Left cold by Barclays Bank’s boiler cover

Mar 20 2011 Sunday Sun

AN SOS service provided by Barclays Bank left customer Malcolm Spence facing an emergency, instead of solving one.

Malcolm had a deal for boiler repairs under his Barclays Additions account which offers lots of add-ons to standard banking.

So, when his heating system broke down, he called the Home SOS team for help.

And that’s when his problems really started – with 12 days without heating.

It was so cold that Malcolm and his wife stayed two nights in a local hotel to keep warm.

Malcolm, of Newcastle, said: “The boiler stopped working and an engineer came out to assess the job.

“He ordered some parts which arrived a few days later with another engineer, but they were the wrong parts so the engineer went away.

“More engineers came out, replaced a heat exchanger, but the system stopped again that evening.”

That’s when Malcolm, of Newcastle, lost patience with Barclays and their contractors Warmsure.

He said: “I went to British Gas instead, who sent an engineer within an hour.

“He diagnosed the problem as a blocked hole in a diverter valve, easily sorted without the need for new parts, and I have to ask why Warmsure did not identify the cause themselves.

“It would have saved 12 days of extreme stress for my wife and I.”

I asked my troubleshooter at Barclays for her opinion and she admitted Malcolm had been let down.

She said the service provided had fallen well below their usual standards.

I’m in a good mood today, so I will even let her get in a bit of public relations.

She said: “Barclays Additions offer competitive pricing for many benefits such as travel insurance, will writing, extended warranty, roadside assistance and emergency boiler cover.”

OK, plug over, let’s get down to business.

She said: “When Mr Spence called to use the emergency boiler cover provided by Home SOS, it would appear there was some difficulty obtaining parts for the repair and the service Mr Spence received was not up to our usual high standard.

“We apologise for the inconvenience Mr Spence experienced and we can confirm that we will be reviewing this matter internally, and have been in touch with the customer to resolve this case in full.”

In full? Seems so, as Barclays agreed to pay for the two nights in the hotel.

They also agreed to refund the £100 charged by British Gas and pay £40 compensation.

They are also considering paying an estimated £90 for bigger power bills when Malcolm had to use four electric heaters.

A spokesman for Warmsure, part of Eaga, said: “We acknowledge this has been a frustrating experience for Mr Spence.

“Providing the highest level of customer service is our priority and, overwhelmingly, we get this right.

“On this occasion, the supply of a faulty part caused an unacceptable delay in repair and we apologise for the inconvenience caused.”

It is not the first time this year that I have had words with Barclays over their boiler repair service.

I revealed how Natasha Ferry and her disabled mother, of Fishburn, Teesside, were left without heating for several days.

Natasha said: “I spoke to numerous different people and became more and more upset and angry when nothing was done.

A spokeswoman said: “It would appear there was some difficulty obtaining parts for the repair. The emergency cover is designed to restore heat and hot water where possible and it is unfortunate that, despite our best endeavours to obtain these parts, there was a delay in receipt.

“The boiler has since been repaired and we apologise for the delay and the inconvenience Miss Ferry and her mother experienced.”