Galaxy S3 Insurance claim declined -- need advice

Luckyfool_2

Hi all,

My Samsung Galaxy S3 was stolen.

The Circumstances:
- Theft occured at an invite-only house party
- The phone was in my coat pocket, which I took off and left on a table briefly
- When I returned, the phone had been stolen

Their decision - claim declined:
- "Clause 7. Theft or loss of the phone left Unattended in a public place or a place to which the public has regular access."
- A house party is considered a public place

My dispute:
- The house party was invite only, not open door. How can somebody's house be considered a public place?
- The phone was unattended in that it wasn't physically in my hand at all times. But it WAS concealed away in MY jacket, out of sight. My phone was pick-pocketed; only, I wasn't wearing the jacket at the time. I would have been unaware in both situations.
- Theft is theft. My phone was taken permanently, without my permission. The policy I had been led to believe I was signed up to was the FULL COVER plan that covers loss, accidental damage and theft.
- At no point were these sneaky little clauses made CLEAR to me. Not after I purchased insurance, and certainly not PRIOR to my signing up.

fsa.gov.uk/doing/regulated/tcf

The FSA have a "Treating Customers Fairly" Act (is it an Act?), that states:

Outcome 3: Consumers are provided with clear information and are kept appropriately informed before, during and after the point of sale.

Outcome 6: Consumers do not face unreasonable post-sale barriers imposed by firms to change product, switch provider, submit a claim or make a complaint.

I am planning to mail the Insurance2Go (Citymain) claims department (I have their appeals email) and appeal my case. Would it be wise to quote the FSA's Treating Customers Fairly act, and threaten to pursue my case to the bitter end?

What would be the best way in which I may appeal my case, based on the information I've provided?

All advice is welcome.

spacey2012

Take it you called up and had it IMEI blocked.
Because if if you have not, that's the second excuse in-line.

Luckyfool_2

spacey2012 wrote: »

Take it you called up and had it IMEI blocked.
Because if if you have not, that's the second excuse in-line.

Yes. However, they say I failed to alert my Network within 12 hours. This is untrue. I had my phone barred within an hour of it going missing. I omitted that info in the post because I can easily get Orange to confirm that...

Obtained crime reference number too, within the time limit.

Quentin

Once you make a complaint the insurer is aware that it can end up being escalated to the fos. That is the bitter end for you (not the fsa)

forgotmyname

Did you not have to click you agree to the terms and conditions before buying or received them after buying?

Did you report it to the police and get a crime number?

Public could mean not immediate family.

Left in a jacket unnatended. Not pickpocketed because as you said you were not wearing it.

1st of all pick your way through the terms and conditions and try to find their verdict is of public place etc.

But you could say a club where you need to be a member is not public despite having many visitors. Most of which you probably dont know.

dacouch

The phone was not pick pocketed if stolen from your unattended jacket but was stolen.

Luckyfool_2

Basically my phone was left unattended and stolen - but NOT in a public place. Nor was there any breaking and entering or assault -- somebody in the house, who I may or may not have known, stole the phone. Furthermore, I couldn't find any definition of "Public place" in their documentation. Can I make a case out of that?

spacey2012

It is not unusual to have to bring a small claims court against insurance to get them to play ball.
Issuing a NBA against them for non contractual performance to the value of the claim may wake them up.

Quentin

You need to focus your dispute by arguing against their reason for rejecting your claim. (They say they consider a house party to be a "public place")

Luckyfool_2

spacey2012 wrote: »

It is not unusual to have to bring a small claims court against insurance to get them to play ball.
Issuing a NBA against them for non contractual performance to the value of the claim may wake them up.

NBA? Not familiar with this term. Googled it but it just comes up with basketball links...

custardy

Luckyfool wrote: »

Basically my phone was left unattended and stolen - but NOT in a public place. Nor was there any breaking and entering or assault -- somebody in the house, who I may or may not have known, stole the phone. Furthermore, I couldn't find any definition of "Public place" in their documentation. Can I make a case out of that?

was the front door locked?