powerplay direct

clkaz

dacouch wrote: »

On a lap top due to the constant improvements in performance and reduction in the cost they will offer you a current model that has a similar spec as the lap top they are replacing.

With a lap top they will not replace a top end model that is five years old with a top end current model as they do not need to unless lap top prices and performance stand still for the next five years which is very unlikely

I was told this

For the Dell laptop, the IT specialists should know what market position that machine had 5 years ago, e.g. budget, high end, business or gaming. The replacement should be the modern equivalent.

Otherwise you would end up with the cheapest possible laptop because that would match or better the specs of any 5 year old laptop I believe.

on

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1707549&highlight=stolen+laptop

dacouch

Not strictly correct as if the Insurer only has to put you in the same position you were in before the claim. If they replaced the lap top with a top of the range lap top then you would go from having a lap top that compared to modern lap tops is low spec to a top of the range lap top. This would put you in a better situation than you were in before the claim.

They can replace a top of the range lap top from 5 years ago with a standard lap top in the price range £300 to £500 and it would still be better than the top of the range lap top from 5 years ago.

Obviously if you have say a Sony or Apple you can hold out for a replacement from Sony or Apple etc

clkaz

dacouch wrote: »

Not strictly correct as if the Insurer only has to put you in the same position you were in before the claim. If they replaced the lap top with a top of the range lap top then you would go from having a lap top that compared to modern lap tops is low spec to a top of the range lap top. This would put you in a better situation than you were in before the claim.

They can replace a top of the range lap top from 5 years ago with a standard lap top in the price range £300 to £500 and it would still be better than the top of the range lap top from 5 years ago.

Obviously if you have say a Sony or Apple you can hold out for a replacement from Sony or Apple etc

Why only for these 2 brands?

mattymoo

Oh right - that was me being loosely quoted in the post. I did qualify it and state that "to my mind it should work like this".

My reasoning for this is as follows.

If I broke a table and it was by Ercol, Stag, G-Plan or whoever, I would not expect to be offered an Ikea or MFI cheapy by way of replacement. It is a table, has 4 legs and a horizontal surface but it is not what I had before.

Same with TV's - I spend time researching the best pic quality / sound / features before buying my TV. I do not expect it to be replaced with an own brand supermarket type tv if stolen or damaged. I may have prevented that mind by going for a 42" panasonic 1080 plasma. I don't think anyone else makes 1080 plasmas in that size.

Now to laptops. I would probably be livid if I had a 5 year old Rock or Area 51 laptop replaced with a new e-machines cheapy. Not in the same league.

I know how firms like Powerplay work. If it was me, I would ask them for the details of what they intended to replace it with then check that spec carefully. For example - a 5 yr old lappy with Win Xp would run on 512mb or 1gb ram quite well. Anything less than 2gb with Vista is a joke. To have the same level of functionality you had before you need to up the spec to cope with MS's latest bloated OS.

Business users buy for battery power / portability / software.
Gamers buy for separate gfx card (not intel integrated) and screen quality.

Make sure the new machine still fits these criteria.

dacouch

I used Sony and Apple as an example as they are premium brands, it would work the same if you had a Compaq or HP or Dell computer etc etc.

Have a read of the whole of this thread as it has post from people who have used Powerplay who are one of the main suppliers to Insurance companies for replacement items.

Electrical Goods are unusual because of the way technology increases and prices reduce. If we were talking about say an expensive carpet that needed replacing they would pay the price of an equivalent expensive carpet (I've used carpets as an example as the prices / quality is relatively stable).

Have a read of these notes / case studies from the Ombudsman which most Insurance company will take as gospal (You sometimes need to remind them of their responsibilities though)

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/10/oct-repair-replace-cash.htm

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/75/75-household-insurance.html

dacouch

Like I said Lap Tops and PCs are affected by Moore's Law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore%27s_law in that technological power increases but prices drop

glasgowsoundman

Just had to contact Prestige Home who underwrite my home insurance policy. On Tuesday, they said I'd be passed to powerplay and this thread got me slightly worried. Having not heard anything, I called them today. Was told that they'll pass the information to BeValued. When I questioned this, I was told that this is the new name for powerplay!

Regards,

glasgowsoundman

Dragonsbreath_2

i use to work at powerplay 6 months ago and they use to push products that were instock at their warehouse rather than sticking to the like for like as per their clients instruction.... It got soo silly at that place that i can recall a visitors email being sent around to ntify us to be on our best behaviour and because a client was popping in for a visit the next day,we were told by our team leaders to ensure all our outstanding work to be hidden away or kept out of eye's view, which i thought as a natural thing to do considering we'd wnat to make a good impression and all. it was when they jimmied the wall boards to show 0 lossed calls and customers queuing when i realised what was in fact going on. WE had times where by we got the instruction from the technical head to right off and not bother inspecting machines due to the fact that we were too busy getting the claims through the door...

There was a instance some months back i beleive whereby they sold a policy holder's laptop on eBay, only for the person buying it on eBay finding the policy holder's bank details on the purchased laptop and ofering to sell it back tot eh policy holder for an increased amount whom is now in fact suing powerplay for several thousands. Surprisingly enough they still hold Aviva's support despite this error, makes you wonder just what else has slipped through..:eek:
CRAZY WORLD WE LIVE IN:

Well all i can say is we the people created this monster, afterall end of the day as they say is you get what you pay for....

After reading through this and having had the displeasure of going through HBOS pathetic claims process i now see how i found the time to illustrate just how bad they can get...

Someday, someone will come up with something to remedy this dying industry or claims managers will just come to their senses and do a better job reviewing their supply chain....

dacouch

They must think an Insurer is stupid if they think writing 0 lossed calls and 0 queueing time, Insurers especially realise that the way call centres are run there will be lost calls.

The reason for the existance of companies such as Powerplay and their business practices remind me of a quote by the first American into space (John Glen) when he was asked what he was thinking just before take off "Twenty Thousand components and each was made my the cheapest bidder"

Dragonsbreath_2

Surprise Surprise they changed their name from Powerplay Direct to Bevalued, they probably read through this thread.... Notice though, thats the only things that changed..... Believe its their way of getting away from all the negative publicity, My Advice to you POwerplay (BeValued) dont just change your name, change your business principals.....

Remember your Fish Training - The Fish Stinks from the Head Down....