How to cancel British Gas HomeCare

How do I cancel British Gas HomeCare?

To cancel British Gas HomeCare, contact British Gas directly — online through your account (Manage Account → My Account → View my Cover → Cancel My Cover), or by phone. For the current cancellation phone number, use the British Gas cancellation page linked at the bottom of this guide, as numbers change from time to time. If you cancel within 14 days of starting or renewing you get a full refund unless work has been done. Cancelling your direct debit alone does not cancel the agreement.

The rest of this guide walks through the steps in order, explains the cooling-off refund, and flags the mistakes that leave people paying for cover they thought they'd left. The British Gas facts below come from British Gas's own published pages, which we've linked at the bottom so you can check them yourself.

Key facts

The short version, before the detail.

• Cancel online through your British Gas account, or by phone using the number on British Gas's own cancellation page (linked below).
• Cancel within 14 days of starting or renewing and you get a full refund — unless work has already been done.
• After 14 days: a pro-rata refund may apply, but cancellation charges are possible if work has been carried out.
• Cancelling your direct debit alone does NOT cancel the agreement — British Gas will still try to collect what you owe.
• The best time to cancel is usually around your renewal date, to avoid the yearly price review.
• Line up replacement cover to start when your old cover ends, so you're not left with a gap.

Cancel British Gas HomeCare step by step

There are two ways to cancel: online through your British Gas account, or over the phone. Here is the online route, step by step.

1. Log in to your British Gas account and open Manage Account.

2. Go to My Account, then Account Overview.

3. Select View my Cover.

4. Choose Cancel My Cover and follow the prompts to confirm.

Prefer to speak to someone? British Gas also lets you cancel HomeCare over the phone. Phone numbers change from time to time, so use the current number shown on British Gas's own cancellation page (linked at the bottom of this guide) rather than an out-of-date one. Whichever way you cancel, make a note of the date and any reference number you're given — it's useful if there's a query about your refund later.

The 14-day cooling-off period

You have 14 days from when your HomeCare agreement starts or renews — or from when you receive your cover documents, if that's later — to change your mind. Cancel inside that window and British Gas gives you a full refund, unless work has already been carried out for you. If an engineer has attended or a repair has been done, a cancellation charge may apply.

After the 14 days are up you can still cancel, but the terms change. British Gas may give you a pro-rata refund for the part of the year you haven't used, and cancellation charges are possible if work has been done. The table below sums up who to contact and what refund to expect.

When you cancel and what you get back

Why cancelling your direct debit isn't enough

This is the mistake that catches people out. Cancelling your direct debit at the bank does not cancel your HomeCare agreement. British Gas is clear on this: if you stop paying without telling them, the agreement carries on and they will try to collect the money you owe.

So do it in the right order. Cancel the cover directly first — online or by phone — and only stop the direct debit once your final payment has cleared and the cancellation is confirmed. Do it the other way round and you can end up chased for a bill, or with a mark on your account, for cover you thought you had already left.

When is the best time to cancel?

For most people the sweet spot is around your renewal date. British Gas reviews the HomeCare renewal price every year, and it tends to climb as your boiler ages or once any joining discount comes to an end. Cancelling before renewal means you're not tied into the higher price for another twelve months.

Whenever you cancel, line up your replacement cover first. The aim is a smooth handover: your old cover ends as your new cover begins, so there's no gap in between.

After you cancel: what to move to

Once you've cancelled, the priority is not to be left uncovered. Plenty of homeowners switch to a different provider at this point. When you compare, look past the headline price at what each plan actually gives you — the cover limits, any call-out fee, the hours cover is available, and how long you're committed for.

Smart Plan is one option worth weighing up. It's a service plan, not an insurance policy, from UK Boiler Company Ltd — the parent company behind the brand, which has been trading since 2014 and says it looks after over 15,000 customers. You build the plan yourself from modules — boiler and central heating, plumbing, drainage, electrics, appliances and more — and pay a fixed monthly price for the modules you choose. It's worth being clear on the terms before you commit, so we've set them out plainly below rather than in the small print.

Smart Plan's terms, in plain English

The same scrutiny we've applied to British Gas above, applied to Smart Plan's own small print:

• A £95 call-out fee applies in defined cases — including during the first 30 days of a new agreement, where the fault falls under an exclusion, or where the engineer can't get access. So if you join with a broken boiler and call out an engineer in the first 30 days, the £95 fee applies even though the fault itself is covered.
• Parts and labour are included up to a cover limit on each module for each 12-month period: boiler and central heating up to £500 (boiler under 7 years) or up to £200 (7 years or older); appliances up to £225 each; and up to £500 on the other modules. Repair costs above the limit aren't covered, so a major job could still leave something for you to pay.
• Call-outs run Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 18:00, unless it's a genuine emergency breakdown. If you're leaving HomeCare for its wider engineer access, that's a real difference to weigh up.
• There's a 14-day cooling-off period when you join, but it ends if a service is carried out in those 14 days. A 12-month agreement period begins the first time you use a service — so this is a monthly-billed plan that becomes a 12-month commitment once you claim, not a cancel-anytime one. Leave during that period and you pay the remaining monthly payments, or 75% of the outstanding balance as a one-off.
• Cover is arranged through a national network of vetted, Gas Safe registered engineers. Exclusions apply and are listed in the terms and conditions, so it's worth reading them before you join.

See the price before you decide

Because you build the plan from modules, your monthly price reflects the modules you pick rather than a fixed tier. You can build a plan and see the price before you commit — and, knowing the terms above, decide whether it's the right fit for your home.

British Gas HomeCare cancellation FAQs

Leaving HomeCare? Compare your next plan.

See how a build-your-own Smart Plan compares, then build your plan and get a price. A service plan, not an insurance policy, from UK Boiler Company Ltd — parts and labour up to each module's cover limit, a £95 call-out fee in defined cases, and call-outs Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 18:00. A 12-month agreement period begins once you use a service.

Helpful links

• British Gas HomeCare alternative
• Flexible boiler cover
• Build your plan
• Compare all module prices
• British Gas: cancelling your HomeCare cover
• British Gas: HomeCare renewal pricing explained
• Citizens Advice: cancelling a service