You featured the case of the British Gas customer who was asked to pay £629 to renew their HomeCare Four cover. I have HomeCare Two at £390 a year, and while I have had good service over the years, I am increasingly concerned about the time between annual services.
My last few have been 14-15 months apart and I have the strong feeling services are being manipulated so customers end up with fewer visits. I would expect the company to require me to adhere to the terms of the agreement, so I feel they should do the same with me.
TB, Wargrave, Berks
Guardian Money had a spate of similar complaints several years ago, and it is a clear breach of contract. You should demand a refund, particularly as your figures show this has happened every year.
British Gas says it “occasionally” has to cancel if there are a large number of emergency jobs. “This winter has seen the coldest average temperatures since 2012/13 – so we have been prioritising breakdowns and, in particular, vulnerable customers, which has resulted in us having to move some appointments,” it says.
The company recently announced it was shedding 4,000 jobs by 2020, which does not bode well for customers such as you.
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