Be Wise... don't go with "Be Wiser" Car Insurance!

joejm

Guys same thing happened with me, I never claimed I have 9 year NCD. When I spoke to (text removed by MSE Forum Team) Bewise I clearly said to him that I have only two year NCD but without my knowledge he processed it as 9 year NCD. As soon as I saw the insurance cover I spoke to them and also e-mailed them about the NCD and I was assured that everything is fine. Now one of their administration assistant (text removed by MSE Forum Team) is claiming that I never contacted them or informed them about this. How do these people sleep at night and how they can repeat the same offence time after time!!!!!!!!!!

robsie

adamc260 wrote: »

Shocking service you received there :O Bunch of idiots from the sounds of!!

I had similar issues with Be Wiser, maybe there name gives a clue. My insurance with Be Wiser is due for renewal next month and i will look for a different company, i dread to think what would have happened if i needed the services of Be Wiser after an accident, as the old saying goes you live and learn. :j

OtleyDominic

I am am concerned that I am about to have a similar experience to those noted here. I took out a policy paid in full last Friday and have received a number of sales calls, calls wanting to confirm my information and various versions of documents. I await their call and hopefully I receive better service than experiences above. However, theu have sent me two cancellation notices for not providing information which they have not asked for previously. Upon speaking with BeWiser, they advised that one of their team will call me back and only confirm information with me?

Question, can I just cancel and receive a full refund if I am not convinced by them on the basis of my experiences above?

Many thanks

Dominic

MuchWiserNow

I am sorry to say I too have been subjected to this awful awful company!!

Same story, declared no NCD, paid my premium, got continuous calls from 01264 336161 and 08444999417. Googled them and this thread came up! Checked my NCD on the statement of fact - 9 years!!

Complained via email which I then sent to them with an official complaint to their offices by registered post, bought a new policy as I was unsure I was even covered as their policy clearly states that if the facts are wrong it could invalidate the insurance! Luckily I was in the statutory cooling off period to allow me to cancel the policy, but I wasn't going to pay the cancellation fee or any other fee for that matter.....so I waited for them to call me. When they did, I told them what a disgrace it is! Best thing - they didn't deny the changing my facts to 9 years NCD! The woman said its a 'way to reward named drivers' as I'd stated (I'm also on my dad's policy) and I'd had my licence for over 10 yrs!! Well if I have 9 years NCD, I WOULD HAVE PUT IT ON THE FORM!! Horrible way to try and get more money out of you (as previous people have said, higher premium, or a cancellation fee). I told the woman on the phone I wanted to cancel 100% and how disgusted I was, she told me she'd transfer me to customer services to do so - I was cut off!

So I immediately rang the Financial Services Ombudsmen and registered my complaint. If its happened to you, do the same. I then emailed Be Wiser again and stated I'd complained to the Ombudsmen. Low and behold, I got a response! Having read this thread I refused to deal with them in any other manner than over email so I would have proof of it all.

Next thing, the told me I was getting a full refund which I received today.

GLAD TO BE RID OF A COMPANY THAT IS SO DISHONEST!! PAY THE EXTRA AND GO WITH SOMEONE BETTER!! I'm with Quote Me Happy now - I have no complaints! Honest and decent.

PLEASE complain to the Ombudsmen as they pass complaint numbers to the FCA. This is the only way this shoddy company will ever be stopped from deceiving people.

lcparkinson

I almost came a cropper but didn't choose them in the end - I phoned up after a go compare quote for 2 cars to help me decide if I could afford the second and their initial quote was £400 less than when I then bought the second car and tried to use it. They claimed to have no record of the quote despite it sitting in my inbox and only having been prepared 6 hours previously.

I'm feeling lucky, and went with the much cheaper and more reliable (so far) Go Girls for my peugeot and Hastings for my Subaru. Be Wiser are still ringing me and I've blocked them.

Incidentally none of the "multicar" policies were anywhere near those prices, in some cases more than 3 times more expensive! I was shocked!

rish5757

Hi,

I was looking to insure my company car and I was put through to Be-Wiser by another insurance company - Endsleigh Insurance Services.

The sales person at Be-Wiser took all my details and then confirmed my company name and address. I paid the deposit over the phone £225.00 (approx) and was told the documents would be dispatched by first class post. After 7 days I called them and explained that I had received no documents- they sent these via email. On looking at the cover it was for a private vehicle and not for a company leased car- called them and asked to cancel the policy. Instead I was then told that they would still be able to get the cover and apologised for the misunderstanding. The quote was nearly 10 times the original - I asked to have this cancelled.
After 5 days i tried to them again without any joy and had to call the actual Insurers to complain - they put me through to a manager at Be-Wiser who said that i would be charged for the period the policy was in force - even if it was the wrong type! having agreed to this I was told he would confirm in writing via email... this was last week and guess what ... No email.

