HomeServe Scam and Complaint
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steve007
Posts: 16 Forumite
Hi everyone,
I want to highlight what I believe to be extremely underhanded tactics by Homeserve domestic insurance (plumbing, electrical, etc).
Anyway, I phoned up Homeserve as our central heating boiler developed a fault.
£195 they stated for the fix, UNLESS the problem was for:
1) Cylinder.
2) PCB (the boiler computer)
3) Heat exchanger.
Anything but the above would be included in the fix (the recorded sales conversation will testify to this). And incidentally, whilst on the phone to Homeserve I agreed to take out electrical, and drainage insurance, as they (the sales pitch) came across as very professional, and they seemed 'on the ball'.
OK, The Homeserve plumber came out, and said the boiler needs two parts:
1) Ignition starter (about £4 trade cost)
2) Gas Valve (£85 +VAT)
The Homeserve plumber fitted a TEMPORARY ignition starter, and was adamant that when the other parts were fitted INSIDE 24 hours, that I was to make sure the correct ignition starter was fitted, instead of the TEMPORARY starter he had fitted.
Whilst the Homeserve plumber was in my home he phoned the parts through, and said I would be contacted inside 24 hours for the install.
This was 10 days ago, and I had not heard a word from Homeserve since.
So I phoned them back today, only to find out, that they had classed my boiler 'beyond economic repair'. Hmm. That was the opposite to what their engineer said, who also said that the boiler should have a few years left once these two parts were fitted.
THIS, is where I personally feel the scam starts. When their customers ask for an emergency plumber, Homeserve are banking on the fact that no parts are required, over and above the yearly insurance they talk you into. If parts ARE required over and above this, this simply IGNORE you, and render your boiler beyond economic repair.
Bearing in mind the boiler, well most boilers cost about £800+, and to render it beyond economic repair, for an £85 part, is a joke, and a scam, so that Homeserve make sure they make a profit without having to pay for parts.
Homeserve are working a numbers game scam, and the conclusion is:
1) Homeserve are falsely advertising their services, stating that they will pay for all parts (see above), when they simply do NOT.
2) Homeserve, if it is not in their financial interest will not even contact you, leaving you in a dire situation without any communication. I now have no heating and no hot water, whilst having two young children.
3) Homeserve I believe have left my boiler in a dangerous state, by their plumber fitting a spurious part, that he was adamant needed correcting inside 24 hours.
It is false advertising, and their service is utterly disgusting. Their customer serve is also not in the least bit interested in resolving the matter. 10 days later, and still no hot water of heating, even though the fix was promised for a set fee.
I would advise ANYBODY thinking they are gaining any kind of security by having a Homeserve cover for their home, to SERIOUSLY think twice! I most definitely do not recommend Homeserve.
It is also safe to say that I will be cancelling all three insurances taken out with Homeserve.
I want to highlight what I believe to be extremely underhanded tactics by Homeserve domestic insurance (plumbing, electrical, etc).
Anyway, I phoned up Homeserve as our central heating boiler developed a fault.
£195 they stated for the fix, UNLESS the problem was for:
1) Cylinder.
2) PCB (the boiler computer)
3) Heat exchanger.
Anything but the above would be included in the fix (the recorded sales conversation will testify to this). And incidentally, whilst on the phone to Homeserve I agreed to take out electrical, and drainage insurance, as they (the sales pitch) came across as very professional, and they seemed 'on the ball'.
OK, The Homeserve plumber came out, and said the boiler needs two parts:
1) Ignition starter (about £4 trade cost)
2) Gas Valve (£85 +VAT)
The Homeserve plumber fitted a TEMPORARY ignition starter, and was adamant that when the other parts were fitted INSIDE 24 hours, that I was to make sure the correct ignition starter was fitted, instead of the TEMPORARY starter he had fitted.
Whilst the Homeserve plumber was in my home he phoned the parts through, and said I would be contacted inside 24 hours for the install.
This was 10 days ago, and I had not heard a word from Homeserve since.
So I phoned them back today, only to find out, that they had classed my boiler 'beyond economic repair'. Hmm. That was the opposite to what their engineer said, who also said that the boiler should have a few years left once these two parts were fitted.
THIS, is where I personally feel the scam starts. When their customers ask for an emergency plumber, Homeserve are banking on the fact that no parts are required, over and above the yearly insurance they talk you into. If parts ARE required over and above this, this simply IGNORE you, and render your boiler beyond economic repair.
Bearing in mind the boiler, well most boilers cost about £800+, and to render it beyond economic repair, for an £85 part, is a joke, and a scam, so that Homeserve make sure they make a profit without having to pay for parts.
Homeserve are working a numbers game scam, and the conclusion is:
1) Homeserve are falsely advertising their services, stating that they will pay for all parts (see above), when they simply do NOT.
2) Homeserve, if it is not in their financial interest will not even contact you, leaving you in a dire situation without any communication. I now have no heating and no hot water, whilst having two young children.
3) Homeserve I believe have left my boiler in a dangerous state, by their plumber fitting a spurious part, that he was adamant needed correcting inside 24 hours.
It is false advertising, and their service is utterly disgusting. Their customer serve is also not in the least bit interested in resolving the matter. 10 days later, and still no hot water of heating, even though the fix was promised for a set fee.
I would advise ANYBODY thinking they are gaining any kind of security by having a Homeserve cover for their home, to SERIOUSLY think twice! I most definitely do not recommend Homeserve.
It is also safe to say that I will be cancelling all three insurances taken out with Homeserve.
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Comments
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Have you paid any money to Homeserve yet?
