Drippy home insurer billed me twice to fix the same leaking pipe

ON DECEMBER 27 last year, we noticed water marks on the ceilings of our living room and ground-floor study.

A plumber traced the leak, which had been caused by mice gnawing through a plastic coupling on a water pipe. I reported the incident to Tesco Bank Home Insurance the same day.

On January 2, we had a visit from pest control (and have since had two further visits). But, the following day, water was again dripping from the same site.

The plumber came back, and another coupling on the same water pipe was repaired.

I reported this immediately to Tesco, but was told two leaks affecting the same area would be treated as two separate incidents.

Consequently, the insurer has deducted two payments of £250 each for a voluntary excess and a compulsory excess for both incidents — so a total of £1,000 has been taken. This is the first claim we have made in 53 years. E. W., Surrey.

You wait 50-plus years and then two insurance incidents come along at once. At least, that’s the way Tesco chose to interpret your water leaks. of course, to claim these are separate incidents is utterly daft, as everyone outside of the world of insurance would agree.

Who knows whether it was the same mouse that got a taste for your water pipes or several having a nibble now and again?

Partly as a result of your claim of just under £2,200 for water damage, your insurance quote also rose from £111.41 to £231.61. however, your claim for water damage to the two ceilings, including having part of one removed and redecorating, was hardly excessive.

Tesco paid out just £1,185, once it had deducted its excessive excesses. As a result, you cancelled your policy — and were charged an administration fee of £35.

Well, Tesco has now relented. it has logged everything as one claim, which means it will return to you £500 in excess payments. it has also refunded the £35 admin fee as a gesture of goodwill.

A Tesco Bank spokesman says: ‘We understand damage to a home is a stressful situation and work hard to ensure that, when something goes wrong, we help our customers repair their home as quickly as possible.

‘ This customer incurred damage to their house on two separate occasions, caused by a pipe leak that was initially recorded as separate claims.

‘As the damage was caused by the same pipe, we have agreed to log this as one claim and have refunded one of the excesses.’

I RECEIVED both my gas and electricity from Spark Energy, which stopped trading last year and is now run by Ovo.

My account was in credit by £223.14 at the end of last year, but this suddenly changed to zero when Ovo took over.

I subsequently found that I could not access the previous month’s figures — and then the account changed to show a

debit of £223.14. I contacted Ovo and was told that, if an account is in credit, the balance has a minus figure in front of it. I feel I am effectively being robbed of £446.28 — the money I am owed and the extra it is charging me. P. B., Wigan, Gtr Manchester.

ovo was appointed as supplier of last resort for spark Energy after it went under. This is something that has happened too often with small energy firms over the past year — regulations need to be tightened up.

The explanation you received from ovo does make sense. Your account was showing a minus figure in front of the amount you owed — which actually meant that ovo owed you money.

i think there are better ways of showing this, though. it’s all very well to use minus figures in internal technical documents. But surely, for consumers, credit and debit amounts should be more clearly highlighted.

You were actually in credit by £244.72 on october 31 last year. By the time you moved to your new account, you had a credit of £188.79. To this amount, ovo is adding a £50 goodwill gesture.

MY AUNT, who is 83, has had no telephone service for 16 days. She has been a TalkTalk customer for many years and pays by direct debit.

I have called the company numerous times, as has her daughter, but we have been told it does not recognise her account number. So I’ve sent TalkTalk a copy of her bill.

Now it says it cannot discuss my aunt’s account with me due to data protection rules.

Staff said she should go online, but I’ve told them she does not have internet access. P. K., via email. You’d think when a firm is told an 83-year-old has no telephone service, it might provoke a more urgent response.

TalkTalk’s Press office was far more helpful and sprung into immediate action. i told it of your complaint on the afternoon you sent it and, by 7am the next morning, your aunt’s phone was working — someone clearly had an urgent word in the right ear.

TalkTalk has refunded your aunt’s £15.40 line rental and paid her £10 for her mobile phone usage, plus £50 compensation.

it has also paid you £12 for your mobile phone usage.