“I have received extremely poor service from Domestic and General. I started boiler cover for 7 boilers yet as soon as I’ve needed service they couldn’t find any details therefore couldn’t help. I gave my direct debit details yet it made no difference. I was told that it was an internal issue yet I couldn’t log a callout until that was sorted. This was over 2 weeks ago and I’m still no further forward. Customer service is abysmal.”
“Appalling service booked my washer in for repair waited in all day as of usual didn't turn up.contacted them again and could only get booked in 2 weeks later as we were on holiday repair man said that they were going to contact me to see if we can arrange someone to come before we went on holiday. But again let down by this company this company is a joke you don't get what you pay for keep your money in the bank.i could have paid for a new washer the price I have paid monthly.Disgusting service.”
“You really are the pits you were meant to be coming to me today , DG said the company would phone to say AM or PM , no call ! Rang DG 5 mins ago and the appointment hadn’t been arranged your end
I’ve had lots of things go wrong with your company over the years , hope you’ve got it all listed . Maybe it’s time to move .”
“Having read other reviews I can agree Kent Appliances are appalling, I also had repair booked, numerous failed calls over months, flooded my floor, failed to re attend, told Domestic and General, although they were sympathetic they told me they were their agent for Ashford area, I live in village just outside yet they said they could not get to me for a week took day off and they did not turn up, again no answer on phone, if you have a Domestic and General policy and they appoint Kent appliances from Medway I strongly advise to insist on another repair agent or get your own.”
“Sent out company Kent Appliances, appalling service, failed to turn up on Four occasion's, when did turn up engineer said I don't fix these will send out another engineer, three more failed calls, rang domestic and general, they agreed they were aware of the appliance repair agent giving poor service but said that's who they were instructed to use, when they did finally arrive they told me my cooker could not be repaired, have had cover with domestic and general for years No Longer, called another REPUTABLE appliance repairer in Kent, cooker fixed first visit, no problem with parts and working as good as new, Kent Appliances just did not want to repair inferring they get paid regardless, appalling service.”
“They came to fix an appliance, made it unusable and then cancelled the policy and didn't inform us. We rang to see where the engineer was and was rudely told to read the small print !!!”
“This is the worst company I have ever dealt with. They lied to me about the type of service I was going to receive and they kept me going in circles for days. The staff is truly incompetent and don't trust them when they say that they are putting you through Beko or they are giving you Beko's number. It's still them!!!! Do not pay them a penny.”
“If you happen to have sky protect issued with this company make sure you notify them that you have sky q boxes, because you yourself do not own the q boxes they are covered with sky for breakdowns and wear and tear. We notified domestic and general that we had up graded to sky q boxes in November 2017, so that means because they did not notify us that the boxes are owned by sky and we do not need the insurance for the boxes, means they owe us from November 2017 to today at £11.99 a month, but surprise they do not have any phone calls from us then notifying them that we have up graded to sky q ( or they would have to pay it all back ) why I would not tell them we have up graded because if anything would have gone wrong they would not be covered. I have just been told no phone call nothing they can do. SO PLEASE CHECK YOU HAVE LET THEM KNOW KEEP A RECORDE TIME AND DATE, but they can still dispute this look at us”
“The Hoover/Candy Engineer (Gary) has now finished my repair. He arrived within the approximate time frame. He asked pertinent questions. He did some electronic tests. He took the top off the machine and ran it for a period of time. The machine was making an unusual clicking sound. He then did further assessment and identified that it was the motor. He then replaced the motor and put the machine back in its space. Appreciated. He also cleared up and explained what he had done.
Again, responsive, prompt, professional, efficient 5 Star Service. Thanks to Hoover Candy and Domestic and General Care and Repair for excellent service.”
“If you want some feedback about the incompetence of Domestic & General, get yourself a cup of tea and have a read of the following catalogue of incompetence.
On 11/10/18 I emailed Domestic & General, after spending several hours on the phone to their Customer Service Department:-
“…it was due to the situation becoming so frustrating that I needed to escalate it the relevant department to try to, once & for, resolve this situation that has been going on for over 3 years!
Please refer to the attached spreadsheet which details the numerous issues I have been trying to resolve with a number of policies over the last 3 years, but I'm now more or less back where I started (as of this year’s renewal dates) and I'm very frustrated with the entire process.
What makes it even more difficult to track is the fact that the plan numbers are not shown on the Direct Debit statements.
The attached spreadsheet highlights the following issue:-
• Incorrect appliances allocated to correct / incorrect addresses
• Incorrect addresses allocated to correct / incorrect appliances (not necessarily the same issue).
• Multiple charges for the same appliance(s), some allocated to incorrect addresses.
• Description of appliances that aren't even manufactured by certain manufacturers.
