I was very interested to read the letter in Saturday’s paper about British Gas HomeCare. I, too, have a policy with it and have been waiting seven weeks for an engineer to fix a problem with my hot water. It has cancelled two appointments so far and rebooked me for 1 June, which will be nine weeks since I first phoned.
It also informed me that it would not be possible for me to arrange my own repair, and then claim the money back from them, unlike your correspondent.
SR, Eastbourne
Several disgruntled readers have reported similar experiences after trying to claim on their policies.
Frankly, the way the company has treated you is appalling. To leave you for seven weeks without hot water is absurd. The fact that it refused to refund the bill, had you found your own contractor, is extraordinary.
I asked British Gas about your case. At first it apologised and offered you £70 for the delay but could still not come up with an engineer any sooner, meaning you would have been another 10 days without hot water at the time of writing.
However, just as Guardian Money was about to go to press, it came back to me and said it had finally found you an engineer who will visit you on Monday.
If you had been forced to wait longer, my advice would have been to call your friends and to ask them to recommend a local boiler repair person. I would have got them in, and had it cost more than you paid British Gas last year, I would have sent the company the bill. Had it been less than your annual premium, I would have asked for that back.
The Financial Conduct Authority really needs to investigate this situation, as a matter of urgency. Like I said, it’s appalling.
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