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Last update

06/11/2007

I have just received the enclosed letter from the Customer Relations Executive of HomeServe in response to a recent complaint regarding their Emergency Cover Service.  Reading this letter,   one  might  think that they have been more   than generous in sending me a cheque for £ 52.95 as a gesture of goodwill. Regretfully, rather than clarify this issue,  it is more like a cover up of a catalogue of incidents which are all linked to a simple call out to deal with a blocked drain.

To fully understand my complaint I  will  have  to  go back to when it started and provide a chronological diary of events. On Wednesday the 9th April at approximate. 11am my wife noticed that the downstairs toilet seemed to be blocked with water coming back up through the washing machine drainage hole and the shower. Having taken out cover for these events, we phoned our insurer's Emergency Hotline [Home Service] who promise a 2-hour response or our money back. True to their word, a drainage 'expert' arrived after about an hour and set out to solve the problem. He was rather slow and uninterested and, whilst with us, spent more time on his mobile phone. He used his pressure jet on the wrong side of the house and he poked his rods down the correct drain  without much success.  After about 30 minutes he came to the conclusion that this was a bigger job than he could cope with and that the drainage pipe outside our house would have to be dug up to clear the blockage. This, so he told us, could not be done until the next morning as the 'gang' dealing with the digging was out on another job elsewhere. 

As he was the 'expert' [the policy clearly states that they are offering a fast, reliable service by local plumbing and drainage experts to give us peace of mind] I could not ague with him and we prepared ourselves to be without toilet, wash basin, washing machine, dishwasher, shower and sink until the next day. My wife arranged to stay at home and she waited. By 11.30am nobody had arrived, nobody had phoned, and she rang back the 'Emergency Hotline' to get some information. Your drain pipe needs to be dug up she was told and to do this, the contractor needs insurance approval which he has not yet obtained and as soon as he phones in to get this approval, someone will come out to you to solve your problem.  Clearly not to happy, my wife asked them to find out when this would happen and requested that they phone back with some further information.

Needless to say, nobody phoned back and nobody came out.  By 4.30pm, when I got back, I again phoned the 'Emergency Hotline' and, unbelievably, I was told precisely the same story. Again, I asked them to find out what was happening with this claim and again requested that they phone us back to let us know when we could expect anyone. Nobody phoned us back and nobody came out.

By 7pm, I was getting rather irritated and I decided to phone the Admin and Enquiries Number listed on their policy. Once again, I went through the procedure of having to listen to the various options, which number to press on the phone and telling them my policy number, my address and my phone number and all that before I could speak to someone. I asked to speak to a Manager or Senior member of staff but was told that this was just the office and that I would have to take up my grievance with their Emergency Hotline Department, which, apparently is in Preston. They transferred my call and after I had listened to all the options, pressed the correct button and repeated my Policy Number, my address and my phone number I was told I would have to speak to the Complaints Manager and, once again, they transferred my call, made me listen to the options, made me tell them my policy number, my address and my phone number.

At least, so I thought, I now got through to a senior member of staff who, no doubt, would be able to help. Alas, I was wrong again. The young man who answered the phone told me he was just another telephone operative, who after consulting his files whilst I listened to the soothing tunes on the phone, assured me that they were fully aware of my claim and that the contractor would get in touch with me as soon as the digging up of my drains had been approved by the insurers, which had not yet been done. I was loosing my cool by now and after some argumentation, the young man promised me faithfully that he would chase up this matter with the contractors and that he would phone me back to let me know when I could expect someone.

True to his word he came back to me after about 60 minutes and told me cheerfully that he had now obtained the insurance approval and that the contractor would phone me in the morning to let me know when they could come out. He did add, which made me rather suspicious, to phone back the Emergency Hotline if 'I had not heard from the contractor by 11.30 am.

By now, we had been without our services for 1 1/2 days and, having retrieved the fax number of Home Service, I sent them the fax as per enclosure explaining the situation and pleading for help and assistance.

