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February 07, 2006
More flak for British Gas
British Gas continues to take some heavy criticism from Times readers for the activities of its service engineers and sales agents. They complain that the energy giant’s staff are too trigger-happy in condemning their heating systems as dangerous or obsolete when they are perfectly capable of functioning adequately.
To add insult to injury, say readers, the engineers often abruptly shut off the same system they have been happily servicing for many years.
Gerry Tipping, of St Neots, Cambridgeshire, had a bad experience a year ago when a British Gas engineer came to service his warm air central heating unit. Mr Tipping says: “He said a valve had ‘had it’ and slapped a ‘do not use’ tag on my unit, adding that because it was 26 years old the replacement part was unavailable. He said he had shut down two others the week before on the same estate.
“He said he could get a sales representative to give me a quote for a new system and the cost would be about £3,000, but he had a mate who would do it for £2,000. He said he normally worked for four days a week and this gave him long weekends to do private jobs with his mate. I was not impressed.
“Subsequently a local Corgi-registered plumber inspected the unit and said: “I’ve probably got the necessary valve in my tool bag and if not they are easily available.”
Many readers say they suspect that the apparently high-pressure sales tactics are driven by commission. But British Gas says its engineers are only doing their job and never condemn equipment as unfit for any reason other than safety and never because they want to sell a heating system.
Have you had a good or bad experience with British Gas? Post your comments below.
Comments
We have had Homecare 400 since last year.
On 23 January we reported our boiler was intermittently failing. On 25 January an engineer took a look at it and said he could see nothing wrong, left it on test and said he would return a week later. He did not return.
Then, on the evening of Friday 3 Feb the boiler broke down altogether. I rang and reported it and was told an engineer would be around between 8am and 6pm. I duly waited. No engineer arrived. I rang and was told they had meant Sunday not Saturday.
Sunday afternoon he finally arrived, tested the boiler and said it would need a part, booked an appointment for Tuesday and left, leaving us in the meantime with no heating or hot water.
I learned today (Wednesday 8) that his or a colleague’s notes say an engineer does not need the part in order to make the boiler work, suggesting a temporary fix could have been implemented. If this is true why then did he leave us on Sunday after two days without heat or hot water? He could see we have a one year old baby.
My husband took Tuesday (yesterday) off work. No engineer turned up and mid-afternoon we rang to be told the part was not available and they did not know when it would be fixed. Finally we were told it would arrive Friday 10 Jan, but would not be fitted that day. I asked customer service if it could be fixed Saturday or at least Sunday and was told I could have no such guarantee – even though we will have been without hot water or heating for well over a week by then.
The entire customer services people we have spoken to claim to have no idea why any of this has happened nor when the problem will be fixed.
How can British Gas reconcile our ongoing experience with the following statement that persuaded us to buy Homecare 400 in the first place:
Mark Clare, British Gas Managing Director
House and British Gas always aim to offer an exceptional level of customer service, and we would like to know about any instances where our service has not been satisfactory. We are committed to resolving your problem as soon as possible.
This is fiction is it not? British Gas should cease claiming it and reimburse those of us who fell for it in the first place. It is extremely inconvenient for me and my husband to take time off work. In addition to waiting in for two whole days at the weekend for an engineer, in addition to going nearly a week without heating or hot water, in addition to having to buy two electric heaters – one for downstairs, one for the baby’s room – in addition to repeated requests for information as to when a fix can be implemented - we are paying British Gas £24 odd a month for a 24 hour service.
It is going to be minus 2 tonight.
We sent this letter to British Gas in April 2005 and have NEVER had a response - we have given up chasing although the work has now been performed by BG:
-------------------
Dear BG,
We recently applied to sign up to British Gas’s Central Heating Cover and were told that remedial work was required. The boiler was classified as providing a High Risk to our safety. We were advised to turn off the boiler altogether until the work was performed. Since then we have suffered from appalling service and are still classified as ‘At Risk’ by yourselves. Any attempt I make to book an appointment seems to be ignored.
