Comet extra care....help please.

WarrenT

When I bought my TV from Comet they sold me a 5 year cover plan for £230. The salesman said this was a good idea as we had a little one running around and he said we would be covered if anything happened to the tv.

Last week my shelf collapsed and the vase it was holding fell and hit the bottom part of the TV causing the screen to break. I called comet and the engineer that they sent said he probably can't fix it but not to worry as we are covered.

I've just heard back from Comet and now they are declining to cover the televison. Saying something like its external cause even though they said on the phone that they replace TV's when kids have thrown things at them!

Any advice on what I can do????


I have copied some information from their T&C that might be relevant:

If your product stops working for any reason (subject to B below) during the term of the plan, we will endeavour to repair it or, if it is uneconomical to repair it, we will provide you with a new replacement product of similar specification.

Scetion B - What is not included?

You must take reasonable care of your product. We will not repair or replace any product which has been abused, misused or damaged intentionally. If it shows signs of an immenent failure of parts or breakdown, do not continue to use it.

We will not repair or replace any product which has been damaged or does not work because of an external cause such as a computer virus, the weather, faults in the electricity, water or gas supply or defective plumbing.

david39

I think your television was damaged "due to an external cause" and therefore is not covered by the agreement.

Could you claim under "accidental damage" on your household contents policy?

Never buy "extended cover" guarantees on electrical items. They are already covered for their first year and then on a time and proportional value scale, for the next few years anyway, under SOGA.

You have paid £230 for a 5 year cover, which is really only 4 years (years 2-5). It is highly unlikely for the set to go (internally) wrong in its early years. If you had put £5.50 per month on one side for the 5 years - that's £230 - you would be able to fund the most likely repair costs yourself after the second year and - if as expected - the set lasted 5 years without a problem, you would be well on the way to buying a new one.

deanos

"Product breakdown - The ExtraCare Service Plan provides repair for any breakdown, failure or mishaps from the date of purchase."

Surely this is a mishap ?

http://www.comet.co.uk/static/services/service-plans/extracare-service-plan

WarrenT

deanos wrote: »

"Product breakdown - The ExtraCare Service Plan provides repair for any breakdown, failure or mishaps from the date of purchase."

Surely this is a mishap ?

That's exactly what I thought. The salesman in the store told me I would be covered for this sort of thing otherwise I wouldn't have bothered. Comet actually said they have replaced tv's that kids have broken.

deanos

Think you have a case Comet are talking pants

I would ring them up just asking about the policy in general without giving any details and ask if accidental damage is covered, if they say yes then ask then why they are not going to help you with accidental damage

Esqui

I don't know what they declare as "external causes", but things like fire and flood are completely different to something falling onto a TV. It certainly doesn't do Comet any favours...isn't it insurance companies who are supposed to wriggle out of things under the smallest of smallprint?

Comet_company_representative

WarrenT wrote: »

When I bought my TV from Comet they sold me a 5 year cover plan for £230. The salesman said this was a good idea as we had a little one running around and he said we would be covered if anything happened to the tv.

Last week my shelf collapsed and the vase it was holding fell and hit the bottom part of the TV causing the screen to break. I called comet and the engineer that they sent said he probably can't fix it but not to worry as we are covered.

I've just heard back from Comet and now they are declining to cover the televison. Saying something like its external cause even though they said on the phone that they replace TV's when kids have thrown things at them!

Any advice on what I can do????


I have copied some information from their T&C that might be relevant:

If your product stops working for any reason (subject to B below) during the term of the plan, we will endeavour to repair it or, if it is uneconomical to repair it, we will provide you with a new replacement product of similar specification.

Scetion B - What is not included?

You must take reasonable care of your product. We will not repair or replace any product which has been abused, misused or damaged intentionally. If it shows signs of an immenent failure of parts or breakdown, do not continue to use it.

We will not repair or replace any product which has been damaged or does not work because of an external cause such as a computer virus, the weather, faults in the electricity, water or gas supply or defective plumbing.

Hi WarrenT

I was sorry to hear what has happened to your TV and the problems you have had with arranging a repair/replacement under the extended cover plan you have. The extended cover plan does cover for mishaps, therefore, I would need to do some more investigations to understand why this particular incident is not being covered under the terms of your policy.

So that I can look into this further for you could you please contact me using the link below with further information.

http://comet.custhelp.com/app/ask/

When you contact me, please provide your full name, address and any other details you have such as an order number, policy number or job number. Please also quote the reference "269740" so I can link the e-mail to this post.

Thanks

Chris
Comet

WarrenT

Comet_company_representative wrote: »

Hi WarrenT

I was sorry to hear what has happened to your TV and the problems you have had with arranging a repair/replacement under the extended cover plan you have. The extended cover plan does cover for mishaps, therefore, I would need to do some more investigations to understand why this particular incident is not being covered under the terms of your policy.

So that I can look into this further for you could you please contact me using the link below with further information.



When you contact me, please provide your full name, address and any other details you have such as an order number, policy number or job number. Please also quote the reference "269740" so I can link the e-mail to this post.

Thanks

Chris
Comet

I have just done as you requested Chris. The site generated me a ref no. which is #110616-002675.

Thank you.

WarrenT

Here is the reply I got from Comet.

Dear Mr Thorne

I am sorry to hear that you are unhappy with my colleague's previous response.

Having reviewed the entire matter, while I am of course very sorry that you disagree with the information provided, I am satisfied that it is correct and am therefore unable to help you any further on this matter. The insurer, TWG, has rejected the claim under the "external causes" exclusion of the policy, as the accident did not happen to the television direct but rather to the shelves thus being an external cause. I am unable to overrule this decision.

Please accept my apologies for the inconvenience you have been caused.

Kind Regards
Kevin Morgan
Comet Customer Services


Personally I think they are a disgrace for wriggling out of something like this. I cant envisage any situation where they would pay out if they keep hiding behind this "external causes" con. I will now be in contact with trading standards, watchdog and the financial ombudsman. I'm also speaking to my solicitor on Monday for advice. Its gone beyond just getting the television replaced. They must be doing hundreds of people out of money with this false cover policy.

david39

As I suggested earlier, can you make a claim under your household contents insurance?

Comet_company_representative

WarrenT wrote: »

Here is the reply I got from Comet.

Dear Mr Thorne

I am sorry to hear that you are unhappy with my colleague's previous response.

Having reviewed the entire matter, while I am of course very sorry that you disagree with the information provided, I am satisfied that it is correct and am therefore unable to help you any further on this matter. The insurer, TWG, has rejected the claim under the "external causes" exclusion of the policy, as the accident did not happen to the television direct but rather to the shelves thus being an external cause. I am unable to overrule this decision.

Please accept my apologies for the inconvenience you have been caused.

Kind Regards
Kevin Morgan
Comet Customer Services


Personally I think they are a disgrace for wriggling out of something like this. I cant envisage any situation where they would pay out if they keep hiding behind this "external causes" con. I will now be in contact with trading standards, watchdog and the financial ombudsman. I'm also speaking to my solicitor on Monday for advice. Its gone beyond just getting the television replaced. They must be doing hundreds of people out of money with this false cover policy.

Hi WarrenT

I was sorry to hear of the further problems you have experienced. Having reviewed the matter it did look like the outcome appeared unfair given the circumstances. Therefore, having escalated the matter further, your particular issue has now been reassessed and they will honour an exchange as per the Terms & Conditions of the plan.

I can confirm that you will be contacted to arrange an exchange shortly.

Chris
Comet