MSE News: HomeServe suspends sales amid mis-selling probe

gazzman1

I have written to Homeserve last week and got a reply
basically their customer services department told me they did not know what I was talking about
they also telephoned me and they seemed completly oblivious to the fact the company had been fined.

Can someone please tell me how you can claim compensation I was duped into the full complete cover over several years and have received no notification from homeserve.

based on their telephone conversation to me and their letter they do not know about any compensation to policy holders or indeed that a case ever took place.

i fear they hagve no intention of bringing this to light and compensating all the policy holders that were mis sold the policies

martin

can you please highlight this miselling on one of your programmes and brig it to the fore and force hoemserve to pay up

or is it simply that now I have received a reply im put my claim through the ombudsman service

please advise

kind regards
Gazzman1

Froglet

i know this will be a voice in the wilderness! but my Mum actually had a good experience with them at the weekend.She discovered that one of the pipes under her sink was leaking.Being elderly she panicked a bit more than most,but being insured with homeserve she rang up,even though it was Sunday.The lady on the phone was very helpful and pleasant and within 10 mins rang her back to sat someone would be with her within 2hours.He got there within an hour and fixed the leak.

So they are not all bad,maybe it depends where in the country you are though of course it shouldn't make any difference.

HomeServe_company_representative

Hi gazzman1

Sorry to hear you have had a bad experience dealing with us, please can you send your details to us using the email in our profile, I will look into this for you and arrange our Customer Relations to contact you to discuss your concerns further. Please see link below for our profile.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/member.php?u=2078577


Kind Regards

James
Here To Help Team
HomeServe

rizla_king

Homeserve is fined £30.6m by FCA

Maintenance company Homeserve has been fined £30.6m by the City regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, owing to historical sales problems.

This is the largest retail fine handed down to date by City regulators.

The Financial Conduct Authority had proposed the fine following an 18-month investigation.

Questionable sales techniques and complaints handling procedures emerged following an internal company review in 2011.

The FCA said it had found that Homeserve had "serious, systemic and long-running failings, extending across many key aspects of its business".

It said that between January 2005 and October 2011, it had mis-sold insurance policies and failed to investigate complaints adequately, while its board was "insufficiently engaged with compliance matters".
Business 'transformed'

Homeserve chief executive Richard Harpin said the firm sincerely regretted that some customers had been affected by those issues.

He added: "We have transformed the business, rebuilding and strengthening the management team, retraining staff and restructuring systems and controls.

"We have worked very hard over the last two years to put customers back at the heart of our business and we are committed to offering valuable products with a high quality of service."

Homeserve was founded in 1993 by Mr Harpin as a joint venture with South Staffordshire Water and grew rapidly. It demerged from the water company in 2004.

Homeserve sells homeowners insurance to provide them with cover against drain blockages, burst pipes, faulty boilers and electrical problems. It describes itself in adverts as "Britain's fifth emergency service".

But there were questions over whether the cost of its packages of cover was clear to customers.

Customers who were affected have been, or will be, contacted directly by the company with regards to compensation.

apache49

In November 2013 I received a letter from Homeserve telling me that my policy did not meet the normal high standards that Homeserve expect. They therefore refunded a years policy premium, but minus a deduction of £83.65 for making a claim. (Why should it matter if i had made a claim anyway, mis selling is mis selling, right?).

Actually I had not made a claim, so after a series of phone calls over the last 2 months, they agreed and I was eventually refunded a whole years premium. I then asked about my previous years premiums and was told that they were only looking at my last particular year at the moment?

After getting tired of waiting, two weeks ago I wrote in again to ask about the rest of my premiums, letter was addressed to:

Senior Redress Agent,
Homeserve,
Customer Care Dept,
Cable Drive, Walsall, WS2 7BN. ..... No Reply so far.

HomeServe_company_representative

Hi apache49, Sorry to hear of the issues you have described, please can you send your details to us using the email in our profile and we will look into this for further for you and arrange for our Customer Relations Team to contact you to discuss your concerns further. Please see link below for our profile.http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....php?u=2078577Kind RegardsJackieHere To Help TeamHomeServe