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Sheilas' Wheels 24hr Emergency cover - AVOID!!!
Whibblywoman
Posts: 4 Newbie
This is a copy of a posting I'm trying to get out far and wide about my experiences of Sheilas' Wheels.
Dear Sheilas' Wheels,
I say 'Dear' when in fact I don't mean 'Dear' at all I'm just far too polite to write similar words to 'Fudge You Mother Hubbards'.
Good morning, (for you at least, I can't feel my toes), it's 03.05 on a Saturday morning and I'm laying on my living room floor doing my best to keep warm utilising the hot water bottles of my 3 dogs which in itself is a bit of a issue as one of them has flatulence that is bad enough to burn the hairs right out your nose.
Last Friday night my poor Ideal Classic Combi Boiler expired, (god rest it's soul), it was only truly noticeable when I awoke at 2.20am for the obligatory early morning pee, (oh the joys of ageing), and found my feet hopping around on the cold floor as if I were wearing hedgehog slippers and the hot water colder than an artic winter. '!!!!!!' I exclaimed, or words to that effect, and duly sort out my 24hr Home Emergency Policy documents, 'wahoo' I thought, for once an insurance policy that I will actually use, clever Jenny for having forethought *smug face*.
I spoke to your very nice customer representative who took the obligatory details and assured me I would be contacted between 8 & 8.30 where I would be able to arrange a visit from a contractor. Slightly miffed that my understanding of 24hr meant someone would be on call or similar to visit aside I then reached disappointment, like a naughty child at Christmas, as I was due to see my best friend that day but needs must, unforeseen.
So wearing more clothes than an arctic explorer I dove into the warmth of my bed fairly content I would be toasty warm very shortly.
9.30am the following day I received a telephone call from a curt lady from Service Plus, I gathered that the end of a British summertime had confused them somewhat as it was distinctly later than the time I'd been promised. Don't be a cow I thought to myself and was informed somebody would be with me that day, by then I'd stopped being able to feel the tip of my nose so was looking forward to their visit.
Disappointment when your ServicePlus contractor arrived was achieved within 5 minutes. I don't know if it was because I was a girl, (your target market lets not forget), or whether I utilised my, until then unrealised ability to speak Parceltongue and slipped into a strange and unintelligible language, I have no idea but all I do know is that listening to me wasn't one of his strengths. "I've turned the boiler off", I say, about 3 times, (I tend to repeat myself, it's an annoying habit), but no, Mr Beans less intelligent uneducated brother failed to hear this and proceeded to hold his head against a cold and still boiler, flicking the heating switch to constant and then off again, he couldn't hear anything, I couldn't hear anything, even a bat would fail to have heard anything as I say patiently, "I've turned it off", again. Off to be van he trots and despite only being a girl I flick the boiler on/off switch to the 'on' position, a woman meddling I hear you cry, yes, I meddled. The poor guy was obviously struggling with the advanced technological concept of switches and I wanted him to actually be able to hear the problem, the igniter was being as stubborn as a mule and not activating. I still can't understand what be was hoping to hear from a turned off non functioning boiler, do boilers have mystical, magical voices or was he just waiting for the word of god and divine intervention? Along he trots and I retreat to my boudoir as being a nosy cow I wanted to hear what was going on. Minutes later he utters the expletive that nobody with a problem wants to hear, 'fu&&ing hell', so I decided hanging around is hardly going to help so I offer the obligatory tea/coffee, (my parents taught me to be polite), then headed downstairs to the freezing conditions of my bare floor board living room.
A short time later my super sensitive hearing identified a "hello", so up I pop to find my loft hatch open and a step ladder erected at which point he asks me to lower the loft ladder as he doesn't know how to. Seriously, I'm a girl lets not forget, but even I knew that just pulling it down would be sufficient, I haven't constructed a magical ladder that leads to Narnia or is more complicated than a Rubix cube or even asked him to perform brain surgery, no no no, just pull the !!!!!!! thing down. My confidence in his ability wavering, massively, I did as asked, (again thanks to my parents up dragging!), and disappeared again like a good girl again.
Gone midday another "hello" punctuated the freezing air, anticipating having to put the ladder back or helping him tie his shoelaces, I ventured from my warm spot on the sofa to hear the, expected, "you need parts". "What parts", I ask, no reply, obviously my medical strange language disease must have kicked in again and I couldn't read his drunken spider writing so asked, "how long will it be?", to which I heard, for the first time, a many to be repeated line, "I'm just an engineer". Starting to feel frustration growing I repeated myself again, (see above re repetition!), and asked that he phoned someone to find out how long it would be, a perfectly reasonable request I thought, to be refused and told that he'd ensure I was flagged as a priority. Still not knowing when it would be anticipated I would be able to function in my own home was extremely frustrating so when asked to sign the job sheet underneath the declaration, 'job completed satisfactorily', I refused until I'd scrawled through the offending line and replaced it with, 'signed to confirm attendance'. Ooh check out my rebellion!
Whilst the engineer was still parked on my driveway I spoke to the Home Emergency Helpline again and expressed my serious concerns regarding the engineers capability and the lack of information about when I wouldn't have to wear 3 pairs of trousers at the same time. The very nice lady explained that the engineer would have to contact the company within 30 minutes of leaving my house and give the part numbers so Sheilas Wheels could ensure that they were obtained at the most cost effective price. Promises of this being chased by the call handler at 8am on Monday morning reassured me slightly so my freezing weekend commenced.
Monday came, no news, numerous phone calls revealed that the engineer hadn't contacted you to tell you details of the parts required, as I felt anger rise I realised I was feeling a little warmer, wahoo, however I was told the engineer was being chased. At 21.30hrs as I was returning home from work after leaving at 5.30am that morning I received a text then a call from Sheilas Wheels, (SWs), to be told that the work had been authorised and the excess to fit the new fan and PCB over and above your £500 limit would be £39.14 which I had to pay Service Plus direct when the were open the following day. Working full time in the job that I do meant I couldn't phone Service Plus until about 10am the following morning where the gentleman told me that SWs hadn't told them that the work had been authorised so the part hadn't even been ordered. Again feeling that now familiar warmth of anger flood my veins I was put on hold whilst SWs were contacted, I duly paid my money and was assured that the part would be in on Wednesday when I would then be contacted about fitting. Goody I thought, I finish early on Thursdays so was looking forward very much at not having to pay my local gym a fiver for the privilege of a days membership to purely have a shower or wait until I drove to work into work in the mornings, (50 miles away), for a shower. Daydreams of being warm and sleeping in my own bed enveloped me in a warm comforting glow of loveliness. Oh I'd better add at the point that I'd been unable to sleep in my own bed because having no heating and again bare floorboards in my bedroom made it almost painfully cold to climb into bed so I had taken to sleeping on the sofa as my open fire died in the evenings or on my kitchen floor with the gas oven on as a way to try and stop my body, and my 3 dogs, freezing. Yes, I have an open fire in my living room, it's a special thing to light it as it costs about £8 to have it working for a few hours and bearing in mind I have fudge all to live on, (£30 a week for food, clothing going out etc), its not something I can afford to do regularly. However most nights since this kicked off I have had to do this but having a 6m x 6m living room with a broken window, bare floorboards and no plaster on a couple of walls and part of the ceiling means it's impossible to get and stay warm hence why I've taken to sleeping on sofa cushions on the floor directly in front of the fire now. As you can imagine I have not slept properly in a week and am becoming increasingly grumpy and uncomfortable as a result.
Anyhoo, Thursday came and it was like Christmas had come early, ok so I wasn't being delivered Jonny Wilkinson covered in chocolate and gift wrapped but heating and hot water at that point in time was a close second to my perfect gift. The engineer arrived at 4.45 and set to work like a busy little beaver upstairs, obviously the technological advancement of the on/off switch didn't faze him so I felt a little more comforted enjoying thoughts of the nice long bath I'd be taking that evening and to be finally shaving my chewbucca hairy legs, (I felt the extra hair and warmth would be necessary). Although the cheeky !!!!!! nearly got a slap when I asked him if he'd like a tea or coffee and he replied, "yes please, coffee, it's a bit cold in here" no !!!!!!! sh*t Sherlock.