The summary of events is as follows, and I have also included the long-hand version of the sorry tale (at the bottom):
• 21st March – initial safety inspection – flue needs reseating – classified as Severely At Risk (quoted approx £100). Work booked for 24th March.
• 24th March – Took afternoon off work. BG called to cancel ‘quotation’ (we thought he was supposed to be actually performing the work).
• 24th March – Contacted call centre – engineer then attended and provided quote far higher than initial estimate (£165).
• 24th March – Booked remedial work in for 29th March.
• 29th March – Wife’s day off, cancelled her arrangements. BG called to cancel appointment.
• 29th March – Called call centre to complain – promised a call ‘today or tomorrow’. Still not received a call back.
• 4th April – I contacted call centre again and promised a call within 90 minutes. No call received.
• 4th April – Contacted call centre (to complain about all of the above). Operator put phone down on me – (even though I was not abusive).
• 4th April – I called back again, promised that a Manager within the Call Centre would call me straight back on my mobile. Still awaiting this call (6th April).
• 24th March – Took afternoon off work. BG called to cancel ‘quotation’ (we thought he was supposed to be actually performing the work).
• 24th March – Contacted call centre – engineer then attended and provided quote far higher than initial estimate (£165).
• 24th March – Booked remedial work in for 29th March.
• 29th March – Wife’s day off, cancelled her arrangements. BG called to cancel appointment.
• 29th March – Called call centre to complain – promised a call ‘today or tomorrow’. Still not received a call back.
• 4th April – I contacted call centre again and promised a call within 90 minutes. No call received.
• 4th April – Contacted call centre (to complain about all of the above). Operator put phone down on me – (even though I was not abusive).
• 4th April – I called back again, promised that a Manager within the Call Centre would call me straight back on my mobile. Still awaiting this call (6th April).
I require an urgent response as to 1. how you are going to rectify the situation and book the work in (we are still ‘At Risk’ remember) and 2. how you are going to recompense us for the inconvenience of 2 cancelled appointments (a wasted 1.5 days off work) and the hassle that we have had to experience.
Is this how you deal with ‘At Risk’ customers?
--------------------------------------
On the 21st March 2005 your engineer came to perform the safety inspection and he said that before we could be covered the flue needed reseating as it was fitted incorrectly by the builders at we were ‘At a Severe Risk’ of fumes coming back into the house – which was quite alarming. My wife was told that the work would cost approximately £100.
At this point we were quite happy, I contacted the builders and they agreed to pay the bill for £100 and we arranged for BG to carry out the work on 24th March. It is at this point that the appalling service started. I sacrificed an afternoon off work only to be called mid-afternoon by the engineer to say that he could not attend to perform the quote. This in itself was a surprise because I was under the impression we had been given a quote (£100) and that he was supposed to be doing the work. Only because I complained so much to the call centre did he actually come to perform the quote. We were then told that it would cost £165, meaning that I have to go back to the builder and get them to agree to pay this higher amount – a more difficult job than simply asking for £165 in the first place. When the engineer performed the quote he then booked the work in for Tuesday 29th March.
On the 29th my wife was due to go to visit her sister and new baby in Hull on her day off, but stayed home for the engineer. Again we were called in the afternoon to say that they could not visit – she was livid. I contacted your call centre directly and was told that the engineer had no right to cancel the appointment and that the field manager would call me ‘later today or tomorrow’. 6 days later, still waiting for the call (and still being classified as ‘At Risk’) I had to call back myself on the 4th April. I was promised a call back in 90 minutes, again this did not happen and when I called to complain I was cut off! I then called back and spoke to Laura who was very pleasant – and promised that her Manager would call me. It is now the 6th April and I am still waiting. This is without doubt the worst customer service that I have ever experienced.
I signed up for British Gas maintenance on my central heating and had an inspection yesterday. The system was passed but the engineer tried to sell a Co2 detector that he said that he had to offer as they were expected to be salesmen, admin and engineers.
