British Gas Charges for Replacing Hive Hub

jules99

On a recent boiler Service visit (I don't have Homecare insurance), I mentioned my Hive hub was flashing green and the hot water didn't come on the day before because it was scheduled via the Hive (although I knew I could turn on manually). I had read advice on Hive how to get it going again (it was offline), but nothing worked. Checking heating controls was part of the Service so he tried & rang someone. He then said I needed a new one - £125 (even he was shocked). 

Choices given were:  Don't have a Hive hub & use manually & I will be charged nothing or he has a new one in the van. I wasn't sure whether to just operate it manually in future but had to make a decision so opted for getting a new one.  What I didn't know was that I could have ordered one directly from Hive (£60 inc postage) & plug it in myself & then follow instructions on the app to delete my old one. This would have contained another ethernet cable, Hive plug & USB connector, but the one I got didn't so he just used what I had already. It was a straightforward replacement NOT A REPAIR, but I see on their website they have a standard charge for repairs (even a boiler or cooker) - £125.  So, it seems that's the only option the engineer had. The invoice is now overdue because I refuse to pay, but put a complaint in via Facebook, which can take up to 80 days.  

I'm concerned about this being overdue so I rang them (nightmare - can't understand what they say due to their accent & speaking quite low, then get cut off). I finally got through again & I asked him to put the invoice on old until my complaint has been dealt with. He said he would but I didn't trust that he had and it is still showing as overdue in my account.

I expect I will get some reminders & consequences if I don't pay.  What my comlaint said is that the other option I should have been given is buy one myself. They must know that I can. It only took him 5 mins to plug in and set it up on the app & I could have easily done that myself.

Anybody know what my rights are re the invoice? It gives 14 days to cancel on the invoice but this is different as I signed the agreeement in my home ont he day and didn't have much time to think about it. 

Thank you
Julie

TELLIT01

I don't see that you have any valid grounds for complaint or for refusing to pay.  The engineer informed you of the cost and you agreed to that price.  The fact that you could buy one yourself for less and install it yourself is irrelevant. 

Aylesbury_Duck

I agree.  The time to challenge or at least pause and consider was at the point it was offered.  The alternative was a perfectly functioning heating system at no extra charge, and you could then have decided and shopped around at your leisure.

jules99

Thanks for your replies Aylesury and TELLIT. 

Sometimes when someone is in your home and you are already feeling stressed about many things (I had just woke up after going back to bed that day for two hours feeling exhaused and they had rung to say they are in the area and can they come now instead of following week), then bad choices are made.  However, my choices felt limited.

If he had given me the the option to buy myself then it would have been the obvious choice, but I didn't know I could. The system was fitted by BG. Shopping around is what I always do but not for someone to plug me a hub in so I felt my options at the time was to leave it and not have it running as it should, so a waste of money having it in the first place or have him sort it. I did challenge it but he said that was the only option on the system. Like I said he was shocked too. This was the same option as a 'one off repair' of a boiler taking up to 45 mins that requires expertise.

I'm challenging the unfairness of the pricing and that customers should be told they can buy one themselves directly if it requires no technical expertise. This may need me to pay the invoice first though.






 
  

HillStreetBlues

jules99 said:

Thanks for your replies Aylesury and TELLIT. 

Sometimes when someone is in your home and you are already feeling stressed about many things (I had just woke up after going back to bed that day for two hours feeling exhaused and they had rung to say they are in the area and can they come now instead of following week), then bad choices are made.  However, my choices felt limited.

If he had given me the the option to buy myself then it would have been the obvious choice, but I didn't know I could. The system was fitted by BG. Shopping around is what I always do but not for someone to plug me a hub in so I felt my options at the time was to leave it and not have it running as it should, so a waste of money having it in the first place or have him sort it. I did challenge it but he said that was the only option on the system. Like I said he was shocked too. This was the same option as a 'one off repair' of a boiler taking up to 45 mins that requires expertise.

