Home Insurance Issue - advice requested

Michael_Rennie

Good Afternoon,
A few months ago my roof was damaged during some adverse weather and I made a claim on my buildings insurance.

The repairs were made by a roofer appointed by the insurance company and were of a poor standard. They have since been back and reluctantly sorted the problem out.

The only outstanding issue is that the roofer did not turn up until 48 hrs after they said they would - so I was left waiting for two days for an unreliable tradesman who didn't show and didn't bother to let me know they weren't coming.

I have suggested to the contractors that they should return my policy excess (£100) and apologise for the inconvenience but they have flatly refused and don't intend to do anything at all about it.

I have also contacted my insurance company and told them that if they do not arrange for this that I will vote with my feet and cancel the buildings, contents and pet insurance policies I hold with them which equates to about £900 per year of business.

The insurance initially offered me a voucher for a night in a hotel which I declined. The person I spoke to has now escalated it to their manager and I am just waiting to hear from them....

Any suggestions as to what else I can do would be greatly appreciated. . . . .Thanks.

Quentin

Do you want "true" compensation for losses you have incurred, or just a "tangible" apology for what you see as poor service?

If the former, then list your expenses caused by this, substantiate them and put in a formal claim to your insurer to be compensated, and pursue them all the way to court if necessary.

If the latter, then consider the manager's reply, and take it from there. Explain why the free night in a hotel is unnacceptable and see if they have any alternative sweetener for you.

Losing your £900 worth of business won't be such a great loss to them they will want to spend too much on management time trying to retain you!

Michael_Rennie

Thanks for your reply - I am not actually out of pocket, just inconvenienced and frustrated. So I don't have a financial claim as such.

I detest poor customer service in any form & probably a tangible apology is the best I can hope for.

I appreciate that losing my business won't cause a mutli billion pound company any sleepless nights - but cash is king, money is good anywhere and they could easily resolve the problem.

There may be others who have had similar experiences and if enough customers complain or cancel policies, the insurers might review their relationships with certain contractors - if I do switch my policies it will mainly be down to the roofers - though in my eyes, the roofer is the representative of the insurance company . . . .

*Scarlett

Whilst the loss of your personal business may not cause this company a huge financial impact, you are allowed to name the insurer on here if only to warn others.

Enterprise_1701C

Just one comment - unless you have a very big house that policy is rather expensive!