After about an hour however I started to grow suspicious and being the nosy cow I am I went into my kitchen to start tea and overhear the telephone conversation the engineer was having on loud speaker, (thanks for that it was very enlightening), it sounded as if my guy was talking to the original engineer and was being talked through the process of fitting the parts, (again always reassuring, I don't think), and then I heard the jewel, the nugget, "I'm really sorry mate you need an air pressure switch, I'm really sorry", oh flipping bl**dy !!!!!!! marvellous. Down comes mr engineer man who stands sheepishly in my kitchen to tell me I need yet another part. Warning him I was about 5 seconds away from kicking the smeg off I told him that I'd had no confidence in the original engineers ability and when I told him the story, as above, he actually sniggered and said that it wasn't right and agreed with me that the situation was unacceptable. As I pointed out it was -3 that morning and almost painful to be in my house and when asked if he would find it acceptable thank god he agreed with me that he wouldn't. Again, asking how long it would be was like asking him what the meaning of life was as his response was the much used, "I'm just an engineer" line. The disappointment was great and I'm not ashamed to say I burst into tears, I contacted SWs and in between sobs asked what would be done now as I'd been almost a week without heating and hot water. I passed the phone to the engineer who explained that he was 'just an engineer', (they should just tape record that and play it on repeat), and had no idea of costings or timing of the obtaining of parts. Phone returned to me I was promised the part would be chased but there was nothing they could go. She managed to squeeze in that I would have to pay for the additional part and work which was like a red rag to a bull, (I'm a Taurus), at which point I effectively declared war and said it was the companies incompetence that had caused the issue so why the smeg should I have to pay?
Again, with the engineer apologising as he backed out the door, (I think a crying girl scared him), he left and I crumbled.
My dad phoned and was fuming and said he'd phone SWs to discuss, do you have any idea how embarrassing it as a 33 year old independent, intelligent, stubborn female to have your dad fight your corner on your behalf? I was told a short time later that the part would be sourced Friday. !!!!!!, I was due in Crown Court that day, (not for naughtiness), but would see what I could do thinking that it would also be fitted Friday bearing in mind it had been a week since I'd been able to wear non fleecy under crackers under my pjs, scarf, boots and dressing gown to try and sleep.
Friday lunchtime came and my boss agreed to let me use some of my extremely precious annual leave so I could be home and thankfully a colleague was able to cover what was happening at court. I phoned SWs to be told that the part had been ordered but because it was coming direct from the manufacturer it wouldn't arrive until Monday. Oh dear, that was the wrong thing to say, I asked for the part number which I was given after I explained that I'd drive up and down the flipping country if needs be to get the part today for fitting. I'd obviously upset the call handler who informed me that it was my prerogative if I wanted to drive for hundreds of miles to collect it. I said that I would and call out an emergency plumber to fix the part which I would then bill SWs for which was emphatically refused by the girl but having had enough I told her it would be happening. My dad also called as he knew I'd been in court and had been met with exactly the same response so hot footed it to Trading Standards when he'd put the phone down. With the part number obtained I made 3 phone calls and within 10 minutes the part was reserved for me in Southampton, only an hour and a half later I had the precious APS in my grubby and cold little mitts. Like a beacon of hopefulness I drove home and attempted to find a gas man through friends who would be able to assist.
I then received a phone call from a gentleman with a friendly voice, (I have chosen not to identify call handlers on here although I have their details), from SWs who asked me what my intention was and as I explained I would be finding someone to come fit the magical missing part of my cold Christmas puzzle. He asked me to hang fire and made numerous phone calls to Service Plus, he had asked them if it would be possible for an engineer to attend on Saturday, apparently the female at Service Plus had to get authorisation from the Manager, SWs had tried contacting him with no response and the female had left messages on his voicemail for both his personal and job mobile phone and sent text messages asking for the authorisation. Well, wouldn't you know it, it wasn't authorised plus a little nugget of information that the SWs call handler had failed to mention is that because I sourced the part the contractors would not be happy to install as they wouldn't be able to guarantee the part or provide any warranty. They wouldn't want to accept liability if it went wrong, fair do's but perhaps telling me this would have helped? Now, this isn't a part I've constructed out of sticky backed plastic, twigs and bird spit, it was the part number that was given to me and obtained from a reputable plumbers merchants. I counteracted this by saying I would accept liability, job done and was promised a call back. Oh what a surprise I wouldn't be seen over the weekend, I work Monday - Friday some 17 hr days how the hell am I supposed to drop everything at a moments whim to drive an hour back from work?? The earliest it was discovered I could be seen was Monday.
NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
I was expected to wait 10 days in winter without heating or hot water, NOT ACCEPTABLE.
Every time I picked up the phone I was asked if there was anybody in the house with a disability, on the very first occasion I said no as I hadn't anticipated there being any problems but when I wrote my complaint letter on Monday I specified that I do have a disability, it's not physical but mental. I suffer from depression and an anxiety disorder which I have been receiving weekly treatment for for 2 years. After I revealed this, in itself embarrassing, I told every call handler that I had a disability albeit not a physical one. This is not the, 'I'm feeling a bit grumpy', depression this is full on life altering depression that extends to every aspect of my life. However because it isn't as obvious as being in a wheelchair this has been dismissed off hand, something depression sufferers face daily which is disgraceful. I'm proud that I still function in a stressful job but this is thanks to strong daily medication but without doubt this situation has been been made more upsetting because of my mental conditions.
If I were a 90 year old female I would be in hospital with pneumonia by now, if I was at home with 3 kiddies instead of 3 dogs would this still be seen as an acceptable situation? No. But because I'm a woman living on my tod who cares, I face unscrupulous trades persons at every turn and because I have always been polite I've accepted every negative treatment of me with a smile and a resigned acceptance that this will always happen, NOT ANY MORE. I'm fed up, metaphorically speaking, of bending over and taking it up the poo shoot when something goes wrong and nobody giving a toss.
Continuing the above Trading Standards have been made aware of the situation and state that you are in breach of your contract as a 24hr emergency cover provider, I pointed this out and the fact that your terms and conditions fine print clearly state that if my house in uninhabitable due to various factors, one of them specified as a failure in the heating of my home, that SWs will pay up to £250 for room only hotel accommodation. When I stated this and requested my hotel accommodation for tonight I was told that the engineers had to state to the company that my house was uninhabitable and that just because I had a failure in my heating system, as per your terms and conditions, that was not sufficient. The engineers who I don't feel knew their ar*e from their elbow had the power to subjectively say whether or not my house was uninhabitable. Believe you me I will be taking this further I really will because I am disgusted at the way I've been treated and now have British Gas coming tomorrow to hopefully fix the problem in hand.
I have used SWs before but I can assure YOU this I will never EVER utilise your company every again and be advising all I know to avoid.
I will also be sending you a bill for ALL my telephone calls as a result if this, my excess I've paid already, the cost of the air pressure stitch, my 3.5hrs of annual leave, my time to and from Southampton as well as my petrol, the addition wood I've had to buy, the £5 I had to pay to have a shower at the gym and suitable recompense for the frustration, disappointment and stress that this incident has caused.
Those at Service Plus in Farnham and Sheilas Wheels should be ashamed of yourself. Would you be happy if this happened to you or your daughter, sister, mother, auntie, grandmother etc?? It's been another bitterly cold night with snow forecasted, if you can't understand my level of frustration go home and turn your heating and hot water off, still think your house is habitable?
I'm so disappointed in you which is why I'm still writing this at 5.27am with frozen fingers.
Disgraceful treatment, incompetent engineers / contractors, why would anybody every choose you ever again?
I've set up a Facebook page 'Disgraceful Sheilas' Wheels' so other people who have had similar experiences can have their voices heard.
Dear Sheilas' Wheels,
I say 'Dear' when in fact I don't mean 'Dear' at all I'm just far too polite to write similar words to 'Fudge You Mother Hubbards'.
Good morning, (for you at least, I can't feel my toes), it's 03.05 on a Saturday morning and I'm laying on my living room floor doing my best to keep warm utilising the hot water bottles of my 3 dogs which in itself is a bit of a issue as one of them has flatulence that is bad enough to burn the hairs right out your nose.
