Home Emergency disaster & complaining to the FOS - worth it?

robbocop

Hi all,
Long time reader, first time poster - Hi!

I come to you all for advice.

The short story:
At the end of November, I received a frantic phone call from Mrs R telling me that water was flying through the kitchen ceiling.
Since I was at work & could be extracted - I phoned our home insurance company - Esure - whom we have 'Home Emergency' cover with.
They dispatched a plumber the same day who found that the waste fitting from the bath had become loose and was the source of the leak.
By the time I got home all was well. Leak fixed & mop up complete. Well done Esure.

However...

Boxing Day. Mrs R has a bath just prior to us leaving on a 200 mile trip to see the outlaws with 2 small kids in tow. Plug pulled & water again comes flying through the ceiling! Unfortunately, no one was downstairs at the time and the first we knew about it was when my Xmas socks became wet walking into the kitchen!

So, cue mop up again & in hindsight I wish I had taken some photos. But in the chaos, complaining to the insurers was not at the forefront of my mind.

Anyway, we leave a bucket under the affected area & a key with next door who said that they'd keep checking in case the bucket got full.

Return on the 30th - no water. So I remove the bath panel & find that the waste fitting that the original 'emergency plumber' had allegedly fixed the first time was cross threaded & clearly not on correctly, almost at a 25 degree angle! If I can see that it's not on correctly (and I'm not a plumber) - so should a competent one.

Cameraphone at the ready - I photographed the fitting as was. Ran some water through it & photographed water clearly escaping rapidly. I then carefully removed the nut, aligned it correctly & screwed it on tightly. Water test - no leaks. Marvellous.

So, I decided to complain to Esure in the new year as now the plasterboard in the kitchen ceiling is so crumbly I can't get the spotlight back into the hole without it crumbling around it. Another spotlight hasn't worked since & in order to get to the leak, I accidentally cracked the bath removing the wooden panel! Doh!

My thoughts were that this would never have occurred had the emergency plumber done his job correctly & we had a good case for complaint.

I emailed Esure with a comprehensive report including the photographs of the damage. They forwarded me to "DAS" whom provide the emergency cover on behalf of Esure. 4-5 weeks of nothingness - a couple of emails saying that they haven't been able to contact me - despite having 4 contact numbers of which I know for a fact that they only tried the same one twice! I emailed them again reiterating the basis for my complaint and asked them what more they needed to discuss, also to actually read my complaint letter to the end where there are other telephone numbers that they could try.

A week later, no phonecall - just a letter. Basically they're refusing to accept liability for anything on the basis of I didn't give them the opportunity to send anyone else to verify that the original plumber had been negligent and to fix the fault.

Fair enough - but why would I? If the original plumber had got it wrong resulting in more damage, why would I give them the opportunity to send another one whom would be biased against my claim anyway. Is it really likely that a plumber working on behalf of an insurance company is going to say that their predecessor also acting on behalf of the insurance company got it wrong?

They've even had the cheek to say that I should claim on my home insurance!!

Why should I jeopardise my NCD and take a higher premium next year because of a negligent plumber acting on behalf of their "Home Emergency" provider?

I am considering complaining to the FOS.

The circumstances are as described & I welcome any comments and advice as to what the forum think as to whether I have cause for complaint and what my chances of success are?

Best,
Robbo

Spikey1

Ask for a formal complaint to be escalated within Esure.


There is no legal necessity for them to inspect the defective workmanship before admitting liability. You have taken photographs etc. and have acted promptly to mitigate the loss (therefore doing them a favour).


You WILL win this dispute....you just need to get past the idiot who made the decision.


Best of luck

robbocop

It's not Esure who are being awkward, it's this 'DAS Home Emergency' who provide the cover on Esure's behalf. They've provided me with their final response & a FOS leaflet. If I complain to the FOS what can I reasonably expect?

Quentin

You either escalate this to the fos (at no cost to you) for them to adjudicate, take legal action or give up.

So you have nothing to lose by escalating and from what you say should win.

Your only downside is that it will be a long time to reach its conclusion.

If you don't win, then court action is still open to you. (FOS decisions are not binding on the policyholder)

robbocop

On that basis, is it worth escalating the complaint to Esure for them to look at before I approach the FOS? At the end of the day, DAS were acting on behalf of Esure by providing the incompetent plumber in the first place. The reason I ask is that DAS have specified in their letter that this can be considered their final response so my next port of call is the FOS if I'm still not happy (which clearly I'm not!)

Ultimately, the first leak I can take on the chin as one of those things - however, the second one could have been avoided had the fitting been attached properly. The timing as well is what grates on me the most - Boxing Day! It's basically my word against their plumber's isn't it?

Spikey1

No...its not just your word against the plumbers.


It seems that the facts speak for themselves here. The plumber is known, as a fact, to have been called to you property to fix the leaking pipe. It is also known, as a fact, that the very same pipe leaked from the same joint a few weeks later and that you found that he had cross-threaded the fitting he had installed. You have photos and other evidence to verify what you are saying.


Check out your policy...it will outline the claim process and will clarify who you should complain to, DAS or Esure.


Cheers

sithemadmonkey

If Esure forwarded you onto DAS, and DAS sent you a Final Response with the FOS leaflet, then your best bet is FOS. Esure don't have anything to do with the administration of the home emergency add-on, which is why they forwarded you on to DAS in the first place, so complaining to them again won't make any difference.

As Quentin said, FOS take a long time (months) to adjudicate, but from the information you give they are likely to find in your favour. Realistically you're looking at FOS telling DAS to reimburse you any reasonable expenses incurred as a result of the !!!!-up (plus 8% interest), plus you may get a small amount for distress and inconvenience (play up the xmas bit for effect ).

Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

robbocop

Right, thats the FOS paperwork filled in with all the accompanying documentation. One thing that I did forget to mention is that DAS (Home Emergency UK) complaint handling was abysmal. I got letters and emails from them saying that they have been trying to phone me but not been able to leave a message. It later transpired in one later email that they had only been trying one number, despite being given four!!:mad:

Anyone with experience of a similar complaint being made/upheld and what I can expect?

Thanks

sithemadmonkey

I haven't got any personal experience of complaining to FOS, but I do keep up to date with their publications/decisions etc.

Generally they will look at all your evidence, then ask the insurer (DAS in this case) for their response. If it boils down to a 'he said/she said' then they will look at the evidence and decide what is the most likely scenario. They aren't biased either way, although they generally hold insurers to a higher standard of proof than consumers (for obvious reasons).

From what you've told us I can't see any reason why they wouldn't uphold the complaint (although don't take my word on it). It will take a while though, so you may have to make the repairs yourself in the meantime, in the hope that FOS find in your favour.

Good luck, and make sure you keep us updated as to the process and eventual outcome!