AVIVA Insurance - Totally Incompetent

brewster83

Last year I discovered that my insurance life provider, Aviva, were sending all of my mail to my next-door neighbour; this included every letter they intended to send to me, including my personal financial information, bank account details, insurance amount, monthly instalment details etc. Despite having contacted them on a number of occasion, when I was asked to provide the first line of my address as ID verification, this was not highlighted until I changed bank accounts and there was an issue with my direct debit (I should have failed security as I was providing a different address to the one they had on file). After an extensive investigation, it was agreed that they would add additional security to my account, and pay a gesture of compensation to me. I thought that this was the end of the matter.

Approximately two weeks ago, whilst at work, my line manager handed me a letter which had been sent to my employer’s head office for myself. This letter was from Aviva, and was a copy of a letter which they had sent to myself. I immediately contact Aviva, and they began an investigation into why the letter had been sent; my company had an agreement with Aviva whereby employees received a discount on life insurance. This investigation revealed that all correspondence, sent to policy holders, was duplicated and sent to an Aviva office. This office was closed, and all correspondence was then sent to my employer’s head office, however, as my employer was never involved in the setting up or administration of these policies, they had no process for processing or storing of these letters and attempted to deliver them to the policy holders. This has potentially affected everyone, in my workplace, who has taken advantage of this discount, approximately 90, 000 people work for my company.

Since the instigation of the investigation with the Aviva, I have been treated appallingly; I have had emails ignored, promises of call backs which never happened and generally feel that Aviva have been attempting to seep the matter under the carpet. On Wednesday, 20/09/2017, I had a phone conversation with a member of the customer relations team, which handles all complaints to the director’s office. During this call, I explained that I would like all of my information deleted from Aviva’s systems, and that I would need to look for an alternative provider for my life insurance; as, by this point, I had lost all confidence I their ability to manage and store my personal information. I had already provided them with a quote from another insurer, and requested that they cover any additional costs arising from the switching of the policy and pay compensation for the stress and aggravation that I have experienced as a result of their negligence. I was told that they would, in principle, cover the costs of the switch (which were substantial, approx.. £30k over the lifetime of the policy) and pay a gesture of compensation, however I would need to provide a confirmation of the new policy and a letter confirming the terms of acceptance. That night, I completed and application and accepted a policy from a different insurer; this policy will cost in the region of £97k more, over the 31 year term, than my policy with Aviva; I have accepted the policy, as this was a requirement before I could receive the terms of acceptance required by Aviva. The additional cost is due to a change in my personal circumstances, and is completely out with my control. They are more than able to pay these costs, however are more concerned with “mitigating” their loses.

I have, today, received a letter of intent from Aviva (attached) and a telephone call from the customer relations representative, which basically indicates their unwillingness to pay the difference in the cost of the policies; I have been told that this is due to regulations which are designed to ensure that I do not profit from a payment designed to repay a financial loss. I have acted in good faith, taking out the policy in order to provide Aviva with the evidence they require, on their recommendation; and have now committed myself financially, on the understanding that they had agreed in principle to repay my loses, only to be told that they are not willing or able to do this.

This is a massive, multinational, multibillion pound company, who have, twice, seriously breached my financial and personal data security, and who are now trying to obfuscate their responsibilities, despite having agreed in principal to repay my loses and requested information from me regarding the extent of these loses in order to assess their liabilities, which I have provided.

I am a student, who is also working to fund my degree, and am a carer for my severally disabled mother who is due to go into hospital for an urgently needed operation. I have no idea where to turn for help, and am completely at the mercy of this organisation, who appear totally unsympathetic to my situation, a situation in which they have placed me and my family. At their instigation, I have committed myself to a financial obligation, which is soon falling due, and which they are now attempting to absent themselves. I would appreciate any help which you can provide in getting this matter resolved.

custardy

brewster83 wrote: »

Last year I discovered that my insurance life provider, Aviva, were sending all of my mail to my next-door neighbour; this included every letter they intended to send to me, including my personal financial information, bank account details, insurance amount, monthly instalment details etc. Despite having contacted them on a number of occasion, when I was asked to provide the first line of my address as ID verification, this was not highlighted until I changed bank accounts and there was an issue with my direct debit (I should have failed security as I was providing a different address to the one they had on file). After an extensive investigation, it was agreed that they would add additional security to my account, and pay a gesture of compensation to me. I thought that this was the end of the matter.

Approximately two weeks ago, whilst at work, my line manager handed me a letter which had been sent to my employer’s head office for myself. This letter was from Aviva, and was a copy of a letter which they had sent to myself. I immediately contact Aviva, and they began an investigation into why the letter had been sent; my company had an agreement with Aviva whereby employees received a discount on life insurance. This investigation revealed that all correspondence, sent to policy holders, was duplicated and sent to an Aviva office. This office was closed, and all correspondence was then sent to my employer’s head office, however, as my employer was never involved in the setting up or administration of these policies, they had no process for processing or storing of these letters and attempted to deliver them to the policy holders. This has potentially affected everyone, in my workplace, who has taken advantage of this discount, approximately 90, 000 people work for my company.

