Appealing mobile phone insurance decision

Tetisheri1975

Hi, I'm just looking for a bit of advice on appealing the decision of my mobile phone insurance when they've told me I don't qualify for a claim because I didn't claim quickly enough.

A quick run-down of what's happened: on the Friday evening, I accidentally put my phone in with the laundry but I realised quickly what I'd done and took the phone out of the washing machine, but not before it'd got a bit of a soaking.

I found some advice on WikiHow, which said to open up all bits of the phone and leave it to dry for 48 hours, which I did. Unfortunately, the phone sustained too much water damage anyway and needs to be replaced.

On the Monday, I phoned the insurance company (who was Virgin's designated insurance company at the time when I got my phone). They took all the details of the incident, including when it happened. They sent me out a claim form, which I duly completed and returned quickly.

I've now received a letter back saying that because I didn't notify them of the incident within 48 hours of it happening, the claim isn't covered. I want to have a go at appealing for the following reasons:

1. I spent 48 hours making a very reasonable effort to dry the phone so I wouldn't need to make a claim;
2. I had never been given a copy of the terms and conditions of the insurance, so how would I be aware of the 48-hour notice period;
3. I, possibly in my own stupidity, thought they'd be closed over the weekend;
4. When I phoned on the Monday, despite taking details of when the incident happened, the girl on the phone didn't inform me the claim was outside of the 48-hour period, which I believe she should've done, instead of sending out the claim form, which I then had to wait two days for it to arrive, and then pay to return it in the post. This, I feel, is particuarly negligent/unfair on their behalf.

So, I'm just looking for either some advice on the best way to word a letter to them to get me the best chance of a successful appeal, or if I just have absolutely no chance of getting anywhere with it and shouldn't waste my time...

Thanks a lot!
Julia

Annisele

What you've said above sounds just fine to me, though I wouldn't stress the fourth point quite so much - you don't want a payment for distress and inconvenience because you weren't told you weren't covered; you want to actually be covered.

You might want to word it as a "complaint" about their decision, rather than as an appeal - that way, if they won't play ball, you might be able to refer your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service a little bit quicker.

Regardless of what the T&Cs actually say, if the 48 hour thing was never drawn to your attention I can't see that it's fair for the firm to rely on it. In addition, I can't see that the firm has suffered a loss because of the delay.

Tetisheri1975

Thanks for the advice Annisele - I complained to the insurance company and today I got a phone call from Virgin to arrange delivery of my new handset...woooo! :j