Last Friday night my poor Ideal Classic Combi Boiler expired, (god rest it's soul), it was only truly noticeable when I awoke at 2.20am for the obligatory early morning pee, (oh the joys of ageing), and found my feet hopping around on the cold floor as if I were wearing hedgehog slippers and the hot water colder than an artic winter. '!!!!!!' I exclaimed, or words to that effect, and duly sort out my 24hr Home Emergency Policy documents, 'wahoo' I thought, for once an insurance policy that I will actually use, clever Jenny for having forethought *smug face*.
I spoke to your very nice customer representative who took the obligatory details and assured me I would be contacted between 8 & 8.30 where I would be able to arrange a visit from a contractor. Slightly miffed that my understanding of 24hr meant someone would be on call or similar to visit aside I then reached disappointment, like a naughty child at Christmas, as I was due to see my best friend that day but needs must, unforeseen.
So wearing more clothes than an arctic explorer I dove into the warmth of my bed fairly content I would be toasty warm very shortly.
9.30am the following day I received a telephone call from a curt lady from Service Plus, I gathered that the end of a British summertime had confused them somewhat as it was distinctly later than the time I'd been promised. Don't be a cow I thought to myself and was informed somebody would be with me that day, by then I'd stopped being able to feel the tip of my nose so was looking forward to their visit.
Disappointment when your ServicePlus contractor arrived was achieved within 5 minutes. I don't know if it was because I was a girl, (your target market lets not forget), or whether I utilised my, until then unrealised ability to speak Parceltongue and slipped into a strange and unintelligible language, I have no idea but all I do know is that listening to me wasn't one of his strengths. "I've turned the boiler off", I say, about 3 times, (I tend to repeat myself, it's an annoying habit), but no, Mr Beans less intelligent uneducated brother failed to hear this and proceeded to hold his head against a cold and still boiler, flicking the heating switch to constant and then off again, he couldn't hear anything, I couldn't hear anything, even a bat would fail to have heard anything as I say patiently, "I've turned it off", again. Off to be van he trots and despite only being a girl I flick the boiler on/off switch to the 'on' position, a woman meddling I hear you cry, yes, I meddled. The poor guy was obviously struggling with the advanced technological concept of switches and I wanted him to actually be able to hear the problem, the igniter was being as stubborn as a mule and not activating. I still can't understand what be was hoping to hear from a turned off non functioning boiler, do boilers have mystical, magical voices or was he just waiting for the word of god and divine intervention? Along he trots and I retreat to my boudoir as being a nosy cow I wanted to hear what was going on. Minutes later he utters the expletive that nobody with a problem wants to hear, 'fu&&ing hell', so I decided hanging around is hardly going to help so I offer the obligatory tea/coffee, (my parents taught me to be polite), then headed downstairs to the freezing conditions of my bare floor board living room.
A short time later my super sensitive hearing identified a "hello", so up I pop to find my loft hatch open and a step ladder erected at which point he asks me to lower the loft ladder as he doesn't know how to. Seriously, I'm a girl lets not forget, but even I knew that just pulling it down would be sufficient, I haven't constructed a magical ladder that leads to Narnia or is more complicated than a Rubix cube or even asked him to perform brain surgery, no no no, just pull the !!!!!!! thing down. My confidence in his ability wavering, massively, I did as asked, (again thanks to my parents up dragging!), and disappeared again like a good girl again.
Gone midday another "hello" punctuated the freezing air, anticipating having to put the ladder back or helping him tie his shoelaces, I ventured from my warm spot on the sofa to hear the, expected, "you need parts". "What parts", I ask, no reply, obviously my medical strange language disease must have kicked in again and I couldn't read his drunken spider writing so asked, "how long will it be?", to which I heard, for the first time, a many to be repeated line, "I'm just an engineer". Starting to feel frustration growing I repeated myself again, (see above re repetition!), and asked that he phoned someone to find out how long it would be, a perfectly reasonable request I thought, to be refused and told that he'd ensure I was flagged as a priority. Still not knowing when it would be anticipated I would be able to function in my own home was extremely frustrating so when asked to sign the job sheet underneath the declaration, 'job completed satisfactorily', I refused until I'd scrawled through the offending line and replaced it with, 'signed to confirm attendance'. Ooh check out my rebellion!
Whilst the engineer was still parked on my driveway I spoke to the Home Emergency Helpline again and expressed my serious concerns regarding the engineers capability and the lack of information about when I wouldn't have to wear 3 pairs of trousers at the same time. The very nice lady explained that the engineer would have to contact the company within 30 minutes of leaving my house and give the part numbers so Sheilas Wheels could ensure that they were obtained at the most cost effective price. Promises of this being chased by the call handler at 8am on Monday morning reassured me slightly so my freezing weekend commenced.
Monday came, no news, numerous phone calls revealed that the engineer hadn't contacted you to tell you details of the parts required, as I felt anger rise I realised I was feeling a little warmer, wahoo, however I was told the engineer was being chased. At 21.30hrs as I was returning home from work after leaving at 5.30am that morning I received a text then a call from Sheilas Wheels, (SWs), to be told that the work had been authorised and the excess to fit the new fan and PCB over and above your £500 limit would be £39.14 which I had to pay Service Plus direct when the were open the following day. Working full time in the job that I do meant I couldn't phone Service Plus until about 10am the following morning where the gentleman told me that SWs hadn't told them that the work had been authorised so the part hadn't even been ordered. Again feeling that now familiar warmth of anger flood my veins I was put on hold whilst SWs were contacted, I duly paid my money and was assured that the part would be in on Wednesday when I would then be contacted about fitting. Goody I thought, I finish early on Thursdays so was looking forward very much at not having to pay my local gym a fiver for the privilege of a days membership to purely have a shower or wait until I drove to work into work in the mornings, (50 miles away), for a shower. Daydreams of being warm and sleeping in my own bed enveloped me in a warm comforting glow of loveliness. Oh I'd better add at the point that I'd been unable to sleep in my own bed because having no heating and again bare floorboards in my bedroom made it almost painfully cold to climb into bed so I had taken to sleeping on the sofa as my open fire died in the evenings or on my kitchen floor with the gas oven on as a way to try and stop my body, and my 3 dogs, freezing. Yes, I have an open fire in my living room, it's a special thing to light it as it costs about £8 to have it working for a few hours and bearing in mind I have fudge all to live on, (£30 a week for food, clothing going out etc), its not something I can afford to do regularly. However most nights since this kicked off I have had to do this but having a 6m x 6m living room with a broken window, bare floorboards and no plaster on a couple of walls and part of the ceiling means it's impossible to get and stay warm hence why I've taken to sleeping on sofa cushions on the floor directly in front of the fire now. As you can imagine I have not slept properly in a week and am becoming increasingly grumpy and uncomfortable as a result.
Anyhoo, Thursday came and it was like Christmas had come early, ok so I wasn't being delivered Jonny Wilkinson covered in chocolate and gift wrapped but heating and hot water at that point in time was a close second to my perfect gift. The engineer arrived at 4.45 and set to work like a busy little beaver upstairs, obviously the technological advancement of the on/off switch didn't faze him so I felt a little more comforted enjoying thoughts of the nice long bath I'd be taking that evening and to be finally shaving my chewbucca hairy legs, (I felt the extra hair and warmth would be necessary). Although the cheeky !!!!!! nearly got a slap when I asked him if he'd like a tea or coffee and he replied, "yes please, coffee, it's a bit cold in here" no !!!!!!! sh*t Sherlock.
After about an hour however I started to grow suspicious and being the nosy cow I am I went into my kitchen to start tea and overhear the telephone conversation the engineer was having on loud speaker, (thanks for that it was very enlightening), it sounded as if my guy was talking to the original engineer and was being talked through the process of fitting the parts, (again always reassuring, I don't think), and then I heard the jewel, the nugget, "I'm really sorry mate you need an air pressure switch, I'm really sorry", oh flipping bl**dy !!!!!!! marvellous. Down comes mr engineer man who stands sheepishly in my kitchen to tell me I need yet another part. Warning him I was about 5 seconds away from kicking the smeg off I told him that I'd had no confidence in the original engineers ability and when I told him the story, as above, he actually sniggered and said that it wasn't right and agreed with me that the situation was unacceptable. As I pointed out it was -3 that morning and almost painful to be in my house and when asked if he would find it acceptable thank god he agreed with me that he wouldn't. Again, asking how long it would be was like asking him what the meaning of life was as his response was the much used, "I'm just an engineer" line. The disappointment was great and I'm not ashamed to say I burst into tears, I contacted SWs and in between sobs asked what would be done now as I'd been almost a week without heating and hot water. I passed the phone to the engineer who explained that he was 'just an engineer', (they should just tape record that and play it on repeat), and had no idea of costings or timing of the obtaining of parts. Phone returned to me I was promised the part would be chased but there was nothing they could go. She managed to squeeze in that I would have to pay for the additional part and work which was like a red rag to a bull, (I'm a Taurus), at which point I effectively declared war and said it was the companies incompetence that had caused the issue so why the smeg should I have to pay?