I am trying chase for the balance of my deposit ...

So please stay clear of this company .. they take the cash and that's the only time you will get to talk with someone.

I am going to try and get an article written in some consumer publications that I happen to have relationships with to warn anyone doing business with them.

Tearaway

Well I have been experiencing Be Wiser from a claim perspective and I can tell you that they are just as useless! They work with Crusader Assistance who then appoint AI Solutions to 'help ' you...except they didn't for 48 hrs when I was stranded 200 miles from home after a no fault accident. The trouble is they don't seem to connect the different messages coming in. Luckily the 3rd party's insurers were really quick off the mark, got my car towed to a repair yard, got me a hire car and eventually settled on a total loss claim. So now I want to cancel my policy...guess what...Be Wiser say they have no record of the accident in spite of me having a claim number and me having a letter from (text removed by MSE Forum Team)confirming this and what they are going to do for me. So now they are hanging the bag out on getting me a refund...and they want to skim off 40% of the balance, saying its in their t's and c's. It's unreal when most companies take a £25-£50 fee for cancellation. I am without car and all they can do is make life more miserable for you!

silvergirl

We have just had an experience with Bewiser via a comparison site. This was for home and contents. It's a general comment about how they do business. After the initial very pleasant conversation with sales, the following day we received a call to 'go through some details. ' Fortunately for us, we weren't in a mood to go through the whole rigmarole again, so said 'forget it'. To cut a long story to medium, we then made several phone calls to their 0844 number to discuss a better policy which conformed more to our needs.
One of the significant issues here is that there is a lot of 'can you hold?' or she's in a meeting (how many meetings in a day can one have?) We had to keep calling to get any action. Finally we cancelled, even though the policy was not to start for three weeks, and we were charged an admin fee. After another call, to institute a complaint formally, this fee has been waived and we have received a letter formally stating the cancellation and waiving of fee. Plus of course we have a phone bill for the 0844 number use.
Not a great experience, we went to a broker afterwards who offered us a great service and a good price - we have an out of the ordinary policy need.
Moral for us:
Avoid Bewiser
Probably avoid comparison sites for this sort of need
Our naivety was to blame for the 0844 charges, but we were kept waiting several times and had a few abortive calls which put the call bill up. So use 0844 with caution in future. It's a dodge to keep the phone meter ticking and I should have been more savvy.

If this post would be better on another forum, please let me know.

servlan

Dear all,

A word of advice "PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS INSURANCE BROKER"

Be Wiser is underwritten by AXA insurance but can change from time to time. I made the unfortunate mistake of making a new application on Confused.com only to then receive a call from one of the hundreds of Be Wiser Agents whom got me to sign up for my new car premium.

On the date my new policy started, I found another insurance company that was £400 less than Be Wiser!! With this in mind, I setup a new policy with the new insurance company and contacted Be Wiser to cancel the existing policy.

Considering that the Be Wiser policy was activated only less than 24hrs, I established on my cover letter a £25 cancellation charge but happy to pay this amount due to the savings made.

However when on the phone I was then told I would be charged a whopping £53!! as this was £25 for the underwriting insurer + £27 for Be Wiser. This is not evident in any documentation nor told to you when you sign up.

Please do not trust Be Wiser Insurance as they do not disclose full details with you on the phone or within the policy documentation.

Best regards
Paul

paddyosc

This company are a total shambles, i too have had nothing but grief in the last year, both on my van policy and my wifes policy.
i had a small accident just over a year ago, reported this to them the very next day, had further correspondence with both Bewiser and the insurance company, basically did everything asked of me and fulfilled all of my obligations.
5 months later the guy who does my business financing (Vehicle purchase) phoned to say Bewiser keep emailing him threatening to cancel my insurance.
I phoned them and they accused me of not informing them of the accident and they wanted £400 or the policy would be cancelled, to cut a long story short and after many heated arguments i have paid them, Furious that they have accused me of lying. I have given them my correct email address at least 10 times, I might as well be talking to the dog with that 1, they never ever make notes, so when i phone them to find out why i haven't received documents etc it's always a case of they have no record of ever talking to me even though i must have spent 24 hours on the phone to them in the last 8 months.
I have now taken my wifes, my inlaws and my policy elsewhere and would urge everyone to steer well clear of this awful company.
I'm convinced the staff are trained to lie and mess customers around, I have been promised an email confirming the cancellation and refund of my wifes policy and have phoned 5 times in the last week, wasting so much time, still nothing. my blood pressure is now a million over a million.