• Certain appliances covered under Mutiplan policies, then invoiced again as separate plan numbers
• Direct debit payments made by ……….that do not include the plan reference number so unable to trace which plan & property relates to which payment.
• Payments made by Direct Debit from our ……….account that makes reference to plan numbers that we do not recognise, nor do we know which property they relate to..
• Substantial increase in a number of items under cover - up to 300% increase without any claims being made or notification given.
• Certain plans were rectified after much time spent with Customer Services, but these have now reverted back to the issues listed above as of this years renewal dates.
• No policy documents received for any renewals made this year.
All in all a complete catalogue of inefficiency by Domestic & General, whether it be systems issues or the way the complaints have been handled (or more accurately not handled by customer support staff - I have names & dates, if required, as I'm not sure you'll be able to pick this information up from your system).
You are no doubt more than well aware of the substantial amount of website / blog complaints that D&G consistently receive. I makes me wonder if we're doing the right thing in investing heavily in D&G warranties.
So, not a happy situation and I request that you do everything possible to rectify the current situation, together with backdating all over payments / dramatic premium increases & needless to say I will also be seeking relevant compensation for the inordinate time spent trying to rectify these issues.
On the 17/10/18 I received the following email response from Domestic & General.
“…. A colleague and I spent a total of 3 hours yesterday, 16 October 2018, putting all the plans to one address, reallocating them to the correct sites and attaching the correspondence address. I had thought that we had rectified the issue as we went in and out of plans and addresses with nothing changing. However, today the plans have not only merged back to your home address but have also merged names. I have raised this with the IT and Data teams who have advised what we had done should have worked, but it hasn't. I am sorry but I do not think that we can in all honesty amend the plans and keep them at their own locations on a permanent basis. Please advise me on what course of action you would like to me to now follow in light of this.
Also there had only been one duplicated plan. The Neff dishwasher had been re-branded incorrectly on the bundle plan, however the washing machine had been duplicated. I have cancelled the second plan and a refund of £109.35 will go back to your bank account in the next 3 - 5 working days.
If you wish to discuss your complaint further please call us on our free phone number 0800 561 4476 where one of our trained complaint handlers will be happy to help. Alternatively, please respond directly to this email where it will be forwarded to me. When emailing, please include your complaint reference or plan number to ensure your email is allocated as efficiently as possible”.
I responded:-
“…….I'm not satisfied with the fact that D&G are unable to resolve the issues & the fact that you state only one item is duplicated - this is simply not the case - as shown in the spreadsheet breakdown that I previously supplied.
I must ask that Domestic & General revists this issue, not simply ask that I terminate the policies, or advising what you should do! After all I've spent several thousands of pounds on insurance cover with D&G over the recent years and have only had one small minor claim. To highlight this, over the last month, for example, we've paid £155.28 in premiums, with no claims outstanding.
Could you please provide me a breakdown of the total cumulative amount of premiums paid by me to Domestic & General over the recent years, since taking out the numerous policies.
Your response does not cover my query regarding the substantial increase in premiums on a number of the appliances on cover, nor does it explain why these would not be covered under an inclusive 'bundle' per household, rather than individual units.
You also mention in your email of the 17th October that you will arrange a credit £109.35 to my account. How was this amount arrived at and why has it yet to be credited over a month after it was promised?
One further query - given the inability of Domestic & General to unravel which appliances are located in which properties, what would happen if there had been a breakdown with one of the appliances that has been incorrectly described and/or designated to an incorrect property?
If you still wish me to cancel the policies I must request a full refund of all the premiums paid to date (details as per requested above) as I do not believe you would have covered the losses, so therefore, the policies would have been invalid…...”
No response received for over 3 months despite sending 7 emails requesting a response to my issues & queries. The last email sent on 04/01/19
“….Could someone at Domestic & General, please do me the courtesy of responding to my previous emails, in response to ………..'s email to me on the 17th October
To date none of the actions suggested have been actioned & I'm still being monthly debited for policies that appear are non valid.
Could someone at your incompetent organisation please respond & action this long on-going issue”.
Response from Domestic & General on 19/01/19
“ …Thank you for your most recent communication and please accept our apologies for the delay in a response. (somewhat of an understatement!!!!).
After finding your email chain, I checked with management as to why ………. has not yet responded, it was confirmed she has been out of the office due to illness, however, should be returning to us on 21 January 2019.
I have asked this be sent to her as a matter of urgency in order for your issues to be resolved.
Email from Domestic & General on 25/01/19
“…….I had sent the list of plans with the correct addresses to the relevant teams to have them relocated accordingly.
Had you needed a repair on any of the items whilst this was being rectified we would have changed that one plan and provided the repairer details. I had indeed advised you at that point that I could not guarantee that the plans would not merge together again. I would not have liked to have given you a guarantee that I cannot uphold as we are still working on this issue…..”