Again, with the engineer apologising as he backed out the door, (I think a crying girl scared him), he left and I crumbled.
My dad phoned and was fuming and said he'd phone SWs to discuss, do you have any idea how embarrassing it as a 33 year old independent, intelligent, stubborn female to have your dad fight your corner on your behalf? I was told a short time later that the part would be sourced Friday. !!!!!!, I was due in Crown Court that day, (not for naughtiness), but would see what I could do thinking that it would also be fitted Friday bearing in mind it had been a week since I'd been able to wear non fleecy under crackers under my pjs, scarf, boots and dressing gown to try and sleep.
Friday lunchtime came and my boss agreed to let me use some of my extremely precious annual leave so I could be home and thankfully a colleague was able to cover what was happening at court. I phoned SWs to be told that the part had been ordered but because it was coming direct from the manufacturer it wouldn't arrive until Monday. Oh dear, that was the wrong thing to say, I asked for the part number which I was given after I explained that I'd drive up and down the flipping country if needs be to get the part today for fitting. I'd obviously upset the call handler who informed me that it was my prerogative if I wanted to drive for hundreds of miles to collect it. I said that I would and call out an emergency plumber to fix the part which I would then bill SWs for which was emphatically refused by the girl but having had enough I told her it would be happening. My dad also called as he knew I'd been in court and had been met with exactly the same response so hot footed it to Trading Standards when he'd put the phone down. With the part number obtained I made 3 phone calls and within 10 minutes the part was reserved for me in Southampton, only an hour and a half later I had the precious APS in my grubby and cold little mitts. Like a beacon of hopefulness I drove home and attempted to find a gas man through friends who would be able to assist.
I then received a phone call from a gentleman with a friendly voice, (I have chosen not to identify call handlers on here although I have their details), from SWs who asked me what my intention was and as I explained I would be finding someone to come fit the magical missing part of my cold Christmas puzzle. He asked me to hang fire and made numerous phone calls to Service Plus, he had asked them if it would be possible for an engineer to attend on Saturday, apparently the female at Service Plus had to get authorisation from the Manager, SWs had tried contacting him with no response and the female had left messages on his voicemail for both his personal and job mobile phone and sent text messages asking for the authorisation. Well, wouldn't you know it, it wasn't authorised plus a little nugget of information that the SWs call handler had failed to mention is that because I sourced the part the contractors would not be happy to install as they wouldn't be able to guarantee the part or provide any warranty. They wouldn't want to accept liability if it went wrong, fair do's but perhaps telling me this would have helped? Now, this isn't a part I've constructed out of sticky backed plastic, twigs and bird spit, it was the part number that was given to me and obtained from a reputable plumbers merchants. I counteracted this by saying I would accept liability, job done and was promised a call back. Oh what a surprise I wouldn't be seen over the weekend, I work Monday - Friday some 17 hr days how the hell am I supposed to drop everything at a moments whim to drive an hour back from work?? The earliest it was discovered I could be seen was Monday.
NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
I was expected to wait 10 days in winter without heating or hot water, NOT ACCEPTABLE.
Every time I picked up the phone I was asked if there was anybody in the house with a disability, on the very first occasion I said no as I hadn't anticipated there being any problems but when I wrote my complaint letter on Monday I specified that I do have a disability, it's not physical but mental. I suffer from depression and an anxiety disorder which I have been receiving weekly treatment for for 2 years. After I revealed this, in itself embarrassing, I told every call handler that I had a disability albeit not a physical one. This is not the, 'I'm feeling a bit grumpy', depression this is full on life altering depression that extends to every aspect of my life. However because it isn't as obvious as being in a wheelchair this has been dismissed off hand, something depression sufferers face daily which is disgraceful. I'm proud that I still function in a stressful job but this is thanks to strong daily medication but without doubt this situation has been been made more upsetting because of my mental conditions.
If I were a 90 year old female I would be in hospital with pneumonia by now, if I was at home with 3 kiddies instead of 3 dogs would this still be seen as an acceptable situation? No. But because I'm a woman living on my tod who cares, I face unscrupulous trades persons at every turn and because I have always been polite I've accepted every negative treatment of me with a smile and a resigned acceptance that this will always happen, NOT ANY MORE. I'm fed up, metaphorically speaking, of bending over and taking it up the poo shoot when something goes wrong and nobody giving a toss.
Continuing the above Trading Standards have been made aware of the situation and state that you are in breach of your contract as a 24hr emergency cover provider, I pointed this out and the fact that your terms and conditions fine print clearly state that if my house in uninhabitable due to various factors, one of them specified as a failure in the heating of my home, that SWs will pay up to £250 for room only hotel accommodation. When I stated this and requested my hotel accommodation for tonight I was told that the engineers had to state to the company that my house was uninhabitable and that just because I had a failure in my heating system, as per your terms and conditions, that was not sufficient. The engineers who I don't feel knew their ar*e from their elbow had the power to subjectively say whether or not my house was uninhabitable. Believe you me I will be taking this further I really will because I am disgusted at the way I've been treated and now have British Gas coming tomorrow to hopefully fix the problem in hand.
I have used SWs before but I can assure YOU this I will never EVER utilise your company every again and be advising all I know to avoid.
I will also be sending you a bill for ALL my telephone calls as a result if this, my excess I've paid already, the cost of the air pressure stitch, my 3.5hrs of annual leave, my time to and from Southampton as well as my petrol, the addition wood I've had to buy, the £5 I had to pay to have a shower at the gym and suitable recompense for the frustration, disappointment and stress that this incident has caused.
Those at Service Plus in Farnham and Sheilas Wheels should be ashamed of yourself. Would you be happy if this happened to you or your daughter, sister, mother, auntie, grandmother etc?? It's been another bitterly cold night with snow forecasted, if you can't understand my level of frustration go home and turn your heating and hot water off, still think your house is habitable?
I'm so disappointed in you which is why I'm still writing this at 5.27am with frozen fingers.
Disgraceful treatment, incompetent engineers / contractors, why would anybody every choose you ever again?
I've set up a Facebook page 'Disgraceful Sheilas' Wheels' so other people who have had similar experiences can have their voices heard.
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Whibblywoman wrote: »This is a copy of a posting I'm trying to get out far and wide about my experiences of Sheilas' Wheels.
Dear Sheilas' Wheels,
I say 'Dear' when in fact I don't mean 'Dear' at all I'm just far too polite to write similar words to 'Fudge You Mother Hubbards'.
Good morning, (for you at least, I can't feel my toes), it's 03.05 on a Saturday morning and I'm laying on my living room floor doing my best to keep warm utilising the hot water bottles of my 3 dogs which in itself is a bit of a issue as one of them has flatulence that is bad enough to burn the hairs right out your nose.
Last Friday night my poor Ideal Classic Combi Boiler expired, (god rest it's soul), it was only truly noticeable when I awoke at 2.20am for the obligatory early morning pee, (oh the joys of ageing), and found my feet hopping around on the cold floor as if I were wearing hedgehog slippers and the hot water colder than an artic winter. '!!!!!!' I exclaimed, or words to that effect, and duly sort out my 24hr Home Emergency Policy documents, 'wahoo' I thought, for once an insurance policy that I will actually use, clever Jenny for having forethought *smug face*.
I spoke to your very nice customer representative who took the obligatory details and assured me I would be contacted between 8 & 8.30 where I would be able to arrange a visit from a contractor. Slightly miffed that my understanding of 24hr meant someone would be on call or similar to visit aside I then reached disappointment, like a naughty child at Christmas, as I was due to see my best friend that day but needs must, unforeseen.
