AXA improperly rejecting travel insurance claim - draft complaint letter

luci

I would not rely on sending it by email. A formal complaint should be sent by Signed For / Recorded Delivery so that you have a record of it being received by them.

I would also escalate this to the Ombudsman if you have exhausted their complaints procedure.

ETA - You should give them a deadline to reply rather than leaving it open, eg 14 days or even 7 days seeing as this has been going on for some time.

Tirian

Good point. I will include a deadline for response.

Given the lengthy period of time which I have already spent debating this claim with AXA, if I do not hear from you within 14 days of the date of this letter (which I am sending to you simultaneously by email) I will consider the last communication that I have received from you, rejecting our claim, to be your final position and I will escalate the issue to FOS without further delay.

Tirian

Actually, looking into it, I note that FOS will only take complaints after written confirmation that the internal complaints procedure has been exhausted.

I think that they have only just referred this to their internal complaints procedure, having spent the weeks to date trying to fob me off via their "Claims assistance" centre.

opinions4u

_Andy_ wrote: »

I would amend then letter - it needs to end with a clear, specific instruction as to what you want done to resolve the matter. At the moment it's rather vague.

This.

While it may sound like stating the bloody obvious, I strongly recommend stating the bloody obvious.

I would also drop the "spare us the trouble" line about the FOS. That implies you don't have the backbone to go all the way. They may knock it back to you with a straight back and call your bluff.

Quentin

If you sent them a "complaint" more than 8 weeks ago you can now escalate to the FOS without awaiting their final response.

_Andy_

"Uh ... I want them to pay the claim? What else would I want"

I was just trying to help you.

You need to spell things out clearly so the person dealing with the complaint can sort it out. Otherwise you risk getting a response/outcome which isn't what you want.

Tirian

Well, as you can see above, I've amended in line with pretty much everyone's recommendations (including yours) where appropriate.

So far I have not been in the complaints procedure, so the 8 weeks starts today if I send this today I guess.

Frankly, if they want to call my bluff on FOS, I'm more than happy .. I wouldn't have said so otherwise. By now this is the principle more than the money as far as I'm concerned - and if they want to waste £500 getting FOS to make a decision on it, good luck to them!

Quentin

There is no "bluff" from them. They do say you can escalate to the FOS if you are unhappy with the way they handle your complaint, and give you the FOS contact details.

You need to send your complaint to the right department as set out in the complaints procedure, and use the word "complaint" as the head of your letter.

( ie don't just send it "to whom it may concern")

Tirian

Thanks, Quentin.

I think opinions4u was suggesting that I might be perceived to be "bluffing" about referring to FOS, not that AXA are bluffing. It's a valid point - but I don't really care if they think I'm "bluffing" ...

I have sent via email as per their complaints procedure, and titled with "FAO: Head of Customer Care - Complaint re claim ref: XXXXX" Have also addressed the letter as such, and will send a copy in the post today too.

Thanks to everyone for the comments, which have certainly improved the letter somewhat ... it may not be perfect as is, but I just want to get the clock ticking on the 8 weeks sooner rather than later at this stage.

InsideInsurance

luci wrote: »

I would not rely on sending it by email. A formal complaint should be sent by Signed For / Recorded Delivery so that you have a record of it being received by them.

Legally, you only need to have proof of sending (eg a certificate of posting) and not proof of receipt. By using a method that does actually track delivery you create a rod for your own back as if the signed for is shown as refused then they have a defence for non-action where as with a simple proof of sending then its up to them to prove they didnt receive it (which as long as the address is correct is basically impossible)