wont give out policy number over phone??

charliee_3

jst a quickie, I'd be interested to know if anyone can give me a sensible reason why sainsburys bank (on behalf of esure) wont give me my old policy number over the phone..(i have lost my paperwork and need it for new insurer NCB)
i have passed the data protection questions so they have said they are happy that i am the policy holder but they cant give me the policy number as it is against data protection???? !!!!!!...

I asked the call centre bloke why and he said it was data protection, I said, no it isnt, i know about data protection and it only cover my details and information and the policynumber is your information so isnt covered and as long as you have established my identity then there is no reason to withhold it.

he couldnt give me a good reason and he said.. well i could go off and find you a lengthy and in-depth answer (to try and get rid of me).. so i calld his bluff and said.. actually, that would be nice as i am curious. so i held on for a good few minutes and when he came back his reply from the powers that be is that if someone calls up and knows my name, address, postcode, date of birth, both telephone numbers, email address and whether my policy was paid monthly or yearly and they then asked for my policy number and they gave it to them, the next time they called they wouldnt ask so many questions if they gave the policy number first so it is a security issue..

my argument was this.. if they know all that about me, they can phone up any time they like and pass the security without the policy number anyway so why would they bother?

plus you give your policy number to people in the event of an accident and your name, address, reg number and possibly phone number and by that reckoning there is a loophole in their security if they ask less questons just coz someone has that hallowed number...

he had no answer for that.. i wished him a good day...

geri1965_2

Because he is an idiot.

mcjordi

ive never had a problem with this but then again im not insured with esure/sanisburys

ask your new insurer to contact them to prove your NCB or ask them to send it out in the post

also its against the law to withhold NCB proof -as told by my insurer

involve the FSA

dacouch

A lot of the Insurers are being over cautious at the moment as Norwich Union got stung with a fine of over £1m. They had not been doing proper security checks and fraudsters were ringing them up with very basic details that were publically available and getting them to change addresses etc and then cash in policies worth millions.

It would be helpful if everyone sung from the same hymn sheet and thought sensibly about there security checks.

P.S If you had not been ringing to get the Policy Number for your new Insurer you may have got a different answer from the Insurers.

geri1965_2

Why do insurers feel the need to ask me questions for "data protection purposes" when they ring me?

dacouch

That always amuses me as well Geri1965 especially when you have been speaking to them and they ask if they can ring you back as they need to check with someone else etc.

NU are the best at this, I always amuse my self in this case by doing security questions on them as it takes them ages to find the information and annoys them. So its nice to let them know how it feels!

charliee_3

they are sending it to me, but all i needed was the !!!!!!! number and it would all be sorted.. my fault for ditching the paperwork i suppose.. hey ho.. it just both amused and annoyed me at the pointlessness of it....

charliee_3

lol.. i didnt realise that was an actual swear word!!

dacouch

Charliee a lot of companies are like this when you are going to a new Insurance company. They insist on sending the proof out in the post, it annoys me as it creates work for every one involved.

Bar humbug!

LinasPilibaitisisbatman

geri1965 wrote: »

Why do insurers feel the need to ask me questions for "data protection purposes" when they ring me?

Well in case someone else in your family is nosy, or if other people are in the house, or the details they have are wrong or for any number of reasons.

You would no doubt be the first to moan if they told your family stuff.

as for not giving out the details it is there choice so tough, dont lose important paperwork.

piggeh

geri1965 wrote: »

Why do insurers feel the need to ask me questions for "data protection purposes" when they ring me?

I can see why they would do so, however I would be very cautious when answering as they could be anyone calling usingg the insurance company as a guise to get personal info which they then use themselves.