Raw Deal: Want a bath? You could take the kettle upstairs!

FOUR weeks without hot water is four weeks too long – especially when you have taken steps to prevent such a thing happening.

Graham Mackie, of Elgin, has a house insurance policy with Aviva which includes emergency cover if his boiler breaks down.

So when it stopped working he phoned and a HomeServe engineer was sent that day.

But he couldn’t fix Graham’s boiler, he needed to order parts. This was the Monday. On the Friday, the parts were fitted.

But the boiler broke down again the next day.

Graham had no hot water over the weekend. For baths, he and wife Barbara had to make trips up and down stairs with pots and pans full of water heated on the cooker.

The next engineer to come around wanted to cut out bits of the walls to look for leaks in radiator pipes.

Graham categorically said no to this idea. The boiler and house are less than six years old. It was the boiler that was the problem.

The engineer had another look and decided that it was, indeed, the boiler that was faulty – but yet more new parts were needed.

There then followed a succession of promises, broken appointments and many, many phone calls.

At one point, Graham, who is 66, was told that to save running up and down stairs with kettles of hot water, couldn’t he plug the kettle into a socket on the upstairs landing?

Then HomeServe declared the boiler was unrepairable.

Graham phoned his local plumber, who came out, fitted a new boiler and had hot water running through the taps again – all inside two hours.

It was a lot of hassle and expense, especially when Graham had been paying an extra £72 per year on his insurance policy to cover emergency breakdowns. He got in touch with Raw Deal.

We had a word with Aviva.

Their spokesperson told us: “We are very sorry that Mr Mackie was without heating and hot water for so long. This is unacceptable, and we are reviewing this case with our partner, HomeServe, to understand what went wrong.

“We aim to get things right first time for our customers. However, when we don’t, we try to put it right as best we can. HomeServe had already paid £500 towards a replacement boiler (as per the terms and conditions of the policy) and was making arrangements with Mr Mackie to install a new boiler.

“HomeServe will pay for the installation of the new boiler for Mr Mackie and, in recognition of the inconvenience, HomeServe will also pay Mr Mackie £600 compensation.”

WE have moved on from the times, 70 years ago, when people didn’t have hot and cold running water in their house.

But this is now an integral part of life.

So if something goes wrong with your heating or your boiler, then you need something done about it – and fast.

The importance of this is recognised by firms who provide servicing and maintenance policies for our boilers and heating systems.

We pay handsomely for this peace of mind, so when our hot water fails we should be able to expect swift action. But, sometimes, that doesn’t happen.

Here Raw Deal examines two cases.

IF you had to replace your boiler it could be a very expensive bill. Make sure you have the right type of cover.

Read the small print. Some policies don’t cover limescale damage, some don’t cover safety inspections. Most will have a limit on the amount you can claim for – a limit of £1000, for instance, won’t come close to buying a new boiler.

Have a very close look at the emergency cover clauses, and talk all this through carefully with your insurer so you are clear on exactly what is in the policy you have purchased – and what you are not covered for.

Keep an eye on your heating. Look out for worrying signs like the flame colour not being a clear blue. Or strange noises coming from the system. Or sudden rises or falls in pressure.

Act quickly if you think something is wrong.

Do you have a problem?

To get in touch with Raw Deal please email your address and daytime/mobile number to rawdeal@sundaypost.com or write to Raw Deal, 80 Kingsway East, Dundee, DD4 8SL (please include SAE).

Briefly outline the problem and how you would like it resolved. Include contact details of the other party and any customer ref/order numbers.

By requesting Raw Deal’s assistance you agree for your name, location and a photo to be published.