How much compensation for being left without electricity (hot water and heating also)

sukhi_cov

Hi! Hope you are all well. First post so go easy on me  .

Right so I had cause to complain to British Gas recently and the scenario is as follows:

On Sunday 11th October we encountered an issue with our electrics and we’re immediately without hot water, heating, electricity and the use of our showers. Left with the use of lights only.

We called British Gas and were given an appointment for Monday 12th. On Monday an electrician arrived checked the fuse box and identified that the RCCB was down and it had burnt out possibly due to an overload. He advised he would order a new one and come back out on Wednesday 14th to repair it. 

He arrived Wednesday and took the old rccb switch out ready to fit the new however he noticed that the dim rail had also been damaged so he could not place the new switch on as it was not safe to do so.

He spoke to his boss who advised that a new fuse box would need to be fitted so he called whoever he needed to at British Gas to advise. He advised them of the situation, that the job was an emergency and we had vulnerable people in the house hold (2 elderly both with heart conditions, 1 diabetic).

They said they had no availability, he advised of the situation and that it was an emergency. He advised them it would be a 3-4 hour job they again said they had nothing but they eventually managed to book us in for Friday 16th October maybe a 2-3 hour job to fit a new fuse box.

Come Friday they had no idea of the severity of the job, didn’t have time to complete it but this time round the engineers acted with urgency and got us back up and running on Saturday 17th so 6 days later.

Now I rang British Gas complaints and they weren’t the most helpful however I have been contacted again regarding my complaint and have been offered compensation.

What would you feel is a fair amount for the time we were left with nothing and the incompetence of the engineer that arrived on the Monday and Friday?

Thanks! 

sukhi_cov

FYI we have electrical cover with British Gas hence them being contacted. 

The_Fat_Controller

The first place to look is the BG policy terms, it should all be there.
What does it say ?
Does your home insurance cover this situation ?

sukhi_cov

The_Fat_Controller said:

The first place to look is the BG policy terms, it should all be there.
What does it say ?
Does your home insurance cover this situation ?

Hi,

There is no specific mention of how much compensation etc just that they are part of the financial services compensation scheme.

Was just looking at a rough idea as I’m not a complainer but just felt I couldn’t let this go....

Penguin_

Well what compensation have they offered?

sukhi_cov

Penguin_ said:

Well what compensation have they offered?

£150

Boohoo

sukhi_cov said:

Penguin_ said:

Well what compensation have they offered?

£150

Take that offer and run and then get on with your life.

brewerdave

I very much doubt if you will be offered any more than the £150, so I would accept - and look for a more reliable "insurer" for home breakdowns in the future . I'm led to believe that BG charge a premium for their less than satisfactory services!!

Penguin_

Bloody hell! Take it & run!!

sukhi_cov

Oh wow, I didn’t think £150 would get that reaction but I’m assuming people have had some pretty bad experiences with British Gas and their complaints. Fair enough I shall accept then if there is a consensus. Thanks