Sorry I haven't been around for a bit. Life is still hectic with mum and family..Hopefully I will ha...
Sorry I haven't been around for a bit. Life is still hectic with mum and family..Hopefully I will have more timesoon
Member since:03.09.2002
Reviews:96
Members who trust:31
THE BEGINNING
My old back boiler was well past its sell by date and costing a fortune plus the fire was out of the ark and ugly and the water tanks a nd cylinder were taking up loads of room in my attic and airing cupboard.
I decided that it was time that I put my hand in my pocket and forked out for a new heating system.
Where to get one from was my first dillema. Should I go for a cheap local fitter or should I go to a national company.
Rather foolishly I decided to go for the latter option and phoned Homeserve shortly before Christmas.
Their representative arrived promptly and was very professional talking me through the options available to me and explaining the pros and cons of each type of system. NO HARD SELL..I decided on a combi boiler to be fitted in the space where the old tank was in the airing cupboard and also to have 3 new radiators installed.
First big surprise was that the work could be
done at the beginning of January and would only take a maximum of 2 days and all rubbish would be removed.
The cost was just less than £4000, but there was an added bonus I didn't need to pay anything until 12 months from the date of installation and if I paid then no finance charges whatsoever.. Can't be bad £4000 earning interest for me for 12 months rather than being paid out of my account. The representative warned me that if I didn't pay on time the interest rate was astronomical, but as the money was in the bank and I had no intention of leaving it longer than 12 months to pay this did not worry me.
THE INSTALLATION
As good as their word the fitters arrived promptly, completed the job in less than 2 days cleared away their rubbish and left my home looking exactly as they found it even though the job involved moving some furniture, taking up carpets and floorboards.
To say I was delighted would be an understatement...Only drawback was the hole in the wall where the fire had been taken out, but this was neatly sealed with cardboard.
I was unsure if I would need or want an extra fire so I didn't go ahead and have one installed immediately but I decided that yes it was not quite warm enough without one and I would have one fitted.
Off I went to B&Q to buy a wall mounted flueless fire (This too was a mistake) I called 2 gas fitters who looked at the job gave me quotations (rather high) and then didn't want the job. I found a newly opened local firm and asked the young proprietor to come and have a look for me.
This is what he told me... The gas supply had been fed to the boiler using the old water pipes and various other little things. He would not fit a flueless gas fire and there was no way he was going to connect anything to old water pipes. He suggested I contact Corgi and get the installation checked and gave me all the contact details.
CORGI This is the organisation that regulate gas fitting. You can fill in a complaint form on line so this is what I did. 2 weeks later I had no response so I phoned and was told that they had no record of my complaint. I am very computer literate so I knew that I hadn't made any mistakes in sending in the complaint so I was unwilling to go through the process again so I was promised that a form would be sent out to me. This did not arrive so I telephoned again. Many appologies and my complaint was taken verbally over the telephone and I was verbally given an inspection date of 20th August.
I arrived back from holiday to find 2 letters from Corgi I telling me that the inspector would be coming on the 20th August and the other telling me that the inspector would be coming on 29th August.
Another phone call. No he was coming on the 29th now he couldn't make 20th.
THE INSPECTION
The Corgi inspector arrived complete with both original fitters and their supervisor. 3 hours later they left having put right all the things the inspector found wanting. Including fitting a new gas supply pipe and yet another pipe on the outside wall. Very thorough.
Am I happy now.. Well not really. Yes the job has been done properly now, but without the honesty of a local independent fitter I would have been none the wiser.. And what really hurts is the fact that I will pay double the price I would have paid him to do the job for me.
The gas fire will be going back to B&Q (Not the best choice Corgi inspector informed me) The local fitter will be getting my custom. I will be buying my fire from him and he will be installing it for me.
Oh and by the way ,not that it will be important to any sensible people, the local fitter is a young asian man working hard to establish an honest reputable business.
POSTSCRIPT On the 1st September I wrote to Homeserve expressing my dissatisfaction. I posted the letter by recorded delivery, asking for a response within 7 days. By the beginning of October I had heard nothing. Going through exhausting phone calls with a selection of automated choices I finally got to speak to a real person who gave me the number of the High Wycombe office. I finally got to speak to a real person straight away. There was no record of a letter from me and the person I needed to speak to was not available. I was promised that my call would be returned Friday. I emailed a copy of my letter to them just in case it had gone astray. Surprise surprise no phone call.... Being a patient person I waited until today to phone again. Oh deep joy. No reply..back to automated answer machines. FINALLY GOT TO SPEAK TO A REAL PERSON!!!!!! They couldn't get any answer so gave me the direct line. I finally got to speak to a person again. There was no record of either my letter, my last phone call or my email...They are going to look into it and phone me tomorrow...... I await with bated breath...Come back for the next installment
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Advantages: good price, salesman not pushy, installation very good, after sales service good Disadvantages: a little pushy when trying to 'close the deal'
Advantages: Knowledgable sales staff, good back up service, reliable, hard working installers, Professional, long guarantees Disadvantages: None I can think of.
Advantages: Good heating system, Good salesman, Mixer shower now power shower Disadvantages: Lack of communication and also very poor communication, installers didn't care, without heating and hot water and damage to property
Advantages: Knowledgable sales staff, good back up service, reliable, hard working installers, Professional, long guarantees Disadvantages: None I can think of.
Aug 29th, 2007
(Oct 9th, 2007)
exceptional by (2%):
very helpful by (98%):