The next morning came, my wife stopping at home yet another day and, you guessed it, nothing happened. Nobody phoned us and nobody replied to my fax. By 11am, I sent another fax, see enclosure, to their Head Office in Walsall and I made another phone call to their office. After going through the usual procedure and after explaining to another young lady why I am phoning, I was left on hold for about 15 minutes, which felt like an eternity and, surprise, surprise, I was cheerfully informed that my drain will have to be dug up and that they are at present waiting for the contractor to obtain insurance approval. That was the last straw! The night before I was told that approval had been obtained and that the contractor would phone me to arrange the work and here I was, being told the exact opposite. I got rather angry and I demanded that a senior manager would phone me back to explain to me why this work had not been carried out. The young lady offered to put me through to their Customer Relations Department but I refused and requested that they phone me and that I was no longer prepared to hang on the phone, listen to the various options and repeat my personal details.

It seemed to have done the trick as about an hour later I received a phone call from the Contractors informing me that two members of staff were now on their way to look at my problem. They duly arrived, I explained the situation, they bought up their power jet line to the drain hole outside the house, they switched it on and within a few minutes they cleared the blockage and the water was flowing freely. There was no question of having to excavate the drainpipe and the job was done in less then 10 minutes of their arrival.  Had the first 'expert' done his job properly I would have happily agreed with their policy wording - a fast, reliable service offered by local plumbing and drainage experts.

An hour later, I received a phone call from their Customer Relations Department apologising for the long wait and blaming it on the delay in obtaining insurance approval to dig up my drains. When I explained to them that, nothing has been dug up and that the blockage was simply cleared with the jet spray they apologised and offered me a 6-month refund of the insurance premium. When I pointed out that the insurance policy clearly stated that it offered a guaranteed 2 hour  respond  or  the  money  back  they were adamant that someone had come out within 2 hours and, consequently this would not apply. When I refused to accept their offer and suggested that I would take up this matter in writing with their Head Office they back pedalled and told me that they were anxious to settle this issue now by phone and that they would prefer me not to write in. They asked me to allow them to consult with a superior member of staff and phoned me back within 10 minutes agreeing a full refund as per their letter.

These are the facts and this is precisely the diary of events. It raises serious questions as to the value, the efficiency and purpose of an insurance policy which, when needed, does not deliver.

 What is the point of an Emergency Hotline - 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, even on Christmas Day when the work needed is not being carried out?

 What is the point of a guaranteed 2-hour response when the 'expert' they send out is incompetent and cannot do the job.

Why did none of their staff, and I spoke to quite a number of them, did not have the common courtesy of phoning back? Why did their Head Office in Walsall not react to the two faxes I sent them pleading for help to resolve the problem?

What does their policy say - ' you can sit back and relax safe in the knowledge that fast and reliable help from the experts at Home Service is just a phone call away'.  I made at least six phone calls and sent two faxes and I was without toilet, shower, sink, washing machine and dishwasher for nearly 3 days. What would have happened had I just sat back and waited?

They have now, as I said previously, reluctantly agreed to refund the insurance premium, yet they still maintain in their letter to me ' I regret that on this occasion you feel we have failed to achieve our objective' - Irrespective of what I feel, they have failed and I suggest that they seriously look into their quality standards, not only in the interest of their customers but also in their own interest as failures of their experts to diagnose problems not only lead to frustration, anger and resentment but could also could cost them dearly.

Had they dug up my drains unnecessarily,  their contractors would have charged them for for work which was not needed, and they would have destroyed part of my garden, all based on 'expert' opinion.

Is their policy which provides home assistance for emergencies good value and worth taking out?

You judge for yourself, the decision is yours.

I have now received a letter dated 13th May 2003 from a Mrs. Kay Dilkes [Customer Relations Executive] in which Home Service fully accept responsibility for their failures and in which they have now assured me that any future dealings with Home Service will be of ' a more satisfactory nature '. Lets hope they mean it.

In addition to the refund of the premium they have also now offered to renew the existing insurance policy for a further six month at no charge.

Update 15/09/03