HomeCare that doesn't care..

An example of truly dismal customer service..

 Chris O’Shea

Group Chief Executive

Centrica plc

Millstream

Maidenhead Road

Windsor

SL4 5GD

 

13^th February 2021

 

 

Dear Mr O’Shea

 

British Gas HomeCare – Agreement No. xxxxxxxxxx-xxxx

 

I am writing to you with regard to the service being provided by your British Gas HomeCare division.

 

We had a new boiler fitted by British Gas in 2001 and have paid for British Gas HomeCare to cover Central Heating, Plumbing and Drains and Home Electrical since then, without a break as far as I can recall. Currently we pay an annual subscription of £290.76 and an excess of £50 per visit for the security of knowing we will have a range of domestic breakdowns attended to promptly.

 

We have used the service a number of times and usually found response times, outcomes and the professionalism of your personnel to be satisfactory or better. We have recommended the service to friends and relatives.

 

On January 3^rd this year we reported to HomeCare - via the website - that one (bedroom) radiator was not working although the rest of the system seemed - and still seems - to be working well. We were, to our considerable surprise, not offered an engineer visit until January 25^th and this appeared to be the same whether or not we claimed that we had no central heating at all!

 

Shortly before the 25^th, our appointment was rescheduled to the 5^th of February. In the early hours of the 5^th, we received an email deferring the visit until the 11^th February.

 

Today we received a phone call from HomeCare – our first conversation with a human being, as it appears nigh on impossible to get through to a person via your advertised telephone numbers - advising us that the appointment was being rescheduled again – to the 9^th April. We are staggered that we are now expected to wait over three months for an engineer visit. We have also had to heat a large bedroom with an electric heater during the cold weather.

 

We are aware that there have been issues recently with industrial action and also that the recent inclement weather - added to the situation with COVID - put substantial pressure on services but to be expected to wait over three months for a central heating engineer to visit is simply not acceptable.

 

To add insult to injury, the HomeCare product is currently being advertised on both television and radio. It is incomprehensible that you are prospecting for new business whilst disregarding the needs of existing customers.

 

We are reluctant to arrange alternative repairs because we are concerned that, should a third party create any further issues, we would find HomeCare unwilling to get involved and thereby risk additional costs and inconvenience.

 

We would like the engineer visit brought forward and feel that, in view of the wait already incurred, the call out/ excess fee of £50 should on this occasion be waived. We would be grateful for an explanation as to why you now feel it is in any way reasonable to expect paying customers to wait over three months for a central heating engineer to call. We look forward to your prompt response.

 

Yours sincerely