Motor Insurance :Buyer Beware.

Pocket_the_lot

It is best not to tell an insurance company what your previous insurance companies quote is and also avoid any insurance company that sets their maximum no claims bonus at nine years for maximum no claims discount. The reason being is that it leaves too much scope for them to manipulate and increase the insurance premium that you are quoted over the phone.
Despite being claim free since 1996 my previous insurance company only offers six years NCD. This is just one aspect.


The next game play is that Masterquote sent two letters that were generated just over four hours apart and both arrived at the same time which was one day after the 14 day cancellation period. These letters were dated four days earlier than delivery but it has always been my feeling that business mail should be date stamped to indicate the time of delivery at the Royal mail sorting office.


The first letter asked for proof of NDC from my previous insurer. At the time of seeking the quote, it was stressed that the policy would be cancelled and incur cancellation fees if this document was not received within 14 days.


The second letter explained that they had received the NDC but continued in a disingenuous manner.


1). Masterquote said that they had received the NDC from my previous insurer: Yes because I had requested it myself and posted it on to them.


2).They also stated that they had been notified about a claim on......... : Yes this was stated on the NDC but because it was ambiguous I made a point of explaining that it was only a notification of vandalism which I had paid to be repaired out of my own pocket. A claim was not made. The Vandal had been caught and I am still receiving small payments into my bank account each month. This point was written in such a way that it is impossible for mq not to see it.


3).Masterquote went on to say that the discount has been reduced to six years. : So all bases are covered. a) they are now demanding a considerable increase in premium and if I wish to cancel they can demand cancellation fees.


4).Masterquote states that this is considered material information by your insurer, and should have been disclosed at inception of the Policy. : As I have said I have not been involved in an accident since 1996 and have never made a claim in that time except for a repair for a chipped windscreen. Since they are firing legal jargon at me it would be interesting to see how the insurance ombudsman would view it. There is obviously a call for a more specific description on the NDC disclosure form and this experience highlights the problems that can occur to those that seek cheaper motor insurance.

citykid5

they seem to be allowed to make their own rules these days,and seem to be useing some shadey practices to up their income.it realy beats me how insurers spend countless millions on trying to get new business,but seem to care very little about keeping exsiting customers,by increasing their premiums even when you havn't claimed.

im-lost

how thery dare a private company set their own prices.
the cheek of it all.

citykid5

im-lost wrote: »

how thery dare a private company set their own prices.
the cheek of it all.

i'm not saying that they should'nt be allowed to set t5heir own prices.it's more the shady practice of cancelation charges.if you don't wish to stay with them,why should they be allowed to charge exorbitant charges to cancel?

A._Badger

What a surprise - a car insurance company behaving like a bunch of crooks.

forgotmyname

You failed to notify them of an incident, You thought you didnt need to because no claim had been
made. But have found out you were wrong so price increases because you are a higher risk?

All accidents whether a claim has been made or not....

DCFC79

No need for buyer beware but the customer is honest with the companies, in my years of driving ive not told a lie/fib/porkie and its all gone fine for me.

Pocket_the_lot

This post was composed last night( 3rd October 2011) and posted this morning (the 4th). From today’s enquiries it requires modification in light of more detailed information.


When I awoke yesterday morning (the 3rd) I had a plan of action in mind and determined that if everything was sorted out I would either remove this thread or in the least remove references to Masterquote.


Earlier in the day I had called my previous insurer to explain the situation and they confirmed that it was recorded as an incident and not a claim. They said that they will send written confirmation to me to pass on but that my present insurer could call them directly. (I had already given permission for this when I had originally requested the NDC letter and it had been installed on my file so that it pops up whenever my details are requested). I had asked them why the vandalism was stated as a claim when it was recorded as an incident and the reply was that is the way we do things. I replied that it should be changed to prevent such a situation happening to others. This call was made at 1:45pm.


At 2:08 I made a call to Mastrerquote and explained to them what had been said by my previous insurer and mentioned that a copy would be sent out to me but would not reach them until after the deadline by which time the policy will have ceased (at the end of two days) Naturally I asked for an extension of the deadline to allow the documents to reach them but they refused. Quite a few times during the conversation the person on the other end of the phone had to leave to seek advice on things that would normally be straight forward and simple.
I asked Masterquote to call the company directly to which they agreed and said they will call me back.


