Call to Barclays Home SOS cover team fell on deaf ears

On 21 December I called Barclays Home SOS cover team to report a burst cold water mains feed pipe. I was told a follow-up call would arrive within an hour. By 10pm I rang again and found my earlier call had not been logged. I eventually got a call back at 11.52pm but was already asleep. The next day I spent two hours establishing that an engineer would indeed arrive that day. But at 3pm, still with no heating or hot water, I discovered the engineer would not be arriving. To cut a long story short, a series of errors (including the engineer's van breaking down and an engineer being unable to fix the problem) eventually led to me paying for a plumber to fix the problem late on Christmas Eve. My family were due to arrive for the festive period and had a 14-week old baby with them. I have lost pay from work and spent hours on the telephone, only to be told I probably will not qualify for compensation. PA, Walton le Dale, Lancashire Barclays said it was disheartening to read correspondence such as this, "when our customer has clearly been let down". A spokesman offered the company's "sincere apologies" and added: "Details of this case have been relayed to the appropriate senior management within Barclays, so this matter can be addressed internally. It has been agreed that the costs of the plumber will be met, and an additional £100, in recognition of the inconvenience caused, will be sent." We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at [email protected] or write to Brignall & King, Money, The Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number