So wearing more clothes than an arctic explorer I dove into the warmth of my bed fairly content I would be toasty warm very shortly.
9.30am the following day I received a telephone call from a curt lady from Service Plus, I gathered that the end of a British summertime had confused them somewhat as it was distinctly later than the time I'd been promised. Don't be a cow I thought to myself and was informed somebody would be with me that day, by then I'd stopped being able to feel the tip of my nose so was looking forward to their visit.
Disappointment when your ServicePlus contractor arrived was achieved within 5 minutes. I don't know if it was because I was a girl, (your target market lets not forget), or whether I utilised my, until then unrealised ability to speak Parceltongue and slipped into a strange and unintelligible language, I have no idea but all I do know is that listening to me wasn't one of his strengths. "I've turned the boiler off", I say, about 3 times, (I tend to repeat myself, it's an annoying habit), but no, Mr Beans less intelligent uneducated brother failed to hear this and proceeded to hold his head against a cold and still boiler, flicking the heating switch to constant and then off again, he couldn't hear anything, I couldn't hear anything, even a bat would fail to have heard anything as I say patiently, "I've turned it off", again. Off to be van he trots and despite only being a girl I flick the boiler on/off switch to the 'on' position, a woman meddling I hear you cry, yes, I meddled. The poor guy was obviously struggling with the advanced technological concept of switches and I wanted him to actually be able to hear the problem, the igniter was being as stubborn as a mule and not activating. I still can't understand what be was hoping to hear from a turned off non functioning boiler, do boilers have mystical, magical voices or was he just waiting for the word of god and divine intervention? Along he trots and I retreat to my boudoir as being a nosy cow I wanted to hear what was going on. Minutes later he utters the expletive that nobody with a problem wants to hear, 'fu&&ing hell', so I decided hanging around is hardly going to help so I offer the obligatory tea/coffee, (my parents taught me to be polite), then headed downstairs to the freezing conditions of my bare floor board living room.
A short time later my super sensitive hearing identified a "hello", so up I pop to find my loft hatch open and a step ladder erected at which point he asks me to lower the loft ladder as he doesn't know how to. Seriously, I'm a girl lets not forget, but even I knew that just pulling it down would be sufficient, I haven't constructed a magical ladder that leads to Narnia or is more complicated than a Rubix cube or even asked him to perform brain surgery, no no no, just pull the !!!!!!! thing down. My confidence in his ability wavering, massively, I did as asked, (again thanks to my parents up dragging!), and disappeared again like a good girl again.
Gone midday another "hello" punctuated the freezing air, anticipating having to put the ladder back or helping him tie his shoelaces, I ventured from my warm spot on the sofa to hear the, expected, "you need parts". "What parts", I ask, no reply, obviously my medical strange language disease must have kicked in again and I couldn't read his drunken spider writing so asked, "how long will it be?", to which I heard, for the first time, a many to be repeated line, "I'm just an engineer". Starting to feel frustration growing I repeated myself again, (see above re repetition!), and asked that he phoned someone to find out how long it would be, a perfectly reasonable request I thought, to be refused and told that he'd ensure I was flagged as a priority. Still not knowing when it would be anticipated I would be able to function in my own home was extremely frustrating so when asked to sign the job sheet underneath the declaration, 'job completed satisfactorily', I refused until I'd scrawled through the offending line and replaced it with, 'signed to confirm attendance'. Ooh check out my rebellion!
Whilst the engineer was still parked on my driveway I spoke to the Home Emergency Helpline again and expressed my serious concerns regarding the engineers capability and the lack of information about when I wouldn't have to wear 3 pairs of trousers at the same time. The very nice lady explained that the engineer would have to contact the company within 30 minutes of leaving my house and give the part numbers so Sheilas Wheels could ensure that they were obtained at the most cost effective price. Promises of this being chased by the call handler at 8am on Monday morning reassured me slightly so my freezing weekend commenced.
Monday came, no news, numerous phone calls revealed that the engineer hadn't contacted you to tell you details of the parts required, as I felt anger rise I realised I was feeling a little warmer, wahoo, however I was told the engineer was being chased. At 21.30hrs as I was returning home from work after leaving at 5.30am that morning I received a text then a call from Sheilas Wheels, (SWs), to be told that the work had been authorised and the excess to fit the new fan and PCB over and above your £500 limit would be £39.14 which I had to pay Service Plus direct when the were open the following day. Working full time in the job that I do meant I couldn't phone Service Plus until about 10am the following morning where the gentleman told me that SWs hadn't told them that the work had been authorised so the part hadn't even been ordered. Again feeling that now familiar warmth of anger flood my veins I was put on hold whilst SWs were contacted, I duly paid my money and was assured that the part would be in on Wednesday when I would then be contacted about fitting. Goody I thought, I finish early on Thursdays so was looking forward very much at not having to pay my local gym a fiver for the privilege of a days membership to purely have a shower or wait until I drove to work into work in the mornings, (50 miles away), for a shower. Daydreams of being warm and sleeping in my own bed enveloped me in a warm comforting glow of loveliness. Oh I'd better add at the point that I'd been unable to sleep in my own bed because having no heating and again bare floorboards in my bedroom made it almost painfully cold to climb into bed so I had taken to sleeping on the sofa as my open fire died in the evenings or on my kitchen floor with the gas oven on as a way to try and stop my body, and my 3 dogs, freezing. Yes, I have an open fire in my living room, it's a special thing to light it as it costs about £8 to have it working for a few hours and bearing in mind I have fudge all to live on, (£30 a week for food, clothing going out etc), its not something I can afford to do regularly. However most nights since this kicked off I have had to do this but having a 6m x 6m living room with a broken window, bare floorboards and no plaster on a couple of walls and part of the ceiling means it's impossible to get and stay warm hence why I've taken to sleeping on sofa cushions on the floor directly in front of the fire now. As you can imagine I have not slept properly in a week and am becoming increasingly grumpy and uncomfortable as a result.
Anyhoo, Thursday came and it was like Christmas had come early, ok so I wasn't being delivered Jonny Wilkinson covered in chocolate and gift wrapped but heating and hot water at that point in time was a close second to my perfect gift. The engineer arrived at 4.45 and set to work like a busy little beaver upstairs, obviously the technological advancement of the on/off switch didn't faze him so I felt a little more comforted enjoying thoughts of the nice long bath I'd be taking that evening and to be finally shaving my chewbucca hairy legs, (I felt the extra hair and warmth would be necessary). Although the cheeky !!!!!! nearly got a slap when I asked him if he'd like a tea or coffee and he replied, "yes please, coffee, it's a bit cold in here" no !!!!!!! sh*t Sherlock.
After about an hour however I started to grow suspicious and being the nosy cow I am I went into my kitchen to start tea and overhear the telephone conversation the engineer was having on loud speaker, (thanks for that it was very enlightening), it sounded as if my guy was talking to the original engineer and was being talked through the process of fitting the parts, (again always reassuring, I don't think), and then I heard the jewel, the nugget, "I'm really sorry mate you need an air pressure switch, I'm really sorry", oh flipping bl**dy !!!!!!! marvellous. Down comes mr engineer man who stands sheepishly in my kitchen to tell me I need yet another part. Warning him I was about 5 seconds away from kicking the smeg off I told him that I'd had no confidence in the original engineers ability and when I told him the story, as above, he actually sniggered and said that it wasn't right and agreed with me that the situation was unacceptable. As I pointed out it was -3 that morning and almost painful to be in my house and when asked if he would find it acceptable thank god he agreed with me that he wouldn't. Again, asking how long it would be was like asking him what the meaning of life was as his response was the much used, "I'm just an engineer" line. The disappointment was great and I'm not ashamed to say I burst into tears, I contacted SWs and in between sobs asked what would be done now as I'd been almost a week without heating and hot water. I passed the phone to the engineer who explained that he was 'just an engineer', (they should just tape record that and play it on repeat), and had no idea of costings or timing of the obtaining of parts. Phone returned to me I was promised the part would be chased but there was nothing they could go. She managed to squeeze in that I would have to pay for the additional part and work which was like a red rag to a bull, (I'm a Taurus), at which point I effectively declared war and said it was the companies incompetence that had caused the issue so why the smeg should I have to pay?