At 3:30 this call came and it was a lady on the end of the phone and she said that she had spoken to Kelly whom she reported could not discuss information without my permission and also that my policy was still open. In response to this I read out the NCD document stating that the policy had already been cancelled. When I asked again for an extension it was refused but I was told that the information could either be faxed to them or emailed because it would be quicker. First the fax number was given then the email but part way through reading out the email address the line went dead but she immediately called back. I remarked to her that the line had gone dead at exactly the same point when it was being read out to me on a previous occasion some days before.
Quite a lot was said in between to no avail.


The next move was to make a call to the previous insurer's customer service department and spoke with them at great length.
I was told that there was no one named Kelly. They confirmed that the only enquiry concerning my NDC is recorded to have been picked up at 1:59 which would have been from myself. They also confirmed th at there is a notice to give permission give out information and that the policy had been closed mid September. The explanation for this anomaly is that there is no connection between the claims department and customer services,they both have their own separate databases.


It appeared that Kelly was a phantom and did not make sense , (her name was emphasised a second time by the Masterquote admin), I reasoned that to be able to say that the insurance is still open would mean that she would have to have looked at the screen and therefore would see the permission to give out details of my NDC together with the fact that the policy is closed and the date. This did not make any sense at all.
As it turns out the fact that the policy is closed negates any attempts to email my info, even to myself. This also confirms that Masterquote could not have received the NCD info from any other source other than from myself in which case they would have seen the explanation that I had written on the front of the sheet.

What also transpired today (4th) was that the file in claims had remained open because although I had said that I would pay for the repair myself they were expecting me to get back to them to confirm the outcome but as far as I was concerned there was nothing more to be done. This was never revealed to me because there was never a reason to call claims again and customer services was oblivious to this situation as well.




If as forgotmyname says: 'You failed to notify them of an incident, You thought you didnt need to because no claim had been
made. But have found out you were wrong so price increases because you are a higher risk?

All accidents whether a claim has been made or not... .' Then why do Masterquote insist on charades instead of stating this fact.

It would seem that after the housing bubble for which we all continue to suffer, Motor Insurance has become the new Wild West.

forgotmyname

Motor insurance always has been the wild west but now they are high tech and can find out about
and little bits of information you fail to tell them.

Previously they wouldnt be able to check if you had claimed or not, Never mind a minor issue with no claim.

I dont know how the policy or quote system is worded for them and i have noticed some online comparison
sites do not make it clear also. Some ask claims or convictions, And some ask any accidents or convistions
even if no claim has been made.

Pocket_the_lot

forgotmyname wrote: »

Motor insurance always has been the wild west but now they are high tech and can find out about
and little bits of information you fail to tell them.

Previously they wouldnt be able to check if you had claimed or not, Never mind a minor issue with no claim.

I dont know how the policy or quote system is worded for them and i have noticed some online comparison
sites do not make it clear also. Some ask claims or convictions, And some ask any accidents or convistions
even if no claim has been made.

Its a fair point and through calling around it was mentioned that there is a central database of all policies so perhaps every ones motoring history is there too. It could explain Masterquote's stance towards me. Any way if we do not initially have this knowledge then it is easy to interpret things in a particular way.



For instance yesterday I had to be proactive to make enquiries into the situation for clarity. My experience has highlighted that there needs to be a standardised and streamlined system that can cross reference information and be compatible between companies. Without this it is very easy to go round in circles. There is too much scope for confusion and problems to occur.


The main problem was that my previous insurer has two separate systems for claims and customer services that do not talk to each other. That was why there was no record of Kelly or the enquiry from Masterquote into my file..As I have already explained the claims system had been waiting for a response from me that I did not know about and for all intents and purposes what has been termed as a claim could have remained open for many years. This has revealed the folly of paying the No Claims Protection premium. It is ironic that it could serve to conceal an impending problem.


In 2010 my premium had increased by £12 from the previous year but this time it had been raised by over £90. My desire to seek a new policy was driven by this and had initially thought that the increase was due to companies paying referral fees and all the other nonsense that has found its way into the motor insurance industry these days. This despite the fact that the record shows that the number of accidents has decreased. It is quite possible that this increase was generated from this so called open claim..Perhaps it would not have been revealed had I stayed with the same insurer..What we do not know is if such scope for confusion is purposely designed into the system.


From my various enquiries to different companies to establish the agent of my policy I have detected signs of reorganisation in various areas and couldn't help wondering if American interests were moving into this industry. I wont say any more about this (although I could let rip) but hope that you know what I mean.