All work from home and contact is via computer. Still I feel reassured he knew what he was doing but he did admit to freelance work at weekends. I can't really blame him as I would do the same if I wasn't blue collar.
I too was offered a CO2 detector by the service engineer. He said he could supply and fit for £35. I said I'd think about it and later looked in a DIY store. CO2 detectors were just £15 - and needed no more than a screw to fix to the wall. What a mark up!
I was also irritated by the way the engineer was clearly trying to scare me by telling me that certain areas of my heating system no longer complied with government guidelines. I asked what became of the people who did not have an annual service, some of their stuff must be well out of date, even dangerous, yet because I was conciencious and had an annual service, I was made to feel that I needed an upgrade (costing more money) to a perfectly good system every time the engineer came out.
When challenged, the engineer agreed that none of it was dangerous, just that if I replaced the system now, certain things would have to be upgraded. I really object to the bully boy tactics employed and have considered cancelling the service contract but then risk putting myself and family in a difficult situation if we do have a problem.
I have heard that there are other companies offering service contracts like British Gas so maybe its time to switch. Take your hard earned money away from them and maybe then they will try to improve their service. BBC's watchdog did an expose on British Gas's poor service a while back as well.
British Gas keep on about safety being the number one priority. They over charge for their services and when possible always sell a new boiler. The comments already posted about their engineers doing private work is frightning. Unless they are CORGI registered in their own name. they are breaking the law.
All new installations must be notified to the local building department of the council. For this to be done the company/person must be deemed competent. A British Gas engineer cannot carry out work in his/her own right using BG's CORGI registration. The public should be aware that a boiler manufacturer will not honour any warranty if the installation has not been carried out by a competent installer with the required qualifications and registration.
Can anyone recommend any nationally available alternatives to the British Gas central heating service scheme?
I have been with British Gas for my servicing for many years and have always received prompt and efficient service.
Times Business appears to be an effective website and I would like to thank them for displaying my wife's letter (above). Just 24 hours after the letter appeared I took a call from the company saying there was indeed a part available and that it'd be installed at our earliest convenience. This contradicted most of their earlier claims.
Lesson: British Gas Homecare agreements are not worth the paper they are printed on, even though they continue to advertise them on various minor satellite channels.
We woke on Christmas Day to a very cold house - the boiler had failed to light. Attempts to relight also failed. We have a BG Service contract and I telephoned, not really expecting anything to be done that day.
However, I was assured that an engineer would arrive between 2pm and 6pm. In fact he arrived soon after 2pm. With a 20-years-old boiler we anticipated that, at best, there would be a long wait for spare parts. He diagnosed a burnt-out thermocouple, produced a replacement from his van, fitted it and checked that all was working properly. He brushed aside our sympathy that he was working on Christmas Day.
Altogether we were impressed-and grateful!
Lucky you
Since we signed up with British Gas in 1974 we have nothing but brilliant service from them.
Regular bills which have been regularly paid and regular servicing of our boiler and inspection of central heating system with our 3 star contract.
Engineers have always turned up on time and any spare parts needed have been delivered and fitted in times mutually agreed.
Engineers have always turned up on time and any spare parts needed have been delivered and fitted in times mutually agreed.
After many years of servicing under a monthly contract involving the outlay of several thousands of pounds, and passing my boiler and flue as fit for use in the whole of this period, in 2005 the engineer condemned the flue arrangements which had not changed in 10 years!
The previous year he had sold me a carbon monoxide detector which was designed to pick up on any malfunction of the flue; it was not showing any signs of malfunctioning when he condemned my boiler, and brushed aside all my references to this fact. He slapped a notice on the boiler, capped the gas supply, and left us without heating. He then gave me the phone number of a local company which, he said, could sort out the flue problem for me.
As we were cold and without hot water I rang up the company who came out very speedily and put a revolving cowl on my existing flue to cure the alleged problem. Time in the house 20 mins, cost of work £180. A hint of an arrangement crossed my mind!