Again, with the engineer apologising as he backed out the door, (I think a crying girl scared him), he left and I crumbled.
My dad phoned and was fuming and said he'd phone SWs to discuss, do you have any idea how embarrassing it as a 33 year old independent, intelligent, stubborn female to have your dad fight your corner on your behalf? I was told a short time later that the part would be sourced Friday. !!!!!!, I was due in Crown Court that day, (not for naughtiness), but would see what I could do thinking that it would also be fitted Friday bearing in mind it had been a week since I'd been able to wear non fleecy under crackers under my pjs, scarf, boots and dressing gown to try and sleep.
Friday lunchtime came and my boss agreed to let me use some of my extremely precious annual leave so I could be home and thankfully a colleague was able to cover what was happening at court. I phoned SWs to be told that the part had been ordered but because it was coming direct from the manufacturer it wouldn't arrive until Monday. Oh dear, that was the wrong thing to say, I asked for the part number which I was given after I explained that I'd drive up and down the flipping country if needs be to get the part today for fitting. I'd obviously upset the call handler who informed me that it was my prerogative if I wanted to drive for hundreds of miles to collect it. I said that I would and call out an emergency plumber to fix the part which I would then bill SWs for which was emphatically refused by the girl but having had enough I told her it would be happening. My dad also called as he knew I'd been in court and had been met with exactly the same response so hot footed it to Trading Standards when he'd put the phone down. With the part number obtained I made 3 phone calls and within 10 minutes the part was reserved for me in Southampton, only an hour and a half later I had the precious APS in my grubby and cold little mitts. Like a beacon of hopefulness I drove home and attempted to find a gas man through friends who would be able to assist.
I then received a phone call from a gentleman with a friendly voice, (I have chosen not to identify call handlers on here although I have their details), from SWs who asked me what my intention was and as I explained I would be finding someone to come fit the magical missing part of my cold Christmas puzzle. He asked me to hang fire and made numerous phone calls to Service Plus, he had asked them if it would be possible for an engineer to attend on Saturday, apparently the female at Service Plus had to get authorisation from the Manager, SWs had tried contacting him with no response and the female had left messages on his voicemail for both his personal and job mobile phone and sent text messages asking for the authorisation. Well, wouldn't you know it, it wasn't authorised plus a little nugget of information that the SWs call handler had failed to mention is that because I sourced the part the contractors would not be happy to install as they wouldn't be able to guarantee the part or provide any warranty. They wouldn't want to accept liability if it went wrong, fair do's but perhaps telling me this would have helped? Now, this isn't a part I've constructed out of sticky backed plastic, twigs and bird spit, it was the part number that was given to me and obtained from a reputable plumbers merchants. I counteracted this by saying I would accept liability, job done and was promised a call back. Oh what a surprise I wouldn't be seen over the weekend, I work Monday - Friday some 17 hr days how the hell am I supposed to drop everything at a moments whim to drive an hour back from work?? The earliest it was discovered I could be seen was Monday.
NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
I was expected to wait 10 days in winter without heating or hot water, NOT ACCEPTABLE.
Every time I picked up the phone I was asked if there was anybody in the house with a disability, on the very first occasion I said no as I hadn't anticipated there being any problems but when I wrote my complaint letter on Monday I specified that I do have a disability, it's not physical but mental. I suffer from depression and an anxiety disorder which I have been receiving weekly treatment for for 2 years. After I revealed this, in itself embarrassing, I told every call handler that I had a disability albeit not a physical one. This is not the, 'I'm feeling a bit grumpy', depression this is full on life altering depression that extends to every aspect of my life. However because it isn't as obvious as being in a wheelchair this has been dismissed off hand, something depression sufferers face daily which is disgraceful. I'm proud that I still function in a stressful job but this is thanks to strong daily medication but without doubt this situation has been been made more upsetting because of my mental conditions.
If I were a 90 year old female I would be in hospital with pneumonia by now, if I was at home with 3 kiddies instead of 3 dogs would this still be seen as an acceptable situation? No. But because I'm a woman living on my tod who cares, I face unscrupulous trades persons at every turn and because I have always been polite I've accepted every negative treatment of me with a smile and a resigned acceptance that this will always happen, NOT ANY MORE. I'm fed up, metaphorically speaking, of bending over and taking it up the poo shoot when something goes wrong and nobody giving a toss.
Continuing the above Trading Standards have been made aware of the situation and state that you are in breach of your contract as a 24hr emergency cover provider, I pointed this out and the fact that your terms and conditions fine print clearly state that if my house in uninhabitable due to various factors, one of them specified as a failure in the heating of my home, that SWs will pay up to £250 for room only hotel accommodation. When I stated this and requested my hotel accommodation for tonight I was told that the engineers had to state to the company that my house was uninhabitable and that just because I had a failure in my heating system, as per your terms and conditions, that was not sufficient. The engineers who I don't feel knew their ar*e from their elbow had the power to subjectively say whether or not my house was uninhabitable. Believe you me I will be taking this further I really will because I am disgusted at the way I've been treated and now have British Gas coming tomorrow to hopefully fix the problem in hand.
I have used SWs before but I can assure YOU this I will never EVER utilise your company every again and be advising all I know to avoid.
I will also be sending you a bill for ALL my telephone calls as a result if this, my excess I've paid already, the cost of the air pressure stitch, my 3.5hrs of annual leave, my time to and from Southampton as well as my petrol, the addition wood I've had to buy, the £5 I had to pay to have a shower at the gym and suitable recompense for the frustration, disappointment and stress that this incident has caused.
Those at Service Plus in Farnham and Sheilas Wheels should be ashamed of yourself. Would you be happy if this happened to you or your daughter, sister, mother, auntie, grandmother etc?? It's been another bitterly cold night with snow forecasted, if you can't understand my level of frustration go home and turn your heating and hot water off, still think your house is habitable?
I'm so disappointed in you which is why I'm still writing this at 5.27am with frozen fingers.
Disgraceful treatment, incompetent engineers / contractors, why would anybody every choose you ever again?
I've set up a Facebook page 'Disgraceful Sheilas' Wheels' so other people who have had similar experiences can have their voices heard.
Is this the longest post ever??
Summary- boiler broke. Slow repair.0 -
Possibly not what I should have gathered from this post, but if you're working 5 days a week at up to 17 hours a day, an md you only have 30 a week left over, you may want to post an SOA on here so people can help you lower your outgoings!0
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TL;DR sorry0
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I made it as far as "flatulance" and gave up, the sarcasm was of such a poor standard..
I've quoted it just in case anyone needs a reminder without scrolling up.Whibblywoman wrote: »This is a copy of a posting I'm trying to get out far and wide about my experiences of Sheilas' Wheels.
Dear Sheilas' Wheels,
I say 'Dear' when in fact I don't mean 'Dear' at all I'm just far too polite to write similar words to 'Fudge You Mother Hubbards'.
Good morning, (for you at least, I can't feel my toes), it's 03.05 on a Saturday morning and I'm laying on my living room floor doing my best to keep warm utilising the hot water bottles of my 3 dogs which in itself is a bit of a issue as one of them has flatulence that is bad enough to burn the hairs right out your nose.
Last Friday night my poor Ideal Classic Combi Boiler expired, (god rest it's soul), it was only truly noticeable when I awoke at 2.20am for the obligatory early morning pee, (oh the joys of ageing), and found my feet hopping around on the cold floor as if I were wearing hedgehog slippers and the hot water colder than an artic winter. '!!!!!!' I exclaimed, or words to that effect, and duly sort out my 24hr Home Emergency Policy documents, 'wahoo' I thought, for once an insurance policy that I will actually use, clever Jenny for having forethought *smug face*.
I spoke to your very nice customer representative who took the obligatory details and assured me I would be contacted between 8 & 8.30 where I would be able to arrange a visit from a contractor. Slightly miffed that my understanding of 24hr meant someone would be on call or similar to visit aside I then reached disappointment, like a naughty child at Christmas, as I was due to see my best friend that day but needs must, unforeseen.
So wearing more clothes than an arctic explorer I dove into the warmth of my bed fairly content I would be toasty warm very shortly.
9.30am the following day I received a telephone call from a curt lady from Service Plus, I gathered that the end of a British summertime had confused them somewhat as it was distinctly later than the time I'd been promised. Don't be a cow I thought to myself and was informed somebody would be with me that day, by then I'd stopped being able to feel the tip of my nose so was looking forward to their visit.
