How are HomeServe still in business

A question about : How are HomeServe still in business

Got my usual bi-monthly begging letter from homeserver today asking me to take out their insurance cover for burst water pipes. Normally it goes straight in the bin but this time i'd thought i'd check what other people thought of them online as i'd heard they had a bad reputation from work colleagues, friends etc.

So I went to google and did a search and was amazed at the overwhelming bad response I got. It seems at peoples hour of need homeserve hardly ever pay out, normally citing some clause in the terms and conditions. I search on this forum and some others as well and again I was getting the same message, WHATEVER YOU DO STAY AWAY FROM HOMESERVE.

It just makes me wonder now that they have such a bad reputation how can they still be in business? I suppose they must have hundreds of customers paying their premiums each month not knowing that the when the day comes that they need their help the chances are they are going to be disappointed.

Needless to say the begging letter went in the bin like all the rest.

Best answers:

• Anyone used them?
• This is what I was talking about. I've never used them myself, just get the letters all the time asking me to sign up. But i've heard similar stories to yourself regarding the service (or not) that homeserve provides.
  If I was in the situation where I needed to call them out I would want to know that would happen and not have to spend time on the phone trying to convince someone i'm covered or maybe not because of small print.
  In principle I would consider a service like this but not with homeserve because i've yet to come across one person who's recommend them and I keep hearing these horror stories. Instead i've decided to set a little extra aside in a savings account each month to cover me in case instead of relying on a third party who may or may not turn up.
  BTW did homeserve sort you out in the end?
• I have been 'On & Off' without Heating and Hot water since 23rd January, during the Coldest spell in recent history.
  On the first night, despite charging me Ј50 for an 'Emergency Call Out' NO ONE ATTENDED. Since then I have tried to make contact on around 20 occassions and been told they have not receicved ANY messages via their 'CONTACT US' forum ?????? This despite me Cut & Pasting them to numerous departments, INCLUDING their Press Office !!!!.
  Since then I have been 'Lied' to and not acknowledged
  I am still in dispute with them up until now (28th March) and usure if my heating has been sorted.
  For those of you who Dont Know the legislation, I suggest you do the following in order to get a reaction from Governing bodies is :-
  a) Put in a 'Subject Access Request' to Homeserve for details of ALL of the communications betrween you and them. This MAY cost you Ј10 but is well worth it to gain evidence for your complaint.
  b) Make a 'Freedom of Information Request' as per the Act of 2000. to the Ombudsmans Office asking 'How Many' complaints they have received against this company. This will cost you nothing and is in 'THE PUBLIC INTEREST'
  c) If you feel that they have breached and of the Data integrity issues or not complied with your request, as at 1) above, complain to the 'Information Commssioner's Office' who grant the Data Protection Licencee.
  It is only by displaying our depth of feeling and discontent, with a company who charge for a Service but do not deliver, will we get a reaction.
  My experience show that this company have NO RESPECT for its customers whatsoever and I WISH I had stayed with BRITISH GAS who I regret leaving.,
  Thank You
  Stuart KNIGHT
• drainage cover is the worst aspect of homeserve.they will come out and repair the problem no issues as waste water is health issue. wait a couple of months and the letter will drop on your doorstep asking you for your home insurance supplier and policy details so they can claim there costs back. policy canceled with emmidate effect.
• can only agree with the bad comments. moved house in july, tried to get boiler serviced ever since, no luck ! after approx. 15 phone calls eventually got an appointment for friday last week, engineer turned up on thursday, left a card.another phone call, reconfirmed friday's appointment, stayed in all day, no engineer ! cancelled dd, have been told no refund available 'read terms and conditions' in spite of homeserve being in breach of contract. they and their contractors are a complete waste of space, i'm just about to contact watchdog ! do not touch them with the proverbial.
• We had Homeserve drain cover for a year but I decided to cancel it when the renewal came.
  I rang the call centre and asked if I had the right dept. to cancel my cover.
  Rather than answering my question, I was giving a 5 minute script on why I would be legally responsible for the end of the world if it happened to start from our sewer pipe, and how Homeserve could protect against this.
  I asked if my original question could be answered "do I have the right dept. to cancel my cover?".
  Bloke on the other end just launched into his script again.
  I'm always very polite on the phone, but this guy really got my back up so I started to talk over him and ask my question again, and again, and again.
