Problems with Homeserve!

Fortyfoot

We pay Homeserve over £200 a year for central heating cover. The central heating went off Friday morning, we rang them and Ideal boilers rang back later saying the could not get to us until next Tuesday. I do not consider this to be a good service.

Was there some thing in the news recently criticizing Homeserve?

Is there a better company to go with when my contract runs out?

Thanks,

Fortyfoot

HomeServe_company_representative

Hi Fortyfoot,We have just seen your post and we're really sorry to hear about the issues you've described.If you'd like us to look into this for you, please send us an email. Our team email address is listed in our profile page here http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/member.php?u=2078577" RegardsJackie Here To Help TeamHomeServe

macman

It's not a guaranteed next day service.
Yes there was, the were fined £30m for mis-selling to 70,000 customers.
You don't need this cover, find a local independent RGI who can provide breakdown cover.

Fortyfoot

macman wrote: »

find a local independent RGI who can provide breakdown cover.

RGI? Try googling it.

A few years ago we followed the advice on MSE and did not renew with Homeserve. Yes the Ideal boiler broke down again, a regular problem with it. We called a local Gas Safe engineer who could not repair the boiler and told us to ring Ideal/Homeserve.

Taking the advice on MSE cost us more than double the Homeserve annual cost. They seemed to delight in our predicament. I did not find any Gas Safe engineer who provided breakdown cover, I am interested in finding one in order to compare costs. Is next day cover available?

Who or what are RGI?

We have moved out and are staying with friends, waiting for a call from Ideal on Tuesday.

Thanks for your reply macman.

Fortyfoot

missprice

Fortyfoot wrote: »

RGI? Try googling it.

A few years ago we followed the advice on MSE and did not renew with Homeserve. Yes the Ideal boiler broke down again, a regular problem with it. We called a local Gas Safe engineer who could not repair the boiler and told us to ring Ideal/Homeserve.

Taking the advice on MSE cost us more than double the Homeserve annual cost. They seemed to delight in our predicament. I did not find any Gas Safe engineer who provided breakdown cover, I am interested in finding one in order to compare costs. Is next day cover available?

Who or what are RGI?

We have moved out and are staying with friends, waiting for a call from Ideal on Tuesday.

Thanks for your reply macman.

Fortyfoot

RGI = registered gas installer, used to be known as gas safe

Fortyfoot

I have checked a bit more, the answer from Wikipedia is -

"Council for Registered Gas Installers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Council for Registered Gas Installers (CORGI) operates a voluntary registration scheme for gas installers in the United Kingdom. From 1991 to 2009 registration with CORGI was a legal requirement for gas operatives and businesses throughout the UK, and before April 2010 in Northern Ireland [1] and Guernsey [2].
CORGI registration requires (beside payment of fees) that gas operatives hold a certificate of competence under the Accredited Certification Scheme (ACS) demonstrating an appropriate level of competence and experience in particular types of gas work. The ACS replaced a number of different certification schemes in 1998.

CORGI lost its status as official registration body in England, Scotland and Wales on 1 April 2009 and in Northern Ireland and Guernsey [3] in April 2010, with this role being taken on by the Gas Safe Register, run on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive by Capita Group.[1]"

Fortyfoot

Lgas

Gas engineers are registered with Gas Safe now, not CORGI.

southcoastrgi

missprice wrote: »

used to be known as gas safe

it still is

PenguinOfDeath

Fortyfoot wrote: »

A few years ago we followed the advice on MSE and did not renew with Homeserve. Yes the Ideal boiler broke down again, a regular problem with it. We called a local Gas Safe engineer who could not repair the boiler and told us to ring Ideal/Homeserve.

How old is the boiler? If its an ongoing problems it might be beyond economical repair and Homeserve wont cover it.

Fortyfoot wrote: »

Is next day cover available?

From Homeserve? Probably, depending on where you live and the cover available. Unfortunately the boiler picked a bad time to break down, at the weekend the local company will probably have minimal engineers on who will most likely be dealing with more long term problems, this time of year they might even be getting rid of some weekend rotas as they move more into servicing than repairs

Fortyfoot wrote: »

Who or what are RGI?

Look for a local one here

missprice

southcoastrgi wrote: »

it still is

I know sorry I meant used to be known as corgi. :embarasse

My bad.

macman

Isn't moving out a bit drastic? It's the warmest weekend of the year, and you can presumably still produce hot water from the system (or from a kettle)?
Not quite sure why this thread has turned into a debate about RGI vs CORGI, I was simply using the phrase RGI to distinguish between an RGI and plumber, as the latter is not necessarily gas-safe.
Not all independents offer an insurance based breakdown service, the ones who do will tend to be local firms who can have a number of engineers on call.