Npower Central Heating Install Disaster

Tom_Jones

1984ReturnsForReal wrote: »

I was in too minds about this one.



And, may I add, it is plain to see NPower do not check out the skills & credentials of the people that work for them.

Anything for a quick buck it seems.

Never a truer word, it is obvious that Npower make no checks on the quality of the tradesmen they employ. That install is an utter disgrace, and if Npower were a decent company, they would rip it out and start again, put right all the damage caused, and not charge a penny. I won't hold my breath. Cowboys.

1984ReturnsForReal_2

Tom_Jones wrote: »

Never a truer word, it is obvious that Npower make no checks on the quality of the tradesmen they employ. That install is an utter disgrace, and if Npower were a decent company, they would rip it out and start again, put right all the damage caused, and not charge a penny. I won't hold my breath. Cowboys.

The only "excuse" is that the subcontractor that nPower hired used another contractor that was unauthorised but even then it has got nothing to do with the customer & they should of sorted it immediately with no argument or even discussion.

meggsy

I was so appalled by this 'work' that I posted a link on and Gas and Electricity board - I am very pleased that the npower rep responded because she is usually very selective in which questions she chooses for reply

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3012112 #42

Good luck lucysettle

a97am

The whole situation is beyond ridiculous!

How a big company like N-Power can be so negligent, is beyond me. I don't care if the workers were sub-contractors, or sub-contractors to the sub-contractors! N-Power employ them and should make suitable checks to ensure that DANGEROUS work like this NEVER happens. To think what could have happened if LucySettle wasn't as diligent as she was and realised that it was more than just obvious cosmetic damage - well, it doesn't bear thinking about, quite frankly.

Shame on you, N-Power! Putting peoples lives at risk, causing lots of hassle, and emotional stress, over something that should/could be done swiftly & pain-free.

To top it all off, in my eyes, they are not even being quick at solving the issue - Get your cheque book out N-Power, and stop sending silly letters telling them that you're looking into it.

lucysettle - if I were you, I'd shout from the rooftops about what they have done to you. Watchdog, Rogue Builders, National newspapers etc.

C_Mababejive

The trouble is that the basic cause is that everyone seems to want a skilled trademans work for as cheap as possible.

We end up in situations like this where people are not properly trained both in their craft and what i call social and housekeeping skills..i.e looking after customers and respecting their homes.

Companies have to compete to sell heating systems and upgrades in a fierce market.

Inevitably price suffers.

riding on top of the backs of the installers are legions of managers and sales staff,all with targets,wages and nice company cars and sharp suits.

No wonder then that you end up with a team of butchers coming into your home,going like mad and being driven to install at least two systems a week to make any decent money.

In the end,we all share some responsibility for this.

Its polish plumber syndrome gone wrong.

You cant get a good quality,expert job without paying a fair price.

This customer probably DID pay a good price but much of that has been syphoned off in profits,sharp suits,hospitality,and comany BMWs for sales reps leaving the installers with not very much apart from a hard weeks sweat and indigestion from rushing.

Canucklehead

C_Mababejive wrote: »

The trouble is that the basic cause is that everyone seems to want a skilled trademans work for as cheap as possible.

We end up in situations like this where people are not properly trained both in their craft and what i call social and housekeeping skills..i.e looking after customers and respecting their homes.

Companies have to compete to sell heating systems and upgrades in a fierce market.

Inevitably price suffers.

riding on top of the backs of the installers are legions of managers and sales staff,all with targets,wages and nice company cars and sharp suits.

No wonder then that you end up with a team of butchers coming into your home,going like mad and being driven to install at least two systems a week to make any decent money.

In the end,we all share some responsibility for this.

Its polish plumber syndrome gone wrong.

You cant get a good quality,expert job without paying a fair price.

This customer probably DID pay a good price but much of that has been syphoned off in profits,sharp suits,hospitality,and comany BMWs for sales reps leaving the installers with not very much apart from a hard weeks sweat and indigestion from rushing.

Try telling that to the punters.

They're not listening and only see the price at the end of the quote.

The good installers are thrown in the pit with the bad.

GSR.

sillygoose

Nice apology NPower - SO NOW GET THE CHEQUE BOOK OUT if you actually want to come out of this with the faintest hope anyone who sees this will EVER use you again. We will be watching here for the poster to report back if you did so...

Moneysavingexpert posts feature very prominently in Google and other web forums - you should be VERY afraid of threads like this!

C_Mababejive

sillygoose wrote: »

Nice apology NPower - SO NOW GET THE CHEQUE BOOK OUT if you actually want to come out of this with the faintest hope anyone who sees this will EVER use you again. We will be watching here for the poster to report back if you did so...

Moneysavingexpert posts feature very prominently in Google and other web forums - you should be VERY afraid of threads like this!

I thought Npowers initial overture on here was ok but it didnt seem particularly accepting and conciliatory. Must try a little harder.

clairehi

C_Mababejive wrote: »

The trouble is that the basic cause is that everyone seems to want a skilled trademans work for as cheap as possible.

to be fair to the OP I dont think that is what has happened here. She chose NPower as a "trusted brand name", because of their slick marketing photos, and because they said they could get the work done before her 30th birthday.

Unless you have a personal recommendation for a local tradesman, its often hard fpr Joe Public to tell the difference between a decent skilled tradesman and a cowboy when they turn up to quote. this is why people often go for the "big name brands" as they think they can be trusted to give good service, even if it is often more expensive than a local firm.

sadly having a big name company do work is no guarantee whatsoever of quality as the OP shows.

lucysettle

I think you're absolutely right with this. These two young lads from Glasgow told us they didn't earn much in scotland, but were paid more than double by working for npower and working in England. They were 300 miles from home, living in a travellodge and as you say probably trying to cram in as many jobs as possible whilst they were away from home. When they arrived at our house they told us they would try and do the three day install in two days, presumably because they could then move on to another job.

As you say, our gripe is not with these two lads, but with the company that hired them. In fact, we can't criticise these two lads for the effort they put in. They were here each morning at 8am, worked through solidly, only allowing themselves about 20mins for lunch, and often didn't finish til about six or seven. I suspect the problems in our house did not come entirely from their lack of knowledge of how to do the job, but because they felt they were under pressure to get the job finished quickly, whilst having no support for npower on site.

In terms of the price of this install... the price was £5400. So I think that's top whack pricing for a full install. There was the npower £1300 eco grant on top of that, which took the price down to £4100. Our local firm quoted us about £3-4k, and as you suggest I doubt much of that went to the two lads.

C_Mababejive wrote: »

The trouble is that the basic cause is that everyone seems to want a skilled trademans work for as cheap as possible.

We end up in situations like this where people are not properly trained both in their craft and what i call social and housekeeping skills..i.e looking after customers and respecting their homes.

Companies have to compete to sell heating systems and upgrades in a fierce market.

Inevitably price suffers.

riding on top of the backs of the installers are legions of managers and sales staff,all with targets,wages and nice company cars and sharp suits.

No wonder then that you end up with a team of butchers coming into your home,going like mad and being driven to install at least two systems a week to make any decent money.

In the end,we all share some responsibility for this.

Its polish plumber syndrome gone wrong.

You cant get a good quality,expert job without paying a fair price.

This customer probably DID pay a good price but much of that has been syphoned off in profits,sharp suits,hospitality,and comany BMWs for sales reps leaving the installers with not very much apart from a hard weeks sweat and indigestion from rushing.