Smith & Byford Reviews 673

TrustScore 3.5 out of 5

3.4

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Review summary

Created with AI, based on recent reviews

Evaluating 126 reviews, most reviewers were somewhat happy with their experience overall. Many customers appreciate the professionalism and helpfulness of the engineers, often highlighting their politeness, efficiency, and thoroughness in carrying out tasks like gas safety checks and repairs. Reviewers frequently praise specific staff members for their exceptional service, quick problem-solving, and clear communication. People also note the company's responsiveness in emergency situations and their ability to resolve issues effectively. However, some customers also noted significant dissatisfaction with customer service, reporting long hold times, unreturned calls, and a general lack of support. There are concerns about missed appointments, engineers not having the correct tools or knowledge for the job, and issues with heating and hot water remaining unresolved for extended periods, particularly affecting vulnerable individuals.

What people talk about most

Service

Customers consistently note ambiguous experiences with service, with many praising engineers for being... See more

Staff

Reviewers mention ambiguous feedback about staff, with many praising engineers for being professional,... See more

Customer service

Clients share ambiguous opinions on customer service, with some reviewers reporting positive experiences... See more

Customer communications

Users describe ambiguous interactions with contact, with some reporting positive experiences like receiving... See more

Facilities

Consumers express significant dissatisfaction with the facilities, particularly regarding heating and hot... See more

Reviews shaping this summary

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I contacted Miriam at customer care call centre and explained my problem booking an appointment. She was extremely helpful and told me she would ring me Monday to try to sort something out. To my ama... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

MOST EXCELLENT service from Donna who understood my query without issue, booked the engineer's visit to erase the "service due" message on the central heating monitor (as boiler check was successfully... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

The gentleman arrived explained who he was & what he was here to do. He was polite friendly & a chirpy chap. He went about my gas safety certificate test in a methodical neat and tidy way explaining w... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

The young man that attended my property was very polite as soon as I opened the door😊 He was polite & professional when he was in my home aswell. He even took time out to try & answer some quest... See more

Company replied


Company details

  1. Boiler and Heating Service

Written by the company

Smith and Byford were established in 1966. We now directly employ 400+ members of staff, yet remain a family run business. We specialise in delivering Gas, Electrical and BMS services to over 15 Registered Providers in London and the South of England.


Contact info

3.4

Average

TrustScore 3.5 out of 5

673 reviews

5-star
4-star
3-star
2-star
1-star

No history of asking for reviews

This company hasn't invited their customers, so reviews may not be representative

Replied to 83% of negative reviews

Typically replies within 1 week

How this company uses Trustpilot

See how their reviews and ratings are sourced, scored, and moderated.

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Rated 5 out of 5 stars

They've never let me down

S&B have been great. The office staff are friendly down to earth and eager to help. Ive had numerous gas engineers out and carpenters. Both have done an amazing job each time. All workers have been clean while they work & polite. Our yearly gas check is usually done by Dave. Great asset to the company. S&B have never let me down. They always get an engineer out quickly & problems have been solved. Thanks to all the staff at S&B
Merry christmas

December 17, 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Smith & Byford

Morning Nicky,

Thank you for your 5 star review, we really appreciate your kind words. If you could respond to our information request, we'll make sure your review is shared with Dave and his line manager.

Thanks again,
S&B

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

i have no heating or hot water for 14 months

i have no heating or hot water. last week i was told i need a new pump on my boiler . today he turned up tp do safety check . no pump. he knew nothing about it. waste of time. why do a safety check when i have no gas being used. moronic

December 8, 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Smith & Byford

Good afternoon,

We’re sorry to hear you were unhappy with our service. We have reached out privately through trustpilot for further information, but have yet to hear from you. If you could please send your full address and a recap of the issue to customercare@smithandbyford.com, we will be able to help address your concerns

Kind regards
Smith and Byford

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Synth and byford came Serviced my…

