3 month geyser leak and still no response

Item: Standard Bank
Rating: 1
Author: Warren E

Claim in March (Claim no 16/024294) We noticed a leak coming off the roof from the right side of the solar geyser and alerted Standard Bank’s home insurance division. The issue was attended to by Benton Bros who reportedly replaced the thermostat and a safety valve. We noticed that evening or the next morning that it was still leaking but now from the left side. We called Benton Bros direct but when they returned the leak seamed to have stopped. The geyser sits on a part of our roof that we can’t easily see, and we can only see leaks when the days are cold enough that the water is able to make it to the edge of the roof and drip into the gutter, instead of immediately evaporating. New *** April (Claim number 16/035130) We noticed that the leak was back and made another claim (Standard Bank didn’t want to let us reopen the original one from March). Benton Bros came back and informed us that the geyser had burst. They took some pictures and told us they would sort it out. Days went by and we tried to follow up: We had to phone repeatedly to get answers from the claims department. Every time we called we got a different consultant who made us wait while they read our file. Nobody had any first-hand knowledge of any of the issues we had been bringing up. They kept saying that their records showed we would be paid out for the geyser, which we kept querying because it was definitely still within the warranty period, and we honestly thought the manufacturer should bear the cost, not Standard Bank. It didn’t make sense. We thought the manufacturer would supply the new tank and Standard Bank's plumbers would instal it. 9th May 2016: We finally got though to somebody who knew something. They revealed that since the geyser had not been installed with an anti-syphon loop, the warranty had been voided by the manufacturer (reference number jhb2815). They also told us that the limit on a claim for a solar geyser was R5000 less R1000 excess. We were pretty angry about all of this, since none of the other consultants had told us that Standard Bank were not paying for the geyser in full, they were evasive and just trying to get us to accept the payout. This had never been communicated to us, our geysers before had always been covered in full and we have all the correct paperwork from the installers for the solar one. We asked Standard Bank to give us the details of their official supplier to quote us to replace it since we didn’t want to have this kind of issue again. Their only supplier in our area is Domestic industries - who we called to assess the tank and panels and give us a quote. 12th/13th May, 2 plumbers from Standard Bank’s approved installers (Domestic Industries) came to inspect the geyser, and in the morning, their supervisor Armen also came to inspect and quote. Armen told us that he was in geyser manufacturing before moving into the sales and installation side and advised that there is absolutely no reason why the absence of an anti-syphon loop would cause the geyser to burst. Armen advised that this should definitely not be our issue and that it would cost R16 or R17k for them to install a new tank - which was a huge blow - we don’t have that money lying around. He suggested the manufacturer must show why the absence of the anti-syphon loop would cause the geyser to burst, (because it will not), and said the lining had clearly pulled away from the steel cylinder, visible by the rust marks. He gave us the numbers of a few other people who might be able to help us - who directed us to WE Geysers claims department in JHB. We called them and the woman who answered basically told us to go to hell, that because it had no anti-syphon loop they won’t honour the warranty. We have since heard from many sources that this is a manufacturing defect that WE Geysers is trying to weasel their way out of. We called the Standard Bank claims department again and asked them why our solar geyser is not covered for replacement value, why they had tried to get us to accept the tiny payout, why nobody was returning our calls and why Benton Brothers had not advised us of the anti-syphon loop issue as they should know this is a requirement, and could have fixed it as part of the first claim. It is also our understanding of the consumer protection act that a claim can’t be rejected if the reason for rejection has nothing to do with the cause of the claim (the anti-syphon loop simply prevents the geyser from draining if the cold supply is interrupted, it can’t make the geyser burst) 17th May - Complaint ref number: ********** 681 On 17th May in desperation we called the complaints department and spoke to Kabelo who said he’d escalate it and mark as urgent because it normally takes between 1 and 10 working days for someone to call back. A day or two later we were called by a lady by the name of Velamina who said she’d like to get Domestic Industries to supply them with a report of the situation, which we welcomed, this sounded very promising. The suppliers called us that day or the next and we asked if they needed to come back again, since 2 plumbers and Armen had already come around in separate incidents, and we didn’t want them to waste their time. She said she’d check with Standard bank, and we haven’t heard anything since. We have called and called and every time we get stuck on hold for up to 40 minutes, and when we finally get through to someone the story is always the same - that Velamina is not in the office or not available to take the call, that they are alerting a manager or team leader and that somebody will call us back. We have not had a single point of contact initiated from Standard Bank nor any of their suppliers since Velamina and Domestic industries called in Mid-May. Over a month ago. 21st June, After asking Standard Bank on the status we were told that they were still waiting for the report. Domestic Industries said that they were unable to help us because they had not received the request. Velamina was not available (as usual) so her colleague Samantha took the call and seemed surprised that we weren’t offered the option to pay the excess. She promised to call me back that afternoon with feedback. I have not received any feedback. We have no idea of the status of our claim. Our geyser continues to leak water in a time of drought, but we simply don’t have the R16-R17000 cash on-hand that Armen has estimated for the replacement of the tank. Standard Bank's own preferred supplier has told us that Benton Brothers should have advised us in March that the plumbing was not up to code, and advised us to rectify the issue then to avoid this disaster. In fact, we are wondering if Benton Brothers either broke something on the tank when they attended to it in March, or if it had already burst back then but they were milking the bank for repair fee. If they are innocent of these suggestions then at the very least they are certainly ***********. For the premiums we pay Standard Bank, we are disgusted by their lack of service. If this letter does not get a response we will be going to the ombudsman or pursuing legal action.

Helpful (0)

Replies (0)