Admiral car insurance scam

iHATEadmiralINSURANCE

Dear Readers,

What a wonderful world we live in, that we have freedom of expression, helped by this website.

I got screwed over by Admiral car insurance when my car was stolen, and to avoid the same treatment PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING ADVICE BEFORE MAKING A CLAIM ON YOUR CAR INSURANCE:

1. MAKE COPIES OF ALL CORRESPONDENCE SENT
2. DO NOT USE THE ENVELOPE PROVIDED BY ADMIRAL TO RETURN YOUR KEYS & CLAIM DOCUMENTS, USE A SECURE ENVELOPE, e.g. Jiffy bag
3. VIDEO RECORD YOURSELF PLACING YOUR KEYS & CLAIM DOCUMENTS IN AN ENVELOPE, SEALING IT & HANDING IT OVER THE POST OFFICE COUNTER (the most important point of all)
4. SEND ALL CORRESPONDENCE BY RECORDED DELIVERY (for proof of the weight & delivery of documentation sent)
5. CONSIDER USING A SERVICE OTHER THAN ROYAL MAIL

In a nutshell, I sent my claim documents and key to the car and Admiral have refused to settle/progress my claim (as of writing it's now been 10 months) because the key was 'lost' somewhere between my posting it to them and their claims department.

This 'lost' key has been the basis for all excuses...sorry, GROUNDS for disputing my claim, in that the circumstances count as a 'keys in car' dispute. Despite doing everything I've been asked by Admiral, I've been accused of fraud, called a liar, proven that their staff have made false claims....you name it, it's happened!

Enough is enough....don't get stung by Admiral.

That's why I HATE ADMIRAL INSURANCE and have launched a new website of the same name to give the full story!

Browntoa

some more information about how the car was stolen would give a more balanced story and are they saying that only the key is missing but that they received the rest ??

no disrepect but I always use special delivery for important documents

iHATEadmiralINSURANCE

Absolutely, they've tried to pull a fast one!

Hi Browntoa....special delivery is an obvious one, but thought it better to state for the record, as not everybody is 100% savvy or has dealt with similar situations before (I'm living proof!)...

I've no idea how the car was stolen, then recovered about six months later. The only information I've been given is that it was written off, that there was damage to every panel, then that there was no damage to the doors (I've still not been graced with a condition report or photos by Admiral). But the only key I had to the vehicle was sent by me, as soon as Admiral asked for it, together with relevant doc's.

Admiral said they've received all the documentation, just can't find the key....or the original envelope in which it was sent (which would have proved that the envelope was damaged in the post or that it was in tact when it reached them).

In later correspondence, an Admiral claims handler stated that the documents, as weighed by Admiral, came to 185 grams, whereas the package I posted weighed 197 grams, hence a key couldn't have been included, therefore they wouldn't settle the claim...as the weight of a key was missing!

Later, when Admiral sent me back all the original documentation (together with a document not relating to my claim), they weighed in - on the same scales from which they were originally sent - at only 152 grams, proving that;

a) Admiral's claim handler had either lied about the weight of the documents or misread their weight, on which he based a refusal to deal with the claim, and
b) What I'd originally sent to Admiral weighed more than just the documents they claimed to receive.

Bearing in mind that Royal Mail claimed it's a recipient's responsibility to complain if a package arrives in poor condition (which didn't happen) and that Admiral admitted in writing that there was no record of the original envelope being damaged on arrival, although they didn't save it.

I can only conclude that either my key was lost in transit by Royal Mail or that somebody at Admiral lost my key and refused to take responsiblity.

The tack then changed to one of "there's no signs of forced entry to the vehicle... and no key is present" hence we're not going to progress your claim.

I'm told I'm not getting paid for my claim, I'm not able to buy back what's left of my car and I'm not entitled to have it back. So, I've paid for a premium up front, I'm out of pocket for a Mercedes-Benz S-Class and I'm minus wheels, with not enough cash to buy a replacement!

Is that balanced enough of a story???

Oscar_The_Grouch

Hi there

If you disagree with the decision of Admiral, ask them for a "final decision letter" and take the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

The FOS are there to help you when you've had issues with your insurers and are impartial. Every insurance policy includes a small amount that covers their general running costs and then each insurer is charged £500 for every case the FOS review. You, as a member of the general public, pay nothing.

Any decision made by the FOS (either by an adjudicator and on acceptance or by an ombudsman in the form of their final response) is binding on the insurer but not on you. Its decisions do not affect your statutory rights so you can still take them to court if you are not satisfied with the outcome.

Oscar_The_Grouch

Errmmm.... Your poll - It's a bit one-sided.... Perhaps next time you should consider adding a "I don't have strong feelings either way".

iHATEadmiralINSURANCE

Absolutely, they've tried to pull a fast one!

Hi Oscar...

Thanks for the advice - already taken it!! Admiral refused to give me a 'final response' except verbally, which I had to record, together with other conversations where their staff contradicted themselves. However, the FOS took my complaint on board with just the verbal 'final response' (Bless them).

So far, Admiral have missed two deadlines to respond and asked for an extension to reply. Their latest deadline was last Friday 19th Feb, and the Ombudsman appears to agree that they've been unreasonable.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to raise awareness of 'BEST PRACTICE' for anybody that has to make a claim on their car insurance, plus find out if anyone else in the UK has found themselves in a similar situation, i.e. sent their stolen car's key(s), had their key(s) lost and subsequently had their claim refused?

vikingaero

If you hate Admiral then make sure you don't re-insure with Elephant, Diamond, Bell Direct etc.