If an engineer doesn’t turn up can I claim compensation?

Is a Booked Appointment a Legal Contract?

Booking a repair engineer by telephone constitutes a verbal contract. If the engineer fails to attend, the company has technically broken that contract. If financial loss or substantial inconvenience has resulted, a compensation claim may be possible in principle.

In written contracts, a clause known as “time is of the essence” can make it a breach of contract if work is not completed by an agreed date. Verbal bookings do not carry this clause automatically, but the underlying principle – that both parties have obligations – still applies.

The Time Off Work Caveat

The key condition for making a successful claim for lost earnings is that the company must have been told at the time of booking that time off work would be taken to accommodate the appointment. Consumer guidance on this point states:

This means that simply having taken time off work is not enough on its own – it must have been communicated to the company when booking. If it was not, the claim becomes very difficult to pursue.

The practical problem is proving that this was said. It depends on whether the person who took the call made a note of it, and whether whoever handles the complaint acknowledges it. Many companies now routinely record telephone calls, which can help establish what was said.

Service Level Pledges

Some larger repair companies and warranty providers have customer pledge policies that promise compensation under specific circumstances if they fail to attend. The amounts involved are typically modest, but if such a policy exists it provides a clear basis for a claim without needing to argue verbal contract law. It is worth checking whether any such pledge exists before booking – and keeping a record of it.

When a Missed Appointment Is Understandable

There are many genuine reasons why an engineer may be unable to make an appointment – an accident mid-job, illness, a vehicle breakdown, or an overrun on a previous call. In these situations the company should contact affected customers as soon as possible, explain the situation, and make any reasonable effort to still fulfil the appointment where possible.

Whether to pursue a compensation claim when a genuine and unavoidable reason is offered is a matter of individual judgement. A sole trader who has been taken to hospital mid-job is in a very different position from a large company that simply failed to organise its schedule. Most disputes of this nature can be resolved through a reasonable conversation rather than formal action.

A Successful Compensation Case

In 2010, a consumer successfully sued British Gas for compensation after a catalogue of errors. The case was reported as “opening the door to sue energy firms if they waste your time” and established a precedent that a company can be sued if it wastes a customer’s time through incompetence or poor procedures. However, reaching this point required persistent effort across multiple failures – in most cases the stress and cost of pursuing a claim through court is disproportionate to the likely outcome.

The case does confirm that consumer time has legal value and that businesses can be held accountable. Whether it is worth pursuing depends on the scale of the loss, the strength of the evidence, and the willingness to engage with the process.

How to Pursue a Claim

Most repair companies will not voluntarily offer compensation. If pursuing a claim, the following steps are recommended:

• Raise a formal written complaint with the company, setting out the loss suffered and the remedy sought.
• Check whether the company has a customer pledge or service level commitment that has been breached.
• Seek advice from Citizens Advice before taking any formal action.
• If unresolved, consider the small claims court for claims up to £10,000. See: claiming compensation from a retailer or repair company.

Frequently Asked Questions