As my boiler is old I asked the flue company whether they would be interersted in quoting for a replacement system; they said they would be. It is now nearly a year and they have not even got back to me, confirming my view that in this locality they are only interested in picking up commissions from people like myself frightened into doing anything to get heat and water back on.
Whatever the failings of British Gas, publishing the views of Mr. Treves on the subject of British Gas shows a remarkable degree of insensitivity to Equitable Life policyholders.
I currently face an old age in relative penury as result of the actions of Equitable Life. I do not want to hear the chairman of Equitable Life complaining about having to sit in the cold for 12 days, and I suspect fellow policy holders do not either.
Show a little sensitivity, and common sense.
Philip A. White
The recurring complaint of British Gas engineers condemning a previously acceptable installation is easily understood in the light of current legislation. Corgi have been busy improving the standard of gas work by imposing strict pre-qualifications for ongoing Corgi registration. Therefore, even if you have been installing/servicing gas appliances for thirty years, you must re-sit examinations every five years. The training for these examinations is given at local technical colleges and it is heavily drummed into installers that, once they have worked on an installation, they then have a personal (not just corporate) legal responsibility to ensure that every appliance in the home is, at least apparently, safe.
Therefore, any minor infraction of the regulations, that might not actually be an immediate danger, must still be picked up on. If the householder is not prepared to have the repair done there and then, the engineer must then issue the relevant safety notice as to whether is is "immediately dangerous", "at risk" or "not to standard".
It is understandable that some householders will be disgruntled that such a warning is given, but the engineer has probably in the past (incorrectly) ignored minor and insignificant faults, because he knows from experience that they pose no significant risk.
So, in actual fact, given the inhererently dangerous nature of gas, it is not the engineers that should be criticised, but rather CORGI that should be applauded for raising standards within the trade
I've had a service contract with British Gas for years with no problem. They do an annual service and the engineer has always turned up on the morning or afternoon appointed, usually ringing about 20 minutes prior to arrival to say he is on his way.
Yesterday (10/02/2006) I rang the service centre to report a fault at 5.30 pm. An appointment was made for an engineer to call on 11/02/2006 between 8am and 12 noon. He rang at 8.10 to say he was on his way and arrived 5 minutes later. He spent 1 hour 30 mins working on the boiler, repaired the fault and did other maintenance besides whilst the boiler was dismantled and it was convenient to do so. He was polite, efficient and made absolutely no mess.
I was interested to read in today's Times (Saturdy Feb 11th) of the trouble Vanni Treves has had with British Gas. Could it be that the British Gas people he dealt with were vengeful Equitable Life policy holders, to whom Mr. Treves and his fellow directors have been doling out deplorable customer service for years whilst pocketing fat salaries themselves? One can only hope so!
Most of the people whinging on about British Gas in the Times appear to be posh southerners like Mr. Treves. They probably treat British Gas employees like dirt and are then surprised to receive similar treatment.
My gas meter was removed, without prior notice, while I was away on holiday. I returned to find no gas, no card in the door, just nothing.
Appointments regarding a defective cooker were not honoured and British Gas never called me to re-book. I was without an oven for six weeks. I sacked them as soon as supplies could be obtained from another source and urge everyone to do the same.
We can add to the list of awful service from British Gas: missed appointments, conflicting advice, nil response to letters of complaint...
I am now concerned about the price rise on our latest annual bill for our HomeCare 300 service. It has gone up by £60. I am currently looking at an alternative provider - Homecall+ [www.homecallplus.co.uk].
Does anyone know anything about them?
I am now concerned about the price rise on our latest annual bill for our HomeCare 300 service. It has gone up by £60. I am currently looking at an alternative provider -
In a strange way, I was heartened to see that others have had awful experiences with British Gas as well. Last week an engineer came out and said he needed to drain my radiator. Fair enough I thought. Strangely after he fiddled with the boiler, the heat started to deteriorate so that by the time he came back this past Monday to drain the radiator, there was little heat. He drained, told me that the boiler might need to be looked at and needed to send another engineer out. Again, fair enough I thought naively.
