Aviva appalling customer service in the UK...you need to be aware

Karlh_3

dacouch I did see that and unfortunately, I can't sing or play a guitar. I think however, you maybe right about Aviva taking it seriously. I have posted an update of what Aviva have done in response here - karlhavard.blogspot.com/2009/07/aviva-reputation-management.html

flashingb

Thanks Karlh for this thread and your blog - and for sticking your neck out in the hope of bringing Aviva to task for the vast chasm that exists between their marketing image (latterly Paul Whitehouse in many guises) and the reality of their awful customer service.

Your efforts may have yielded a personal result however standards have not improved at Aviva. I am also trying to change my DD, a process that began 5 months ago. Despite phone calls, letters and even an official complaint, a new DD is still not in place. Aviva has acknowledged reception of a new DD mandate yet has failed to collect payments for the two calendar months since their letter.

I see a new reference code for each letter they send, over and above my policy number and a collection ref., a clear sign that customer service operates no tracking system for each case they handle. Best of all, the response to the complaint was a few photocopied pages and a template cover letter - followed by four weeks of silence.

Oh well, one final effort this week. Otherwise I'll be considering an approach similar to your own or the Financial Ombudsman Service.

dacouch

Its not actually Paul Whitehouse in the adverts, it's actually the Aviva Director in charge of their customer services in the adverts. Now you know this the quality of their customer services will probably make sense

get_me_debt_free

I just Cancelled my policy with them as they wanted to charge me £240 for basic content insurance!! as I have moved, It worked out i paid them £124 for 3 months!!
The call handler didnt do anything to keep me as a customer for I told them i was going to someone else.

jarvius

Just thought I’d share my recent experiences with them on this forum.

I have had to complain twice now regarding an accident that i had a few months back.

First complaint was due to their 'computer systems' creating confusion. Basically i was getting annoyed that it was taking 3 weeks to decide whether they where going to repair or write off my car. After numerous phone calls to both Aviva and the repair centre following the style Karl Havard outlined in his own complaints letter. Both the repair centre and Aviva where arguing between themselves over 'lost' emails on their system. So I complained and much to my surprise the complaints department resolved it in a day pretty much (well done them, I mean that sincerely, after all they are cleaning up after other company employee’s mistakes). I was offered the excuse by the repair centre again that the computer system wasn't communicating effectively with Aviva's claims system, and again Aviva reiterated the same argument.

At this point I didn't really care as it had been resolved.

Then came the disputes resolution. After 3 months I finally receive a letter saying that the best offer they can give me is a 50:50 resolution (despite them initially saying that I am not to blame). I replied to the letter explaining that I wasn’t happy with the decision as I don’t feel I was in the wrong, yet however I will accept it regardless, after all without witnesses it’s true what they said, ‘it’s one word against the other’.



In light of the invention of time travel I have no option but to accept it.

Today however, a letter arrives stating that they understand my concern and that since I have ‘rejected’ their offer would I be able to attend court in the next 14 days, please contact me on the number above blah blah ad infinitum. You must be joking right? Not only have you interpreted the word ‘accepted’ as ‘rejected’, you’re asking me to attend court and that if I cannot attend I should call you on your wonderful automated system?

In the great words of our modern day youth, ‘jog on’. There’s no way I’m wasting my life listening to that music again in the vane attempt that I might get to speak to someone who bares a passing resemblance to the human race, well vocally anyway.

Naturally I have complained .. again… leaving it upto some poor person who resides within our great nation of Britain working for a very disorganised organisation (a very good example of an oxymoron I should think) to resolve the problem. I feel so very sorry for them.


If other people have had a similar experience to this I would love to hear your views.

amsquared

I've just experienced Aviva's voice recognition service for the first time and it took me 10 minutes and 3 phone calls to speak to a human being who wasn't in the correct department so I had to be transferred to another person.

The service was great when I eventually got to speak to a real person but the frustration of the voice recognition software would ensure that I never buy any Aviva products however good they are.

The customer experience starts when I pick up the phone not when I eventually speak to a real person. I am not being paid by Aviva to route their calls, to allegedly save them 30 seconds off their call handling time.

I wonder how much this IT solution cost and how much lost business has resulted from it's implementation. Customer service managers will say - look how efficient the solution has made us by counting the number of calls answered and the call duration. But do these same managers have any understanding of the impact of this solution on the total customer experience and the willingness of their customers to stay with Aviva.

dacouch

The answer is no, they sit in their ivory towers and look at stats their new system has eg it will now show more calls answered over the previous system.

Think back to their Aviva name change adverts and remember the advert told you that you would not be a number but a person.

P.S The title of this thread amuses me as most of their customer services staff are not even based in the UK

[Deleted User]

amsquared

I'm sorry that you had that experience and I will certainly pass on your feedback, we do try to listen to any feedback we get.

Thanks
Becca
(formerly Beccus)

dacouch

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Simulacraton

lol

Good job!