  Each time he just started anew on the script.
  After ~10mins he stopped and said "So should I book you in for a renewal then?"
  Me: "Nooooooooooooooooooooooo".
• I foolishly had 3 policies with Homeserve, on xmas eve all my lights died and because of the weather & recorded message (stay on line if life threatening) I did'nt make a claim until the 27th Dec. it's now the 3rd Feb and the work is unfinished. Both home serve & the electrician admitted to making mistakes, HS claim to respond in 2 hours it was actually 3 days before I saw an electrician, he continued to rip off a light switch (which even I did'nt think was the problem) and to realise it was'nt the problem
  And despite forgetting to turn up and then breaking down the next day (28th & 29th) and with the problem still undiagnosed; "i'm gonna have to come back, probably on Monday" (this was on the 30th, a Thursday), after expressing my concerns he came back the next day (31st) and thanks to my efforts the fault was finally found, in the loft, again thanks to my efforts he disconnected a cable & said he'd be back, that was on the 31st Dec.
  2 letters with deadlines and the mention of the goods and services act later, and still nothing, I have been to consumer direct but realistically what can they do ?, I would imagine HS have got so professional at facing complaints that they just ignore them.
  I made over 30 calls to various homeserve numbers and actually managed to speak to a 3 people, who pass you on to another "busy line".
  I've ditched one policy, another will go this week and the lecky cover I'm keeping live while the "job remains unfinished".
  Is there any chance of an home emergency type review, which should hopefully lead all sensible people away from such an inept and uncustomer friendly organiation, in simple terms; want Home emergency cover; avoid HOMESERVE at all costs..
• No, it's practical advice, and the same advice I'd give every time someone comes on here again complaining about HomeServe. Gas Safe Register/Registered Gas Installer.
  Since you appear to have reached exactly the same conclusion as me after your experience with them, I fail to see what your point is?
  If after 2 weeks Homeserve have failed to fix the boiler, why would anyone wait any longer before calling out an independent?
• Currently fighting with Homeserve which will come as no surprise on here. My home insurance is with AXA and they sent APPROVED repairer Homeserve to fix my leak. In fixing my leak Homeserve damaged my shower and are trying desperately to avoid coming back to rectify. 4 inndependant builders have told me what an appalling job Hserve have done and even an Hserve manager in front of witness acknowledges this. They refuse to come out to repair their damage until I remove plasterboard to create access for them (which I refuse to do).
  My other problem is AXA. I believe that they are fully aware of Hserve's reputation and persist in using them as approved repairer sending them to customer's homes. Unlike other businesses where customer is king it proves in the insurance world that customers are conned. Will it ever change???
• Hi
  Homeserve has asked us to post this on its behalf, it says the email address is a specific one to which your issue can be escalated so it can help. MSE doesn't endorse anything a company says or does on the forum.
  "HomeServe are sorry that you are having issues, please contact heretohelp@homeserve.com and we will be happy to assist you"
• I can't offer you any advice on how to deal with a Homeserve complaint, because clearly their complaints procedure is as incompetent and unresponsive as the rest of their service. If you've waited 2 weeks for HomeServe to act and they have failed to do, then you make other arrangements. Tell them in writing that they have 7 days to remedy the defect or you will consider them in breach of contract. You then take action through the small claims process to recover your expenses and costs from them. Knowing Homeserve they'll probably fail to turn up anyway.
  If you don't consider that worthwhile advice, I can't help you.
• Homeserve complaints dept is a joke, sent complaint months ago and no reply all I got was a letter blaming the weather for delays. Noone acknowledged my complaint or any of the points i had raised, looked like a bog standard letter they must be fobbing us all off with!! I m a vulnerable customer with a burst internal pipe-took hrs to get through to their claims line and then they could nt even get out to me and told me to get my own engineer out?!! is this what i pay my premiums for? I was told i would get the costs reimbursed and i have not heard anything other then this fob me off letter and before that standard letters for ages telling me they were "investigating" my matter.
  A work colleague also had a similar problem with Homeserve and was sent the same sorry letter and when he followed it up and sent in a further letter and invoices for his own engineer but was told that they would nt cover the costs after all that!
  All sounds very underhanded, heard nothing but bad things about them and their "approved" contractors especially Storm and PH Jones beware!!