Employer Private Health - £350 for 10 minutes

24

Comments

  • csgohan4
    csgohan4 Posts: 10,587
    First Anniversary First Post Name Dropper Photogenic
    Forumite
    edited 7 February 2018 at 9:25PM
    if your not sure, clarify, don't assume. Insurance companies can't read your mind and think of every hypothetical scenario for you.
    "It is prudent when shopping for something important, not to limit yourself to Pound land/Estate Agents"

    G_M/ Bowlhead99 RIP
  • ValiantSon
    ValiantSon Posts: 2,586 Forumite
    mschris wrote: »
    Why? When I booked the appointment the e-mails and wording were all along the lines of "this claim has been authorised, there is nothing you need to do, please attend the appointment on this date."

    Yes, because when you booked the appointment/received authorisation to book, you were an employee and therefore insured.
    mschris wrote: »
    I believe they have partial responsibly around 30% only as good practice and in the interest of stopping something like this happening. Apart from the - for-profit - company who does this situation benefit?

    No, they have no responsibility. You are responsible for ensuring that your insurance is valid, and the terms of the policy would have told you that it wasn't. Indeed, common sense should have told you. Why would you continue to receive employee benefits after leaving employment? You wouldn't expect them to carry on paying you, so why would any other parts of your remuneration still be valid?

    Where did you get the 30% figure from?
    mschris wrote: »
    Why would the employer not have some responsibility to make this clear to an employee?

    You aren't an employee anymore and you weren't when you attended the appointment. You left the employment and your employer was under no obligation to say to you, "Oh, by the way, your medical insurance is no longer valid." No one could reasonably expect that it would be.
    mschris wrote: »
    Hypothetically, say the situation was more drastic - someone was in the middle of cancer treatment and they decided to hand in their notice as they couldn't deal with work.
    Would you expect them to tell an employee then?
    Would you expect Vitality to step in and tell me?
    Or would you expect someone - in the middle of that type of treatment - to be charged £1000s?

    This is not the same, but yes, I would expect the employee to understand that by terminating their contract they would lose their remuneration package, because that's what happens when you leave employment.

    You made a mistake and it has cost you, but it was your mistake and yours alone.
  • mschris
    mschris Posts: 19
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    You made a mistake and it has cost you, but it was your mistake and yours alone.

    So you think this is fair? Just? There's nothing wrong with this process.
  • Quentin
    Quentin Posts: 40,405 Forumite
    You are missing the point!

    Would it be fair to expect your other job perks to continue after you left that employer?

    What happens regarding your private health insurance when your employment ends was set out in the policy docs but you say you forgot!!
  • stator
    stator Posts: 7,441
    Name Dropper First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Post
    Forumite
    Yes, it's fair.
    Your expectations from everyone else are too high.
    There is no computer that would have detected that you had left your employer and had a medical appointment outstanding. No-one would have been notified about this. Only you would have known this was happening.
    If this sort of thing ever ended up in court because you refused to pay the judge would just say that you should have realised it might be a problem and that you should have checked.
    Changing the world, one sarcastic comment at a time.
  • mschris wrote: »
    So you think this is fair? Just? There's nothing wrong with this process.

    it look me 30 seconds to find

    T&c's

    and 15 seconds to find this in it

    "WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU (THE INSURED
    MEMBER) LEAVE THE COMPANY?
    Your cover ends on your leaving date which
    means we wont pay for any more treatment
    you have after that date even if youre in
    the middle of treatment at the time or
    weve authorised that treatment in advance."

    you are 100% at fault here. Nothing wrong with the documentation or the policy, or the process, you just didn't do your homework, its very plainly worded and crystal clear
  • bigisi
    bigisi Posts: 925 Forumite
    mschris wrote: »
    So you think this is fair? Just? There's nothing wrong with this process.

    Funny how you've only quoted this part of the post. Completely ignoring the perfectly valid other points made.

    If you were only wanting replies from people who are telling you you're completely in the right and are owed squillions in compo, you should have made this perfectly clear in your OP and saved people the time.
  • mschris
    mschris Posts: 19
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    edited 9 February 2018 at 10:29PM
    You are missing the point!

