv

 

DIAL A ROD ® to identify and temporarily eliminate the emergency, as well

as preventing any further immediate damage to the property. A

permanent repair may be completed at our option, however only

where it is as cost effective to complete as an emergency repair.

 

doesnt this statement sound familar..... i think dial a rod has nicked someone elses t&c's and cjust changed the brand name

[steven007]

Hi everyone,

 

I want to highlight what I believe to be extremely underhanded tactics by Homeserve domestic insurance (plumbing, electrical, etc).

 

Anyway, I phoned up Homeserve as our central heating boiler developed a fault.

 

£195 they stated for the fix, UNLESS the problem was for:

 

1) Cylinder.

2) PCB (the boiler computer)

3) Heat exchanger.

 

Anything but the above would be included in the fix (the recorded sales conversation will testify to this). And incidentally, whilst on the phone to Homeserve I agreed to take out electrical, and drainage insurance, as they (the sales pitch) came across as very professional, and they seemed 'on the ball'.

 

OK, The Homeserve plumber came out, and said the boiler needs two parts:

 

1) Ignition starter (about £4 trade cost)

2) Gas Valve (£85 +VAT)

 

The Homeserve plumber fitted a TEMPORARY ignition starter, and was adamant that when the other parts were fitted INSIDE 24 hours, that I was to make sure the correct ignition starter was fitted, instead of the TEMPORARY starter he had fitted.

 

Whilst the Homeserve plumber was in my home he phoned the parts through, and said I would be contacted inside 24 hours for the install.

 

This was 10 days ago, and I had not heard a word from Homeserve since.

 

So I phoned them back today, only to find out, that they had classed my boiler 'beyond economic repair'. Hmm. That was the opposite to what their engineer said, who also said that the boiler should have a few years left once these two parts were fitted.

THIS, is where I personally feel the [problem] starts. When their customers ask for an emergency plumber, Homeserve are banking on the fact that no parts are required, over and above the yearly insurance they talk you into. If parts ARE required over and above this, this simply IGNORE you, and render your boiler beyond economic repair.

 

Bearing in mind the boiler, well most boilers cost about £800+, and to render it beyond economic repair, for an £85 part, is a joke, and a [problem], so that Homeserve make sure they make a profit without having to pay for parts.

 

Homeserve are working a numbers game [problem], and the conclusion is:

 

1) Homeserve are falsely advertising their services, stating that they will pay for all parts (see above), when they simply do NOT.

 

2) Homeserve, if it is not in their financial interest will not even contact you, leaving you in a dire situation without any communication. I now have no heating and no hot water, whilst having two young children.

 

3) Homeserve I believe have left my boiler in a dangerous state, by their plumber fitting a spurious part, that he was adamant needed correcting inside 24 hours.

 

It is false advertising, and their service is utterly disgusting. Their customer serve is also not in the least bit interested in resolving the matter. 10 days later, and still no hot water of heating, even though the fix was promised for a set fee.

 

I would advise ANYBODY thinking they are gaining any kind of security by having a Homeserve cover for their home, to SERIOUSLY think twice! I most definitely do not recommend Homeserve.

It is also safe to say that I will be cancelling all three insurances taken out with Homeserve.

[ihateyes]

Hi everyone,

 

I want to highlight what I believe to be extremely underhanded tactics by Homeserve domestic insurance (plumbing, electrical, etc).

 

Anyway, I phoned up Homeserve as our central heating boiler developed a fault.

 

£195 they stated for the fix, UNLESS the problem was for:

 

1) Cylinder.

2) PCB (the boiler computer)

3) Heat exchanger.

 

Anything but the above would be included in the fix (the recorded sales conversation will testify to this). And incidentally, whilst on the phone to Homeserve I agreed to take out electrical, and drainage insurance, as they (the sales pitch) came across as very professional, and they seemed 'on the ball'.

 

OK, The Homeserve plumber came out, and said the boiler needs two parts:

 

1) Ignition starter (about £4 trade cost)

2) Gas Valve (£85 +VAT)

 

The Homeserve plumber fitted a TEMPORARY ignition starter, and was adamant that when the other parts were fitted INSIDE 24 hours, that I was to make sure the correct ignition starter was fitted, instead of the TEMPORARY starter he had fitted.

 

Whilst the Homeserve plumber was in my home he phoned the parts through, and said I would be contacted inside 24 hours for the install.

 

This was 10 days ago, and I had not heard a word from Homeserve since.

 

So I phoned them back today, only to find out, that they had classed my boiler 'beyond economic repair'. Hmm. That was the opposite to what their engineer said, who also said that the boiler should have a few years left once these two parts were fitted.

 

THIS, is where I personally feel the [problem] starts. When their customers ask for an emergency plumber, Homeserve are banking on the fact that no parts are required, over and above the yearly insurance they talk you into. If parts ARE required over and above this, this simply IGNORE you, and render your boiler beyond economic repair.

 

Bearing in mind the boiler, well most boilers cost about £800+, and to render it beyond economic repair, for an £85 part, is a joke, and a [problem], so that Homeserve make sure they make a profit without having to pay for parts.

 

Homeserve are working a numbers game [problem], and the conclusion is:

 

1) Homeserve are falsely advertising their services, stating that they will pay for all parts (see above), when they simply do NOT.

 

2) Homeserve, if it is not in their financial interest will not even contact you, leaving you in a dire situation without any communication. I now have no heating and no hot water, whilst having two young children.

 

3) Homeserve I believe have left my boiler in a dangerous state, by their plumber fitting a spurious part, that he was adamant needed correcting inside 24 hours.

 

It is false advertising, and their service is utterly disgusting. Their customer serve is also not in the least bit interested in resolving the matter. 10 days later, and still no hot water of heating, even though the fix was promised for a set fee.

 

I would advise ANYBODY thinking they are gaining any kind of security by having a Homeserve cover for their home, to SERIOUSLY think twice! I most definitely do not recommend Homeserve.

It is also safe to say that I will be cancelling all three insurances taken out with Homeserve.

 

 

its well known even on their boiler cover they wont replace a heat exchanger..... in their t&c's if they class it beyond economical repair, they will cancel your cover and give you £250 which is cheaper than making the repair!!

[bernie129]

To anybody thinking of going to the omnbudsman about homeserve.I have just dealt with another company through the omnbudsman and they took 9 months and were absolutely useless - I think they are only any good at dealing with financial issues.

 

A better way to deal with these companies is to do what i did and issue county court proceedings and make sure you claim for all costs etc.

 

Its simple to do and much more quick and effective !

[steven007]

heat exchanger is not covered

 

The repair was NOT for a heat exchanger, but for a part costing £85 trade, which homeserve are claiming will cost them £370!!!

 

It is a blatant [problem]. Homeserve are [causing problems] the home domestic insurance industry, and if you do your research, there are literally thousands of similar complaints online.

 

Never in a million years does such a small cost render a boiler beyond repair.

 

Do not use homeserve - 100% [problem] company which I have proven to them today!!!