Warning re 24/7 Home Rescue

Dishonest, Awful, Incompetent, Negligent

When taking out the policy, I explained to Lucy that we have 2 Disabled people in the house. One of them is terminally ill and the other receives palliative care. I was promised an urgent response to any emergency.
When I called with a loss of hot water, I was told that someone would call me in 30 minutes. THEY DIDN'T. I called after 2 hours and was told that the claim had been approved and that an Engineer would be in touch within 24 hours. THEY DIDN'T. I continued to call until 48 hours later I was told that the Engineer had been on a gas leak and that the law requires the Engineer to stay at the property until it is resolved.
I asked why nobody had called - I was told that it was a breakdown in communication.
I asked if all 3000 of the gas engineers (stated on their website) were at the same gas leak - silence.
The Engineer called almost 72 hours after my first call.
He said he doesn't work at the weekend and was only made aware of the call today. He said his company only learned about the call 24 hours ago and they've responded in 'their' 24 hour policy. He said he has not been on a gas leak.
Seems like 24/7 Home Rescue are telling LIES LIES LIES. Above all else, COMPLETELY IGNORE the nonsense on their website that says:
# We aim to respond in 4 hours - it's nonsense
# We have 3000 Gas Engineers - they don't seem to have any
# We are 24/7 - my first engineer call has been 72 hours after we reported a loss of hot water
Finally, the Engineer tells me that a new Diverter Valve is required, which will be ordered tomorrow and scheduled to arrive in a further 24 hours. Then, it should be fitted within another 24 hours. Yup; it's a 7 day service, not a 24/7 service! (Assuming, of course that things happen as the Engineer has said).

If you're vulnerable or require prompt, HONEST OR PROFESSIONAL service, avoid 247 Home Service at any cost. Don't be drawn in by their cheap prices on comparison websites - we pay £30 per month for their very highest level of service, which hasn't amounted to anything when we require a 24/7 Home Rescue Service. The price we pay is equivalent to the highest level of service offered by British Gas whom have provided me with excellent service in the past. If only Lucy hadn't presuadued me to move!
Oh, one other thing, I recorded all my calls and made detailed contemporaneous notes. I urge you to do the same if you are already in contract with them.

When signing up for the service last September, I told the sales adviser that our boiler was 17 years old - something that was confirmed in the confirmation letter - and no mention was made of any extra cost implications of the age of the boiler. I also took out a nil excess policy, which was similarly confirmed in the subsequent letter. The letter included no plain English summary of the service or contract, merely telling me to read the many pages long Terms & Conditions.

When the boiler broke down in late-January (ie yesterday), the response was that my claim was rejected by the system and so they could not arrange an engineer to contact me unless and until I paid a £75 excess charge - and when I challenged it the response was bluntly "Its' in the T&Cs" and when I said that had not been pointed out in the correspondence the rejoinder was "It's not my responsibility to tell you what is in the terms and conditions" and effectively reiterated the ultimatum - pay £75 or I can do no more other than close down the call as I have other people to deal with.

You are only able to speak to a manager by placing a callback request which means that they weill endeavour to call back in the next 48 hrs, but that is not guaranteed and, having read the other posts, I am not holding my breath! Talking to a supervisor simply results in a repeat of the 'script' adopted by the call handler, who similarly closes the call once they have reiterated 24|7's position.

When calling retentions / cancellations today, seeking a cancellation and refund of the subscriptions paid to date on the grounds of an unfair contract, the curt response is that a refund cannot be made and any cancellation (despite not having made any call on their services) requires my prior approval to pay any fees due in the next 30 days - and I was warned that if the direct debit were to be unilaterally cancelled by me that the matter would be passed to the debt enforcement team who would take action such that costs for me would accrue (implicitly a threat to damage your credit score and to add extra charges). During the next 30 days, no claims would be entertained - so you pay but have no service! If I did not agree to pay a further 30 days'subcription, the contract would run and they would continue to collect the direct debit

Finally, beware of the service you are likely to get if you make a claim - all that 24|7 do is arrange for an engineer to call you 'within the next 24 hrs' to offer you an appointment but without any guarantee of the timescale that offer of an appointment might be within. If the engineer fails to call you within 24 hrs, 24|7 say they will find another engineer to call you, again in the following 24 hrs.

Clearly, 24|7 have no directly employed or managed engineers - they simply pass on your requirement to self-employed engineers.

In summary:
- unclear contracts
- unfair contract terms
- probable extra costs on any call out
- seemingly no directly employed or managed engineers, merely self-employed contractors
- no guarantee as to when an engineer might be at your home to fix your boiler
- non-existent customer service, who will readily cut off your call if you raise any concerns
- inability to speak to anyone who will take your concerns seriously

I have passed on my concerns about unfair practice and contracts to Trading Standards - I'd urge you to do likewise if you have had similar experiences, as maybe 24|7 will take heed of them even if it treats its customers with contempt

AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE!!