If the answer is yes then you should contact your local trading standards. If they have indeed falsely deemed your boiler 'beyond economic repair' then there's a case for fraud here. Proving it will require getting an independent engineer to assess your boiler and write a report, but it may be that a question or two from a keen enforcement officer will make them 'realise' the error of their ways and decide to fix it after all!Common sense?...There's nothing common about sense!0 -
It was a deferred payment set up on a direct debit, so yes, the contract has started, and they will be taking payment.
I have spoken to other heating companies today, who have stated that to replace the part is about an hour's job (but they did not have the time, as they are not an emergency operator), but they most certainly said it is a basic repair, and not 'beyond economic repair.
Not sure what to do now, as are in the same position as 10 days ago, with no hot water, and no heating :-(0 -
I have had Homeserve Plumbing cover for about 3 years. Last year my renewal was £89 for the year. I dithered about whether to pay this as i was short of money but decided that i'd rather have the cover than not, so paid up. A week before Xmas last year, along with millions of other people, i had a huge burst due to a frozen pipe. The pipe was inside a boxed in area inside a newly installed kitchen cupboard and my spanking new kitchen units were transformed into a beautiful water feature. This was Sunday afternoon. (Luckily) If it had happened whilst i had been at work my house would have floated away. I managed to get a friend to turn off the water for me (my stopcock didn't work) and called Homeserve. Due to the extreme weather conditions, it was -13 at the time, their phonelines were really busy and it took me about 15 mins to get through. I have to say that they were fantastic. They checked i was ok, and that someone could provide me with fresh water and that i had another source of heating. They told me their plumber would call me when he was 1 hour away from me but that due to high volumes of callouts it would probably be Mon or Tues. They advised me that if i could get a local plumber to come out they would pay him but plumbers at that time were like rocking horse !!!!!!, believe me i tried !! On Tues afternoon their plumber turned up after struggling to get up my street in 2 feet of snow. He spent 3 hours taking down the wall and repairing the burst pipe.
It was the best £89 i ever spent, they called me after the repair to see if everything was ok, i can't fault them. You will always get people who have bad experiences with companies, just thought i'd stick up for them !!0 -
You will always get people who have bad experiences with companies, just thought i'd stick up for them !!
Bad experiences?? Have you done a search on the internet for Homeserve? Their reputation is riddled with a negative cancer.
I only wish I had done my own research before giving them the opportunity of my custom.
This is not just a bad experience, Homeserve have blatantly LIED about the services they have advertised, and then ignored me for 10 days when my family, including young children have no heating or hot water, as well as potentially leaving my boiler in a dangerous state!
I will also be contacting the advertising standards authority, because they are playing with people in their sales pitch.0 -
It was a deferred payment set up on a direct debit, so yes, the contract has started, and they will be taking payment.
I have spoken to other heating companies today, who have stated that to replace the part is about an hour's job (but they did not have the time, as they are not an emergency operator), but they most certainly said it is a basic repair, and not 'beyond economic repair.
Not sure what to do now, as are in the same position as 10 days ago, with no hot water, and no heating :-(
Call your local trading standards tomorrow - hopefully they'll be able to assist (although with cutbacks etc these days the quality/availability of service is a bit of a postcode lottery!)
If TS aren't willing to take it on then write to Homeserve explaining that you have consulted other companies who have stated that the fault does not make the boiler beyond economic repair and that you believe they have labelled your boiler as such to avoid paying for the repair due under your contract. Ask them to reconsider the decision and put it right. They will have a complaints procedure which you should pursue if they still refuse to make the repair...if their cover is an insurance product (which it sounds like it is) then as final recourse you can complain to the financial ombudsman. These things take time so you'd probably have to get the boiler fixed yourself while going through the complaints procedure but keep records of everything and receipts so that you can claim it back.Common sense?...There's nothing common about sense!0 -
Bad experiences?? Have you done a search on the internet for Homeserve? Their reputation is riddled with a negative cancer.
I only wish I had done my own research before giving them the opportunity of my custom.
This is not just a bad experience, Homeserve have blatantly LIED about the services they have advertised, and then ignored me for 10 days when my family, including young children have no heating or hot water, as well as potentially leaving my boiler in a dangerous state!
I will also be contacting the advertising standards authority, because they are playing with people in their sales pitch.
Just stating my experience with them. I'm a single parent with a young daughter and it was very inconvenient to be without water or heating for nearly 3 days, especially when it was so cold, but for me, their service was excellent. I hope you manage to get your problems resolved as soon as possible.0 -
I have just been doing some other research on HomeServe, from their other customers.
And WOW, the amount of complaints about them is u-n-b-e-l-i-e-v-a-b-l-e.
Literally thousands of them, and very many with the same complaint as me, in that they dramatically inflate the price of repairs, so that they can avoid doing the job.
Homeserve are definitely a classic scam company.
How, and why are these type of companies allowed to operate, in this day and age!!0 -
don't forget; when you look for your replacement service..... Homeserve don't only operate under their own brand they also provide the same service for other large companies.0
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It was a deferred payment set up on a direct debit, so yes, the contract has started, and they will be taking payment.
I have spoken to other heating companies today, who have stated that to replace the part is about an hour's job (but they did not have the time, as they are not an emergency operator), but they most certainly said it is a basic repair, and not 'beyond economic repair.
Not sure what to do now, as are in the same position as 10 days ago, with no hot water, and no heating :-(
Hey, do you know the Engineer name or has he provided you any service paper. If he is Gas & Safety registered engineer then by law he should provide you his register number and service document. Contact Gas and Safety Register [gassaferegister.co.uk] and complain about him. They will take action and might visit your place to see the safety of the work. I work very close with that company and I know how serious they are about people safety.0
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