Freezer Claim Form

Alison_B

At the end of November my 18 month old freezer caught fire - typical as I had only just stocked up for christmas and we lost about 90% of the items as everybody I could ask had their freezers full. We got in touch with the manufacturer, they took 3 weeks to send somebody out to investigate. They were adamant that it would be an inspection only as we hadn't taken out the extra warranty. On Christmas Eve they got in touch and said that the fire was caused by a faulty circuit board and they would replace the freezer free of charge. I enquired about the contents and they have sent me out a claim form. I am a bit worried about what to put. It was a 7 draw up-right freezer . What do you think would be an acceptable amount to put? I have never had to make a claim before.

Thanks

Alison

Bossyboots

If you have some idea of what was in the freezer then go on one of the online supermarket sites and work out what it will cost you to replace it. Once you have done that add a bit more on for things you may have forgotten about.

Savvy_Sue

If you have some idea of what was in the freezer then go on one of the online supermarket sites and work out what it will cost you to replace it. Once you have done that add a bit more on for things you may have forgotten about.

And keep your list if you don't have to include it with the claim form so that if they quibble you can explain that you KNOW it was full because you'd just stocked it for Christmas. Also if you did one or two BIG fill-up freezer shops do you still have a record of them on visa bills, bank statements or chits? Don't be intimidated: if you KNOW you are not pulling a fast one then stick to your guns.

Alison_B

I know exactly what was in the freezer as I keep an inventory of what is in there. I have done a "pretend" shop on the Tesco website and it comes out at just under £210. That was replacing items for like but not all my items were from Tesco, i.e. I had a few large chickens that I got from Morrisons when they were on offer at £4 and in Tesco they are nearly £5 and various other offer items from different stores.

My husband thinks they won't pay that amount and I should only ask for £100 - £150 to replace the items. I am genuinely not trying to rip them off and get more than was in my freezer, but I do feel awkward.

Alison

Bossyboots

They know the size of the freezer and the average value of food that it will hold. My freezer seems to be just a bit bigger than yours sounds and if I had given you a figure I thought fair yesterday it would have been £200. Ask for the figure you believe was in the freezer. They may offer you a bit less but if you ask for less you could find yourself even more out of pocket. As it was before Christmas as well they should accept that you had just stocked it. If you have kept your inventories going back even a few months, you should produce those to them to show you keep an accurate record of the contents to support your claim.

Savvy_Sue

I agree with BossyBoots and she generally seems to know what she's talking about. Never mind what anyone thinks the insurance company will pay: claim for what you know was in it. Never mind if your original chickens were BOGOF, you can't replace them at that price and it doesn't seem to me to be ripping them off to ask for replacement value. Insurance companies always seem to offer less than what we think we're entitled to so while it doesn't pay to hike the claim upwards there's absolutely no point putting in an underclaim.

(Just finished watching The Rainmaker, based on a John Grisham book. American health insurance co: standard policy = decline the claim and pass to a different dept. 11,000 claims made one year, only just over 1000 allowed! Scary stuff, made us v. grateful for NHS!)

jockettuk

my friend had one of those great big american freezers and it went wrong .. they had filled it up and when estimating how much it would cost to replace items it was well over £300 they werent sure if they should ask that much but the insurance company said if you lost it you should claim for it .. after all if your house caught fire you wouldnt ask just for half of it to be replaced. they paid out the amount that they lost

deedee_3

I was in a similar situatio a year or so back and claimed £250. The insurance company paid up with out a murmer. So go for it.

Alison_B

Thanks to everybody who replied. I am going to send them my freezer contents list and put that I approximate the cost to be £200 and see what they say. They can always do the shopping for me if they can get it cheaper.

Alison

Savvy_Sue

They can always do the shopping for me if they can get it cheaper.

Every week if they like ... ;D