help with mobile phone insurance

gasmansteve_2

hi all im looking for some friendly advice i have a apple iphone 4s 16gb that i dropped into a puddle net result in a broken screen and water damaged.

i have insurance through my bank account lloyds tsb (gold) and its is insured through lifestyle insurance group.

i called to make a claim and paid my £100 excess payment they say the phone will be repaired or i will be sent a refurbished one (they havent even looked at it yet ) ive spoke to apple who say the phone must not be repaired by anyone other than apple and that if it is done by anybody but them they wont touch it or service it if i ever need anything done.

ive spoke to the insurance company and said im not happy with having it repaired or having a refurbished one as they will be both excluded from apples care thereafter and want a new phone as per their small print see below

4. The cost of repairing

your phone (or replacing it if your phone cannot be repaired)

where damage has been caused by

electrical or mechanical breakdown.

2. Replacement phones and accessories will come from new or refurbished stock.

In the event that the same model/colour is not available, the replacement will

be of a similar specification and quality,

they are refusing to budge so i thought i will get lloydstb involved as they are who i bought the insurance though and thought i would be covered by the sales of good act and that the insurance is not fit for purpose they have wriiten to lsg for me but wont do anymore and have washed their hands of it saying its nothing to do with them. its been 3 weeks now and im at a loss of where to go next PLEASE HELP!!!

opinions4u

The insurance is doing what it said it would do.

If you don't like it, why did you take it out?

Ah, you've only just read the policy details.

gasmansteve_2

thanks for the scarcastic reply yes i have only just read the details i think many would presume that they would get a new phone, i dont think im alone on this the policy wording states NEW or REFURBISHED what im asking here is can i get lloydstsb involved as they sold me the policy under the sales of goods act ?

rs65

Sale of Goods Act doesn't apply to insurance

opinions4u

gasmansteve wrote: »

thanks for the scarcastic reply

The <THANKS> button is just underneath the post.

yes i have only just read the details

And herein lies the problem. While financial services is heavily regulated the buyer of any product still has a duty to themselves to understand what they are paying for. You didn't bother.

i think many would presume that they would get a new phone

But nowhere do they market this insurance as new for old. If you want new for old you need to buy a policy that provides it.

i dont think im alone on this the policy wording states NEW or REFURBISHED

But in no way does it promise new.

what im asking here is can i get lloydstsb involved as they sold me the policy under the sales of goods act ?

Forget SGA as it doesn't apply.

But they did sell you the policy and you can complain. So what are you complaining about?

The policy wording is clear enough - it's not new for old cover. It's fix or replace with refurb.

Did they verbally tell you it would give you a new phone? Is there a piece of paper somewhere that promises a new phone? Documentation is king.

What do you want them to do? Tell the insurer to sort it, even though the policy you have doesn't cover what you want to happen? How could they do that? Why would they do that?

gasmansteve_2

rs65 wrote: »

Sale of Goods Act doesn't apply to insurance

ok thanks for the info

gasmansteve_2

ok so if the policy wording says new or refurbish does that mean the new bit just gets ignored?

sga (at least i now know this isnt the path for me)

no i didnt bother to read the policy wording as i stated before, schoolboy error but like i said i thuink its a reasonble assumption that if i crash my audi they will fit genuine audi parts back on it ? and that the parts wouldnt invalidate any warrenty on that car later on?

nobody has promised me a new phone when i took out the policy but they didnt mention it was refurbished either.

but the insurance have told me they give out new phones first and then give out refurbished fter that which sounds like im being led up the garden path.

the policy wording does say new it doesnt promise new over refurb though i dont think the policy wording is that clear if theres no chance of a new phone it shouldnt say new in there anywhere

rs65

gasmansteve wrote: »

no i didnt bother to read the policy wording as i stated before, schoolboy error but like i said i thuink its a reasonble assumption that if i crash my audi they will fit genuine audi parts back on it ? and that the parts wouldnt invalidate any warrenty on that car later on?

Dangerous asumption. Some car insurers use non-original parts and I think some use used parts. You need to check your policy for that.

gasmansteve_2

really used parts ? ive never made insurance claims before so this is all new to me

opinions4u

gasmansteve wrote: »

ok so if the policy wording says new or refurbish does that mean the new bit just gets ignored?

If they can't supply refurbished you get we.

no i didnt bother to read the policy wording as i stated before, schoolboy error but like i said i thuink its a reasonble assumption that if i crash my audi they will fit genuine audi parts back on it ?

It's a foolish assumption.

and that the parts wouldnt invalidate any warrenty on that car later on?

The warranty and the insurance are two different things. You bought an insurance that doesn't compliment the warranty. Why did you do that?

the policy wording does say new it doesnt promise new over refurb though i dont think the policy wording is that clear if theres no chance of a new phone it shouldnt say new in there anywhere

In the end you bought the insurance and only decided that you didn't like what it covered at claim time.

It's annoying. But it's your responsibility.

Phone_Insurance_Guru

It's not actually the insurers trying to make things difficult in this case, it is Apple. They want to manage all servicing and repairs taking insurance out of the equation - this also allows them to control pricing (they wanted £200 to fix my iPad1!!!).

How long of your Apple warranty do you have remaining?

You will probably find that the insurer, Lifestyle Services Group, will give you a warranty on the refurbished phone - I think it's 12 months. Phone them up, I'm sure they'll be able to tell you.