Seriously Scary Insurance Scam - Please Help

KittyKate

Hi, sorry if this is posted in the wrong area, but it seemed most logical to post it here.

I have just quit working for a very very large catalogue company, selling cover on the items that they purchase. Now, the cover costs a percentage of their outstanding balance, so, if you have £1000 outstanding (on one item, or on lots of socks, it doesnt matter), the cover cost is about £230. (Yes, it is expensive.)

Anyway the sales floor was less than moral. We were told to play on people's fears - for example, mothers, who couldn't afford to replace their children's toys - were told 'how bad would your child feel if he/she didn't have their toy?' (and we'd go through their account to see if they had a girl or a boy, and which was the most expensive toy, and play on that.

But the worst part was calling old people. We'd tell them they had life cover, which on paper, you do get. It means that when you die, the company pays off your outstanding debt. Quite nice, eh?! And of course a lot of the older customers (they were sorted into different types, there was always cheering when we called old people as they bought more policies) would buy it thinking they were protecting their family. Except, they weren't, because there was no way on the computer system to check their age, and most of the time, they were too old for life cover (YES, there was an age limit, of about 86. I often called customers older than this). Also old customers would get confused and buy the policy thinking it was free - because if they happened to have a zero balance at the time, they didn't have to pay a percentage for the cover that month. They didn't understand that when they bought something, the policy came into effect - 23p in every pound.

We were told 'you shouldn't have morals, this is sales' and 'if they've declined it previously, just ring them anyway and try and convert them.' We were made to write down how much people owed the catalogue (when they bought a policy) and total up who'd made the biggest profit for the company. Winner got a ten minute fag break. There were numerous instances of advisors putting the policy on old, confused people's accounts without them saying yes, even, in one instance, a policy appearing on a totally deaf woman's account. Advisors were so scared to lose their jobs (the targets were impossible, they just needed to sell to stay there) they did anything - and their team leaders actively encouraged them to lie, cheat, fiddle the figures, etc.

After three months of cottoning on to how many hundreds of thousands of pounds the catalogue company is swindling people, I started to realise I'd rather be unemployed than work there. On what turned out to be my last day, I phoned an old woman to offer her the cover. She said very politely, no, thankyou, because she'd phoned the catalogue to return a £12.99 pair of shoes she'd recieved that day. She couldn't wear them, because she'd been mugged and had both her kneecaps broken. She'd paid more than £2000 off on her catalogue, had been a customer since the 70s, and was well within her 14 day approval time. The customer care line said 'tough.' I actually went to the loo and cried. I've had numerous calls like this. I walked out that day.

Basically the cover was a total rip-off. Completely. Impossible to claim on (we were not obliged to read the small print over the phone - there was 3 pages of it, in tiny tiny unreadable print - usually these got 'lost in the post' anyway), the advisors were bullied into lying and cheating, and the managers were more bothered about money and profits than fairness and legality.

Every day I feel bad because I sold it to people who weren't 100% sure of what they were buying. The guilt is horrible. I can't help thinking, what if one of my family gets called and ripped off?

Please, please, think VERY hard about catalogue insurance. Do it through your credit card company, your bank, your home contents, check out all these places for the best deal. NEVER let someone entice you over the phone. Sounds logical but some of the tricks I've heard people pull - fake promotions, 'special personal deals' - they're not. You came up on a computer and the caller went $$$$ in their eyes.

And finally, is there anything I can do to report this company? It's huge, and they are ripping off about 200 people a day. I would say from experience only ten or twenty actually understand or want the cover. Yet the catalogue makes thousands until they catch on and cancel (in writing, even though the policy was sold over the phone and requires no signature.)

Sorry for the length of this post - but I literally don't know what to do. I can't settle, knowing what they're doing.

payless

GThanks for you post

It can be hard when your job relies on selling a product that is bad value and company / bosses expect you to lie to meet targets

Its the reason I won't work for a firm , instead being m own boss even thogh it means my earnings are less (I undertand that , this is not however an option for everyone, and that not all firms work that way).



Since 14/1/05 this sale is likely to come under the FSA regulations on selling general ( non investment ) insurance

Have a look at http://www.fsa.gov.uk/Pages/Library/Communication/PR/2002/048.shtml

chugalug

Hi Kittykate - thanks for your post. It's a scary, nasty world out there isnt it? Dont be too hard on yourself, we've all had to do things sometimes just to get by. The point is you werent changed by this experience, you are obviously a caring person or you would have ended up enjoying this 'job'. Just do what you can to expose their practices and move on. Just don't go for another job in sales, I tried it once but was useless and left almost immediately. Went to work in a nursing home instead, after all its only money!!

Luvly.cuppa.T

Wow, I'm gobsmacked!
I kinda know the feeling as many years ago I took up an evening job in selling double glazing for a few extra quid. They too were targets, targets and although I wasn't too comfortable pushing you are always told that the customer is big enough to say no if they really mean it.
Until I had a little ole fella on the phone. It breaks my heart to this day at how easy it was to get him to say yes- and I knew that he really meant no. The only prob was that I had opened the flood gates for the salesmen to get in and get to work on him.... I sincerely hope that the old fella had someone to back him up and tell the salesmen where to get off.

Needless to say I didn't stay on. I wasn't going to enter people's private space via phone and manipulate them. If they want double glazing them they will go out and find it!!

(I did get to phone my uncle while I was there- he was on my list. Had fun with that one!)

So yes, well done for getting out and DO report them. Watchdog would be very interested to hear about it I'm sure and if not, then they will have all the info on where to take it.

Good luck!

Bossyboots

I agree with Luvly.cuppa.T., report this to Watchdog.