Has a Homeserve flyer made its way through your door?

It astonishes me that Homeserve have been able to absorb a £30m+ fine and continue trading. It shows how much money is being made through intense selling techniques creating and then targetting false anxieties. It might be called “mis-selling” [a misnomer if ever there was one for it is far from inadvertent] but it is tantamount to deceit and predation.

I am impressed by the fact that the FCA are handing out some worthwhile files, totalling £69 million so far in 2014.

Maybe Ofgem could gain more respect if they did the same.

A quick look at the company’s statutory reports and results shows that they made a profit of over £78m in 2013 in the UK which is the bulk of their business [they also operate elsewhere in Europe and in the USA]. They anticipated [and factored into their profit expectation] a fine by the FCA of the order of £6m. Interestingly, under the disclosure of “principal risks and uncertainties”, regulatory intervention is a major element. It appears that they have clearly been struggling with “restoring our customer focused culture in the UK, with improved customer satisfaction and a significantly reduced number of customer complaints”. They have lost a lot of customers over the past few years but think their new strategy is starting to turn that around, and one way of doing that seems to be by focussing more on direct marketing and the internet, with less reliance on capturing customers via utilities and appliance manufacturers. I hope this big fine has not only taught Homeserve a lesson but raised the bar against other companies who might wish to exploit customer vulnerability.

I had several contracts with HOMESERVE until I cancelled in 2013, there were so manyn exclusions it was a complete waste of cash . Since DEC 2013 I recieved letters from them stating th at 3 of the contracts were in question, and enclosed 2 cheques ,£10 and £57 ,which I have no intentions of accepting,ive contacted WHICH, regarding what i should do now ,would appreciate any advice/ comments from other members

It is seriously worrying that Water Companies continue to do business with Homeserve.
If I have problems with Water Supply-I know perfectly well I am wholly responsible for putting it right. Who do I complain to –and how can I stop Affinity Water abusing their public trust as they waste money endorsing rip-off businesses .

They have not cleaned up their act at all. My 70 year old mother in law had a service contract with what she thoght was Valliant. It was actually administered by Homeserve.
Not only did they not spot that there was a gas leak from one of the valves in the boiler which was the actaual cause of the intermitant failure of the boiler to light.
They also recommended that she have a “Power Flush” done at a cost of £600 but would not gauantee that this would fix the problem.
They took the money up front.
I got involved at this point and got British Gas round to see if there was a leak – which there was and they disconected it from the gas.
I have since called a reputable Gas Safe regested technician who has fixed the problem for substantially less than £600.
Homeserve have not refunded the money as yet but thank goodness she paid with a credit card so is protected under section 75 and will one way or another get her money back.
Stay away from Homeserve is my advice.

When I began to help my elderly mum with her affairs I discovered she had a number of Homeserve policies – all of which she had acquired through Thames Water. I corresponded with them and then cancelled the policies, having determined they were worth next to nothing to mum. The company resisted the cancellations. The elderly are SO vulnerable to this sort of thing. They take one policy and then more and more are marketed to them and – being anxious about things going wrong – far too many take policies up. It’s one thing for a dodgy builder to knock on the door and offer to fix a slipped roof tile for £1,000 – he’s a fraud. But what of a utility company providing an entree for an insurer – both of them in a commercial relationship with each other – the utility company no longer a PUBLIC utility? It’s no wonder the elderly are confused by this. Is there any redress for individuals?

Just had my Homeserve ‘automatic’ renewal for plumbing and drainage cover through. Increased premium from £63.00 to £86.40. No claims. Ridiculous increase – presume they thought it wouldn’t be noticed. Renewal cancelled.

Just received one of their flyers with Thames Water logo offering comprehensive plumbing insurance

I have received two letters from HomeServe this year, both with the Thames Water logo on the envelope and letter, recommending their water pipe insurance. Yesterday evening, I received a phone call from HomeServe trying to sell their insurance. I was busy and rushed them off the phone, but since then I’ve been thinking about how Thames Water have passed on my mobile phone number to this company! Is that allowed?

We have insurance with HomeServe.
To explain in more detail. Our boiler was having issues and after calling another suplier we decided to put a claim. Homeserve engineer came on 24/09/16 and decided that the boiler needs a new heat exchanger. He told us that he needs to order parts , called his manager and set up an appointment for Tuesday 27/09. We waited the whole day and after calling the office were told that no appointment was set. They then offered another appointment for Thursday 29th and another engineer came in without any parts and without knowing anything about our issue. After numerous phone calls to the office and the other engineer he told us essentially the same thing, he needs parts and we have another appointment Saturday 01/10. On Saturday a third engineed came, this times with parts and tools, spend 2 hours reinstalling the parts in the boiler to realise that they have ordered the wrong parts. Once again the boiler was not fixed and we now have an apointment for Tuesday 4/10.
I took a day off on 4/10/16 and no engineer showed up even though on 1/10/16 I have confirmed with homeserve that I had a service appointment for 4/01/16. The service was once again postponerd until 6/10/16.
On 6/10/16 an engineer came. He was supposed to come between 8-13 and he came at 12:50 and stayed untill 15:30 . He fitted the part in the boiler and the boiler started to work. However it had a leak and we were forced to call homeserve again. We had been promised an engineer between 13-18 on 10/10/16. The engineer first called saying he will come at 12 then he said he will come at 1 then that he will come at 4 and finally he came at 17:50 and stayed untill 19. He fixed the leak but now the boiler makes a horrible noise each time it starts.
I called again and was promised an engineer on 12/10/16 between 8-13. Due to past experience I called both the office and the support office evry hour between 8-12:30 and was assured each time that surely somebody will come befoew 13. One of the people I spoke to was actually quite rude saying that even if the engineer comes at 13:00 he is still not late. However at 12:30 the engineer called and said he will only arrive in a “couple of hours. As of 14:43 he is still not here.

We had no hot water or heating for 9 days now and had to stay home for 9 different days waiting for them. 3weeks later my boiler still does not work properly. I have contacted the company in about 20 different ocasions and filled complaints but heard only reassurances that they will investigate from them.

Sign up for a 24 hour service only to realise you get access to a voicemail 24 hours a day. Rookie mistake.

[Sorry, this comment has been edited to align with our Community Guidelines https://conversation.which.co.uk/commenting-guidelines/. Thanks, mods.]

OK – update, great (different) guy turned up today – with the right equipment this time…..

Great job (not easy) done – so at this point can only recommend. Glad to be able to send totally positive feedback given my earlier scepticism having found this site and other comments posted here.

Think my premiums might rise next year mind you… but value for money to date – excellent.