Having just explained the above the Post has just arrived at 11:45 and as promised by my previous insurer a fresh copy of the NCD statement is included, dated 3rd October. Unfortunately it is exactly the same as the one that is being rejected by Masterquote. I understand this though because it takes 24 hours for claims to update the new information to the customer services so this will hopefully be completed by late this afternoon. Hopefully it will be a revised version that will be acceptable to Masterquote.


There is another interesting scenario to all of this because having urged Masterquote to contact my previous insurer again, which they did, I was told by the Masterquote representative that I need to call my old insurer in 48 hours (two days time) but I replied that I am going to call them straight away. (I wanted to hear first hand the instruction). I also mentioned that 2 days would take it beyond the cancellation time but they promised not to cancel but of course I had no intention of leaving fate to the wind.


The agent of the previous insurer explained to to me that it is the new insurer (Masterquote) that has to call customer services in 24 hours time quoting my policy number so that a fax could be sent directly to them. I asked if there was a way of proving receipt of the fax but the answer was no.


So now I have to wait until later this afternoon and be prepared to keep an eye on both sides.


I will have to modify the previous post in light of additional information.

Pocket_the_lot

After doing some research it turns out that Capita had bought out BDML in 2005.


It is BDM Connect Ltd that appears at the foot of Masterquote correspondence and as the Telegraph article below explains Capita also owns Equita which is responsible for operating the Congestion Charge in London and enforcing the fines fines with their bailiffs.If you also find Capita on Wikipedia you will be surprised.









Quote from the Telegraph: ''Last year Equita, which has operations across the UK, made a pre-tax profit of £7.41m on turnover of £17.9m. Analysts believe a large portion of the division's profits come from working for TfL.
Angie Bray, a member of the London Assembly and the Conservative spokesman on congestion charging, says: "Capita seems to be bene-fiting in various ways from inflicting misery on drivers in London."
also


However, resentment at the heavy-handed tactics allegedly employed by TfL's bailiffs is growing. Simon Aldridge, who runs an office waste-paper recycling business in Potters Bar, is taking Equita to court in an attempt to recoup charges he believes were unlawfully levied upon him by the bailiffs.
In the past he has been subject to actions by Equita to recoup unpaid penalty charges. And he contends that Equita routinely overcharged him.
Aldridge says in his witness statement to Clerkenwell County Court that Equitas charged him £245.09 for each of two congestion charge penalty debts of £125 - an amount he believed to be in excess of the statutory maximum a bailiff can demand for collection of a debt of that size.
In addition, he alleges that he was charged for bailiff visits that did not take place and for letters that were not sent. Aldridge paid £263.17 in total - the sum he considered the maximum Equita could legally charge him.
Equita disagreed and after a long correspondence with the company, two bailiffs arrived at Aldridge's door and threatened to take away his car unless he paid the full outstanding amount, which had by then spiralled to £450.85.
Aldridge paid up under protest and is now trying to recoup the sum through the courts. "Equita's actions have deeply offended my sense of justice," he says.
Meanwhile Kelly Russell, from Catford in London, also ran into trouble with Equita over two unpaid parking tickets. She says: "I have never come across people so rude and incompetent. As for the bailiff charges, my account went from being the £314 that I owe them, to more than £500 because a bailiff knocked on my door. The charges that they have applied are disgusting."


This may be the reason why I am having so much difficulty with Master quote and it was the spirit of their second letter in the beginning that first alerted me to what was to come. It seems that the Telegraph has exposed the true nature of their modus operandi in business.


My previous insurer has been bending over backwards to help resolve the problem and all that needed to be done has been completed yesterday afternoon. A half an hour call to Masterquote yesterday in which I had expected to be able to shepherd them to a satisfactory conclusion has come to nothing. It is very normal practice for Insurance companies to contact each other to seek verbal confirmation on insurance matters but this is one area that seems to be so difficult for them. I have tried to spoon feed them and even sent them an email with the contact number and old policy number of the previous insurer and stated that they can obtain confirmation either verbally or electronically. I will have to wait to see what outcome finally transpires.


My previous insurer left a message on my mobile this morning stating that they are doing all they can to resolve the problem. They are completely aware of the situation. I have just this minute recieved a call from them advising me that they have prepared a special letter to send on to masterquote. I will definately post it by recorded delivery or what ever means will prove that they have recieved it.

There is so much to comment about yesterdays progres but at this stage am tired of it all. All I wish for is a quiet life. Say no more at this point.