Since the instigation of the investigation with the Aviva, I have been treated appallingly; I have had emails ignored, promises of call backs which never happened and generally feel that Aviva have been attempting to seep the matter under the carpet. On Wednesday, 20/09/2017, I had a phone conversation with a member of the customer relations team, which handles all complaints to the director’s office. During this call, I explained that I would like all of my information deleted from Aviva’s systems, and that I would need to look for an alternative provider for my life insurance; as, by this point, I had lost all confidence I their ability to manage and store my personal information. I had already provided them with a quote from another insurer, and requested that they cover any additional costs arising from the switching of the policy and pay compensation for the stress and aggravation that I have experienced as a result of their negligence. I was told that they would, in principle, cover the costs of the switch (which were substantial, approx.. £30k over the lifetime of the policy) and pay a gesture of compensation, however I would need to provide a confirmation of the new policy and a letter confirming the terms of acceptance. That night, I completed and application and accepted a policy from a different insurer; this policy will cost in the region of £97k more, over the 31 year term, than my policy with Aviva; I have accepted the policy, as this was a requirement before I could receive the terms of acceptance required by Aviva. The additional cost is due to a change in my personal circumstances, and is completely out with my control. They are more than able to pay these costs, however are more concerned with “mitigating” their loses.

I have, today, received a letter of intent from Aviva (attached) and a telephone call from the customer relations representative, which basically indicates their unwillingness to pay the difference in the cost of the policies; I have been told that this is due to regulations which are designed to ensure that I do not profit from a payment designed to repay a financial loss. I have acted in good faith, taking out the policy in order to provide Aviva with the evidence they require, on their recommendation; and have now committed myself financially, on the understanding that they had agreed in principle to repay my loses, only to be told that they are not willing or able to do this.

This is a massive, multinational, multibillion pound company, who have, twice, seriously breached my financial and personal data security, and who are now trying to obfuscate their responsibilities, despite having agreed in principal to repay my loses and requested information from me regarding the extent of these loses in order to assess their liabilities, which I have provided.

I am a student, who is also working to fund my degree, and am a carer for my severally disabled mother who is due to go into hospital for an urgently needed operation. I have no idea where to turn for help, and am completely at the mercy of this organisation, who appear totally unsympathetic to my situation, a situation in which they have placed me and my family. At their instigation, I have committed myself to a financial obligation, which is soon falling due, and which they are now attempting to absent themselves. I would appreciate any help which you can provide in getting this matter resolved.

Dear Sir/Madam.

Not a chance.

Regards

Avivia

brewster83

That is basically what they are saying ��

custardy

brewster83 wrote: »

That is basically what they are saying ��

and you are surprised?

brewster83

I’ve never had to deal with them before! I don’t think I’m being unreasonable?

marlot

brewster83 wrote: »

...this policy will cost in the region of £97k more...

Not a chance of getting that much out of them, I'd have thought.

brewster83

marlot wrote: »

Not a chance of getting that much out of them, I'd have thought.

So, because of their negligence, I have a verified financial loss of £97k, which I have no way of controlling (I can’t influence the rates of insurance I’m offered), and because it’s a lot of money I’m just expected to suck it up??

dunstonh

brewster83 wrote: »

That is basically what they are saying ��

They are quite correct.

The right to delete records exists but only where regulatory, legal and liability is not an issue. So, basically, a financial services firm can retain everything they have on you for the rest of your life. This is because, in financial services, there is no time limit on complaints unless you are subject to set timebar.

and have now committed myself financially, on the understanding that they had agreed in principle to repay my loses, only to be told that they are not willing or able to do this.

You have not committed yourself to anything. Life assurance is pay as you go. You may even be within the cancellation rights but even if you are not, its still monthly pay as you go.

brewster83

dunstonh wrote: »

They are quite correct.

The right to delete records exists but only where regulatory, legal and liability is not an issue. So, basically, a financial services firm can retain everything they have on you for the rest of your life. This is because, in financial services, there is no time limit on complaints unless you are subject to set timebar.




You have not committed yourself to anything. Life assurance is pay as you go. You may even be within the cancellation rights but even if you are not, its still monthly pay as you go.

The deletion of the records is not in question; they have agreed to do this after my complaint is over. And while I understnd what you are saying regarding there being no financial obligation on me to pay life insurance, the fact remains that I have taken severa quotes for like for like policies and they all have broadly the same level of increase. So, if I still want the same level of cover as I was receiving with Aviva I am going to have to pay significantly more for it, a cost I wouldn’t have had it not been for their complete inability to keep my personal information private.

So, basically, you’re saying that they are in the right and I am daft for expecting any form or redress for this??

tempus_fugit

1. You didn't HAVE to leave Aviva. You may have felt it was best to do so but it wasn't as though you had no choice.
2. Life insurance costs (for new policies) do go up as you get older. Aviva can't really be expected to pay for your higher life insurance costs purely because you are older.

Ultimately it was your decision to leave them, they weren't forcing you, so these costs are not really recoverable from Aviva. The most I think you can expect is some compensation for the security breaches and some personal inconvenience but that's about it.

brewster83

tempus_fugit wrote: »

1. You didn't HAVE to leave Aviva. You may have felt it was best to do so but it wasn't as though you had no choice.
2. Life insurance costs (for new policies) do go up as you get older. Aviva can't really be expected to pay for your higher life insurance costs purely because you are older.

Ultimately it was your decision to leave them, they weren't forcing you, so these costs are not really recoverable from Aviva. The most I think you can expect is some compensation for the security breaches and some personal inconvenience but that's about it.

You’re kind of missing the point. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to want to leave them given the fact that they have breached my data security twice and to so many people. The only reason I agreed to move to a new policy was that they AGREED to cover the costs of the increase; but are only backing out now that they have the full costing?!