Tweet
We have glazing insurance with British Gas, which we have been paying for several years and now have reason to claim, after a stone flicked up from the lawn mower and shattered the outer pane of one of our patio doors.
Their policy is that they will have the glass repaired and pay up to £500 towards the cost, while we then pay the balance. This all seems straightforward.
I contacted BG last Monday. They said we needed to use a glazers appointed by them and they sent our details to a company called Evander Glazing, who sent someone to do a survey the same day. At this point, all seemed OK and the surveyor seemed happy with what needed to be done
The following day, Evander called and explained that it had been referred to senior management, to decide whether they could do the job, as the patio doors are old and not what they usually deal with, so they were not sure if they would be able to put the doors back together properly
On Friday, Evander called and said they were not prepared to do the job, because they were not confident that they could put the door back together. they said they would inform BG and I would need to call BG for an alternative route
On Monday, I called BG, who said they had not heard back from Evander, so would call them and call me back. I tried to be patient and waited until Wednesday. I called back and they said that they had the survey details from Evander on Tuesday and there was no suggestion that the work would not be done. I told them that Evander told me personally that it would not and they said they would contact them again and call me back
I waited until today (Thursday) and called BG again and they said they had spoken to Evander and confirmed that they would not do the work. BG said that they would not be contacting any other glazers. If we want the window replacing, it was now our responsibility to find a glazer, get a quote, have it authorised by BG and arrange for the work to be done and if done within 28 days of the initial claim being made, they would pay £370 towards it
I pointed out that the policy states they pay £500, but they say they have had to pay £130 to Evander for the survey and that comes off of what they would pay us
My thought is that if they have told us that we must use Evander and Evander decline to do the work, this should not be at our expense and the full £500 should still be paid to us
I am also concerned for my mother, who is vulnerable and cannot use stairs, so sleeps in the room which now has the smashed patio door. I believe there is a security risk and it may even invalidate our home contents insurance, if we were to be burgled
I asked BG for details of their complaints procedure and the girl simply said that it would be logged on their system as a complaint. They do not have somewhere I can contact to escalate the issue
My main question is whether I should be liable for the cost of the survey by their chosen glazer, who will not carry out the work?
Thank you
Their policy is that they will have the glass repaired and pay up to £500 towards the cost, while we then pay the balance. This all seems straightforward.
I contacted BG last Monday. They said we needed to use a glazers appointed by them and they sent our details to a company called Evander Glazing, who sent someone to do a survey the same day. At this point, all seemed OK and the surveyor seemed happy with what needed to be done
The following day, Evander called and explained that it had been referred to senior management, to decide whether they could do the job, as the patio doors are old and not what they usually deal with, so they were not sure if they would be able to put the doors back together properly
On Friday, Evander called and said they were not prepared to do the job, because they were not confident that they could put the door back together. they said they would inform BG and I would need to call BG for an alternative route
On Monday, I called BG, who said they had not heard back from Evander, so would call them and call me back. I tried to be patient and waited until Wednesday. I called back and they said that they had the survey details from Evander on Tuesday and there was no suggestion that the work would not be done. I told them that Evander told me personally that it would not and they said they would contact them again and call me back
I waited until today (Thursday) and called BG again and they said they had spoken to Evander and confirmed that they would not do the work. BG said that they would not be contacting any other glazers. If we want the window replacing, it was now our responsibility to find a glazer, get a quote, have it authorised by BG and arrange for the work to be done and if done within 28 days of the initial claim being made, they would pay £370 towards it
I pointed out that the policy states they pay £500, but they say they have had to pay £130 to Evander for the survey and that comes off of what they would pay us
My thought is that if they have told us that we must use Evander and Evander decline to do the work, this should not be at our expense and the full £500 should still be paid to us
I am also concerned for my mother, who is vulnerable and cannot use stairs, so sleeps in the room which now has the smashed patio door. I believe there is a security risk and it may even invalidate our home contents insurance, if we were to be burgled
I asked BG for details of their complaints procedure and the girl simply said that it would be logged on their system as a complaint. They do not have somewhere I can contact to escalate the issue
My main question is whether I should be liable for the cost of the survey by their chosen glazer, who will not carry out the work?
Thank you
Comment