The engineer came out, NEVER EVEN OPENED THE BOILER and told me all was fine and that the reason I had no heat since the first engineer came out was that the air lock had been turned off. Hmmm, so I am getting suspicious, I call an independent plumber who comes, opens up my boiler to find the entire thing was rotting from the inside!!!! I have now had to pay £1800 for a new boiler...my question is how can the BOILER EXPERT for British Gas not EVEN open up the boiler and declare it okay AFTER his colleague, who had opened it up, mentioned it was in need of servicing??? I cancelled my service from them and am disgusted by their ineffectual and shoddy service.
British Gas then questioned why I had decided to cancel my service after they had already come and out "checked that your boiler and radiator were in working order--our note says the boiler is fine."
One of my colleagues said to me after I told her my tale, "Well everyone knows that British Gas is incompetant." I didn't but I sure do now!!!!
I had no hot water. British Gas came round and said I needed a new boiler. After this was installed, a British Gas workman said all I needed was a new cylinder. Before this, I was told I had to be at home to take delivery of the new boiler. The person who came with this refused to deliver it as he had to walk up some steps with it. I offered help from other workmen on the premises, but this was refused. When I tried to cancel the contract, before installation, with the manager concerned, he said I would have to forfeit my deposit.
I subsequently found this to be incorrect. He then said, quite incorrectly, that I was emotional. The workmen then cut my connection to my computer in the course of their work, installed a boiler which was much smaller than the old one which functioned far more efficiently than their new one, leaving a large gap and ruining my modern Moben kitchen on which I had spent £8000, and also damaging my exterior wall. After complaining, they offered to make good the damage, but not the paintwork, or the gap as regards the boiler. If I had gone out to get the paint, they may have painted.
As I am a 63 year old woman on her own I had not the faintest idea how to do this, match paint etc. They offered me compensation of £100 or a year's service contract, then wrote to tell me I had to accept the year's contract. After a little over a year, the new boiler packed up, something the old boiler of over twelve years would never have done. They said they could not come for over a week to fix it, unless I as vulnerable, which, as it so happens, I am. When they did come, they did not have the necessary spare parts, had to return the following day, when they discovered they had to have yet another spare part, and could not come the day after that because they were on strike.
Definition from Wikipedia - "An engineer is someone who practices the profession of engineering – a person who uses scientific knowledge to solve practical problems using technology. The title "engineer" is normally used only by individuals who have an academic degree (or equivalent work experience) in one of the engineering disciplines".
Obviously this does not apply to British Gas.
Wordnet "Gas Fitter - a workman who installs and repairs gas fixtures and appliances"
I am another happy and well impressed customer. Three years ago at our annual service visit the British Gas engineer said we must have a new boiler as ours was beyond repair if anything were to go wrong. We asked for an appointment for a quote for a new boiler but nobody turned up.
Next year the same story from the next maintenance engineer but in view of the adverse publicity surrounding British Gas we did nothing.
Third year and this engineer seemed to know what he was doing. We got better descriptions of the likely failure area and advising that we should seriously consider a new boiler as ours was now 20 years old and looking corroded inside (he showed us). We asked for a quote. Person came and quoted for a full job, which we accepted.
EVERYTHING went exactly to plan. Parts arrived on the due day, various tradesmen turned up on time and the whole job was done in a day, just as promised. Even the rubbish was removed before we stirred the next morning. But when the engineer dimantled the old boiler it and the flue fell apart - rust was all that held it together, so we were very glad that we had decided to have the job done. We even found a British Gas inspector on site for part of the day ensuring that everything was being done OK.
We have every respect for the British Gas engineer and installation team, so well done, British Gas. We live in West Yorkshire in the outer suburbs of Leeds, if that helps. Incidentally we did contact British Gas after the job was complete to thank them and they were very pleased to have a "good job done" report on their files.
I have sent British Gas customer service dept and the MD (Mark Clare) many letters and the only response I have had from them is a letter stating that they would contact me in the "near future" and that was 5th Jan! I have also contacted the person who is suposed to be dealing with my problem and I have left two telephone messages for her on seperate days and she has as yet to call me back!