Synth and byford came Serviced my boiler , next day the pressure had gone no heating no hot water .a Man from symth and byford came out did something to the boiler made a leak that wasn’t previously there turned the boiler off said it wasn’t safe ! A week later still no part synth and byford said was going to take 3 weeks to arrive . So valliant were contacted who is the manufacture who came out the next day to see if they had the part .they Turned the boiler on and said there was no reason the boiler was off nothing wrong with boiler . The pressure just needed adjusting ! Then another symth and byford bloke came out who also confirmed the part that was ordered was not needed and the boiler could have been on this whole time I am disabled with 4 children and a 1 year old and have spent a whole week no heating and hot water for no reason at all just because synth and byford wanted to make some extra money !!!! I ALSO WOULD HAVE SPENT A FURTHER 3 WEEKS WITH NO HEATING OR HOT WATER WAITING FOR THIS PART THAT WAS NOT NEEDED IF SYMTH AND BYFORD HAD THIER WAY . I HAVE A 1 YEAR OLD AND 3 OTHER CHILDREN I HAVE A HEART CONDITION AND A PAIN CONDITION WHICH IS WORSENED BY THE COLD

December 4, 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Smith & Byford

Good afternoon,

We’re sorry to hear you were unhappy with our service. We have reached out privately through trustpilot for further information, but have yet to hear from you. If you could please send your full address and a recap of the issue to customercare@smithandbyford.com, we will be able to help address your concerns

Kind regards
Smith and Byford

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

No hot water again

No hot water again! Plumber yesterday, electrician required they don't have availability until Tuesday......and high priority on medicalgrounds!!!
Pathetic service

December 3, 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Smith & Byford

Good morning Liz,

Thank you for replying to our information request. I can see we are in the process of rectifying the issue, but I have passed your review and details on to our Customer Care team who will be looking into this for you.

Thanks,
S&B

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Abysmal - Government must revoke contracts

The government need to revoke all contracts with this company immediately. They are slow, undependable and have such poor communication. It is ridiculous. Their treatment of domestic customers needs to be investigated immediately.

November 27, 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Smith & Byford

Good morning,

We’re sorry to hear you were unhappy with our service. We have reached out privately through trustpilot for further information, but have yet to hear from you. If you could please send your full address and a recap of the issue to customercare@smithandbyford.com, we will be able to help address your concerns

Kind regards
Smith and Byford

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

5 Days - No Hot Water or Heating

How can you leave us in below 5 degree weather with no hot water or heating - absolutely disgusting, i'm contacting house ombudsman and reporting this company - customer service told me Tuesday! I'm expected to wait from Friday to Tuesday with no hot water or heating. How inhumane of a company. All your employee had to say was their hands was tied.

Absolutely useless.

November 21, 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Smith & Byford

Good morning,

We’re sorry to hear you were unhappy with our service. We have reached out privately through trustpilot for further information, but have yet to hear from you. If you could please send your full address and a recap of the issue to customercare@smithandbyford.com, we will be able to help address your concerns

Kind regards
Smith and Byford

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Avoid at all costs

Avoid at all costs – terrible service and no support for vulnerable families

I contacted Smyth and Byford because my boiler has a fault, leaving me with no heating or hot water, and I have young children in the house. Despite this, I was told I wasn’t considered vulnerable. Cate, the after-hours worker, explained that the engineers “select who they want to see,” which is unbelievable for an emergency service.

I’ve already had to leave my home with my son, who had tonsillitis, because of the lack of heating. What’s the point of having an after-hours service if you’re told you still have to wait until the following morning—with no time frame given?

They also ask completely unnecessary questions. I’m explaining that the boiler is faulty, so why am I being asked to set times on the thermostat as if that would fix anything? The whole experience has been extremely frustrating and completely unhelpful.

This company seriously needs to review how it operates or stop claiming to offer emergency support.

November 20, 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Smith & Byford

Good morning,

We’re sorry to hear you were unhappy with our service. We have reached out privately through trustpilot for further information, but have yet to hear from you. If you could please send your full address and a recap of the issue to customercare@smithandbyford.com, we will be able to help address your concerns

Kind regards
Smith and Byford

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Smyth and Byford wont turn up.