Disappointment when your ServicePlus contractor arrived was achieved within 5 minutes. I don't know if it was because I was a girl, (your target market lets not forget), or whether I utilised my, until then unrealised ability to speak Parceltongue and slipped into a strange and unintelligible language, I have no idea but all I do know is that listening to me wasn't one of his strengths. "I've turned the boiler off", I say, about 3 times, (I tend to repeat myself, it's an annoying habit), but no, Mr Beans less intelligent uneducated brother failed to hear this and proceeded to hold his head against a cold and still boiler, flicking the heating switch to constant and then off again, he couldn't hear anything, I couldn't hear anything, even a bat would fail to have heard anything as I say patiently, "I've turned it off", again. Off to be van he trots and despite only being a girl I flick the boiler on/off switch to the 'on' position, a woman meddling I hear you cry, yes, I meddled. The poor guy was obviously struggling with the advanced technological concept of switches and I wanted him to actually be able to hear the problem, the igniter was being as stubborn as a mule and not activating. I still can't understand what be was hoping to hear from a turned off non functioning boiler, do boilers have mystical, magical voices or was he just waiting for the word of god and divine intervention? Along he trots and I retreat to my boudoir as being a nosy cow I wanted to hear what was going on. Minutes later he utters the expletive that nobody with a problem wants to hear, 'fu&&ing hell', so I decided hanging around is hardly going to help so I offer the obligatory tea/coffee, (my parents taught me to be polite), then headed downstairs to the freezing conditions of my bare floor board living room.
A short time later my super sensitive hearing identified a "hello", so up I pop to find my loft hatch open and a step ladder erected at which point he asks me to lower the loft ladder as he doesn't know how to. Seriously, I'm a girl lets not forget, but even I knew that just pulling it down would be sufficient, I haven't constructed a magical ladder that leads to Narnia or is more complicated than a Rubix cube or even asked him to perform brain surgery, no no no, just pull the !!!!!!! thing down. My confidence in his ability wavering, massively, I did as asked, (again thanks to my parents up dragging!), and disappeared again like a good girl again.
Gone midday another "hello" punctuated the freezing air, anticipating having to put the ladder back or helping him tie his shoelaces, I ventured from my warm spot on the sofa to hear the, expected, "you need parts". "What parts", I ask, no reply, obviously my medical strange language disease must have kicked in again and I couldn't read his drunken spider writing so asked, "how long will it be?", to which I heard, for the first time, a many to be repeated line, "I'm just an engineer". Starting to feel frustration growing I repeated myself again, (see above re repetition!), and asked that he phoned someone to find out how long it would be, a perfectly reasonable request I thought, to be refused and told that he'd ensure I was flagged as a priority. Still not knowing when it would be anticipated I would be able to function in my own home was extremely frustrating so when asked to sign the job sheet underneath the declaration, 'job completed satisfactorily', I refused until I'd scrawled through the offending line and replaced it with, 'signed to confirm attendance'. Ooh check out my rebellion!
Whilst the engineer was still parked on my driveway I spoke to the Home Emergency Helpline again and expressed my serious concerns regarding the engineers capability and the lack of information about when I wouldn't have to wear 3 pairs of trousers at the same time. The very nice lady explained that the engineer would have to contact the company within 30 minutes of leaving my house and give the part numbers so Sheilas Wheels could ensure that they were obtained at the most cost effective price. Promises of this being chased by the call handler at 8am on Monday morning reassured me slightly so my freezing weekend commenced.
Monday came, no news, numerous phone calls revealed that the engineer hadn't contacted you to tell you details of the parts required, as I felt anger rise I realised I was feeling a little warmer, wahoo, however I was told the engineer was being chased. At 21.30hrs as I was returning home from work after leaving at 5.30am that morning I received a text then a call from Sheilas Wheels, (SWs), to be told that the work had been authorised and the excess to fit the new fan and PCB over and above your £500 limit would be £39.14 which I had to pay Service Plus direct when the were open the following day. Working full time in the job that I do meant I couldn't phone Service Plus until about 10am the following morning where the gentleman told me that SWs hadn't told them that the work had been authorised so the part hadn't even been ordered. Again feeling that now familiar warmth of anger flood my veins I was put on hold whilst SWs were contacted, I duly paid my money and was assured that the part would be in on Wednesday when I would then be contacted about fitting. Goody I thought, I finish early on Thursdays so was looking forward very much at not having to pay my local gym a fiver for the privilege of a days membership to purely have a shower or wait until I drove to work into work in the mornings, (50 miles away), for a shower. Daydreams of being warm and sleeping in my own bed enveloped me in a warm comforting glow of loveliness. Oh I'd better add at the point that I'd been unable to sleep in my own bed because having no heating and again bare floorboards in my bedroom made it almost painfully cold to climb into bed so I had taken to sleeping on the sofa as my open fire died in the evenings or on my kitchen floor with the gas oven on as a way to try and stop my body, and my 3 dogs, freezing. Yes, I have an open fire in my living room, it's a special thing to light it as it costs about £8 to have it working for a few hours and bearing in mind I have fudge all to live on, (£30 a week for food, clothing going out etc), its not something I can afford to do regularly. However most nights since this kicked off I have had to do this but having a 6m x 6m living room with a broken window, bare floorboards and no plaster on a couple of walls and part of the ceiling means it's impossible to get and stay warm hence why I've taken to sleeping on sofa cushions on the floor directly in front of the fire now. As you can imagine I have not slept properly in a week and am becoming increasingly grumpy and uncomfortable as a result.
Anyhoo, Thursday came and it was like Christmas had come early, ok so I wasn't being delivered Jonny Wilkinson covered in chocolate and gift wrapped but heating and hot water at that point in time was a close second to my perfect gift. The engineer arrived at 4.45 and set to work like a busy little beaver upstairs, obviously the technological advancement of the on/off switch didn't faze him so I felt a little more comforted enjoying thoughts of the nice long bath I'd be taking that evening and to be finally shaving my chewbucca hairy legs, (I felt the extra hair and warmth would be necessary). Although the cheeky !!!!!! nearly got a slap when I asked him if he'd like a tea or coffee and he replied, "yes please, coffee, it's a bit cold in here" no !!!!!!! sh*t Sherlock.
After about an hour however I started to grow suspicious and being the nosy cow I am I went into my kitchen to start tea and overhear the telephone conversation the engineer was having on loud speaker, (thanks for that it was very enlightening), it sounded as if my guy was talking to the original engineer and was being talked through the process of fitting the parts, (again always reassuring, I don't think), and then I heard the jewel, the nugget, "I'm really sorry mate you need an air pressure switch, I'm really sorry", oh flipping bl**dy !!!!!!! marvellous. Down comes mr engineer man who stands sheepishly in my kitchen to tell me I need yet another part. Warning him I was about 5 seconds away from kicking the smeg off I told him that I'd had no confidence in the original engineers ability and when I told him the story, as above, he actually sniggered and said that it wasn't right and agreed with me that the situation was unacceptable. As I pointed out it was -3 that morning and almost painful to be in my house and when asked if he would find it acceptable thank god he agreed with me that he wouldn't. Again, asking how long it would be was like asking him what the meaning of life was as his response was the much used, "I'm just an engineer" line. The disappointment was great and I'm not ashamed to say I burst into tears, I contacted SWs and in between sobs asked what would be done now as I'd been almost a week without heating and hot water. I passed the phone to the engineer who explained that he was 'just an engineer', (they should just tape record that and play it on repeat), and had no idea of costings or timing of the obtaining of parts. Phone returned to me I was promised the part would be chased but there was nothing they could go. She managed to squeeze in that I would have to pay for the additional part and work which was like a red rag to a bull, (I'm a Taurus), at which point I effectively declared war and said it was the companies incompetence that had caused the issue so why the smeg should I have to pay?
Again, with the engineer apologising as he backed out the door, (I think a crying girl scared him), he left and I crumbled.