My response on 07/02/19
“…..Good to know that your IT team are still working on a resolution to the issues of my case, while I still continue to pay £150+ a month premiums on policies that I'm sure will not be honoured if any failures were to occur - my attitude to this is not surprising given D&G's track record responding to the issues to date.
Despite the efforts made by you and the IT team you have yet to address the following issues detailed in my emails to you of the 11th October & 22nd November 2018.
The attached spreadsheet, once again, highlights the ongoing issues.
I'm still awaiting for you to provide the requested breakdown of the total cumulative amount of premiums paid by me to Domestic & General over the recent years, since taking out the numerous policies - which will run to several thousand pounds, to highlight this, over the last month, for example, we've paid £155.28 in premiums, with no claims outstanding.
I formally request that Domestic & General revisit this issue, not simply ask that I terminate the policies, or asking what you should do! After all I've spent several thousands of pounds on insurance cover with D&G over the recent years and have only had one small minor claim.
If you still wish me to cancel the policies I must request a full refund of all the premiums paid to date (details as per requested above) as I do not believe you would have covered the losses, so therefore, the policies would have been invalid.
I must ask that this is escalated to a senior management level & that this case is dealt with to my entire satisfaction. I would also like your proposal as to suitable compensation...."
I must ask that this is escalated to a senior management level & that this case is dealt with to my entire satisfaction. I would also like your proposal as to suitable compensation for the inordinate amount of time I have spent trying to resolve the multitude of issues with the various Domestic & General policies.”
No response received to date – WHY AM I NOT SURPRISED?
Domestic & General are incompetent and I wonder if they are going bust.”
“Firstly I want to say that I rarely if ever review a product or service but the level of service provided by Domestic and General was so bad that I felt it necessary to do so in the hope that I will save current and future customers not only there hard earnt money but also the sheer inconvenience of having to deal with this company. I have also written this review having exhausted all Customer Complaints procedures so am not writing this in haste or in the moment of frustration.
We have had five appliances covered with Domestic and General for approximately 5 years now, probably longer paying approx £600 pa for the privilege. On 31st December 2018 our washing machine packed in. After calling D&G we were told the earliest anyone could come out was 9th January. Just to be clear D&G expect customers who pay alot of money in annual insurance to wait 9 days just for a diagnosis. I suspect it is actually a policy to make customers wait this long in the hope that they will just go and buy a new one thereby allowing D&G to collect vast amounts of premium for no pay out. Anyway because we had had the policy for so long we decided to wait it out despite the inconvenience especially given we have four children and were in the middle of school holidays. We were also specifically told by the person at the end of the telephone to keep any laundry receipts and we would be reimbursed.Fair enough I thought........but more on this later. On the 9th January a friendly appliance repair man arrived and told us the machine needed new parts. No surprise there. The visit was followed up with a phone call to say they could return to fit the parts on 17th January. We had come this far and so despite the increasing inconvenience we decided to wait it out. Finally, 17 days later we had a working washing.
And so on to there Complaints Procedure which I had started on day 1 because I did not think it was acceptable to wait 9 days just for a diagnosis visit. After this sorry saga was finished we received a letter not long after awarding us £55 compensation and this only because I had raised the complaint in the first place. £20 for loss of use of machine and £35 for cost of and laundry. Despite being told I would be reimbursed for any laundry receipts of which I had one for £100 (6 people/17 days) and a pile of washing still to be done.
My advice to anyone with one of these policies is to cancel it as soon as possible. Keep your own hard earnt money and put whatever you are paying into a house account so when the day arrives when your appliance fails (which it will do!) you can choose to get a repair man out or go and purchase a new one with the money you have saved in your house account.”
“So....have Domestic and General Care and Repair Plan. Monthly cost but allows you to call out an engineer when your appliance eg washing machine or dishwasher breaks down. No call out fee. No parts or labour fee and if they can't fix it the plan replaces like with like at no additional cost. It's a no brainer! So had cause to call them out. Smooth, professional process. Slot booked, out within a couple of days. Email to let you know when. Text giving the time. Hoover/Candy Engineer arrived very promptly. Had the place ready for him to work. Worked very quickly and efficiently and had it repaired within a few minutes. Put the machine back, explained what was wrong. Told me about cleaning products but no hard sell. Appreciated. Very professional/aware of being clean and tidy too.....Hoover/Candy....thanks for a pleasant start to a Saturday morning. Washing machine up and running again! Oh and a great washing machine btw Hoover Optima Wash System, very large drum so takes lots of washing ...saves energy; fast spin and eco friendly. Very happy customer this morning. Thanks Domestic and General and Hoover Candy. Highly recommend.”
