Direct Line Car Ins - what are they up to?

sophieschoice

Recently I left Saga and joined Direct Line.
As is usual they wanted proof of no claims which I duly sent.
Cue letter from them saying it wasn't the correct paperwork and they would invoice me a further £300 unless I provided the 'correct' paperwork (whatever they deem that to be).
After sending every last page of paperwork from Saga to Direct Line I ended up having a very angry (on my part) telephone conversation with them which ended with them agreeing to contact Saga via telephone for the 'correct' proof.
Fast forward a couple of months and I found Direct Line to be cheaper than Tesco for my Mum's new car insurance.
I paid for it and sent them the renewal notice from Tesco which clearly stated '9 years NCB'.
Christmas Eve a letter arrived at Mum's from Direct Line saying the notice I sent wasn't 'correct' and, unless she forwarded the 'correct proof' to them, they would invoice her a further £300!
As I was (to coin a dreadful 'Mericun term) in a very bad place I let Direct Line have it with both barrels. The call taker advised me to call again yesterday before 4pm to give them details (which they already had!!) so they could confirm over the telephone with Tesco that the details were correct.
I spoke to the call taker (a different one) who flatly refused to discuss it with me so I agreed (with a very bad grace) to recall again today with Mum present so she could give permission for them to speak to me.
When I phoned today the call taker (yet another one) said there was a note on the file saying they had received the information they needed from Tesco earlier today via phone!!!!!!!
But 'give me five minutes to check and I'll phone you back'.
Needless to say it was more than five minutes and I had somewhere else I urgently needed to be so left it with Mum. Later on she sent me a text saying it was all sorted.
The strange thing is that as we were discussing the 'co-incidence' of neither of our renewal forms from our previous insurers being 'correct' my nephew turned up and said the same thing happened to him!

Has anyone else had this experience from Direct Line when insuring a car with them after previously using another company?
Do they send a letter out to everyone demanding another £XXX if the 'correct proof' isn't forwarded forthwith?

adamc260

I like that Direct Line couldn't get the correct proof from Tesco (which would of been UKI if it was renewal as they've only just been taken over by Fortis)... even though it was the same company using the same call centres/staff

Fools

newbie007_2

It looks like a ploy to get more money? I wouldn't put it pass insurance companies these days.

Well your nephew should tell them to resolve it immediate and not to bother him (point out this happens to 2 relatives). Threaten to make a complain to the financial ombusman service (FOS), this will do the trick. If you feel they have given you huge stress and grief over this then you should make a complain to the FOS so that they are aware of this underhand tactic from DL.

vusys1

if DL or Tesco send a unacceptable NCD letter there should be a paragraph included to advise why:

1. NCD is in percentage and not years
2. Vehicle on cover is not the same as on the renewal notice
3. There has been a gap in cover
4. Last years renewal
5. Schedule sent not renewal notice.

etc etc.

there has also been a lot of back office work out sourced to NON UK centres which could also explain if there was any lack of clarity in the letters.

In regards to Tesco & DL being u/w by the same UKI is correct, but some consultants have their access restricted to the brands they have only been trained to deal with, they could have contacted back office staff though to confirm

sophieschoice

Thanks for that.
I do know that Saga work on a percentage instead of actual years NCB but Direct Line advised me of that when I took out cover with them so they were aware.
Regarding the rest, everything was in perfect order and the renewal notice from Tesco was crystal clear and had all the information Direct Line could possibly need.
What really irritated me was that when I kicked off they backed down immediately and phoned the previous insurer for confirmation.
I was very cross that I KNEW they had the correct information but sent a 76 year old lady a letter on Christmas Eve demanding another £300.

huckster

Outsourcing of work to non UK centres is a pain in the *ss to staff and customers. No matter how good the technology is and how qualified the staff are in India or wherever, it never seems to operate as well as it does if kept in the UK. Somewhere in the design of the systems and processes put in place, they appear to miss out the customer.

Direct Line are still up for sale as far I am aware and I fear it will be the next company to operate mainly offshore. They are in the process of a major reorganisation getting ready to be sold by 2013 at the latest. Once they are sold there is no guarantee that the new owners will want to continue marketing the company as having UK based call centres. If DL continue not to be as profitable as it once was, they will offshore/oursource as much as they can.

mikey72

vusys1 wrote: »

if DL or Tesco send a unacceptable NCD letter there should be a paragraph included to advise why:

1. NCD is in percentage and not years
2. Vehicle on cover is not the same as on the renewal notice
3. There has been a gap in cover
4. Last years renewal
5. Schedule sent not renewal notice.

etc etc.

there has also been a lot of back office work out sourced to NON UK centres which could also explain if there was any lack of clarity in the letters.

In regards to Tesco & DL being u/w by the same UKI is correct, but some consultants have their access restricted to the brands they have only been trained to deal with, they could have contacted back office staff though to confirm

Is that DL specific, that the ncd is vehicle specific now, not person?
Any gap is not accepted, not the usual two years?
It has to be a specific letter, not last years renewal like every one else accepts?
If these are their new tricks, it sounds like they are becoming a good one to miss entirely, that and the fact they have always been dear for me too.

adamc260

vusys1 wrote: »

some consultants have their access restricted to the brands they have only been trained to deal with, they could have contacted back office staff though to confirm

Don't really know why, all the products are the same with the small differences of Direct Line having Uninsured Driver/Vandalism Promise... Besides that they're pretty much the same.

The amount of times I'd ring them to chase things and I'd dial Tesco and at the end of the call get 'Thanks for calling Lloyds Insurance' etc etc

vusys1

dont worry, LTSB have gone aswell from RBS/Churchill ,so have Tesco,Virgin are going and Prudential are rumored to be going.:D

adamc260

Doesnt look good for RBS/UKI does it!

huckster

adamc260 wrote: »

Doesnt look good for RBS/UKI does it!

The problem for RBSI is their operating model. It is too inflexible for some of the companies who would look to UKI to administer/underwrite Insurance for their brand. When you have such a dominant brand such as Direct Line in the same group, the managers that look after partnerships with these branded companies such as Tesco, have a real fight on their hands, particularly around issues such as pricing, offering discount deals. Tesco as a brand obviously had ambitious plans to increase the number of policies and to expand their range of products, so they have moved their business to Ageas (nee' Fortis).

My prediction is that at some point prior to 2013, per the EU directive, is that most of RBSI will be sold off. The last press speculation was in Sept 10, when Berkshire Hathaway were taking a look.