What counts as a plumbing or heating emergency?
Burst pipe, mains leak, leaking radiator valve, leaking under-sink connection, overflowing toilet, blocked main drain backing up indoors, no heating in winter, no hot water with no other source, smell of gas (call 0800 111 999 first), boiler leaking water, boiler lockout with vulnerable residents, frozen condensate pipe in a cold snap. If it's costing you water, heat or safety right now, it's an emergency.
What to do in the first 60 seconds (before we arrive)
Burst pipe: turn off the mains stopcock (usually under the kitchen sink or in the airing cupboard) and open the cold tap to drain the system. Gas leak: open windows, don't switch anything electrical on or off, leave the property, call 0800 111 999. Boiler leak: turn the boiler off at the switched fused spur, turn off the cold water feed to the boiler. We'll talk you through it on the phone.
Our core response area and typical times
Core area (target 90 minutes): St Albans, London Colney, Radlett, Park Street, Watford, Bushey, Borehamwood, Barnet, Brookmans Park, Potters Bar, Hadley Wood. Extended area (target 2–3 hours): Tring, Hemel Hempstead, Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield, North London, Hertford. Commercial contract clients get priority dispatch regardless of postcode.
The fixed callout fee, what it covers and what it doesn't
The callout fee covers: the engineer's travel, the first 60 minutes on site, diagnosis, triage and make-safe. It does not cover: parts (charged at trade price plus a fixed margin, shown on the invoice), additional labour beyond 60 minutes (charged at our standard hourly rate, no night uplift), or major remedial works (quoted in writing before any chargeable work).
Insurance claims, how to use Heatrite for an emergency claim
If your home insurance covers emergency plumbing (most policies do as an add-on), we can either invoice your insurer direct (subject to their authorisation) or supply a fully itemised invoice and engineer's report you submit yourself. Our paperwork is formatted to match the standard format used by Aviva, Direct Line, AXA and Hiscox, most claims are accepted first time.