Orange make fraudulent insurance claims

campfreddy

Hello

I have a mobile phone with Orange and in March I accidentally dropped the Nokia N8 out of my top pocket and it broke so I made an insurance claim against my Orange Care.

However, since the beginning of August, I have started to get handset issues - calls are dropped, calls aren't ringing on my phone but going straight to answerphone, terrible connection so the calls are too crackly to hear, cutting off calls halfway through and then the handset freezes so I can't call someone back.

I've spoken to Orange and they agree that the handset is at fault. HOWEVER, 3 call centre people and one manager are all insisting that I make an insurance claim for a replacement handset.

According the the Sale of Services and Goods Act, the handset is at fault and Orange should replace it (particularly as this is within 6 months of receiving this new phone) - this should not be an insurance claim.

I emailed the exec office who told me to speak to customer services - despite CS being the ones I'm complaining about in the first place as they don't know the law.

So I have spoken to the FSA about Orange making phantom insurance claims, and I have also spoken to Allianz Insurance PLC (underwriters of Orange Care) about the fraudulent claims that Orange are trying to make - and whether there is a larger issue at hand where Orange are making hundreds of these claims - so that the insurance company are actually paying for broken stock when they shouldn't be. They are investigating.

As I my email complaint was ignored by the executive office, I was going to go down there in person. I refuse to have an insurance claim made against MY policy for equipment that doesn't work and should be replaced by Orange with no charge to me.

Does anyone know if the head office is still in George Street?

Also, has anyone else experienced forced insurance claims?

Thanks

campfreddy

if anyone needs it.

Jon_01

The Exe office is in Bristol.

But you won't get past the front door. All Orange offices are entry by electronic security pass. They will not deal with customers at any of their office. Don't waste your time...

chanz4

Was the phone replaced that your dropped?

diamonds

Replacement or repaired handsets under Orange Care that are faulty should NOT be processed as new Orange Care insurance claims, Orange encourage this but this is not a lawful procedure, the politics & financial relationship of a third party running Orange Care for Orange & themselves have no bearing on your faulty repaired/replaced handset, you have paid your policy & assume a admin fee for the replacement ?

Register your complaint with Ofcom & you will probably speak to someone Orange with intelligence to know Orange cannot insist you make another Orange Care claim where you have to pay a admin fee on getting the faulty handset repaired/replaced again, thus knowing you have came through Ofcom should be a apology scripted for being told such & denial its a Orange policy & the issue should be sorted.

NFH

Orange Care is underwritten by Allianz Insurance plc. If you think that Orange are using the insurance cover fraudulently, then you should notify Allianz of your concerns.

campfreddy wrote: »

According the the Sale of Services and Goods Act, the handset is at fault and Orange should replace it (particularly as this is within 6 months of receiving this new phone)

You mean Section 11N of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. If you're going to take this further, make sure you quote the correct legislation.

diamonds

Allianz make the Orange Care decisions that Orange staff read to you^

Ofcom it, if still Orange fail to sort it with the above knowledge NFH posted for you to relay to Ofcom as part of your complaint submit a insurance complaint against both Orange & Allianz (Orange Care) to

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/default.htm

campfreddy

Chanz4 - yes it was a successful insurance claim and the phone was replaced. This is the phone that I am now having problems with.

NFH/Diamonds - Not sure why you posted a reply as I wrote in my original post that the underwriters are Allianz and that I have already contacted them and complained, as well as contacting the FSA. While I appreciate you replying, it seems pointless if you tell me to do what I've already done.

My original question was to ask if anyone else has been pushed into making a claim on their mobile insurance when they should have been given a replacement handset instead. I wanted to gauge whether this happened to anyone else.

I have spoken to Ofcom but it isn't really in their remit as this is a financial issue, not a communication issue. It has been logged with them though and I used the Ofcom ref number when speaking to Orange exec office.

Meanwhile, the girl at the exec office there also had no idea about consumer law either - how can you work in customer services and not even be given a crib sheet of the basic points of law.

If Orange don't sort it out in the next couple of days, I will be sending a record deliv letter giving them 14 days to replace my handset before I buy a new one myself and then sue them through money claim on-line for the money back.


***********
Just so you know, I have already successfully taken action against Orange in about 2004 when they ended up paying me about £300 compensation cos they kept sending me duff phones. I have also done the same with Virgin when they messed up my broadband for a few months, and I have also successfully sued Southwark Council who put two PCNs on my motorbike - despite a parking ticket being on display on my bike and it being legally parked. Southwark insisted on harassing me for 9 months about these two tickets before finally cancelling them, so I billed them for my wasted time fighting them, took action through money claim on-line and got the £250 I charged them.

I'm not afraid of corporations and nor should anyone be.

Buzby

The salient point you missed was how old was the handset you dropped? Depending on the Insurance provider, you may have been supplied with a refurbished handset which would take on the remainder of the warranty. Once this period expired (1 or 2 years) the phone is then out of warranty and you are on your own. An insurance claim would then be rejected, but there's nothing wrong with you attempting to make a claim as you would assume the insurer would warrant the replacement for the full term - even though legally it does not have to.

NFH

campfreddy wrote: »

NFH/Diamonds - Not sure why you posted a reply as I wrote in my original post that the underwriters are Allianz and that I have already contacted them and complained, as well as contacting the FSA. While I appreciate you replying, it seems pointless if you tell me to do what I've already done.

Sorry, that was my fault as I missed that bit. Your original post was quite long so I skim-read it.

campfreddy

Buzby - seriously? Did you even bother to read my posts?

First, I did say when the phone was replaced (March) on the first line of my first post. Secondly, you missed the whole point of my post and seem to know nothing about consumer law so your advice bears no relation to what this post is about. And you are actually wrong as well - if anyone else is reading this, the law actually states:

-if an electronic items stops working within 6 months of being supplied to you, it is up to the seller to prove that the item was working when sold.
-an item sold/a replacement item must be fit for purpose - if it's a phone on a 24 month contract, it should work for 24 months etc etc
-a claim can be made up to six years after the item was purchased.

'Purchase' would be also be the same as supplying a phone replaced after an insurance claim.

Just to clarify, my question was whether anyone else has been forced to make a bogus insurance claim for a faulty handset that SHOULD (by law) be replaced by the mobile phone provider, not via an insurance claim.

I think I'll leave this forum as it seems that no one can actually be bothered to read the posts here.

Sigh