Corgi homeplan bill for services they didn't provide

tori276

Hi,

I'm trying to get out of my Corgi contract (as Corgi have done nothing except come and tell me that my system is infected with sludge - read the detail below to find out why this is not the case).

Corgi told me I need to pay £30 to cancel my contract, plus half of every call out charge.£22.50 for the heating fault (where the guy just walked in and walked out again) and £47.63 for the plumbing fault - where they refused to make it safe.

A grand total of £100.13 which they have said I need to pay.

I have had to pay £200 to get another heating company to come out on Good Friday to make safe my leaking radiator and spent a further £3000 on a new boiler (which was the first problem a circuitry problem - which the heating company I paid to replace it will confirm).

Do I really have to pay these charges when Corgi have provided me with zero service and I've had to go elsewhere to get the work done?

I cannot see how they are allowed to sell these homeplans because unless your boiler, pipework and radiators are all brand new they will not do any work on it and just say it is sludge! The heating engineers who performed the powerflush told me there was hardly anything there). They just see the age of the boiler on paper (they ask this before you join) and use that against you.

tori276

The background:

I joined Corgi homeplan in December 2016. I'd previously moved from British Gas cover and opted for the top tier Corgi cover.

Had no problems with British Gas who had been out to me several times and didn't say there was anything wrong with my system. But when I got my renewal quote in December I decided to move to Corgi as it was half the price of British Gas! This was my biggest mistake!

Had a problem with my boiler in March - Called Corgi out and before he would even look at my boiler he checked the radiator and said "Sludge" We will not fix this because your system contains sludge - I was then put on the phone to Corgi who explained I would need to hire another company to come in a perform a powerflush on my system (as the engineer who attended did not provide this service) and then I would be covered. He refused to even look at my boiler and left me with the boiler flashing an error code.

I called a heating company and asked them to come and look at it! It turns out the problem was with my boiler and I needed a new one! Suspected this as it was the first time I'd ever had an error code appear on it in 7 years.

Company installed new boiler, redid a lot of my pipework to make it more efficient and did the all important powerflush.

About a month later one of my radiators sprang a leak and I called Corgi to come out and stop the leak for me. Corgi came out and refused to fix the leak (they wouldn't even shut the radiator off for me). Told me this was due to side effects of previously having toxic sludge in my system and they would not repair it (They had previously told me that once I'd had a powerflush I'd be covered).

I had to then call out another company again at further cost to me to come and turn my radiator off and make it safe.

I couldn't see why I should have cover with Corgi when I did everything they told me to do and both times they left me in danger with a dodgy boiler and a radiator leaking water everywhere!

I called Corgi and told them that I wanted to cancel as they have ended up coming out to me, not even looking at the faults I called them out for and every time I'd had to call out another company to come and do the work.

Corgi told me I need to pay £30 to cancel my contract, plus half of every call out charge.£22.50 for the heating fault (where the guy just walked in and walked out again) and £47.63 for the plumbing fault - where they refused to make it safe.

A grand total of £100.13 which they have said I need to pay.

I also had to pay £200 to get another heating company to come out on Good Friday to make safe my leaking radiator and spent a further £3000 on a new boiler (which was the first problem a circuitry problem - which the heating company I paid to replace it will confirm).

Do I really have to pay these charges when Corgi have provided me with zero service and I've had to go elsewhere to get the work done?

I cannot see how they are allowed to sell these homeplans because unless your boiler, pipework and radiators are all brand new they will not do any work on it and just say it is sludge! The heating engineers who performed the powerflush told me there was hardly anything there). They just see the age of the boiler on paper (they ask this before you join) and use that against you.

Tej_Bains

Inexperienced Sub Contracted Plumbers
I've had corgi homeplan for the last 3 years,and never called out an engineer
In the last month I noticed the pressure on the boiler decreasing and two of the radiators in the loft not heating up properly.
An engineer attended and immediately stated the system needed a powerflush!
I explained that the central heating system was only 6 years old, and during all services and a recent radiator change there were no signs of sludge etc.
He stated that the water from the outside release pipe was a rusty colour as it was showing on the brickwork. He left staying he would change a part within the boiler to stop the pressure decreasing.
In the meantime I spoke with an independent plumber who had recently changed the radiator, and he advised that the water in the radiator was clean and that I needed to self balance all the radiators for a more accurate flow. I researched forums online and managed to resolved the radiator issue the next day myself.
In the meantime I placed a empty bottle under the outlet pipe to monitor the water colour. Within a week the bottle was half full and was crystal clear. I explained this to the engineer and said the rusty colour was just water onto the brickwork. He then cleaned a part from within the boiler which has stopped any water coming from the outlet part.
However 2 days later the pressure is still decreasing from the boiler.
I again contacted corgi and explained that I was not happy with engineers experience, and could they send out another engineer. They refused stating it was still the same fault so the same engineer has to attend. I did not receive any calls from the engineer and no attendance. I spoke to corgi today who in turn spoke to the engineer. They then stated they could not send anyone around due to sludge in the system!!
This is totally wrong. There is no sludge, and I have asked for the matter to be escalated to the complaints team. I should have stuck with British gas.