I'm challenging the unfairness of the pricing and that customers should be told they can buy one themselves directly if it requires no technical expertise. This may need me to pay the invoice first though.

When shopping in Sainsbury's do you expect them to tell you it's cheaper in Tesco?

TELLIT01

HillStreetBlues said:

When shopping in Sainsbury's do you expect them to tell you it's cheaper in Tesco?

Precisely.  Prices vary and the OP paid for the time and expertise of the BG engineer.  Maybe they could have done the installation themselves, but the engineer wouldn't know whether or not they could.

HillStreetBlues

TELLIT01 said:

Precisely.  Prices vary and the OP paid for the time and expertise of the BG engineer.  Maybe they could have done the installation themselves, but the engineer wouldn't know whether or not they could.

If I had a pile of garden waste I needed to get rid of, I could either take it to the tip myself (no charge for using tip)  or pay someone to take it.
When getting quotes, I wouldn't expect any of them to inform me I could do it for free.

jules99

HillStreetBlues said:

jules99 said:

Thanks for your replies Aylesury and TELLIT. 

Sometimes when someone is in your home and you are already feeling stressed about many things (I had just woke up after going back to bed that day for two hours feeling exhaused and they had rung to say they are in the area and can they come now instead of following week), then bad choices are made.  However, my choices felt limited.

If he had given me the the option to buy myself then it would have been the obvious choice, but I didn't know I could. The system was fitted by BG. Shopping around is what I always do but not for someone to plug me a hub in so I felt my options at the time was to leave it and not have it running as it should, so a waste of money having it in the first place or have him sort it. I did challenge it but he said that was the only option on the system. Like I said he was shocked too. This was the same option as a 'one off repair' of a boiler taking up to 45 mins that requires expertise.

I'm challenging the unfairness of the pricing and that customers should be told they can buy one themselves directly if it requires no technical expertise. This may need me to pay the invoice first though.

When shopping in Sainsbury's do you expect them to tell you it's cheaper in Tesco?

OBVIOUSLY NOT. A completely different situation and a ridiculous comparison. Hive is part of British Gas. It's an Hive product I could have ordered myself (even on the British Gas website). You're just being pedantic and missing my point.  

jules99

HillStreetBlues said:

TELLIT01 said:

Precisely.  Prices vary and the OP paid for the time and expertise of the BG engineer.  Maybe they could have done the installation themselves, but the engineer wouldn't know whether or not they could.

If I had a pile of garden waste I needed to get rid of, I could either take it to the tip myself (no charge for using tip)  or pay someone to take it.
When getting quotes, I wouldn't expect any of them to inform me I could do it for free.

But that is completely different, like the Sainsbury's comparison another poster responded.

You can't compare my situation with the tip example either. Of course you wouldn't expect when getting quotes, expecting them to inform you that you could do it for free.  

I've tried to explain the unfairness of the charges and I do expect that BG working closely with Hive and fitting their products and having a link to Hive website to buy a hub for £60 would mean that should be an option given during a situation like mine. If I had contacted them to book for them to come out to replace it I wouldn't expect they would tell me I can buy one directly from Hive. Of course not.

By the way, the charges are to investigate faulty controls. He had done that before he told me I needed a new one and that there would be charges. he had done that as part of the £100 boiler service.

 

born_again

jules99 said:

On a recent boiler Service visit (I don't have Homecare insurance), I mentioned my Hive hub was flashing green and the hot water didn't come on the day before because it was scheduled via the Hive (although I knew I could turn on manually). I had read advice on Hive how to get it going again (it was offline), but nothing worked. Checking heating controls was part of the Service so he tried & rang someone. He then said I needed a new one - £125 (even he was shocked). 