My dad phoned and was fuming and said he'd phone SWs to discuss, do you have any idea how embarrassing it as a 33 year old independent, intelligent, stubborn female to have your dad fight your corner on your behalf? I was told a short time later that the part would be sourced Friday. !!!!!!, I was due in Crown Court that day, (not for naughtiness), but would see what I could do thinking that it would also be fitted Friday bearing in mind it had been a week since I'd been able to wear non fleecy under crackers under my pjs, scarf, boots and dressing gown to try and sleep.
Friday lunchtime came and my boss agreed to let me use some of my extremely precious annual leave so I could be home and thankfully a colleague was able to cover what was happening at court. I phoned SWs to be told that the part had been ordered but because it was coming direct from the manufacturer it wouldn't arrive until Monday. Oh dear, that was the wrong thing to say, I asked for the part number which I was given after I explained that I'd drive up and down the flipping country if needs be to get the part today for fitting. I'd obviously upset the call handler who informed me that it was my prerogative if I wanted to drive for hundreds of miles to collect it. I said that I would and call out an emergency plumber to fix the part which I would then bill SWs for which was emphatically refused by the girl but having had enough I told her it would be happening. My dad also called as he knew I'd been in court and had been met with exactly the same response so hot footed it to Trading Standards when he'd put the phone down. With the part number obtained I made 3 phone calls and within 10 minutes the part was reserved for me in Southampton, only an hour and a half later I had the precious APS in my grubby and cold little mitts. Like a beacon of hopefulness I drove home and attempted to find a gas man through friends who would be able to assist.
I then received a phone call from a gentleman with a friendly voice, (I have chosen not to identify call handlers on here although I have their details), from SWs who asked me what my intention was and as I explained I would be finding someone to come fit the magical missing part of my cold Christmas puzzle. He asked me to hang fire and made numerous phone calls to Service Plus, he had asked them if it would be possible for an engineer to attend on Saturday, apparently the female at Service Plus had to get authorisation from the Manager, SWs had tried contacting him with no response and the female had left messages on his voicemail for both his personal and job mobile phone and sent text messages asking for the authorisation. Well, wouldn't you know it, it wasn't authorised plus a little nugget of information that the SWs call handler had failed to mention is that because I sourced the part the contractors would not be happy to install as they wouldn't be able to guarantee the part or provide any warranty. They wouldn't want to accept liability if it went wrong, fair do's but perhaps telling me this would have helped? Now, this isn't a part I've constructed out of sticky backed plastic, twigs and bird spit, it was the part number that was given to me and obtained from a reputable plumbers merchants. I counteracted this by saying I would accept liability, job done and was promised a call back. Oh what a surprise I wouldn't be seen over the weekend, I work Monday - Friday some 17 hr days how the hell am I supposed to drop everything at a moments whim to drive an hour back from work?? The earliest it was discovered I could be seen was Monday.
NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
I was expected to wait 10 days in winter without heating or hot water, NOT ACCEPTABLE.
Every time I picked up the phone I was asked if there was anybody in the house with a disability, on the very first occasion I said no as I hadn't anticipated there being any problems but when I wrote my complaint letter on Monday I specified that I do have a disability, it's not physical but mental. I suffer from depression and an anxiety disorder which I have been receiving weekly treatment for for 2 years. After I revealed this, in itself embarrassing, I told every call handler that I had a disability albeit not a physical one. This is not the, 'I'm feeling a bit grumpy', depression this is full on life altering depression that extends to every aspect of my life. However because it isn't as obvious as being in a wheelchair this has been dismissed off hand, something depression sufferers face daily which is disgraceful. I'm proud that I still function in a stressful job but this is thanks to strong daily medication but without doubt this situation has been been made more upsetting because of my mental conditions.
If I were a 90 year old female I would be in hospital with pneumonia by now, if I was at home with 3 kiddies instead of 3 dogs would this still be seen as an acceptable situation? No. But because I'm a woman living on my tod who cares, I face unscrupulous trades persons at every turn and because I have always been polite I've accepted every negative treatment of me with a smile and a resigned acceptance that this will always happen, NOT ANY MORE. I'm fed up, metaphorically speaking, of bending over and taking it up the poo shoot when something goes wrong and nobody giving a toss.
Continuing the above Trading Standards have been made aware of the situation and state that you are in breach of your contract as a 24hr emergency cover provider, I pointed this out and the fact that your terms and conditions fine print clearly state that if my house in uninhabitable due to various factors, one of them specified as a failure in the heating of my home, that SWs will pay up to £250 for room only hotel accommodation. When I stated this and requested my hotel accommodation for tonight I was told that the engineers had to state to the company that my house was uninhabitable and that just because I had a failure in my heating system, as per your terms and conditions, that was not sufficient. The engineers who I don't feel knew their ar*e from their elbow had the power to subjectively say whether or not my house was uninhabitable. Believe you me I will be taking this further I really will because I am disgusted at the way I've been treated and now have British Gas coming tomorrow to hopefully fix the problem in hand.
I have used SWs before but I can assure YOU this I will never EVER utilise your company every again and be advising all I know to avoid.
I will also be sending you a bill for ALL my telephone calls as a result if this, my excess I've paid already, the cost of the air pressure stitch, my 3.5hrs of annual leave, my time to and from Southampton as well as my petrol, the addition wood I've had to buy, the £5 I had to pay to have a shower at the gym and suitable recompense for the frustration, disappointment and stress that this incident has caused.
Those at Service Plus in Farnham and Sheilas Wheels should be ashamed of yourself. Would you be happy if this happened to you or your daughter, sister, mother, auntie, grandmother etc?? It's been another bitterly cold night with snow forecasted, if you can't understand my level of frustration go home and turn your heating and hot water off, still think your house is habitable?
I'm so disappointed in you which is why I'm still writing this at 5.27am with frozen fingers.
Disgraceful treatment, incompetent engineers / contractors, why would anybody every choose you ever again?
I've set up a Facebook page 'Disgraceful Sheilas' Wheels' so other people who have had similar experiences can have their voices heard.0 -
I'm pretty sure this is a case of misunderstanding (on the OP's part).
SW offered and provided a 24 hour emergency helpline. AFAIK they don't offer a 24 hour repair solution to all issues. At 3am nobody is going to be able to get specialist parts for a boiler. A broken boiler is not as much of an emergency as say a fire or gas leak, both of which would require immediate action and alternative accommodation.
Yes, the fix took a long time, but not all of that was down to SW and could have happened with a self-contracted repair.Trying to be a man is a waste of a woman0 -
Summary –
Boiler took a while to fix and required some chasing by OP. She was cold.
Tone –
Unnecessarily sarcastic. Meant to be funny perhaps.0 -
Well thanks a lot for all the help, I really appreciate it. I thought this would be a novel and different way to raise a number of points but obviously i was mistaken, point raised.
Go home, turn your heating off and see if you'd appreciate a incompetent engineer making you wait unreasonably for heat for non specialist parts, (I'm able to source myself), then refuse to fulfil the contract which clearly states I'm entitled to hotel accommodation. I thought I would be able to get some assistance here as everybody I know raves about this site but do you know what I won't bother anymore.
I work 17hrs a day when I'm working overtime and I have a 2hr commute so please don't knock the fact that I have so little to live on I really don't welcome that. Thanks again, you've been really helpful.0 -
Whibblywoman wrote: »Well thanks a lot for all the help, I really appreciate it. I thought this would be a novel and different way to raise a number of points but obviously i was mistaken, point raised.
Go home, turn your heating off and see if you'd appreciate a incompetent engineer making you wait unreasonably for heat for non specialist parts, (I'm able to source myself), then refuse to fulfil the contract which clearly states I'm entitled to hotel accommodation. I thought I would be able to get some assistance here as everybody I know raves about this site but do you know what I won't bother anymore.
I work 17hrs a day when I'm working overtime and I have a 2hr commute so please don't knock the fact that I have so little to live on I really don't welcome that. Thanks again, you've been really helpful.
You need to get a grip. Hotel accommodation for a broken boiler??! :rotfl: Your house wasn't uninhabitable, it was colder than you would like.Trying to be a man is a waste of a woman0 -
I have a couple of £10 electric heaters in case this happens again. (Something similar happened last December, except my problem was with having no gas for 11 days with a 2 month old.)
Plus blankets aplenty.
I also have hot water bottles.
And a kettle
And a cooker.
There are more ways than one to heat yourself. If your house is so cold it may be worth looking into government grants for insulation etc.0
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