My experiences with British Gas are also worth recording. My boiler, which was 19 years old and was working OK, was serviced by British Gas during this period. Although it was not condemned I decided to have it replaced last November, in the interest of greater efficiency.
British Gas quoted for the job and, after I agreed the price and signed on the dotted line, I was told that the work was going to cost some £400 more. I was asked to pay £150 extra and British Gas would absorb the balance. Although I never agreed to the higher cost, the work was completed and I was invoiced for the full amount. I paid the bill less £150 and ended up being the recipient of letters threatening legal action which, I was told would affect my credit rating adversely.
In fear I paid the £150 but appealed to their section at Basingstoke and managed to get this amount refunded.
My new boiler broke down last week and the engineer who came to repair it asked me for the instructions to the boiler. I had of course not been given any technical or operating instructions. When I telephoned the Customer Helpline I was told to leave a message on the mobile phone of the Installation Technical Surveyor, which I did. Although I requested that he phones me to say that he got the message, he never did and neither have I received any instructions for the boiler.
I wish that British gas would be stopped from making the claim that "every 60 seconds someone is switching back to British Gas" unless they also add that "every 40 seconds someone is switching off from British Gas".
Last year my boiler broke down and as I did not have cover with British Gas, I tried without success to get a local engineer to look at the boiler for me.
I tried British Gas and they said it would cost a fixed charge of £130 to call and remedy it regardless of the problem.
The engineer turned up when promised, diagnosed the problem, ordered the part and was knocking on my door at 8 am the following morning. The part was fixed in half an hour (£40 part). Total bill was £79.00.
Absolutely delighted with their 1st Class service
I have had many problems with British Gas. First, after 2 years of frequent phone calls, they still kept putting the wrong name on the bill. Then i decided to move. To make a long story short, someone phoned my new provioder to tell them I had changed my mind - I cannot prove it was British Gas but my gut feeling says it was.
British Gas are overpriced, underserviced and its call centres make you queue for hours and then are worse than useless. Pathetic.
After being with British Gas Three Star Serice for approximately 20 years, we installed our recent (2004) boiler, due to extensions and therfore the need for more capacity.
The new boiler was duly installed by a competent, Corgi Registered heating engineer. Before the system was commisioned the whole system was power flushed and then an inhibitor added. I watched ALL stages of this proceedure. I then informed British Gas that the new system had been installed and was ready for inspection, so that the Three Star service could be attributed to the new installation.
A British Gas engineer duly arrived, inspected the system and took water samples, which he said would then be checked!!!.
After approximately 2 weeks I received a report from British Gas stating: "The system is not gassing, the system has not been power flushed, the system has not been chemically cleaned, no salamander inhibitor has been used, no competitors inhibitor used.", and an interpretation of these findings.
British Gas's recommemdations were.... to "power flush 1-10 radiators" ( there are 20 radiators on the new system ), at a cost of £482.00 plus VAT I presume. I spoke to British Gas and told them what I had witnessed whilst the new system was being installed and that I had a signed invoice to that effect.
Their comment was "we can only go by our engieers report". Obviously they were totally oblivious (or didn't want to know), of the prior history of the system services, of which I could have recounted. Needless to say I cancelled the service contact with them immediately and now have the boiler serviced by the boiler manufacture's qualified engineer once per year at approximatley half the cost.
140 Harestone Hill
Caterham Surrey
CR3 6DH
12 February 2006
To British Gas Complaints Department
Caterham Surrey
CR3 6DH
12 February 2006
To British Gas Complaints Department
Complaint against British Gas
140 Harestone Hill, Caterham, Surrey, CR3 6DH
140 Harestone Hill, Caterham, Surrey, CR3 6DH
I write this letter, further to what can only be described as a series of acts of sheer incompetence on the part of British Gas.
The facts are these:
• My wife and I have a 3 star Home care agreement with British Gas which covers the maintenance of the boiler.