“Had insurance for seveeàl products and when a appliance has to be fixed I receive rewards for the inconvenience, recently brought two brand new appliances using there smart care rewards scheme. Love my new hob and double oven”
“I've been paying Domestic & General Insurance for at least 5 years to cover my oven in case of a break down. The bulb recently failed in the oven so I called them to arrange a repair. It took some time to book the repair as they needed more details about the oven, even though they knew what oven they were covering. I gave all the info they requested but when the engineer arrived he had the incorrect part. No problem as these things happen but they didn't call back so I called again to ask when an engineer would visit. They explain I would receive a call back but that never happened so I called again and again and again but was always told that somebody would call back which they never did. I even spoke to their complaints department but they could never resolve the issue either. On the last call I immediately cancelled my the "insurance" as they are clearly incapable of fixing anything. I will never take out any D&G cover again.”
“🚨BE WARNED 🚨
🚨🚨Renewed a Boiler plan insurance on the 15th February 2018 for £18.90 per month with Scottish power, this was then taken over by Domestic and General in March 2018, I was NOT informed of the changes!
They continued to take the same payments from me right up to now when they turned up last Saturday and condemned and turned off my combi boiler leaving us with no heating or Domestic hot water.
That’s all we can do for you sorry.
You’re plan will be terminated in 48 hours or so. No offer to replace parts, no offer to help with replacement boiler etc.
Me and my Disabled wife are sat here in the Cold with no hot water and no offers of help.
IF YOU HAVE ANY SENSE DO NOT TOUCH THIS COMPANY EVER STAY WELL CLEAR COMPLETE RIP OFF 🚨🚨SHOULD BE ON WATCHDOG 🚨🚨”
“I don't normally write reviews, but felt compelled to do so following the appalling Customer Service from D & G. I have been paying £24.24 every month,for nearly 2.5 years,for a protection plan that covers my Vaillant Boiler, for any repairs etc. Initially Vaillant sent out an engineer, to evaluate the Boiler and ensure it was in good working order - it was and I duly paid £24.24 per month. I had the boiler serviced twice during that time - no issues! In July of this year I was told that there was a crack on the outside of the flue (It had always been there but was not an issue before!) and that I either needed a new flue OR a guard to cover the flue (This was also put in writing). The engineer was very helpful, and even told me that it was cheaper to buy a guard and fit it myself. He even told me where I could buy it from - problem solved! Imagine my surprise when I called out an engineer today to fix my boiler, only to be told that he wouldn't fix the Boiler until the flue was replaced!
I had followed the instructions of the last engineer to the letter, and at no point was I told that my Boiler was not covered unless I replaced the flue.
I spoke to D & G complaints department, who informed me that the Boiler WAS covered, BUT they would not do any work on it until the Flue was replaced. So whats the point of me paying for a protection plan? The Boilers covered but they refuse to fix it !
I asked to be paid back my installments from July as I have clearly been mislead, but was told no! So I have cancelled my plan immediately and will certainly not trust or take out a D & G policy again. I have now escalated the complaint and will be looking for compensation. I will update this review with the outcome.”
“I don't normally write reviews, but felt compelled to do so following the appalling Customer Service from D & G. I have been paying £24.24 every month,for nearly 2.5 years,for a protection plan that covers my Vaillant Boiler, for any repairs etc. Initially Vaillant sent out an engineer, to evaluate the Boiler and ensure it was in good working order - it was and I duly paid £24.24 per month. I had the boiler serviced twice during that time - no issues! In July of this year I was told that there was a crack on the outside of the flue (It had always been there but was not an issue before!) and that I either needed a new flue OR a guard to cover the flue (This was also put in writing). The engineer was very helpful, and even told me that it was cheaper to buy a guard and fit it myself. He even told me where I could buy it from - problem solved! Imagine my surprise when I called out an engineer today to fix my boiler, only to be told that he wouldn't fix the Boiler until the flue was replaced!
I had followed the instructions of the last engineer to the letter, and at no point was I told that my Boiler was not covered unless I replaced the flue.
I spoke to D & G complaints department, who informed me that the Boiler WAS covered, BUT they would not do any work on it until the Flue was replaced. So whats the point of me paying for a protection plan? The Boilers covered but they refuse to fix it !
I asked to be paid back my installments from July as I have clearly been mislead, but was told no! So I have cancelled my plan immediately and will certainly not trust or take out a D & G policy again. I have now escalated the complaint and will be looking for compensation. I will update this review with the outcome.”
“I have been with domestic & general for quite a number of year and found that they had taken a payment out of my account to early. When I originally rang them about this they told me that this would not happen. And the new payment plan won't be taken out until the beginning of December. Guess what they took the payment out too early and when I rang them he told me that the payment has been set up to be taken out of my account in December and then the end of December. This is under the new payment care plan - so much for that. So I have cancelled all my policies as I am not satisfied with the service that I have received. Please stop sending me emails, as I do not want to receive anything from you from now on...”