We have had our appointment cancelled two days in a row, its beyond a joke.
Again my toddler is unable to sleep in her room as we cant use the radiator. I was told I would receive a phone call if they were unable to send someone today, instead they booked an appointment without checking if anyone could be in. Myself and my partner work full time and are unable to take time off at the drop of a hat. Especially seeing as two days have been taken off for two cancelled appointments, two days waiting in all day for nothing.

I did expect the decency to call rather than just rebooking and sending a text.

November 20, 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Smith & Byford

Good morning,

We’re sorry to hear you were unhappy with our service. We have reached out privately through trustpilot for further information, but have yet to hear from you. If you could please send your full address and a recap of the issue to customercare@smithandbyford.com, we will be able to help address your concerns

Kind regards
Smith and Byford

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Very disappointing customer service and wait time

I’ve had a very disappointing with this company.
Their customer service is awful they take an unreasonable amount of time to order parts for my boiler and communication is terrible.
They do not show up for scheduled appointments which left me with out hot water and heating for more than 10 days .
Based on my experience I would not recommend their services .

November 3, 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Shoe covering

They never come with shoe covering. I called twice put on hold for about 7 mins just for the man to come back and tell me “I sent a message to the engineer and we will see what we can do”. I called the customer feedback team, the lady said “ I will have to put you through because I don’t know what they do each team handles things differently”. Protect the customers and the customers protect you.

November 17, 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Smith & Byford

Good afternoon,

We’re sorry to hear you were unhappy with our service. We have reached out privately through trustpilot for further information, but have yet to hear from you. If you could please send your full address and a recap of the issue to customercare@smithandbyford.com, we will be able to help address your concerns

Kind regards
Smith and Byford

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Smith and Byford are the gas safety…

Smith and Byford are the gas safety inspectors for many social housing landlosrds and they are the worst ever. I had an appointment that for a Monday, received a voicemail onthe Friday saying it's cancelled. Called them Saturday to rudely be told that I can't choose an appointment day. On the Sunday received a text saying the Monday Appointment (first call) is still on. Monday morning told it's cancelled. Just after 10am, after leaving home I got a call from an extremely rude, offensive and abusive woman saying the engineer is on the ay. After hanging up on her she called again, within a minute and pretending to be someone else, after complaining about the previous call she said, "that was me and hung up". On the 12th September I received a letter saying I have "an appointment on the 11th"? After that I have received nothing from them but have received a notice from my landlord threatening to proscute me and force my door to do an inspection, with me being charged for the damage done? Considering S and B checked my gas supply and boiler in June, after a new gas meter was installed the law is clear in that the gas supply / boiler doesn't need inspecting until next June says that S and B are accepting that they have no confidence in their own engineers and don't consider them fit for inspections yet they are the ones that are contracted to do them. The worst company ever and they are very offensive towards disabled people, which is criminal. I contacted them after receiving the threat of court action and they said they'd contact my landlord and nothing has happened.

October 14, 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Smith and Byford have been bullying me…

Smith and Byford have been bullying me into a gas safety check on a date with 2 days notice and refused to change the appointment (first). I work and I need 2 weeks notice to give my employer. Smith and byford refuse the day I can get off and they said they will send the engineer anyway and I’ll be marked as a no show even though I’ve offered dates and times, I was told it’s tuff.
This is disgusting waste of time and money.
There’s plenty of time before my boiler certificate runs out .

October 13, 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Excellent service and friendly polite staff

Thank you Tony you was an absolute star professional, skillful, respectable and pleasant when you came today to fix my boiler, and I am also very grateful for the prompt action and the kindness and respect from the office staff. Please thank Tony on my behalf.

September 10, 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Smith & Byford

Hi Tay,

Thank you for your five star review, we appreciate you taking the time to write this, and for responding to our information request. We'll use this to identify the work that Tony did for you and pass on your kind words to him and his line manager.

