Scottish Power Home Comfort useless cancelled went to BG

[Quilp]

I was a member of Home Comfort and reported a boiler failure on December 17.

I told them that I was 79 years of age, had no hot water and only a small convector heater for space heating.

I was told that an "engineer" would arrive that day and

 

at around 1600 hrs a guy turned up in a private car,

fiddled with the boiler and advised me that he thought a faulty gas valve pcb was the cause of the problem.

He said that he should be able to obtain one within two days so on December 20,

 

not having heard from Scottish Power,

I phoned and was told that they had the part but could not fit it until December 23

whereupon I told them to cancel the repair and my contract because I could not withstand the cold over the weekend.

 

I then phoned British Gas and they offered me a fixed price repair, including all labour and parts, for £99 which I accepted.

An "engineer" arrived within two hours, immediately diagnosed the problem as no more that a dirty pilot light

and then proceeded to clean it and carry out a full service and check on the boiler and he was all finished in half an hour.

 

I had similar first class service from BG in the past but did not renew my last contract because there charges are so high and I have a limited income.

 

However, I now accept that I will have to stay with them in order to have peace of mind.

They have their own trained staff, equip them with the latest test equipment,

provide them with laptops enabling them to access fault finding guidance for your particular boiler

and also provide them with vans carrying a good stock of spare parts.

 

BG also operate 365 days a year.

 

I have also investigated local heating "engineers" in the past and have found their attitude so offhand and off-putting

that I have not been tempted to risk using them.

 

I am awaiting a response from Scottish Power to my letter,

addressed to their CEO,

asking them to refund the £129 I paid them for their Home Comfort scheme.

 

PS Why have I put the word "engineer" in quotes?

It is because, as a retired engineer who undertook a 5 year apprenticeship,

it infuriates me when companies refer to their staff as "engineers"

after they have received around seven days training showing then how to replace components

in the hope that eventually the fault will be cured

 

- these so called engineers often have no idea how a boiler works and are incapable of diagnosing a fault.