That's More Than Chicken Feed: Man Saves $1,200 on Repair

“We have hens and they were chirping up a storm,” Happy R. of Corona, California, said. “It was a sound I’d never heard before. I said, ‘this doesn’t seem right.’”

When Happy went to figure out what had his chickens so riled, he smelled natural gas. Having dealt with a gas leak prior to this incident, he at once knew what the issue was.

*Note from HomeServe: You should always evacuate at once and call the fire department if you suspect natural gas.

Luckily, Happy had signed up for a gas line protection plan from HomeServe through his local utility, so he knew who to call for his repair. In fact, he’d had a prior repair on his gas line several years prior, that also had been repaired by HomeServe.

“Pre-COVID, we came outside, and there was another area that was smelling (of gas), and same thing, HomeServe came out and fixed it,” he said. “It’s interesting out here with the gas lines, I don’t know if it’s the earthquakes or what out here, but they break a lot.”

HomeServe dispatched network contractor partner Frassica Plumbing to assess the repair.

“(When I called), I felt like everything went quite smooth,” he said. “They sent out someone quickly.”

The convenience of an efficient fast turnaround was important to Happy, who has had repairs done around his home in the past with other contractors for repairs outside his plans from HomeServe, including air conditioning and a water heater, so that he had to wait longer than he liked for contractor availability. And, an urgent issue like a gas line leak was not something any homeowner wants to wait on.

“A lot of the time, you call (a contractor) and they take their sweet time, ‘oh, I can’t make it out,’” he said.

Once Frassica arrived, they figured out that a short section of the gas line, along with a shut-off valve at an appliance in Happy’s backyard, had failed.

“They were very professional,” Happy said of Frassica. “I had no issues with them at all. They did a great job.”

In the end, Happy saved $1,200, all told on the repair.

“It’s always hard to lose that much (money),” Happy said. “It really helps to have this service.”