Husky heat pumps - has any one else had issues

We have two Husky heat pumps, one of which stopped working about two weeks ago and now the second one has also stopped working. Numerous phone calls to husky have been made over the last two weeks but have yet to get any response. Promises of them returning the calls just haven't happened.
Would I recommend Husky? Never in a million years is the polite answer.
I would love to be able to find a reputable installer/service company in Lancashire, does anyone have any recommendations.

I had a Husky heat pump installed in June 2012 and before I signed the contract I wanted reassurance that Husky would set up a local support agent in the Isle of Man as my installation was one of the first. SOme 4 years later there is still no support agent in the Isle of Man with a supply of spares and knowledge of how to repair the heat pump. Husky keep saying to use a local electrician but that is no good because he won't have the correct spares in stock so there are always delays in getting repairs done.

Following installation there were numerous system noise issues related to poor routing of copper pipework and the pipework generally was very poor. They eventually sorted out the pipework but the system regularly failed in the first year due to a faulty sensor in the heat pump itself. In July this year, the heat pump packed up completely and it was only a week later that the part arrived from Husky after a whole load of excuses around how my emails got missed, how messages did not get passed on, how the parts were not in stock etc etc. The General Manager eventually apologised profusely and promised that in future I should also email and phone him if any issues and he would keep an eye on progress. The unit failed again last Friday with a different faulty component and despite phoning and emailing I could not get hold of the General Manager...still no response from him. There was no note on my account about having free parts for an extra 2 years so I had a real issue persuading the customer services guy that I did not need to pay for the parts. Parts arrived the following day and fitted and system working again. Packed up again on Tuesday evening this week and initial advice proved useless but I managed to get it working by resetting the RCD myself. Sent off another email asking for more information and explanations but no response yet.

There have now been 3 total system outages in the last 5 months...not impressed.

My biggest concern is that if this unit fails on Christmas Eve, it will be a number of days before Husky can get the parts to me in the Isle of Man and Christmas will be ruined for my family. Husky do not seem to appreciate the inconvenience of having no heating at this time of year.

The 24hrs support line is a joke because they only ever seem to respond during their normal office hours. Exactly what the purpose of the 24hr number is I don't know and have asked for an explanation. Seriously thinking about switching back to a system that can be supported locally and is more reliable.

Preseli_Girl wrote: »

We were persuaded by Husky to have a16kW air source heat pump installed last year. Their survey showed we would benefit from a heat pump, i.e., they guaranteed we would save money on heating bills and our home would be warmer over a longer duration than when using the oil boiler. The heat loss report was calculated at 10kWh for our old detached house which has large single glazed sash windows, open chimneys, solid stone construction, built on the earth and the only insulation is in the loft. Apart from appalling workmanship, after the installation, we experienced several issues such as the formation of black spot mould on curtains and in the middle of walls, which we had never had before. The house hasn't been warm unless we light the wood burning stove which we have had to do almost daily since last summer. The latest shock was the electricity bill which has risen to an unaffordable £839 for the last quarter. Monthly payments will now cost £475 for the predicted usage and to catch up from the summer months which are also around the same figures. Even with the RHI, we are faced with an annual increase of £1,719 compared to the oil which used to cost us around £880 per year. When you ring Husky, it's almost impossible to get to speak to someone who can help, let alone get an engineer to come and check everything is working properly. I have had my electricity provider NPower check everything over, and in fact, they have been super helpful and sympathetic in all of this. Husky says their meter reading shows a less than average use for this time of year and it must be the fact that I use a tumble drier a lot... I knew in the first couple of weeks that we had made a very costly mistake, but we were advised that there would be a period of adjustment and that we should let things settle down...

Thankyou for you feedback. At Husky Heat Pumps our customers satisfaction is our priority and we are committed to ensuring that our service and products exceed the standards that our customers expect. We are continually working to improve our service and can assure you that we are already investigating the issues you have raised.

We value the relationship we have with each of our customers and maintaining this is paramount to us.

Thank you
Husky Heat Pumps Ltd.

I've just posted about Husky, but forgot to mention- One thing that wasn't clear was the servicing charge: you have to get it serviced to keep the warranty (which, believe me, you'll want to keep), but unlike having a regular system serviced which might cost £75, it cost us nearly £300. It takes the edge off the RHI etc i can tell you.

Don't delay in getting the ball rolling with HIES. It took us 6 months of contacting all the consumer bodies including the Credit Card Claims under Section 75, until I contacted HIES, then it took them another 9 months. During that time we have paid over £4,000 for our electricity because of the heat pump. Like you, we thought we would go sustainable, support British etc, so we upgraded radiators etc., but the house was cold and Husky kept saying that the system was spot on for us!

At the end of September, by which time the pump was breaking down regularly, Husky were made to refund the cost of installing the system and the radiators. Unfortunately we were not compensated for the difference in energy costs or damage to the house. On 2 October 2017, they came to remove the system.

The whole process was stressful and extremely time consuming doing research and learning all the legal terms and rights. Had I been in full time employment or had a young family, I would not have had the time to sort it out. Which brings me to another issue which may not be relevant in this thread... how come all these consumer bodies and codes exist to support the consumer but seem unable to act when you need them? Including the consumer rights act itself? How does a normal Joe Bloggs exercise those rights without spending a fortune in court? The irony of my story is that the one consumer code which had no obligation to help me, because Husky were a member of RECC when my installation took place, took on my case and got a result. That was HIES. Amazing support and I can't thank them enough.