Tempting the kitchen fates

I think I may have tempted the kitchen fates last weekend, by posting a picture of a dishcloth in repose on the sink. We've been experiencing reduced pressure in from our hotwater tap since Christmas and on Wednesday morning, the tap gave up completely. Turning it on, no matter how fully, did not mean you'd get any water.

Oh well, thought I... I've got that Homecare cover thing with British Gas, which includes plumbing and drains. I'll give them a call and it will be sorted.

Ahem.

The very polite gentleman on the other end of the phone wasted no time informing me that Homecare does not cover what they consider to be 'endpoints' of the pipes - which include the stopcock and the taps. In fact, he couldn't even send around a plumber and charge me for the privilege as they just didn't offer it as a service.

I am not exactly what you might call impressed.

I did not have my agreement, complete with the small print, to hand and so I had no choice but to thank him (equally politely) and start looking for alternatives. Suffice it to say that when I come to contract renewal time in a few months, I'll be looking at the cover provided and that small print very carefully and may well investigate other cover providers.

All of this means that currently, we are without hot water in the kitchen which is proving to be very inconvenient. I've contacted the handyman who sorted the fence for me last summer and he'll be around on Monday to replace the tap, which is great...

But part of me is still annoyed that British Gas' Homecare is not everything I thought it was.