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British Gas HomeCare Problem...
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nid_3
Posts: 3 Newbie
Another one of these!
I took out HomeCare 400 on 3 flats (separate agreements on each one) that I'm the landlord of (all in one block) in mid-November. The lady on the phone told me that I was covered from that moment onwards, and that they were too busy to do an initial check on the boilers till mid-January. I came away not to worried about the initial check, since I was already covered. She gave me a number to pass onto the tenants.
In mid-December one of my tenants called BG about a problem with a radiator they had coming off a wall. The engineer who came out said the work wasn't covered by HomeCare because the initial check hadn't been done.
I, at this point, lost it.
I fired off an email to their complaints department, asking what exactly I was insured for.
Seven and a half weeks later (funnily enough, within their 8 week period for replying to complaints!), I got a phone call from someone explaining that I had been covered all this time, but only for problems that had arisen since taking out the policy. How were they meant to know what was a new problem and what was an old problem if they hadn't done the check?
Anyway, I took an appointment for initial checks to be done between 12-6pm on 18th February (today!) on all three boilers. I took time off work this afternoon to be there to let the engineer in. On Friday I get a call saying they couldn't do the checks because there were other, more prioritised, appointments. All the lady could offer was an appointment on 5th March. They were delaying an appointment that was 3 months overdue.
Again, I lost it.
All I want to do now is cancel the HomeCare, get a refund for the last 3 months of non-insurance (or was I insured? I have no idea), and go find someone else to cover the boilers.
What's the process?
Can I go to the Ombudsman off the back of my initial complaint, or will I have to wait another 8 weeks for BG to reply to a new complaint?
At £79.50 a month, this insurance isn't cheap, I'm not too keen to sit around waiting for BG to pull their fingers out!
Help, please!
I took out HomeCare 400 on 3 flats (separate agreements on each one) that I'm the landlord of (all in one block) in mid-November. The lady on the phone told me that I was covered from that moment onwards, and that they were too busy to do an initial check on the boilers till mid-January. I came away not to worried about the initial check, since I was already covered. She gave me a number to pass onto the tenants.
In mid-December one of my tenants called BG about a problem with a radiator they had coming off a wall. The engineer who came out said the work wasn't covered by HomeCare because the initial check hadn't been done.
I, at this point, lost it.
I fired off an email to their complaints department, asking what exactly I was insured for.
Seven and a half weeks later (funnily enough, within their 8 week period for replying to complaints!), I got a phone call from someone explaining that I had been covered all this time, but only for problems that had arisen since taking out the policy. How were they meant to know what was a new problem and what was an old problem if they hadn't done the check?
Anyway, I took an appointment for initial checks to be done between 12-6pm on 18th February (today!) on all three boilers. I took time off work this afternoon to be there to let the engineer in. On Friday I get a call saying they couldn't do the checks because there were other, more prioritised, appointments. All the lady could offer was an appointment on 5th March. They were delaying an appointment that was 3 months overdue.
Again, I lost it.
All I want to do now is cancel the HomeCare, get a refund for the last 3 months of non-insurance (or was I insured? I have no idea), and go find someone else to cover the boilers.
What's the process?
Can I go to the Ombudsman off the back of my initial complaint, or will I have to wait another 8 weeks for BG to reply to a new complaint?
At £79.50 a month, this insurance isn't cheap, I'm not too keen to sit around waiting for BG to pull their fingers out!
Help, please!
0
Comments
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One assumes you have stopped payment and lodged a written complaint with the word 'complaint' clearly titled.
IMO you should go straight to the ombusdman; making clear in the above letter that you regard their {late} reply as final. If it isn't then they would be obliged to reply promptly.
In the meantime I would go to a local Certified gasman; have you in date safety certificates for your appliances ?0 -
oh my!
They've just come back to me and within 10 seconds of the start of the phone call, I'd told the guy that I wanted cancellation and my money back.
His reply - "no problem sir, I'll action the cancellation and get a refund to you straight away"
"can i have that in writing?"
"of course"
SUCCESS!
(yes to certificates! going to get a local plumber to deep-service the boilers, then get their opinion on the insurance, I reckon.)
Successful vent! haha0
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