Big warranties/go assist- anyone come across them?

Kart

oh wow... i thought i was the only one facing issues with them.. so there are others too .. I had a very similar experience where i was promised a fixed price for the repair of the appliance which i paid and the engineer came home and then they said its more complicated than they expected , hence i have to pay more .. When i tried to cancel this , they said i need to pay £79 !. And the surprising thing was that they already started the warranty (took £8.99) on the appliance which was defective and they refuse to cancel automatically and i have to pay £50 to cancel !! Unbelievable . I should have gone for a local repair person. I repent now . Tired of calling them and arguing my case .

What if i cancel with the bank the monthly recurring debit they seem to have set up ? will that affect me adversely in anyway ?
Thanks..

PeteZadoe

Go assist {Edited by Forum team} on their feedback page. Basically they ask for a review based on the initial call - before people suss that they're cynical gonnifs. They only show reviews with lots of stars, so I went back and reviewed again - I gave 5 stars, but gave a really bad review, as they deserved. It's now showing on the review page.

I got done by them last weekend - the usual thing - got a call 2 minutes after I hit their deceptive "free quote" button - was {Edited by Forum team} into thinking I'd get a repair for 169 quid whatever happened, and {Edited by Forum team} into taking insurance, smacked dizzy by a speed recitation of contractual details. I gave a detailed description of the problem, the phone contact said she'd talk to an engineer - put me on hold - came back saying sure, the problem was fixable - and no, a repair would never cost more than 169. When the repairman called it was obvious he hadn't been given the details at all - so I'm looking at paying about 80 quid charge on a callout that was unnecessary. On his way out the door he said I'd get a call from the go-assist office. I didn't. To test their availability I contacted them to pretend I wanted anaohter repair - got a callback in 7 minutes.

Their !!!!!! are well covered. Warn people not to go near them from the start.

sabretoothtigger

It really is best to buy new with a warranty. John Lewis offer 5 year cover on models and that is the cheapest most reputable source because they have their brand name on the line.

The cost of this service even if it worked is at least 350 a year, basic warranty in UK is 1 year which means you pay more in insurance then many appliances cost even if 1 broke down every year.

keywords for google:

Go-Assist
"Go assist"
all appliance insurance coverage
go-assist.co.uk

cooky1234

Saz1970 wrote: »

I have also had a terrible experience with Go-Assist and Big Warranties after contacting them to get my dishwasher repaired. I'm taking advice from Citizen's Advice and am in dispute them for a refund but so far they haven't replied to any of my recorded delivery letters. AVOID! I wish I had.

If you have a specific financial complaint- as long as you have first attempted to resolve following the company's complaint procedure you can proceed to the ombudsman. Unfortunately we pursued to no avail as I didn't notice premiums were not being taken for a lengthy period ( I think this is why)
.
I have been in dispute with Big Warranties - this involved another company who we had never heard of called Tobell insurance. Dealing with more one company relating to one insurance policy causes confusion to say the least. Sat Nav was another name on our bank statement. . Apparently the policy was taken out over the phone years ago but they didn't record calls then. I am ashamed to say that I was not aware the quarterly low amount payment was being taken until closer inspection of my statement I suddenly noticed this unusual payment. I think this has largely scuppered me and contributed to my complaint being unsuccessful. We have no recollection of taking out the insurance and still are none the wiser . Like you- initially I sent my complaint to the company registered mail - no response. They say they never received it though I could track the letter and it was signed for. It was only when the ombudsman contacted them that they sat up and rang me back. Also they say that we were sent renewal notices which we did not receive. However because they sent them to the correct address then apparently they've done what they should and this is sufficient evidence that we knew about the policy. The fact is though, that the policy we supposedly took out by phone will be renewed if they do not get a response to the renewal notice. Read what you will into that.

The frustration is not so much the money now, but more that other people could continue paying insurance for the rest of their life if they continue to miss fact the money is going out of their account and not receive the renewal notices sent to them! Rant over

So I would go to the ombudsman if you feel you have fulfilled your end of the bargain. As I say, I wish I had been more diligent with my bank statement and checked every single item You may have better luck.


Oh and by the way- a previous post on this site mentioned about cancelling the policy. I stopped the payment as soon as I noticed it was being deducted. Following 2 phone calls querying their inability to collect payment, an officious woman rang me to say I couldn't cancel without signing a form. I said I would not be signing anything but she insisted she would be sending the form out. We never received this form. However, we did receive a letter querying where our payment was and a second saying unless we paid up we would be out of compliance. I have not made any further payments as we did not need this insurance. Oddly only communication has been when the payments stopped.