Choices given were:  Don't have a Hive hub & use manually & I will be charged nothing or he has a new one in the van. I wasn't sure whether to just operate it manually in future but had to make a decision so opted for getting a new one.  What I didn't know was that I could have ordered one directly from Hive (£60 inc postage) & plug it in myself & then follow instructions on the app to delete my old one. This would have contained another ethernet cable, Hive plug & USB connector, but the one I got didn't so he just used what I had already. It was a straightforward replacement NOT A REPAIR, but I see on their website they have a standard charge for repairs (even a boiler or cooker) - £125.  So, it seems that's the only option the engineer had. The invoice is now overdue because I refuse to pay, but put a complaint in via Facebook, which can take up to 80 days.  

I'm concerned about this being overdue so I rang them (nightmare - can't understand what they say due to their accent & speaking quite low, then get cut off). I finally got through again & I asked him to put the invoice on old until my complaint has been dealt with. He said he would but I didn't trust that he had and it is still showing as overdue in my account.

I expect I will get some reminders & consequences if I don't pay.  What my comlaint said is that the other option I should have been given is buy one myself. They must know that I can. It only took him 5 mins to plug in and set it up on the app & I could have easily done that myself.

Anybody know what my rights are re the invoice? It gives 14 days to cancel on the invoice but this is different as I signed the agreeement in my home ont he day and didn't have much time to think about it. 

Thank you
Julie

Well they can mark your credit file/history as a missed payment & chase via debt collectors.
In reality, you agreed to the work & should pay the bill.

While hindsight is a wonderful thing. Given you had the issue & was not fixed by Hive online support. Did you not look into options at that point.
Or is this the reason you had the boiler serviced?

jules99

born_again said:

jules99 said:

On a recent boiler Service visit (I don't have Homecare insurance), I mentioned my Hive hub was flashing green and the hot water didn't come on the day before because it was scheduled via the Hive (although I knew I could turn on manually). I had read advice on Hive how to get it going again (it was offline), but nothing worked. Checking heating controls was part of the Service so he tried & rang someone. He then said I needed a new one - £125 (even he was shocked). 

Choices given were:  Don't have a Hive hub & use manually & I will be charged nothing or he has a new one in the van. I wasn't sure whether to just operate it manually in future but had to make a decision so opted for getting a new one.  What I didn't know was that I could have ordered one directly from Hive (£60 inc postage) & plug it in myself & then follow instructions on the app to delete my old one. This would have contained another ethernet cable, Hive plug & USB connector, but the one I got didn't so he just used what I had already. It was a straightforward replacement NOT A REPAIR, but I see on their website they have a standard charge for repairs (even a boiler or cooker) - £125.  So, it seems that's the only option the engineer had. The invoice is now overdue because I refuse to pay, but put a complaint in via Facebook, which can take up to 80 days.  

I'm concerned about this being overdue so I rang them (nightmare - can't understand what they say due to their accent & speaking quite low, then get cut off). I finally got through again & I asked him to put the invoice on old until my complaint has been dealt with. He said he would but I didn't trust that he had and it is still showing as overdue in my account.

I expect I will get some reminders & consequences if I don't pay.  What my comlaint said is that the other option I should have been given is buy one myself. They must know that I can. It only took him 5 mins to plug in and set it up on the app & I could have easily done that myself.

Anybody know what my rights are re the invoice? It gives 14 days to cancel on the invoice but this is different as I signed the agreeement in my home ont he day and didn't have much time to think about it. 

Thank you
Julie

Well they can mark your credit file/history as a missed payment & chase via debt collectors.
In reality, you agreed to the work & should pay the bill.

While hindsight is a wonderful thing. Given you had the issue & was not fixed by Hive online support. Did you not look into options at that point.
Or is this the reason you had the boiler serviced?

thank you - I had my boiler service as I do yearly and the hive problem occurred the day before the Service, but the Service was last minute as they rang as it was convenient for them. It was originally booked for the week after, so I would have contacted Hive myself and they would have advised I buy one from them for £60 (which I didn't know at the time).  I had researched methods for trying to re-connect and tried several the night before. It's only a plug in device that wasn't connecting to the internet.  Because the Service guy was there the next day, naturally he had to look at my devices as part of the Service which he didn't charge me for, but it says on the Agreement charges for 'investigating the controls' so that's incorrect.