NRMA Emergency Home Assistance $190 P/Year - Fixes 10 Most Common Problems Within the Hour - 8 Call Outs Per Year..UR THOUGHTS?

Moots on 20/02/2014 - 17:28

I am looking at what NRMA just sent me, they are offering a new service which I am considering for piece of mind, at the end of the day a friend hit the front water meter. Emergency call + fix was $340…

$190 Per Year:

We've identified the top 10 emergencies you're most likely to experience in your home. From burst pipes to blackouts, our team of qualified tradespeople is just a phone call away, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. A tradesperson will arrive on your doorstep, within an hour of your call*, so you don't need to wait around all day.

For one annual fee of $190, you are entitled to up to eight call-outs per year. Our qualified tradesperson will attempt to fix your problem straight away, or make the necessary repairs to ensure your home is safe and secure.
No callout fees. No hidden costs. We're here when you need us.

  • Water leaks
  • Gas leaks
  • Blocked pipes / toilet
  • Broken lock / locked out of your house
  • Broken door or window
  • Burst tap or showerhead
  • Broken hotwater system
  • Broken heating or cooling system
  • Blackout or power failure

What's Included

  • 8 Call-Outs Per Year
  • Assistance for the 10 most common home emergencies.
  • Up to one hour of labour.
  • Minor parts and materials used during the call out.
  • No after hours or weekend fees.

Direct Link: http://www.mynrma.com.au/emergency-home-assist/services.htm

Overall Thought: You only receive one hour labor, but still able to fix most things in one hour, like blocked pipes, or a broken window. Large problems would still benefit if they do a temp fix, unless you can get a lower quoted price. Emergency call out fee's can be costly, so the no fee at all is almost correct, $190 may just be the call out fee for some services.

$190 A Year, Would you buy it ?

Poll Options

  • 2
    You should buy it!
  • 4
    It's a waste of money :/
General Discussion

Comments

  • bich.light on 20/02/2014 - 17:58

    I'm curious about the up to one hour of labour?

    You ring them, one person comes and after one hour you tell them to bugger off.
    As soon as they leave you call again; if it counts as 2 call-outs do you get 2 hours of 'free' labour? ;D

  • alo1234 on 20/02/2014 - 23:22

    Here's my aunt story: Her 3 yo kid locked himself in the bathroom, called the RACV, they came not long after, broke down the door with force and the kid got free. That person would probably not be a locksmith to do such thing, and they were not liable for any damage their actions have caused.

    If it were me, I'd rather save the money and break that door down myself (would have saved some time in that emergency too).

    • airzone on 21/02/2014 - 22:22

      Internal door locks are normally about privacy and not security… So you can normally use a coin to twist the lock release, or poke a toothpick through a release hole. As a safety concern I'd suggest to change any internal locks to ones that are simple enough to pop open in an emergency.

  • pebee47 on 21/02/2014 - 09:43

    Thought I'd list the number of times over the last 30 yrs these things have happened to me:

    Water leaks:  4; leaky taps, reseated, bought new washers and reseating tool $110 + 5hrs
Gas leaks
Blocked pipes / toilet: 1; bought gloves to clear $30 + 3hrs
Broken lock / locked out of your house:  2; own fault, bought drill kit to drill out cylinder, $290 + 4hrs (decent drill, always wanted one of them!)
Broken door or window
Burst tap or showerhead: 1; bought spanner set, $60 + 2 hrs
Broken hotwater system
Broken heating or cooling system
Blackout or power failure: 2; found what was shorting and disconnected it 1 hrs

    Petrol for car to shop $10

    So, 10 events: $500 + $600 (15hrs @ $40/hr) = $1100 versus $5700 + however long to wait for someone to arrive and do job.
    Conclusion: I got a really cool Makita 18 volt driver/drill kit. - need any teeth out?

  • morpheu on 21/02/2014 - 13:37

    i'm not sure, i wouldn't get your hopes too high, it's call Emergency Home Assistance and not something like Home repair assistance which to me screams 'temporary fix only'.
    Take the first two problems in the list, gas/water leak, to make your house "safe and secure" a temporary fix would be very simple, just go to the front/side of your property locate the gas/water mains and switch off the mains, your house is 'safe & secure' but it's only a temporary solution because sooner or later you're going to need water & gas!

    A blackout, if the whole block is without power which is more likely, will the tradesman go and fix the problem at the sub station or "here you go sonny, here's a flashlight"?

    A burst water tap, ok, one cheap minor part(like a washer) a wrench plus 30 mins labour problem fixed hopefully.

    But the others like the blocked plumbing, broken heating/cooling system etc i get the feeling the guy will come out fix the problem in 3 or 4 hours or whatever and after present you with the bill minus the first hour plus parts, effectively the first hour is a 'call out' fee of $23.75(if you use all 8 callouts) which is still damn cheap(for a callout fee).

    So i would keep the expectations on the low side but for some people like a single mum or an old age/disablilty pensioner this could be a good idea, particularly if it's an older house or in a more remote location, better than nothing i guess. Although keep in mind i believe pensioners have access to cheap community tradesmen for repairs around the house like roof repairs, i've seen the vans/utes driving around.

  • peterpeterpumpkin on 21/02/2014 - 21:01

    If they used honest plumbers this could be a bargain for chronically blocked toilets/pipes.

    From my multiple painful experiences with tradespeople - if they're not on a salary, they WILL try to rip you off. They need one sucker a day to rent the magnetrocalibratorgeigertron (or other thingamajig) to help pay off their mortgages faster.

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