BeatThatQuote.com refusing cashback

4$£&*(£$&*(!

You may find it of interest one of the links Martin refers to on his cheap insurance guide is causing problems for me. Martin suggests using BeatThatQuote.com to obtain cashback once the lowest priced policy has been found.

I followed their instructions to the letter, I purchased using the link by email, I submitted my claim on time. They are claiming I purchased my insurance direct - in other words, suggesting I did not use the link in their emails to buy my policy.

Their telephone number seems pretty valid, but when I called this afternoon I am greeted with a cheery woman who offers me a number of options. Every single option I select takes me straight to a mailbox where a foreign sounding gentleman announces there is no-one available to take my call and please leave a message.

I have left a message and sent an email, but am not hopeful of any meaningful response particularly as their T&C's state "If Your application is rejected for any reason, you can appeal within 14 days of the date of your notice of rejection by sending an email with your policy details to [EMAIL="cashbackappeal@beatthatquote.com"]cashbackappeal@beatthatquote.com[/EMAIL]. The appeal decision by us is final and no further correspondence will be entered into."

I feel this should serve as a warning to others this company should be avoided.

lisyloo

I feel this should serve as a warning to others this company should be avoided.

Do you not think you should wait for the outcome first?
Perhaps there was a technial glitch and your problem might be solved quickly and amicably?
I have no connection, but do think you are jumping the gun without giving them any time to resolve the issue.
You only called this afternoon.

BeatThatQuote

i do apologise for any inconvenience caused. on occasions the phone may not be answered due to our advisors being busy on the other line. so that we can get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible could you please call on 03333 401 515. we endeavor to resolve this query by the end of play today.

Quote

Anyone expecting anything arranged via something called beatthatquote.com to run smoothly wants their brane checking.

lisyloo

I'm not a brand new user and I think this is way way way too short a period to be damning a company.
I use quidco.
They only pay out when they are paid.
This has taken nearly 9 months for me in the past but I've always received it.

One or two days is ridiculous, considering normal timescales and that there may be an Xmas backlog, flu at this time of year and staff may not be able to get to work in the snow. Parts of the country are at a standstilll !!!!!!.

No idea about the company, but try to solve the problem FIRST and give them a reasonable amount of time to do so.
In some cases it may take 6 months or more to get cashback.
If you aren't up for that then don't apply in the first place.

4$£&*(£$&*(!

Admittedly I perhaps have jumped the gun, I think I saw red when an email arrived in my inbox that amounts to stating I have gone straight to the insurer and they won't be paying out was not a good email.

Saying that, it's been over 24 hours with no resolution in sight so I do not hold much confidence.

It is frustrating to say the least when these cashback companies instruct so tightly, and I follow the instructions to the letter, yet their first response is 'no'.

I have a fair feeling the way Budget Insurance set their insurance up, the company I took a policy with via BeatThatQuote, this has caused a break in the link with the two and could well have caused confusion despite Budget acknowledging I went to them via a third party (BeatThatQuote) and not direct. You see, when their link is selected from BeatThatQuote, Budget automatically go through their comparison list too then you hit 'buy'. There is no way to bypass that.

If Budget's system and BeatThatQuote's system won't talk to each other that's not my problem, BTQ should still pay up and I will be having words with the FSA if they do not. I wonder what the FSA would make to their term "If Your application is rejected for any reason, you can appeal within 14 days of the date of your notice of rejection by sending an email with your policy details to [EMAIL="cashbackappeal@beatthatquote.com"]cashbackappeal@beatthatquote.com[/EMAIL]. The appeal decision by us is final and no further correspondence will be entered into."

BeatThatQuote

I look after BeatThatQuote’s insurance comparison service and have been watching with interest the progress on this thread. I think it would be helpful if I set out how the cashback process works.

The first thing to stress is that we administer insurance cashback services on behalf of a number of organisations (in this case The Independent), with whom rests the final decision on whether a claim should be met.

To make a cashback claim from The Independent, the customer needs to visit their website, obtain a range of insurance quotations, and then purchase a policy from one of the panel members; using either the link on the site or by calling on numbers we specify on the website. The panel member then reports back to BeatThatQuote all the policies that have been sold, so that when a claim is made via The Independent’s website, we can match the claim back to the sold policy and pay the cashback amount to the individual’s bank account. For the overwhelming majority of claimants, this process works very smoothly (in fact, we even send reminder emails telling individuals when they can make a claim).

There are some other factors to consider though:

Our panel members send us the details of policies sold in the month after they commence (so a policy that starts on – say – 7th January will not be reported to us until mid February at the earliest). It is for this reason (and to allow customers to change their mind in the initial cooling off period) that we require policies to be in force for 60 days before a claim can be made (as additional checks may also be required). However, some customers do try and claim prior to this date, and are therefore told they are claiming too early.

When a claim is made, it needs to be on the appropriate page on The Independent’s website, with all information provided. This allows us to locate the policy as quickly as possible, and as a secure site ensures that providing bank account details is safe. Unfortunately, some customers do not provide sufficient information, which means we have to make additional checks.

Finally, the ability to meet a cashback claim depends upon the insurer “crediting” the sale to us in their monthly reports. It is for that reason the policy needs to be bought via a click from the website or on a specified number – if the customer goes directly to the insurer website (perhaps via a web search) or calls them directly, the policy sale is not attributed to us and no commission is paid. There is a further complication in that a small minority of the insurance panel members operate a procedure where the policy sale is credited to the last comparison website from whom a customer carries out a quote, even if they buy from an alternative source (we believe this is down to limitations and restrictions in the panel member’s own systems). Once again, this can mean that no policy sale or commission is credited.

We explain this in the Cashback Terms and Conditions, but I empathise with customers who don’t see what happens “behind the scenes” and get frustrated as a result. I am happy to confirm that in CitySlicker’s case, The Independent has confirmed that we should pay the claim on a goodwill basis. I can further confirm we are a legitimate, UK based organisation and have already paid hundreds of cashback claims on behalf of the organisations we operate these schemes for.

lisyloo

Whey hey.
26 hours and a good result.

Well done CitySlicker.
I am really pleased for you. :T

However I simply can't resist the temptation to say

nah, nah, nah, nah, nah :rotfl:

dacouch

I believe another problem can be caused by a few Insurers deliberately instruct their staff to ring the customer and advise them some of the info needs correcting. They then put this down as a direct sale so save themselves the cost of paying the comparison site. Very sneaky if done intentionally and obviously if it happens the customer can miss out on their cash back

4$£&*(£$&*(!

lisyloo wrote: »

Whey hey.
26 hours and a good result.

Well done CitySlicker.
I am really pleased for you. :T

However I simply can't resist the temptation to say

nah, nah, nah, nah, nah :rotfl:

Fair enough, and I don't mind going with the jokes as this is a result.

What I would say is I am no stranger to cashback services, I even go sofar as to clearing cookies first and reading the smallprint too.

At the end of this I am still unconvinced I did anything other than following BTQ's instructions to the letter, but I am being paid and they now have publicity so I suppose it has worked out all round.

BeatThatQuote

That's an interesting point Dacouch! We have various monitoring procedures in place, but we always need to be vigilant!