Homeserve boiler cover

luxor4t

UPDATE _ see post 17.

Homeserve boiler cover :mad::mad::mad:

Fault (ie boiler not working) reported - approx 10 am Wednesday morning.

We werre told that the engineer would call today, Friday.

STILL waiting for a Homeserve engineer to condescend to come and look at boiler - Friday 17.27 and counting.

Homeserve can't contact the engineer as his phone is switched off. So they gave us the number ... it's been switched off since 4.10. If he does not arrive by 6pm we can spend some more time listening to their call centre telling us that they can't contact him.

Warmest room in our house is now 15C or 60F & we're wearing coats.


Avoid Homeserve boiler cover!

giraffe69

Sorry to hear of your problem but on the occasions we have called them out they have been most efficient.

luxor4t

Well, the engineer arrived about 6.10 and left 10 minutes ago.

We need a new part ... and of course the supplier is closed, so we're freezing for another night

I was shocked when he said that he had another 4 calls to make :eek:

I'm glad that somebody thinks well of Homeserve, shame their 'service' is so uneven.

luxor4t

Update -day 4 without heating or hot water.

DH rang Homeserve this afternoon as yesterday's engineer still had not contacted us as promised. We were offered his mobile number again, but DH insisted that Homeserve do the running around as we are paying them for this "cover".

The upshot is that we will be without heating or hot water until at least Tuesday (ie 7 days) at the earliest as the part has to be ordered....

If only we had used a local tradesman we would have been warm by now!

ian1969uk

Not sure what you are moaning about to be honest.

Homeserve promised you an engineer on Friday. An engineer called on Friday.

Your boiler needs a new part which has been ordered. What do you expect them to do? Carry every part for every boiler with them?

If you had used a local tradesman you would have been warm by now, but you would also have been a lot more skint.

luxor4t

Looking back over my first post I think I need to fill in the details:

First call was made last Friday, the engineer came mid afternoon on Monday, got the boiler started and 'fixed' a loose part.

Tuesday night the boiler packed up again and started leaking - the repair lasted less than 30 hours.

DH was told on Wednesday that the engineer would be calling Friday morning - well, he did arrive on Friday but after 6pm when he could not access any spares needed.

Communication with Homeserve & the engineer has been completely one-sided as they have not kept us informed as they said they would.

We both have health conditions that require staying warm, which is why we took out an insurance policy. Unfortunately, being without heat in the house is having a negative effect on both of us.

I suppose I do have unrealistic expectations of Homeserve, I fell for their promise of "simple" and "hassle free" protection.

wealdroam

Could you perhaps pop out to B&Q[1], or some other such place, and buy a fan heater to cover this emergency?

This would also come in handy if/when the boiler next stops working.




[1]I know these places are closed right now, but you should be ok after 10am tomorrow.

luxor4t

We do have an electric heater and have borrowed 2 more but they are barely denting the cold as our house has large rooms (edwardian) - we're struggling to keep the smaller downstairs room at 14/15C during the day. So we wear dressing gowns as well as several layers.

It looks like we're going to have to move out & stay with relatives as the house is feeling damp now as well as cold.

ChrisEvanson

Hopefully this serves as a warning or reminder to everyone that price is not the most important thing with insurance etc. I'm not saying that price was the over-riding factor in your case but in many cases it is. You only find out how good a policy is when you claim on it, this goes for pet, car, mobile, travel and indeed boiler insurance. Sometimes people go for the biggest name or the one that advertises in the paper. Try and do research into their customer service first, because an insurance policy is only any good if they sort out the insured thing quickly and efficiently.

Hope you get sorted on Tuesday as promised. It's true a house does take a bit to heat up and keep dry, which is why we always leave our heating on 14 degrees when we go away in the winter because otherwise it takes a day to get the place right when we get home.

jb66

I had same issue with homeserve:

Engineer called fri at 6pm, need a part will be there on Monday
Took time from work and he arrived at 5pm and then when he arrived was told it was wrong part
New part ordered as it was after 5 he couldnt collect it will get it tuesday.
Another engineer arrived tuesday and said the original part was the correct one it just looked slightly different.

A week later I've got a letter from homeserve saying they are no longer insuring my boiler becuase the exit pipe doesnt double back on itself. (This has nothing to do with the operation of the boiler and is a H+S issue thats my problem not theirs)

I've asked for my policy to be cancelled in Begining of december but still not heard anything.

luxor4t

ChrisEvanson wrote: »

Hopefully this serves as a warning or reminder to everyone that price is not the most important thing with insurance etc. I'm not saying that price was the over-riding factor in your case but in many cases it is. You only find out how good a policy is when you claim on it, this goes for pet, car, mobile, travel and indeed boiler insurance. Sometimes people go for the biggest name or the one that advertises in the paper. Try and do research into their customer service first, because an insurance policy is only any good if they sort out the insured thing quickly and efficiently. ....snipped ....QUOTE]

How right you are! sadly, they did compare well when we took out the policy, but at that time our boiler had never caused us any problems.
Looking at their site now, it I notice that they make no promises beyond a 24/7 helpline which passes on the work to a contractor!