• I am a shareholder in Centrica, the Company which owns British Gas
• I am a Solicitor
• Monday 6 February 2006. We were due to have the annual service of our Gas Boiler and Gas Fire carried out on Monday 6 February 2006. My wife stayed at home for the visit. The Engineer asked my wife if she had had any problems with the boiler, and she advised him that the boiler was working perfectly but it was losing a little pressure from time to time. The engineer indicated that in his opinion there was a very slight leak from the rear of the boiler. This had never been a problem previously and in fact we had never noticed it. The Engineer worked on the boiler until 5.20pm having started at 3.10pm. He then advised my wife that he was unable to fix the boiler, but that he had done the best he could do. When he left the house he had made the leak much worse and it was dripping badly. (Subsequent engineers said he had tightened a nut too much and damaged an inlet valve so that the washer could not sit flush thus allowing the leak). We placed buckets in the relevant places, but during the night the leaks got much worse and buckets had to be emptied several times (see attached photo).
• Tuesday 7 February. On Tuesday morning my wife contacted the Service Dept. at 7.40am and they told her that an appointment had made for that morning and that the repair engineer would be with me between 8.00 and 10.00am. So she stayed in again but by 9.20am no one had turned up. She rang the Service Dept. who advised her that the job had been removed from the plan for that day and re booked for Thursday 9 Feb! She managed to contact Customer Relations and eventually an engineer did arrive ( different to the one who came before) and worked on the boiler. He too was unable to stop the leaking and advised my wife that some different parts were needed, but that he would order the parts which would arrive the next day and he would return to fix the problem. He said that he disagreed with the previous engineer’s diagnosis of the problem.
The facts are these:
• My wife and I have a 3 star Home care agreement with British Gas which covers the maintenance of the boiler.
• I am a shareholder in Centrica, the Company which owns British Gas
• I am a Solicitor
• Monday 6 February 2006. We were due to have the annual service of our Gas Boiler and Gas Fire carried out on Monday 6 February 2006. My wife stayed at home for the visit. The Engineer asked my wife if she had had any problems with the boiler, and she advised him that the boiler was working perfectly but it was losing a little pressure from time to time. The engineer indicated that in his opinion there was a very slight leak from the rear of the boiler. This had never been a problem previously and in fact we had never noticed it. The Engineer worked on the boiler until 5.20pm having started at 3.10pm. He then advised my wife that he was unable to fix the boiler, but that he had done the best he could do. When he left the house he had made the leak much worse and it was dripping badly. (Subsequent engineers said he had tightened a nut too much and damaged an inlet valve so that the washer could not sit flush thus allowing the leak). We placed buckets in the relevant places, but during the night the leaks got much worse and buckets had to be emptied several times (see attached photo).
• Tuesday 7 February. On Tuesday morning my wife contacted the Service Dept. at 7.40am and they told her that an appointment had made for that morning and that the repair engineer would be with me between 8.00 and 10.00am. So she stayed in again but by 9.20am no one had turned up. She rang the Service Dept. who advised her that the job had been removed from the plan for that day and re booked for Thursday 9 Feb! She managed to contact Customer Relations and eventually an engineer did arrive ( different to the one who came before) and worked on the boiler. He too was unable to stop the leaking and advised my wife that some different parts were needed, but that he would order the parts which would arrive the next day and he would return to fix the problem. He said that he disagreed with the previous engineer’s diagnosis of the problem.
• The garage floor was flooded with water from the leaking and we had to use sheets and tarpaulin to try and prevent damage. We are still assessing the extent of the damage to our contents and property which we will require compensation for. The leaking was so bad that the boiler had to be turned off and our water disconnected leaving us entirely without heat or water
• Wednesday 8 February. On Wednesday the engineer returned with some parts. He was however unable to stop the leaking and contacted his supervisor who advised him to order a new tank for the boiler. My wife was also told that this part was extremely expensive and would be delivered to our property.
• Destruction of Garage Door. During the course of 8 Feb. the engineer moved his van and due to the failure of his handbrake, managed to drive into our double garage door, destroying it in the process!
