Nationwide Mobile Insurance

Ahmed

Hi,

I have insurance through NW and had to claim for a new screen.

The screen was replaced after assurance it would be of same quality etc as the original.

It was clear it wasnt and after prompts I was advised it was a LCD Strone Premium Plus incell, Retail for £25.

I complained to the insurer and they rejected it, I have complained to the Ombudsman and they also rejected it. On every metric the screen is inferior, brightness, colour reproduction, energy consumption etc.

This is what the Ombudsman said when I queried they are not comparable

"I understand your concern around how a screen which you believe performs worse can still be considered “similar or equivalent” under the policy. You’ve explained that, based on your comparison, the LCD display appears inferior to the original OLED screen in several areas.

I appreciate why this feels inconsistent.

When I refer to “similar or equivalent”, I’m applying this in line with how the policy is written and how these types of claims are generally assessed. The policy doesn’t require the business to replace parts on a like-for-like or identical basis, including matching the exact display technology used by the manufacturer.

Instead, it allows the business to use parts that provide a comparable level of functionality overall. This means the replacement part doesn’t need to match every individual performance feature of the original, even if there are differences in areas such as brightness, contrast or display technology

So while I understand your point that an LCD screen may perform differently to an OLED screen in certain respects, that difference on its own doesn’t necessarily mean the part falls outside what the policy allows.

What would be important here is whether the screen fitted can be shown to fall below an acceptable or equivalent standard overall, rather than simply being different or not as high performing in specific areas.

At the moment, I haven’t seen independent technical evidence which confirms that the replacement screen is not of similar or equivalent specification in line with the policy."

The policy is via Assurrant. The policy excess was £75.00

flaneurs_lobster

Given that you knew that the excess was £75, did you get any other quotes for replacing the screen without recourse to the insurer's repairers?

Ahmed

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81982511#Comment_81982511

No, I felt reassured it would be an OEM part and felt £75 was fair enough excess to pay.