Another Asprea experience

FlameCloud

Mr_Man_Full_of_Love wrote: »

The wind was gale force. In fact the surveryor even had the cheek to put in his bogus report that he'd informed me that the weather conditions I'd described at the time of my claim had prevailed in my area on the date in question.

...so, not Storm force then?

I have never seen an insurer accept nor recommend they accept a claim where lead flashing is at fault without their being substantial damage to tiles around the area where the flashing was.

Mr_Man_Full_of_Love

FlameCloud wrote: »

...so, not Storm force then?

I have never seen an insurer accept nor recommend they accept a claim where lead flashing is at fault without their being substantial damage to tiles around the area where the flashing was.

:rotfl:
I take it this must be the token Asprea employee who turns up in every complaint thread to blame everyone else as they can't possibly have made a mistake.

For the record Mr Smartypants the wind might or might not have been storm force (unlikely in inland Britain), there was however a torrential hailSTORM accompanying the wind, so there.......:D

dacouch

Flamecloud was correctly pointing out that for your claim to be valid it normally needs to be a storm which the dictionary defines as being storm force winds.

Heavy rain or hail without storm force winds are not defined as a storm

FlameCloud

Mr_Man_Full_of_Love wrote: »

:rotfl:
I take it this must be the token Asprea employee who turns up in every complaint thread to blame everyone else as they can't possibly have made a mistake.

For the record Mr Smartypants the wind might or might not have been storm force (unlikely in inland Britain), there was however a torrential hailSTORM accompanying the wind, so there.......:D

Sadly not, I did think of applying but it turns out they don't employ my profession!

Go and look at what the Beaufort scale defines a storm as- you will find a gale a couple of places below this.

As I said, I have never seen these accepted by insurers, and I have personally visited hundreds of properties with the same damage you state. Go and find a surveyor, they will also tell you that storm winds do not damage flashing without taking part of the roof with them. The wind simply highlights the fact that the flashing works were invariably originally carried out on the cheap and hasn't been dressed properly into the mortar.

Mr_Man_Full_of_Love

I'm well aware of the Beaufort Scale, thank you anyway.
I assume the Asprea surveyor had also seen lots of these, that's why he wanted to be gone inside two minutes and told me there was no damage. Had I signed his report to that effect he wouldn't have gone away and fabricated a conversation that never took place to put in his report. He also wouldn't have done that had he genuinely been sure that there was no damage. Had he made any effort to ascertain the volume of water that had come into the loft he wouldn't have made such a stupid statement about being unlucky with the wind direction.
The validity of my claim became almost secondary to the unprofessional manner in which he dismissed it.

Anyway I see someone else has entered my thread with a far greater problem so perhaps someone can help in that direction.

Mr_Man_Full_of_Love

Instead of going away for Christmas as planned, here I sit posting on an internet forum.:j
The appalling service provided by a combination of Barclays/Woolwich/Aviva/Asprea meant I had no chance of getting my roof repaired in time for Christmas and therefore can't go away for fear of returning to a house full of water.:A

It's certainly been an eye opener though. Thank you to flamecloud and decouch for their imput.
In the new year I shall be severing all ties with the aforementioned bunch of ****. Before taking out a new insurance policy I shall undertake thorough research on the level of service provided by any potential insurers. If what has been said in this thread is true it might just be that there isn't an insurance company on the market who would have found my claim to be valid, but I would hope also that there isn't another one who would send an arrogant lazy pen-pushing liar posing as a property surveyor.

Merry Christmas Everyone.
At least I can still get drunk at home.:cool:

Save4ArainyDay

My house was flooded on Friday 13th November and although dry a fortnight ago - not decorated nor re-floored - January now for the work. Not very impressed either.

missile

IMHO it is not worth the cost of a stamp or the time to send an e mail to Aviva.