• Thursday 9 February. On Thursday my wife at last managed to get to work in the morning, having arranged with neighbours to take delivery of the tank for the boiler. My wife arrived back from work at 2.15pm but no tank had arrived. She contacted the engineer who had been at the property the day before but he said he was off work ill and could not return to assist us! My wife then once again contacted Customer Services who advised her that the tank had arrived not at our house but that it was at a pick up point and that two engineers would be at the property on the morning of Friday 10 Feb with the tank ready to install it.
• Friday10 February. On Friday 1 engineer arrived (again a different one who had not visited the property before) and said he had been tasked simply to look at the boiler and service the gas fire. He knew nothing about the events of the last few days and had not brought any parts or tanks with him. My wife explained the scenario to him and he then contacted his supervisor who advised him that the tank was at the local sorting office in Caterham. The engineer went to pick it up. He eventually returned without the tank as it had not in fact arrived. It was later established that the order which had been put through by the previous engineer, had been cancelled by the “planning” dept. I arrived back from work about 10.00 to liaise with the builder who had arrived to quote to make the garage safe and weatherproof and garage door salesmen who had come to give quotes for the replacement of the damaged door. The engineer who was now present took a look at the boiler himself and opined that there was nothing wrong with the present tank but that it was the cold water pipe inlet that had required replacement. The engineer went out to make a purchase and returned with a small hack saw and advised us that he had to cut out a part of the base panel of the boiler casing, in order to access the troublesome part! He then sawed a hole in the panel and removed this part and confirmed it to be faulty. He confirmed to me that the damage had been caused by an overzealous British Gas engineer earlier in the week. The engineer asked the central parts service to try and obtain the required part from local sources. 3 hours later we were still waiting for an answer and the engineer had no option but to go to another job. The Operations Support Manager for Bromley region, Junior Malcolm, spoke to me and promised me that the engineer on site would be back the next day and would see the job through. When I came off the phone and advised the engineer of this, he advised me that unfortunately Friday was his last working day as he had booked off two weeks holiday! After more phone calls, too numerous to mention, I was promised that an engineer would return Saturday between 8.00am and 12.00noon with the required part which would have been sent down overnight form the central parts store to enable the boiler to be repaired.
• Saturday 11 February. On Saturday I waited in all day for the promised visit but not only did no one arrive but I received no explanation or communication at all! When I rang the Call centre I was told that the job had been removed from the list without any explanation!
• Sunday 12 February. – Still no working boiler so no heat or hot water. No idea if and when British gas will ever turn up again!
• Saturday 11 February. On Saturday I waited in all day for the promised visit but not only did no one arrive but I received no explanation or communication at all! When I rang the Call centre I was told that the job had been removed from the list without any explanation!
• Sunday 12 February. – Still no working boiler so no heat or hot water. No idea if and when British gas will ever turn up again!
Let me sum this up, we have been without heating and hot water since the evening of Monday 6 Feb. We were without any water at all for several days did have cold water restored to us on Friday 10 Feb. Our garage has been flooded with water. We have been living like refugees since Monday, begging the use of showers etc from friends and neighbours. My wife has lost earnings during this week, not to mention the stress and time spent on telephone calls and electricity from having to use fan heaters. I have had to come back from work and stay in on more than one occasion to await engineers who never turned up. To cap it all my garage door has been destroyed by British Gas!
This has been the most intolerably stressful experience for us and my wifes health has suffered due to the stress and bitter cold. Last week saw several nights with temperatures below zero and my wife and daughter had no option but to spend several nights in other accommodation. I have had no option but to stay at home, as the damaged garage opening is vulnerable to intruders will not be made secure until it can be fixed by the builders.
This has been the most intolerably stressful experience for us and my wifes health has suffered due to the stress and bitter cold. Last week saw several nights with temperatures below zero and my wife and daughter had no option but to spend several nights in other accommodation. I have had no option but to stay at home, as the damaged garage opening is vulnerable to intruders will not be made secure until it can be fixed by the builders.