EmmaC2016

Stay clear! We had an issue with a cooker, charged £149 upfront, came out and said couldn't fix it. They sided completely with their engineer and have accused us of basically bending the truth. Note all their website reviews are glowing and 5 stars!!! Poor customer services and would not recommend to anyone.

EmmaC2016

A week they expected us to be without a cooker! Said they knew what problem was over the phone and when they came couldn't fix it. £149 down the drain.

boo_star

EmmaC2016 wrote: »

A week they expected us to be without a cooker! Said they knew what problem was over the phone and when they came couldn't fix it. £149 down the drain.

Then raise a claim via MCOL.

Things being “unfixable” isn’t uncommon but saying they can fix it means they should do that or at least not charge you for the privilege of saying they can’t.

dgreenwo

I'm raising with the FCA as they sent me a letter telling me that it's an insurance policy but they are not regulated by the FCA, whereas the Big Warranties part is...


The problem with all these companies is that you only discover this information after you make the mistake of using them!!!

essxyou

My fridge and freezer stopped functioning around early March. So I tried to find an engineer and I came across Go Assist. After reading their reviews, I thought they would be a great option. I realised now that their reviews are bogus, that it's about their initial conversation and not the whole process.

The initial conversation was going good, the agent at Go Assist explained that they could fix the fridge-freezer, gave us a deal that we'd pay £149.00 and then £4.50 per month as our warranty. BIG MISTAKE. He further explained that if there were any parts to be purchased, they would be pay for it, but if its over £200 then we'd have to pay for the remaining excess. He kept telling me that it is very unlikely that it would be over £200. He was reassuring me that I wouldn't need to pay extra. I said okay and gave my card details.

The engineer came literally a week later, we had no fridge/freezer for a week! He came for 2 minutes and said we needed a motor and compressor or whatever. I said to him, would it be over £200? He said no and explained that for the model of the fridge-freezer, the parts needed wouldn't be over £200.

WRONG.

I receive an email that we have to pay £54 extra. I was shocked. I called Big Warranties (because thats where GO Assist joined us with). I explained the situation, that i wasnt expecting to pay extra after TWO PEOPLE REASSURED ME THAT I WOULDNT NEED TO PAY EXTRA. The agent listened to my past calls conversations with the agents and said he understood my anger and all. BUT, the agent did say anything over £200, we'd have to pay extra. I was so annoyed. He kept explaining and he was not being understanding at all. I was telling him that I'm just paying extra for nothing and i could've just bought a new fridge-freezer to save me the hassle.

I couldnt cancel with them at all, they would've taken £50 for Go Assist (which i knew about) but then the agent said that we would have to pay £70 as well. I don't understand why.

So I just paid the £54 instead. The engineer came a week later and fixed the fridge-freezer. The freezer is working perfectly. The fridge isnt. Our milk has gone off and it keeps making sounds. So I called Big Warranties again. He said he'll tell the engineer and the engineer will contact me within 24 hours. He'll probably come a week later.

I asked the agent if I would have to pay extra and he said yes. I WAS LIVID. He said if theres any new parts needed and if it is over £200, we'd have to pay the excess. How ridiculous is that. I told him that the previous agents said I wouldn't have to pay extra cost anymore.

I'm just so done with them. I don't trust them at all. Is there anything I can do? They're literally ripping me off now. I'm only 21 and they're already ripping me off so bad. How can they said one thing and do another?

sheramber

Big Warranties is an insurance company who provide cover for repairs up to the limit stated in the policy.

You have to pay any cost over that limit.

Go Assist is a company who provide engineers to repair an appliance for a fixed fee.

The director of Go Assist is also one of the directors of Big Warranties.

It appears you contacted Go Assist for a fixed fee repair but you signed up to an insurance policy from Big Warranties for £4.50 a month which only covers the cost of a repair up to £200.

Big Warranties say that existing faults are not covered but they can repair them and charge you the cost and if you make a claim within the first 30 days of taking out the policy you will be charged £175.



1 You need to establish what the £149 fee was for?

Did you pay £149 to Go Assist for a fixed fee repair but the repair has been charged through the Big Warranties insurance policy?

2 What was the first fault with the fridge/freezer? Which was faulty- the fridge or the freezer?

3 Is the fault with the fridge a different fault to the first fault?

4 When did you take the policy out? Are you passed the first 30 days?

5 What does the policy say you are covered for?