Insurance Company fobbing me off...

united4eva

Hi All,
Basically my problem is as follows:

I have a claim with a previous insurer regarding an accident i had, I paid for repairs up front (Insurance company approved of this) and then attempted to claim back by sending my invoice. This method was agreed by the insurer. They have now proceeded to claim that after contacting the Repairer, they have no record of the repairs taking place. Even though I have the invoice, this claim is going back to 2005 now and has gone on long enough. Even after sending the invoice in, I got told that I would recieve money in few weeks after Engineers approve invoice which apparently happend. And then they started the whole business of the repairer not confirming the repairs. Basically it amounts to the insurance company telling me fibs.

Have spoken with local Citizens advice bureau who said i was in the right, but insurance company have still failed to take any action.

I think I am now going to write a final letter to the company warning of taking this case up with the Insurance Ombudsman.

Anyone else got any other advice or suggestions?

mandarinduck

Hi

I worked in insurance for several years (no boos please) and spent a big chunk of it dealing with complaints. Basically, send them a letter, recorded delivery, confirming that this is a formal complaint and you expect an acknowledgement within five days, as per the timescales set by the FSA. Confirm that you intend to escalate the matter to the FOS, however, you require a 'final response' in respect of your complaint before doing so and you expect to receive this in 8 weeks, also as per FSA timescales.

They then have five working days to reply to you and let you know it is being investigated. You may well get a resolution then. Unless signifiant investigation is required, most complaints can be resolved within a week, if that.

If you haven't received a decison then, once you have received this letter, you must allow a further 7 weeks for the investigation to be concluded, though you should expect an update around the fourth week. (In total, they have 8 weeks - you should receive correspondence at or before the 5th working day, 20th working day and 40th working day).

After the eighth week, you should receive a letter with a decison or asking for more time. At this point, you are well within your rights to escalate to the FOS, who will investigate. This too is a lengthy process however, as they are a very busy organisation but there's no way round this.

Make sure you log all the timescales and whether the company sticks to them. I once received £20 compensation from an organisation after escalating to the FOS because even though my initial complaint was resolved, the company in question had failed to deal with it properly, within timescales etc. Also, if you make the complaint and they write back saying it needs to go to someone else, it is THEIR responsibility to forward it.

Finally, although I said to write, you have the right to make your complaint by phone as well. However, writing begins a paper trail and the FOS will need this for any investigations.

Hope this helps
MandarinDuck

PS Many companies get charged a flat fee of approximately £400 if a complaint has to be investigated by the FOS, REGARDLESS of outcome. It is in a company's best interest to resolve before it goes to that stage.

PS 2. There's nothing a complaint handler hates more than a combination of a) angry bluster, b) overblown threats and c) rudeness. Polite but firm shows you know your rights and you don't need to stamp and shout to apply them.

united4eva

Cheers very much mate. Exellent advice. Will follow the steps as you mentioned and will keep this thread updated just to see the outcome in the end.Once again, thanks.