B Gas Homecare 400? Pushy Salesman

mleonard79

Hi everyone,
Not sure if I should post this here or on the insurance board but here goes. I've just had a call from a really pushy salesman at BGas. We've got their Homecare 200 deal for our boiler and heating. This salesman was trying to get me to upgrade to a new deal they've got called Homecare 400 which would cover drainage, plumbing and electrics as well. I told him we have home insurance etc and I always thought I was covered for these things with that but he insisted that I'm not and kept pushing me to sign up. I asked him to send some info out in the post and I'd have a think about it and he was quite rude and said "what is there to think about? You don't have this cover so you need it and we're providing it for only an extra £9 a month!" Only!! He said he couldn't send anything out in the post - I just think he was only interested in badgering me into saying yes. He just wouldn't take no for an answer but I eventually got rid of him after I'd told him about 10 times I wouldn't sign up for something like that off the cuff without doing some research on it first. Phew.

So anyway he has got me a little bit worried going on about if there are any emergencies in my home I'm not covered etc. Can anyone enlighten me on this? I would have thought if home insurance didn't cover this kind of stuff lots of places would have been on years ago trying to get me to take this kind of cover? If he is telling the truth is this extra cover really worth having as I think an extra £9 a month is something to think about. Would be interested to know if anyone else has had this kind of hard selling done to them lately? Thanks for any advice.

Michelle

seven-day-weekend

Lots of companies sell this cover, I have some with Severn Trent Water.

It covers things like underground sewer pipes, gas supply pipes and electrical emergencies. AFAIK house insurance doesn't cover these..

Cardew

I don't think any home insurance(contents and buildings) covers repairs to drainage, plumbing, electrics etc. Obviously they cover the damage caused by, say, a burst pipe - but not the pipe repair itself. Also there is often a pretty big excess.

Is it worth having? Like any form of insurance, including the Homecare 200 itself, it is a gamble that only you can bet on!!!.

I doubt if the salesman was "at BGas". Unfortunately most of the major utility companies employ agencies to sell their products and the salesmen work for commission - hence their pushy tactics.

channy

had a letter from severn trent asking us if my dad wanted to buy the insurance with sewage pipes etc.

they've been living at the place now 16 years and nothing wrong has happened. why are they targeting us now? really does make me wonder, but i guess if you weren't going to risk having a huge bill, then you'd buy the insurance. its a gamble really.

still feels like a scam tho. do they know something we don't? i.e-a system or something only built for a specific time period and is about to collapse, lol.

seven-day-weekend

The insurances were a good bet for me, living 1500 miles away from the property, especially as we have Victorian sewer pipes. They will find send an authorised and fully registered person to do the work within 24 hours or 2 hours in the case of an electrical emergency. Like any insurance, you have to decide whether it's worth it for you.

I have insurance for
Underground Water supply pipe @ £15.99 per year
Plumbing and Drainage cover @ 64.99 per year
Gas Supply pipe @£14.99 per year
Electrical Emergency and Breakdown @47.88 per year.

seven-day-weekend

channy wrote:

had a letter from severn trent asking us if my dad wanted to buy the insurance with sewage pipes etc.

they've been living at the place now 16 years and nothing wrong has happened. why are they targeting us now? really does make me wonder, but i guess if you weren't going to risk having a huge bill, then you'd buy the insurance. its a gamble really.

still feels like a scam tho. do they know something we don't? i.e-a system or something only built for a specific time period and is about to collapse, lol.

They certainly wouldn't be asking you to buy insurance if they thought there was going to be a problem!:rotfl: :rotfl:

melbury

That's a really good idea - saving the money instead in case of an emergency.

It seems that nowadays you can spend a fortune on insuring against every eventuality, but for most people it is (sorry for the pun) money down the drain!

nenya

You know, B-gas is probably one of the worse for pushy salesmen/ladies. they're rude and there customer services leave a lot to be desired to be honest.