Avoid - Unethical & Unlawful Behaviour
I hired Snowik to carry out an FCU service, MVHR service, and a plumbing investigation in my flat. The experience has been extremely disappointing, with several examples of unethical and potentially unlawful conduct.
First, full payment was required upfront (100% of the quote) before any work was carried out, which I've since learned is not standard practice and should have been a red flag. Lesson learned for me as a new homeowner.
The engineer who attended was knowledgeable and helpful — no complaints about him personally. However, the business practices around the visit have been a different story entirely.
On the FCU, the original quote stated that if anything needed replacing, I would be informed before any work was done. The engineer went ahead and replaced it without telling me, and they then tried to bill £216 after the fact for a part I never approved, with no discussion of price. When I challenged this, the company acknowledged in writing that permission was not sought, but still expected me to pay — despite the fact that I’m not obligated to under the Consumer Rights Act. They also claimed the “real” price should have been £396, as though charging me less than an inflated figure I never agreed to is doing me a favour. Keep in mind I’ve found similar parts online for around £60. I asked for receipt evidence of the actual part cost and this was ignored. Despite having no obligation to pay anything at all, I offered to cover the genuine cost of the part as a goodwill gesture — this was also ignored.
On the plumbing, the engineer confirmed within minutes that the issue was communal, so no work was carried out, and the engineer himself stated a refund was appropriate. Despite this, the company refused to refund the £102 I had paid upfront. I offered a small goodwill payment to cover the brief time the engineer spent confirming the issue — this was not accepted. When I tried to resolve this over email, responses stopped for an extended period, leaving me no choice but to raise a dispute with my card provider.
On the MVHR service, I was told on the phone that duct cleaning was included in the package. When the engineer attended, he said it wasn’t. The company’s position is that this was never part of the service, which directly contradicts what I was told verbally, and is clearly included by competitors. A lesson in getting everything in writing.
Throughout this process I have tried to be reasonable and made several goodwill offers to resolve things fairly, all of which were either ignored or rejected. Overall: an engineer who knows his stuff, let down by a business that requires full payment upfront, carries out unauthorised work in breach of consumer protection law and bills you afterwards, refuses refunds for work not performed, and avoids putting things in writing. I’ve since had to involve my card provider and may need to escalate further. I’d strongly advise looking elsewhere.
