Homeserve plumbing

Boohoo

I have started a thread in the DIY thread about a cracked soil stack.
My dad has emergency plumbing and drainage insurance with homeserve.
The problem is that a few days ago i went to paint his cast iron soil stack at his house.I noticed that there was a foul smell and water trickling down the pipe.Where the pipe from the wc comes out of the wall into the the branch it looks like it has cracked and also from the branch upto the top of the stack is also cracked.
As my dad has this insurance i was going to call them out but lokking on this site i have seen somebody who has had Homeserve do some work later sent them a letter asking for their building insurance details so they can get the money back off the insurer.
Has Homeserve ever done this and can they reclaim the cost off the homeowners insurance as my dad said if this happens then when it comes to the renewal the premium will go up.
Has anybody got some advice on this matter please as my dad wants to call them out asap and get the job done but doesn't want to get a big bill.
Thank you.

Pb_Plumbing

If you have water coming from the toilet boss it might be cracked in side. How old is house? It may be cheaper to have old cast iron pipe replaced with new plastic rather than having repairs as if not done correctly they may leak again. Dont know to much about Homeserve except they use mainly contractors. You should check with your buildings insurance as pipe is within 3metres of boundry the cost of materials should be aprox £50+vat and labour about 1 days work. depending on who you use. If you look at your excess sometimes it is cheaper to do it your self. Job is not to hard to do if you ok at DIY.

Boohoo

I have found some info that was posted on MSE about Homeserve.
It's in the insurance forum under Homeserve insurance about them asking for policy details so they can claim from his/her insurance company.

Had a repair satisfactorily completed by Homeserve. Have since received a letter asking me to permit them to claim a share of the cost from my Buildings Insurer. I have an excess on my home insurance and they tell me that all claims may affect next year's premium. Homeserve say in the letter that they will not proceed if I would lose a no-claims bonus. I don't have one as such but should my XS and possible increase in premiuum equate to a no claims bonus?
Would like to be sure of my facts before I tackle them.

I have to check all this out b4 going ahead with anything as it is my dad's house and i don't want him to get a big bill from Homeserve or his insurance company if the work has been done.
The house was built in 1938 and i think it's still the original cast stack and the whole lot will need to be replaced as i don't think you can get a new branch and just replace that part.
Where do you buy yous gear from pb Plumbing as for 7 m of pipe,a branch,plastic to clay connector,2 x off sets for the eaves and clips was just over £100 from screwfix.
Vince

Pb_Plumbing

I have accounts but try toolstation they do pipe. other wise try PTS and ask if they can do anything with price if they want the business they will give you discounts as will plumb center and grahams or bss or travis perkins.

mwbrown

my dad had this cover and we rung them when his toilet was leaking, the guy from Homeserve (a 3rd party called Admiral Maintainance) came out, and just wrapped the toilet outlet in some sticky tape.... it still leaked, got them back out and they just put more of it on...... eventually the guy from admiral said that there was also a leak on the outside pipe (which was a blatant lie cos i had checked it out previously!) and he contacted homeserve who said that they wouldnt pay to replace the stack pipe because it was 3" soil pipe (its been on the house for as long as my dad has lived there over 60 yrs) total waste of money IMHO.. I ended up getting a couple of lengths of pipe and necessary fittings and replaced the lot in about 4 hours..... biggest job was making hole in wall bigger....

I had the same policy and had a leak, they sent a "plumber" out from admiral maintainence who botched the repair on our central heating pipe and then bled the rads but broke one of the bleed valves and didnt close the valve properly, i noticed a couple of days later that we had to keep topping the boiler up, so when i checked the valves for leaks, noticed the broken and loose valve...... took them 3 days to come and replace the valve... needless to say i cancelled my homeserve policy at renewal....

Boohoo

I still havent got Homeserve to come out yet as i have been reading the replies on here makes me wonder if its worth it.
He got a quote at the weekend for £600 to reolace with plastic.
6 metres of pipe,1xbranch,2x bends,cowl,plastic to clat adaptor and 7 clips. I suppose the £100 for materials and the rest for labour as the bloke said 4 hours.
I had a look at his insurance policy and his excess is £150 for pipework so if Homeserve claim back for any work done to the soil stack from insurer he is worse off.
If he claims from his insurer then take off the excess and the extra premium when he renews he is still worse off.
In one off my posts here i said about somebody on this forum site said about getting a letter from Homeserve askinf for details of their insurer so they could reclaim from them but the thread never gave the outcome.
Vince

Boohoo

Had Homeserve come out and look.
Told my dad that he will have to pay to have the whole stack replaced and temp filled the cracks the best he could and said it may last or may not. He thinks the cost will be hundreds of pounds if Homeserve do it.
What is the point of emergency plumbing policy if they will not do the work unless you pay. He has had Homeserve for 5-6 years and must of paid them £300-£400 in that time.
Now the poor old git is panicing about it goiing again.