Two thirds (67 per cent) of homes set to have BIG BOTHERS this winter

  Posted by: electime      11th October 2023

• Big Bothers are set to strike UK homes this winter, but around half (45 per cent) admit to putting off repairs until the last minute – racking up £3.7 billion of avoidable bills
• TV personality and celebrity builder, Craig Philips has teamed up with Home Assistance provider HomeServe by creating a series of how-to videos showing households some simple fixes to get your home winter-ready and save money

Two thirds (67 per cent) of homes are facing big bothers around the home this winter including no heating, cold radiators, and frozen pipes, with the average household facing two of these issues and almost a third (31 per cent) set to face three or more.

However almost half of households (45 per cent) are set to delay fixing a big bother around their home this winter, leaving broken pipes, radiators and boilers unfixed, racking up £253 on average and adding up to billions of pounds of avoidable bills.

Reality TV personality and celebrity builder, Craig Phillips has joined forces with Home Assistance provider HomeServe to urge the nation to tackle these big bothers head-on via the help of a series of how-to videos, rather than delay the issue.

Despite no heating (20 per cent) being the top bother reported, two in five (41 per cent) admit to having delayed having the problem fixed. A fifth (22 per cent) say this is due to them not having the money to fix it.

HomeServe is urging the nation to switch their boiler on ahead of winter, to troubleshoot any issues before being left without heating or hot water during the colder months. Yet, concerningly, six in ten (60 per cent) will delay switching on their boiler due to worries around utility bills, even though doing so could lead to more expensive repairs down the line.

Andrew Barton, Gas Engineer at Home Assistance provider HomeServe comments: “At HomeServe we see a surge in boiler related issues when many people turn their heating on for the first time in the colder months. We’ve teamed up with reality TV star and celebrity builder Craig Phillips to help get the nation’s homes winter-ready, keep them running smoothly and save them from surprising repairs through our series of simple guided how-to videos that fix common issues around the home”.

Craig Phillips comments: “We should feel peace of mind in our own home, and I want to inspire the nation to tackle their fixes, rather than delay them and incur a larger bill down the road.”

“My how-to videos aim to give homeowners the confidence to tackle their big bothers by following a simple step-by-step guide.”

To view the full range of videos please click here.