It was November 2015. My son arrived home on a Friday afternoon from college to find a fire in the kitchen. The flames had gone through the kitchen ceiling into my daughter’s bedroom, and the water from putting it out had flooded the whole property. The smoke damage affected the entire house. It was such a difficult time — the fire had started in the dishwasher, which had never given us any trouble before.

It all felt surreal. Our emotions were all over the place — we didn’t know where to start, who to call, or what to do first. It was definitely one of the worst nights of our lives.

Our insurance company felt like this huge organisation with no personal interest in us as individuals. There was no guidance, no explanation of the process — just a message that someone would turn up on Monday.

Everything changed on the Saturday morning when I received a call from a lovely gentleman at Harris Balcombe. Martin Gelder couldn’t have done enough for us. He came out straight away, reassured us, and the first thing he said was, “How are you? Is everyone okay?” There was never any time pressure. Martin came back on Saturday and Sunday, and even took calls in the evenings. From that point, we were fully informed about the expertise and history of the business, and we knew we were in good hands.

We realised this was exactly why we needed a loss assessor — we needed help, direction, and someone who knew what to do. I have three children, and we were completely lost at that stage.

Harris Balcombe went above and beyond. It wasn’t just professional support — it was emotional support, too. Not just for me, but for my entire extended family. They were always at the end of the phone. Even when we felt guilty for texting late at night because we couldn’t sleep, they still responded straight away.

We didn’t have to do anything ourselves. That’s what allowed our lives to start getting back to normal — because all the stress was taken away from us. We were kept fully informed but didn’t have to deal with the endless phone calls, emails, or paperwork.

They guided us through every step, which allowed us to return to work and daily life, to feel like ourselves again — and to feel like a family again. Managing three children with no equipment or technology was hard enough, but Harris Balcombe made it manageable.

Sophie fought for an interim payment for us, which meant we could buy Christmas presents for the children and celebrate the boys’ birthdays — both around Christmas. That took a huge weight off our shoulders.

Honestly, 100% — no, 150% — we couldn’t have done it without Harris Balcombe. It wasn’t just about bills or pushing the claim forward; they handled everything — liaising with surveyors, builders, and the contents team. That made the biggest difference for us.

We received the surveyor’s report around Christmas, and we met John, the surveyor, who was incredibly thorough. It went out to tender, and the contractors who won the job were introduced to us and explained the whole process clearly. There were no extra costs to us — everything was handled through Harris Balcombe and their contracting team.

I would recommend Harris Balcombe a hundred times over — not just for their professionalism, but for the emotional support they provided to our whole family.

I want to say a massive thank you to Sophie, Martin, and the contractors who came to our home. You’ve brought our family back together again — thank you, truly.