HomeServe

The recent service request I had still was one of the drains. It was the main drain that had backed up and I caught it before it got too bad down the basement. It just had a little pool of water and lots of toilet paper and ick. Over the last six years, they have had to clear the drain many times and they can't ever find anything that will be stopping it. When the drain was cleared the time before, the plumber mentioned that if this would continue, I should probably have someone come in with a scope and check it out and see where exactly the problem was because it kept happening all the time.

Other than having grandkids or family over every once in a while, it's just me here in the house. So the amount of toilet paper or whatever that would stop it up, I don't know how that's happening. We went to Northern. That was what the plumber told me as one of the better toilet paper to use to have something soft. We don't use any tampons and we also don't use any of those wipes that you use for a baby to throw in there.

This is an old home and it has had a lot of renovations over the years. The other problem I've had over the years is that I've sprung leaks on my water lines three times downstairs. The plumbers had to either patch or replace some of the water lines. Luckily, the last one was covered by the policy I have with HomeServe. I got the sewer inside, sewer outside, and the water lines covered. The first two times it happened, I didn't have that and they told me that eventually, because of the age of the home and the condition of the pipes that I would probably have to have all of those replaced at one time. But other than these things that I've encountered, I've been very thrilled with all the service that HomeServe has covered for me.

The guy that came yesterday for the heating thing said that one of the parts that was leaking, even though that it's part of the heating system, because we have the plumbing plan, that I should call back and have a plumber come look at that. Having no heat and then having heat was my first priority. But I just found that a bit strange that he wouldn't communicate that information to HomeServe directly, that the job was more than half done because he restored the heat. However, there is a part that is leaking in the heating system that he said he doesn't readily have parts for, but the plumbing people would. That was a little disconnect. Why would I get that information more so than Homeserve so they could finish the job? Because I don't expect that if something's leaking, that it's gonna not leak at some other time.

He's the technician, he sees that something is leaking, he knows it’s temporarily stopped, but that doesn't mean it's not going to happen again. It has never happened before. So I just thought that was just weird, that I was expected to follow up with that, versus him saying, “All right, I fixed this part. But this part is not something I have in my car, so I'll have the plumbing people come and fix this for you, or schedule an appointment.”

Other than that, he was very professional, nice and thorough, because I had a question for him as well. Also, my heating is working. It's not heating up to what I'm setting the thermostat to, which is a little concerning because I haven't had that happen before. But it's 24 hours post the technician coming to my house, and I had no heat at all Sunday. I'm going to give it another 24 hours and see what happens. I'm happy that the people who recommended HomeServe did recommend them. And so far, so good.

I had a call the very first time early this year on a Saturday night. The answering part is very quick and efficient. You can reach the operator right there and the communication about what would happen and what we would expect has been wonderful. However, I had to call back probably more than six times. It is probably a common practice in the industry that they have a bunch of contractors or third-party vendors they are affiliated with. They send a request to those people according to their preference or priority and it is upon them to call me back to set up the appointment and to confirm it. It was more of a waiting game on my end.

When the first vendor did not call back, I returned a call through HomeServe. I told them I hadn't received any phone call and asked them what was I supposed to do. Some of the representatives were quite honest to say, “Let me try myself and I’ll put you on hold.” It took longer than expected. He said, “I will call you back or give another hour or so.” Then another representative told me, “If they don't call you back, how about Monday or Tuesday?” In the end, Sunday around noontime, they reached out to a different vendor who was willing to come out to service. This was where things became so easy and straightforward. The vendor eventually came out and they did the work. It was a very simple declogging sewer line work. If you have the right tool, it's a piece of cake.

If I'm the one paying the vendor directly, it would be a different story. I have no idea how HomeServe is dealing with more preferred vendors and how the payment is going but I tend to believe they may not have any more interest to satisfy me as a customer due to the arrangement that was made between HomeServe and them directly. But I have no issue whatsoever with the service I'm getting. If the job is satisfactory, that's all that matters. That is what I got on Sunday so I'm happy with it. I will not hesitate to recommend to my friends. Even though they are not directly hired by me, they came out on a Sunday and did a wonderful job at least to complete it.

I had some other guys one time come out, and they had to cut the sewer line. This was in another home, and it was through HomeServe. They had to cut the sewer line, they do what they do. I already know they can't replace the wall and tiles. I’m not concerned about the finishing. I could get that done. I'm concerned about the function.

And now the guy told me he got the contractor to go in and do this stuff, and I have to pay for this. I was gonna call back and see if I could get some help because I’m paying HomeServe all this money. He said there’s a disconnection from my basement bathroom to the sewer line. Also, I have a sump pump, and all the rubbish goes into it and it’s just sitting there because there’s no connection for the sewer to go out. I knew it was something because we had this problem. I called HomeServe twice. The contractor came out, they went outside. They put a snake or whatever down in there, and they said they cleaned it. “Okay, but we still got a problem.”

I had HomeServe for years. Even in my rentals, I got them for the sake of my family just in case the landlord wanna get a ratchet and not do what they’re supposed to do. As long as I had them, I never had any problems until now. They came through. It was just a few problems here and there. And the contractors came, and they service it. Some of them are really knowledgeable. They tell me, “Okay, we’re doing this, but you need to do this. Or we’re doing this and this needs to be done.” When these other guys came out, they tell me nothing. I had to actually get somebody to come in here to tell me what was going on. Other than that, I recommend HomeServe to my friends. HomeServe covers a lot. It’s just now plumbing.

Now with the pandemic, they wear masks to protect me because I'm old lady, and I'm from high risk with diabetes and a heart condition. There's no question about wearing a mask. They come with the mask right on. With HomeServe, I don't have to wait for days for a contractor to come out. Sometimes, if you go through HomeServe, they come right away. The only that disappointed me was that I thought when I got the water in the water lines and drain lines, they would cover if there’s a leak underneath my bathroom sink. If the drain is rusted through and it's leaking, I thought it would cover that but it didn't. I wasn't mad about it. I just misunderstood that it covered the actual sewer lines, not the little drain thing under the bathroom sink.

With the money I paid them for the year, I've already more than got back for my furnace and my air conditioning calls. When an auxiliary heater in my garage broke, I called HomeServe and I found out that the warranty I had didn't cover that little heater in the garage. It had to have its own separate warranty. They did send somebody. He came and he fixed it and I paid for it. Then I called back and I got a warranty on that heating thing in the garage. So if it breaks again, I'll have a warranty on that too. I'm pretty well covered. It's always very good work and good people. If something happens again, they'll send them again. They don’t give me a hard time. So for the peace of mind and that I don't have to write out a check for $1,000, it's worth every penny.