Smith & Byford Reviews 

Absolutely the worst company I've had to deal with. Ongoing heating problem that their engineers have been out to at least 4-5 times. Incompetent, no parts, dont turn up for appointments which I lose work for. So far, they've cost me around £400 in lost wages waiting for them to turn up. Still not fixed.
Emails of complaint sent which they don't even have the courtesy to reply to. They can't even give you a time or ask engineer to call when they're half hour away. Until recently, they didn't even have a call back system, meaning I've wasted hours on the phone trying to get through.
Steer clear if you have a choice.
I wouldn't even merit them with 1 star!

Smith and Byford
As per your reply,
I have already written to you several times with details of my complaint, why don't you look up on your system if you want to know the details or refer to RHP the housing partnership I also complained to?
I'm not doing your job for you or wasting any more time here.

As for reaching out through this platform and not getting a reply, you only posted this 3 hours ago! At least I move quicker than your company!
You have your reply.

I have to say that I moved from another service company years ago and I have never regretted it.
I had a problem with my shower so on ringing to customer service I was met with a lady with a charming attitude to which I explained the problem, she then arranged a time that was convenient to me. Very efficient and professional.
My engineer Simon turned up as arranged on time and quickly diagnosed the problem, he then explained what parts I needed to obtain.
A new appointment was agreed with the office.
Simon has just repaired the shower and has just left. Job done. Simon was respectful to my house and worked in a very clean way.
I have had to use Smith and Byford many times over the years and I can honestly say that they have never let me down and would thoroughly recommend them.
Many thanks

Smith & byford are not professional. I’ve been without hot water & heating from the 2/1/26 Today i’ve had another engineer come back to still not having no hot water & heating. I’ve taken time off work for other previous appointments. For one of the engineers to tell me it wasn’t on my portal. Even Today’s job wasn’t rectified. Im still without heating & hot water I’m extremely frustrated now

Just saw the video going around on social media. Sort your staff out.

Good on boiler repairs sometimes but I still need them to replace my boiler in my kitchen I can not move to a new property because their is no new property for me to move to, at the moment

Date 09/02/2026

We have had an ongoing relationship with Smith & Byford since a new boiler was installed around four years ago.
During the last couple of years the same engineer has repeatedly attended not to properly resolve the underlying fault, but instead to apply temporary “patch-up” fixes.
As they are on a retainer, there appears to be little incentive to permanently resolve the issue.

Two weeks ago, the situation escalated significantly. The engineer attended, broke the boiler, and then shut it down completely. Since then, our household has been left without heating or hot water in the middle of winter. We have two children living in the property, which makes this completely unacceptable.

Despite numerous calls asking for this to be treated as a matter of urgency, Smith & Byford have been unwilling to accommodate reasonable appointment times.

They insist on attending only when we are at work, despite the fact that we have already exhausted our available days off waiting for them to attend previously.

At this point, we feel ignored, unsupported, and left in an extremely difficult position. A contractor responsible for essential services like heating and hot water should be capable of responding urgently and professionally—particularly when their own actions caused the failure.

Very disappointed with both the service and the lack of accountability.

Frequent no show or come late as scheduled and excused for not carrying out the agreed and scheduled works. No bother for the residents taking leave for work at weekdays in order to let the engineers in the house to do the work.

Sometimes, the engineers / plumbers do not know what tasks they have to do on site (thus not bring them with the appropriate tools) though the CS confirmed with the residents all supposed tasks to do at appointed dates and times by email and over the phone. Lack of professionalism and miscommunication made a task dragged over half year.

The service is excellent as far as speed is concerned,you tell them the problem over the phone,an engineer comes to your home and the problem is fixed within 5 minutes. Comprehensive efficiency does seem to suffer, though, my central heating was initially fixed so that it worked, then I found a radiator didn't work, that has been fixed, but now a radiator doesn't give as much heat as it did before the radiator that didn't work was fixed. You don't know if new efficiency measures mean that a comprehensive run through of a system to check that it all works would save time and money in the long term.

They never answer the phone... after one hour I gave up

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 .

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.

Smith and byford sent me a text saying my repairs had been escalated to the 24 Oct 2025.
I waited in all day and no one turned up