To whom it may concern,

Thank you for this opportunity to 'air a problem', I hope I don't bore you to tears with it. Perhaps I could start at the beginning. It was in August 2007 that I had a Glow.worm Flexicom 24cx boiler installed. I found that far from it being superior to my previous boiler, it had so many little flaws, that I wondered why I had changed it in the first place. But this isn't what really bugs me. No, my complaint, is the treatment I have received from 'Valiant Group uk' and it has me 'boiling' over.

Following the various problems with the heating, I suddenly noticed that I had sprung a leak (or rather the boiler had). The plumber who installed it had a look and discovered that it was the actual boiler itself which was at fault not one of 'his' pipes. I was instructed to contact the 'Glow worm' engineer if I didn't want my guarantee to be made null and void. My subsequent phone call resulted in a 4 day wait due, I was informed, to their 2 day wait policy!! This was during a particularly cold spell in January, in a particularly cold house, but hey, policy is policy after all.

On the following Monday morning I received a phone call from the engineer to say he would be with me between 2 and 4pm that afternoon. However, 2pm brought not the engineer, but a phone call from a 'young lady' to tell me the engineer has gone home sick, and someone will be out on Thursday, (7 days after my first phone call to Glow worm and 10 days since I lost my heating and hot water). Thursday morning, engineer duly arrives, looks at the boiler and declares it will need a new plate, as it's the worst one (leak) he's ever seen! I insisted that as it was only 5 months old I would prefer another boiler. "That's no problem madam but I won't be able to fit it as we have so many engineers off sick."

I ring the plumber who fitted the original boiler and give the phone to the engineer where arrangements are made between the two of them about costs etc. Fine!

Friday pm new boiler arrives, I phone plumber, he comes to fit it the following Monday. He puts faulty one in the same box replacement came in and instructs me to ring Glow worm to tell them it's ready to pick up. I ask plumber to place it in the garden incase I'm out when the couriers call.

I duly ring Glow.worm and tell them it's waiting to be collected (making every effort to ensure that they know it's in the garden for collection and asking could they come asap due to inevitable rain fall?) Next day I come home from shopping to find (couriers) LYNX has been and gone without the boiler! One phone call to Lynx , one e-mail and two more phone calls to Glow.worm, and today horray Lynx arrived. BUT - they came, they went, and again didn't take the boiler with them. To cut this story short and prevent the possible onset of a tedium induced coma on your part, I will skip the details; but now things are getting 'silly'. - "Can't take it madam, it's not packed up properly" "but it's in the original box", "Nope, it's not sealed, it might leak." I am now on my forth phone call to Glow.worm and ( "how can I help you?) 'Greg'. I explain to 'Greg' the whole saga and he tells me Lynx tried 4 times to collect. I tell him that's absolutely impossible - Greg says, "that's neither here not there and I must pack the boiler," I say it's not up to me it's 'their' responsibility to remove it from my property, their boiler was faulty, they replaced it. Greg says 'it's the plumbers job and I should ring him and get him to pack it up? (I don't think so, it's hard enough to get a plumber to come out and fix a water leak, are they really going to oblige on a packing job)? Greg then said - "Well, it can stay in your garden then can't it!" I reply, "Well I'll get it taken to the dump and send the bill to Glow.worm", to which he retorted, "you can try but you won't get it". "Then I will get legal advice." "You won't win!"

CUSTOMER SERVICE? ? ? I have not been spoken to in this manner since my youngest son was a stroppy teenager, I didn't expect that my walk down memory lane would be instigated by someone who answers the phone with "How can I help you?" Whatever happened to the customer always being right? One lesson I guess I have learned this year, is to always remember the trade name Glow.worm when it comes to boilers, and avoid it at all costs in the future. I hear Baxi do a good line in boilers! By the way my law student daughter - in- law has since told me the plumber should have packed it properly, but a few manners make the difference between a good and bad name. Thank you again, I feel much better now.

Yours,
C Cox