Insco

Mr_Man_Full_of_Love wrote: »

Good evening viewers. I thought I might as well add my own Asprea experience to the growing list of satisfied customers.:eek:

In mid-November my house was battered by a violent hailstorm followed by torrential rain. A couple of hours later I could a hear a dripping noise above the bedroom ceiling. I went into the loft and found water pouring in and dripping onto the ceiling. I did a hasty internal repair to prevent any more water coming in which was just stuffing it up with rag and placing a few buckets strategically around the point of the main dripping areas. I called a builder in who confirmed considerable damage to the lead flashing that adjoins my property and next door.
Next day I phoned the insurance company who took all the details and said a property inspector would visit but I had to wait ten days for an appointment.
I waited in all morning for the said inspector and on his arrival he said he would first check the loft. This is where the true Asprea experience kicks in - a sort of cross between Candid Camera and Rogue Traders.
He wasn't allowed in the loft for health and safety reasons :T and proceeded to take two photos of the wall from 15 feet in total darkness.
On this evidence my hopes of him inspecting the roof properly weren't high. Sure enough he went and stood in the road about 50 feet away and took a photograph. He came back in and informed me that there was no damage to the roof and that due to the way lead is laid in 3ft strips water can always get in if you're unlucky with the wind direction.:rotfl:
He then said he would fill out a report for me to sign to say I agreed with his findings and he'd be on his way. I sent him on his way without bothering even to see his report. I phoned the Asprea office to complain and was told that the report would be sent in the post and nothing could be done until I'd received it. Three days later the report arrived. I thought at first that I'd been sent someone elses report as it listed a whole series of items that the so-called inspector had informed me of. There was no mention at all of what he had said but he'd fabricated a whole list of things which he supposedly advised me of. Most of it looked like a generic wear and tear report which he probably copied and pasted from his laptop.:A
I phoned the insurance company to complain and was informed that I had to complain to Asprea in the first instance. I filed my complaint and received a call from a "technical surveyor". He couldn't deal with the fabricated report and that was a job for the Area Manager. As for the "inspection" he said he'd looked at the photographs and upon zooming in could tell that there was no "storm displacement" of the roof. I enquired how you could possibly be sure there was no damage with such a long distance inspection. I will quote his reply for posterity "It's not our job to look for damage, only (....................drum roll..............) storm displacement"
As far as Asprea were concerned it was case closed and if I wanted a second opinion I have to hire another surveyor at my own cost.:j
So in essence the Asprea "property inspector" was a photographer who fabricates reports.:A
I was slightly peed off with his non-attempt to inspect the property, but his complete fabrication of his report left me a tad narked.
To be completely honest (which something no one at Asprea can aspire to) there might be some truth in the wear and tear aspect with the hailstorm being the straw that broke the proverbial camel - I can't be sure and more importantly nor can they as they've made no attempt to inspect the property.

Merry Christmas everyone....especially to all at Asprea.:D

If your policy does not define storm ( many Insurers do not) then I think you should continue to contest this via the formal complaint process. I would agree with you, in the absence of any definition of storm in your policy, damage following a hailstorm would have to reasonably and fairly be accepted.

At the very least, if you have accidental damage cover, the internal damage to your home should be covered ( and indeed if the rain and hail was driven in under the flashing as Asprea advised you, then I would suggest that this constitutes storm damage in ay event, in the absence of Aviva defining storm)

If the flashing was replaced such a short while ago, do all you can to evidence this to Aviva as dacouch suggests.

When you dump Aviva, try obtaining quotes from Co-Op and Hiscox who generally provide good service and on the whole provide the professional service that you are entitled to.

graham260967

As an ex-supplier to N/U you need to be aware the one thing that never gets discussed is the customer, its all about how to save money,

ASPREA are a company who's main focus is to repudiate claims as they have one pot of money from N/U and the less they spend on claims the more is made for their shareholders at Carillion.

Never under estimate how stupid and untrained their surveyours are they are clueless. Many do not understand building structures and materials.

Mind you N/U are no better, they couldn't understand why plaster needs to be removed when soaking wet, as new plaster is wet! No mention of soaking wet brickwork underneath and the fact that plaster generally blows off the wall as the brickwork underneath dries. And if you really cared about customer service would you put yours claims handling in India.

Anyway my advice to anyone claiming through N/U & ASPREA is get in a Loss Assessor they look after your claim and take all the hassle away and believe me you will get a hell of a lot more from your claim. Don't confuse with a Loss Adjuster who work for your nsurer.

Finally when you insurance is up please leave and find a good insurer. But avoid, LTSB, SAGA, RHIAS, CIS, LV, Direct Line and any companies that have N/U under writing their insurance.

More Than and NFU aren't too bad.

But for outstanding five star service, no one comes near to HISCOX, but you'll pay for that in your premium