Thanks,
S&B

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Terrible Customer service

Terrible Customer service . Received an appt letter , that i hadn't made and couldn't make so phoned to change it but was told I couldn't and that an engineer will come out and leave a card through the door . I said please dont as I've notified you that im not home and it will be a waste of time. He said its down to legislation and he has to come. Bearing in mind the annual boiler appt they wanted to make was at 10 months ! Phoned the next day and spoke to someone else who was able to change the appt no problem , no mention of legislation. First bloke didnt kniw what he was talking about and was willing to waste the engineers time. Im wondering if they still get paid!!!!!! 🤔

August 21, 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Smith & Byford

Good afternoon,

We’re sorry to hear you were unhappy with our service, has this now been resolved?
We have reached out privately through trustpilot for further information, but have yet to hear from you. If you could please send your full address and a recap of the issue to customercare@smithandbyford.com, we will be able to help address your concerns

Kind regards
Smith and Byford

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Absolutely terrible experience.

Absolutely terrible experience.a bloke came round to take water samples from the loft,2 hours.2 weeks later they rang up and said he didn’t get them to the laboratory in time so made another appointment.didn’t turn up and no apologies.over the next 2 months they made another 5 appointments and never turned up,no apologies a month later I came downstairs to find a card through letterbox.sorry we missed you.the card had 7.30 on it and I hadn’t made an appointment.today without an appointment bloke just turned up.I told him about the terrible experience I had .let him in,in and out within 5 minutes .let’s hope he gets it to the laboratory in time.

August 19, 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Smith & Byford

Good afternoon,

We’re sorry to hear you were unhappy with our service, has this now been resolved?
We have reached out privately through trustpilot for further information, but have yet to hear from you. If you could please send your full address and a recap of the issue to customercare@smithandbyford.com, we will be able to help address your concerns

Kind regards
Smith and Byford

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Disaster of a company- Pregnant & stuck

Disaster of a company. I am heavily pregnant and had a high CO2 reading at midwife appointment, they suggested I contact gas company to hv gas supply checked. Gas company came and capped the gas 2 days ago but Smyth and Byford hv refused to come and inspect the boiler and switch it back on until I email them blood test results from midwife! I hv explained the CO2 test is done with a handheld machine and no blood test and they hv said I must go to the hospital and do a blood test otherwise they will not attend the house. We hv small children in the house with no hot water and no gas, I can not get a blood test appointment and results would come out in days anyway, so basically no gas for potentially weeks. Doctor has made it clear a gas company have no right or reason to your private medical information in order to provide a service.
The staff just want to get you off the call with no help or solutions and no managers available. This issue was reported on a Thursday evening, I am now being told the team who deal with ‘blood tests emails’ are not even open today (Saturday) so nothing can be looked at until Monday.
Basically if I can not email them a blood test they refuse to attend the address to resolve the reported boiler issue.

August 2, 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

They are the worst of the worst do not…

They are the worst of the worst do not know how to deal with communal heating.it always goes of may to October but I have to keep ringing up keeps coming on they do not care even though as a nurse can cause medical issues eg. Headaches in̈crease someone's blood pressure.so they do not care

July 26, 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Smith & Byford

Morning Eleanor,

We're sorry to hear you're unsatisfied with the service you've received. I've passed your details on to our Customer Care team, who I understand have already been in touch to discuss your concerns.

Thanks,
S&B

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Smith and Byford how’s the worst…

Smith and Byford how’s the worst customer service? No remote they don’t care about anyone. I’ve been having problem with my boiler pressure keep dropping and every time they come they keep saying they were investigated no investigating has been done. I’ve had them come around more than five or six time already within two months and I’ve put a complaint in. They just can’t be bothered to do anything I would say no one should do business with them worse worse

July 8, 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Engineer came to uncap gas as I am a…

Engineer came to uncap gas as I am a new tenant.

Curtious, efficient, friendly.

I rarely review anything but was so impressed by this gentleman I just had to let everyone know.
It's a shame not all engineers were as proficient.
Think his name was Chris, it's a shame more works can't an won't represent the company this well.
If any one from Smith and Byford read this, you need more staff like this.

June 11, 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Smith & Byford

Good morning,

Thank you for your 5-star review, and responding to our information request. We'll use it to look the job up on our system so we can identify which engineer attended and pass your kind words on to their line manager

Thanks again,
S&B

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