We told HomeServe we didn’t want to renew our insurance policy, but it took money from our credit card anyway
My husband and I had an upsetting experience with HomeServe last April when we had a significant water leak on our driveway. As a result, we decided we would not renew our insurance policy with the company.
When the renewal came up in April, my husband wrote to HomeServe cancelling the policy, and instead of sending it freepost as instructed in their renewal letter, he sent it recorded delivery and kept a photocopy.
HomeServe acknowledged receipt of the letter but took the money from his credit card anyway. Although I think this amounts to theft, our daughter, who teaches law at a local college, says it is a civil matter and we will have to reclaim the money through the small claims court.
Surely we can’t be the only ones affected by this policy? RT, Kingswinford, West Midlands
This is turning into something of an annus horribilis for HomeServe. Back in November 2011 the company shocked investors and customers by suspending its entire sales workforce for several weeks amid fears they had been mis-selling its products. Then it emerged that a whistleblower who worked for the West Midlands-based firm had told the Financial Services Authority that the company had been ignoring complaints by customers it had let down during the previous very cold winter.
If that wasn’t enough, a few weeks ago HomeServe was fined £750,000 by the media telecoms regulator Ofgem for making silent (or abandoned) sales calls to customers. You have to wonder what’s going at the firm, which insures over three million people in the UK against burst pipes, broken gas boilers and electrical problems. The fact that it took your money, even though you had told it you were not renewing – and sent it recorded delivery – is hardly surprising given what else has been happening, and it is not a good sign.
Happily, your complaint was easily resolved. HomeServe has thanked us for “bringing this to our attention”. The company says the money has now been refunded to your credit card. It has also sent you a further £150 in relation to the matter that caused you not to renew in the first place – the repair to a main leak on your drive.
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