Another disgruntled Homeserve "customer". Three times I've had to deal with Homeserve now and each time they've managed to screw up or take money off me without completing the work. The most recent occasion happened just last week. Our back door wouldn't lock. It was 1am and stupidly we just went direct to Homeserve. They said they'd fix it for a flat fee of £164 and they'd give us one year's free security and lock insurance. Within two hours an emergency locksmith arrived who said that the fix wasn't covered by the £164 and that it was the mechanism in the door and he was just an emergency locksmith, didn't know anything about mechanisms and this wasn't part of his job. He put two sash swipes on the door to secure it at an additional cost of £25 which I had to pay there and then over the phone via debit card. He said we should contact Homeserve about getting a permanent fix. The following morning I phoned Homeserve and explained the situation and told me that "this is a variation" and not covered by the £164 and that they'd arrange for a quote for the permanent fix. I asked "Will the price include the £164 or will it be on top of £164?" and I was informed that the quote would include the previously paid sum. In fact she said "If it costs £200 to fix, you'll only have to pay £36 because you've already paid the first £164". Since the contractors were closed over the weekend, Homeserve contacted us this morning to inform us of the quote. It's £286. I asked them where they got the quote from since the chap who came around didn't know anything about door mechanisms, hadn't taken it apart to look and thus wasn't really in a position to give a quote. I was then informed that "the engineer was fully qualified and they were a regular contracter". I asked again "So, is the £164 flat fee part of the £286?" and I was informed that no, this was in addition to the £164 plus the other £25 I've already paid. I asked what the £164 was actually for and I was told that this covered the call out, the engineer's assessment and the sash swipes. I then asked what the £25 was for and again told it was because it was a variation and not covered by the £164. I then said, not unfairly, "So what was the point of me paying you £164 to complete a job that you're now not going to do? You sold me this on the basis that I would get my door fixed for a flat fee and now you're not doing the job." At this point both I and the Homeserve person were getting exasperated and I told her to cancel the policy - which they claim they have done - and that I shouldn't be charged the £164 (we'll see on the 28th). I get frustrated with Homeserve every time I phone them. The last two times I've had a problem I've phoned them, told them the situation, they've sold me a policy on the understanding that it's a flat fee and they'll send the engineer around and both times they've failed to complete the job whilst seperating me from my money. The only time I ever got a job done (the very first time we dealt with them) they came around to fix our bathroom sink and somehow managed to put DIFFERENT types of tap on the hot and cold water. This, they claimed, was a satisfactory fix. I wouldn't deal with them at all but other people in my household just won't listen to reason.