Behaviour worthy of a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman
This replaces the review for Reactive Insurance Solutions I mistakenly submitted - and for which I unreservedly apologise.
When I took out a boiler protection plan with Reactive Warranty on 24 July 2017 I was advised they would make my life easier by recognising the convenience of my ability to contact them 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. They also indicated they were "only a phone call away" and would contact me to ensure I was happy with their service and to help me get the most from my policy.
Unfortunately I have been left totally unimpressed by the lack of service I have received.
On 28th November I contacted them when my central heating system lost all pressure. I was advised someone would phone me back to discuss my claim – but this did not happen. Instead, a plumber arrived on my doorstep the next day, having been sent a text by them. It was not immediately apparent to the plumber why the system should have lost pressure but after checking out the plumbing he believed the problem could be a leak. Since there was no visible evidence of water leakage from the upstairs plumbing it seemed logical to assume the problem was somewhere downstairs – possibly under the floor. When the plumber phoned the company he and I were both advised they would not sanction any claim as it “would cost thousands of pounds” to lift laminate flooring. At that juncture it was also suggested I phone my house insurance company but, as there was no actual damage to my property, I was rightly advised that they couldn’t help me.
As I still believed the leak was beneath the ground floor I took it upon myself to trace it using an endoscopic camera and on Saturday 2nd December I identified an area where water had collected beneath the floor and below a radiator. Having cut a small hatch in the floor above the water collection, I initially failed to identify a leaking pipe – until I re-pressurised the system and observed water tracking down the back of the pipe from the radiator before trickling through the pipe hole in the floor.
I telephoned the company to advise the problem was really of a minor nature now but was told repeatedly and emphatically by a lady that my claim had already been disallowed and that nothing further would be done. Having stated she would get Andy (Andy Hyde, Operation Manager) to phone me on the morning of Monday 4th December to discuss the new circumstances she then left a message on my answering machine shortly afterwards – the gist of which was that Andy would not now be phoning as my initial claim had been disallowed.
On the morning of Monday 4th December I telephoned the company and was told that Andy “was in a meeting” but would phone me back. A couple of hours later, when he had not phoned, I telephoned again to be told Andy was “still in a meeting”. The adviser I spoke to (Derek or Dan?) assured me that I would be contacted by the claims department to discuss my claim. Suffice it to say, neither my plumber nor I were contacted despite fulfilling the criteria outlined in the Boiler Protection Plan Terms and Conditions.
Given the extremely cold weather conditions and the lack of heating I had no option but to advise the plumber to repair the leak and I advised the company of this. In a phone call they confirmed you would recompense him for his labour.
When the central heating again stopped working on 15th December the same engineer was authorised by the company to effect a repair. The cause was traced to a faulty fire valve which was replaced.
On 24 April 2018 the engineer commissioned to repair my central heating problems informed me that his 3 December 2017 invoices had not been settled by Reactive.
At 12 noon on the same day I telephoned Reactive and asked to speak to Andy Hyde and was told “he was on the other line” but would phone me back. At 2.10pm when I had not received the promised return call I phoned again and this time was able to speak to him. After looking at the appropriate file work he conceded that the invoices had not been paid but that he would arrange to have this done within one week. He also said he would telephone the engineer - but didn’t.
On 9th May I was advised by the engineer that he had still not been paid and had received no communication from Reactive. On attempting to phone Andy Hyde at 9.20am I was advised he would not be in the office all day but that Ben would phone me back – which he did at 9.45am. On
explaining my issue he assured me he would resolve it “asap” and would also telephone the engineer before getting back to me.
Which he didn’t.
On 11th May I managed to speak to Any Hyde on his direct line and was assured action would be taken by Monday 14th May. Needless to say, nothing happened. On 16th May the engineer spoke to Derek who advised that Andy would phone him back - which he didn't. The engineer phoned Andy on his direct line at 4pm and was able to confirm that Reactive had received his - still unpaid -invoices in December 2017.
Since then, neither myself nor the engineer have had any communication from Reactive Warranty.
The invoices totalled £467.92 - well within the annual £1500 limit set by the company.
In fairness to the company, I was reimbursed 2 months' direct debits in February as a gesture of good will. I still continue to pay £28.49 by monthly direct debit but, as yet, have received no confirmation of an annual boiler service due this month.
21 May 2018
Unprompted review
