HOMECARE engineer drills into hot boiler casing (British Gas HomeCare)

Member Name: Plizo

Product:	British Gas HomeCare
Date:	03/02/09 (547 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cant think of one offhand

Disadvantages: May call again if I stay with them

I have had a Homecare Agreement with British Gas for a number of years. The Central Heating Boiler installed since occupation in July 2001 was a Powermax . I will now list a summary of events which occurred from October 2008 to the present time.

ON SATURDAY 4th OCTOBER 2008 BOILER STOPPED WORKING AND LOCKED OUT. ATTEMPTS TO RESTART DID NOT WORK. I PHONED HOMECARE 400 THAT AFTERNOON AND WAS TOLD AN ENGINEER WOULD CALL ANYTIME ON MONDAY 6TH OCTOBER 2008.

ON MONDAY 6TH OCTOBER, ENGINEER MANAGED TO RE-START BOILER AND STATED WE NEEDED A NEW BALL VALVE IN THE HEADER TANK IN LOFT. HIS RETURN DATE WAS GIVEN AS THURSDAY 9TH. HE MANAGED TO RESTART THE BOILER BUT 2 HOURS LATER THE BOILER LOCKED OUT .

I PHONED B/GAS AGAIN AND ARRANGED VISIT FOR 7/10/2008.

ON TUESDAY 7TH OCTOBER 2008 ENGINEER CALLED AND RESTARTED BOILER STATING THAN AN 82 DEGREES THERMOSTAT WOULD SOLVE THE PROBLEM. HE PROMISED HE WOULD CALL BACK EARLY AM ON 8TH AS I EXPLAINED OUR TERMINALLY ILL GRANDSON WAS BEING COLLECTED IN THE AFTERNOON TO VISIT US AND HEATING WAS REQUIRED FOR HIM.
HE RETURNED ON WEDNESDAY 8TH OCTOBER WITH REPLACEMENT THERMOSTAT. UPON ATTEMPTING TO REMOVE THE THERMOSTAT HE SQUIRTED WD40 INTO HOLE AND WIGGLED AND TUGGED AT IT. THE EXISTING PROBE BROKE OFF AND HE BLAMED CORROSION FOR THE CAUSE.
HE THEN DECIDED THAT HE WOULD DRILL INTO THE BOILER TO REMOVE THE PROBE. HE DRILLED INTO THE CASING CONTAINING HOT WATER WHICH THEN STARTED TO LEAK DOWNSTAIRS THROUGH THE CEILING ONTO THE HALL FLOOR.
THE ENGINEER DID NOT ALERT ANYBODY TO THIS FACT AND WHEN CONFRONTED BY MY WIFE WAS MERELY HOLDING HIS FINGER OVER THE HOLE. HE SAID HE WOULD HAVE TO GET THE WATER LEVEL DOWN BELOW THE HOLE HE HAD DRILLED INTO THE CASING AND PLACED A HOSE ON THE DOWNSTAIRS RADIATOR INTO THE STREET. THIS WAS NOT SECURED CORRECTLY AND FURTHER HOT WATER LEAKED ONTO THE HALL FLOOR

WE WERE THEN INFORMED THAT OUR CENTRAL HEATING BOILER WAS DAMAGED BEYOND REPAIR BY YOUR ENGINEER AND A NEW ONE WAS REQUIRED .

HE SPOKE TO HIS OFFICE AND WE WERE TOLD THAT A SALES REP WOULD CALL ON FRIDAY 2 DAYS LATER. HE COMPLETED HIS FINDINGS AND ADVICE FORM AND LEFT US WITH A WATER DAMAGED HALL CEILING AND NO CENTRAL HEATING OR HOT WATER. WE EXPLAINED THAT WE WANTED A REPRESENTATIVE BEFORE THEN.
WE EXPLAINED WHAT HAD HAPPENED, ALL HE WAS INTERESTED IN WAS SECURING A SALE AND WE WERE OBLIGED TO ORDER A NEW BOILER ON FINANCE THROUGH GE MONEY COSTING OVER £3,000.
WE HAD NO OTHER COURSE OF ACTION LEFT TO US AS WE HAD BEEN WITHOUT HEAT AND HOT WATER FOR ALMOST CONTINUALLY FOR 5 DAYS AND HAD A BROKEN BOILER AND WATER DAMAGED CEILING.INSTALLATION WAS ARRANGED FOR MONDAY 13TH

HOWEVER THE NEWLY INSTALLED BOILER WENT WRONG ON 15TH OCTOBER 2008 AND AN ENGINEER HAD TO BE CALLED FOR 16TH OCTOBER 2008.
THIS ENGINEER ALLEGEDLY FIXED THE PROBLEM BUT THE NEW BOILER WENT WRONG LATER THAT DAY AND ANOTHER ENGINEER DULY ARRIVED ON FRIDAY 17TH OCTOBER 2008.

THIS ENGINEER EXPRESSED SURPRISE THAT NO ONE IN A MANAGERIAL POSITION HAD SPOKEN TO US REGARDING THE ABOVE EVENTS AND VERY KINDLY ARRANGED FOR A MANAGER TO CONTACT US ON MONDAY 20TH OCTOBER 2008.
HE ATTENDED UNNANOUNCED LATER THAT AFTERNOON AND I EXPLAINED EVERYTHING TO HIM, I GAVE HIM A TYPED SUMMARY OF EVENTS AND EVEN E-MAILED PHOTOS OF THE BROKEN BOILER AND THE DAMAGE TO MY CEILING. HE STATED HE WOULD SEE WHAT HE COULD DO???

NEEDLESS TO SAY HE DID NOT COME BACK TO ME DESPITE NUMEROUS MESSAGES BEING LEFT FOR HIM ON HIS CONTACT MOBILE PHONE NUMBER WHICH HE NEVER ANSWERS, NOR DID HE REPLY TO MY E-MAILS REQUESTING CONTACT.
I COMPLAINED IN WRITING TO HOMECARE THAT THEY WERE UNDER AN OBLIGATION BY VIRTUE OF MY HOMECARE AGREEMENT TO REPAIR MY BOILER AND THAT YOUR EMPLOYEES WHILST UNDERTAKING SUCH WORK SHOULD CARRY OUT THIS WORK WITH REASONABLE CARE AND SKILL.
THEIR ENGINEER WHILST ATTEMPTING TO REPLACE THE THERMOSTAT, WHICH WAS THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM, DRILLED INTO THE HOT WATER CYLINDER WHICH NOT ONLY CAUSED WATER DAMAGE TO MY PROPERTY BUT EFFECTIVELY DAMAGED MY CENTRAL HEATING BOILER BEYOND REPAIR.
THE COST OF REPLACING THE BOILER UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD BE BORNE BY HOMECARE AND NOT ME AS THE CUSTOMER.
THE ENERY OMBUDSMAN DOES NOT DEAL WITH HOMECARE COMPLAINTS WHICH IS VERY CONVENIENT. THEY WILL NOT ACCEPT LIABILITY AT ALL AND WE ARE LEFT WITH PAYING OVER £50 PER MONTH FOR 120 MONTHS.

Summary: Be afraid, be very afraid