    No, I think you are. People design process. You would design process to stop this happening. It's simple user experience. This process doesn't help anyone! You design a process that either stops this happening or creates a layer so the customer is aware of the cost and had to actively agree to it.

    Do you think unexpected crazy roaming charges were fair even if they were in the T&Cs? No, it's about common sense and stopping companies like this using this type of pitfall like a revenue stream. You don't realise as well, the doctor charged £140 - there are like 4 companies in the middle that increased this to £353 - essentially for admin.

    Do you think this is proportionate? Fair?
    Any chance you could now take vitality insurance out for yourself and they would link coverage so it would be one continuous cover from when you left?

    It's a good idea but I think it would be more than 353 annually? sort of destroying the point. Also I imagine it would need to be done before not after the event? I will query it though.
    Where did you get the 30% figure from?

    I just made up a partial responsibility percentage that felt right
    "Oh, by the way, your medical insurance is no longer valid." No one could reasonably expect that it would be.

    Of course, but I didn't think it was valid in the same way. I thought the appointment that was authorised two months before was already paid.

    I actually had the thought if I missed it i would be charged.
    Would it be fair to expect your other job perks to continue after you left that employer?

    No, of course I wouldn't, and didn't. This is why I called up after I attended a "chat" prior to treatment to find out what would happen. This was a consultation that I thought was already paid for.
    What happens regarding your private health insurance when your employment ends was set out in the policy docs but you say you forgot!!

    I didn't say I forgot. I said that when it was authorised I thought it was done on the date I called! Not the date I attended.

    If my phone gets stolen, the claim is authorised / covered on the day I claim / the day of the actual incident. Not the day I receive the new phone.
    it look me 30 seconds to find T&c's and 15 seconds to find this in it

    I didn't look up the terms on the day of the appointment - as in my mind it wasn't a query I had.
    Yes, it's fair.
    Your expectations from everyone else are too high.

    Really? I don't accept this. Your expectations are far far too low. This is the legacy pitfalls of this type of company. Something setup in the 80s and hasn't gone through disruption. There is no way in hell a new modern, maybe app based, progressive health insurance company would allow this (and that's just the surface, there's no way in 10 years time all of the discriminatory conditions wouldn't be covered as well)
    There is no computer that would have detected that you had left your employer and had a medical appointment outstanding.

    OMG. Seriously? We have quantum computing in it's infancy and you're saying that the date I handed in my notice a "date box" couldn't have been updated and an automated notification sent? If you sincerely believe this is outside the realm of software then I don't know where to start...
    No-one would have been notified about this. Only you would have known this was happening.

    ?...Only my HR department, the payroll team, finance team, my manager, the company..no where in that process "update vitality" couldn't have been done. Even Vitality could have had a button on their site or app that says "handed in my notice" - this doesn't exist.
    Funny how you've only quoted this part of the post. Completely ignoring the perfectly valid other points made.

    If you were only wanting replies from people who are telling you you're completely in the right and are owed squillions in compo, you should have made this perfectly clear in your OP and saved people the time.

    Ok I'll make it clear what I want: solutions.

    I believe, this isn't fair, this isn't right - I don't believe I should pay £353 for this. I want solutions to resolve this. If you don't agree with me - thank you for taking the time to read this. I know i made a mistake but I don't need your reply.
    and are owed squillions in compo,
    I don't want this. I was willing to accept and pay maybe £70 for my mistake and move on. £353 is something I cannot afford! That is a serious amount of money.

    I'm surprised at the responses on this forum actually. In real life everyone I speak to responds along the lines of "that's ridiculous / how can they allow it? Can you fight it / I hate private insurance, be glad you're not in the states"

    However on here....the entire sentiment, I don't know it's more blaming me than offering a solution or even challenging the company. Which is really surprising to me.
    If this sort of thing ever ended up in court because you refused to pay the judge would just say that you should have realised it might be a problem and that you should have checked.

    I will challenge it under these conditions.

    - This is not treating customers fairly.
    - I've been expected to agree to a mystery cost without consenting to it.
    - The cost is not proportionate and there unnecessarily added cost
    - It was partially my employer's and vitality's responsibility to ensure that at least at some type of exit / leaving process was in place to prevent such an event.
    - The company was collecting my health data (steps etc - used for commercial gain) after I left without my permission as they didn't cancel my account thus breaching my privacy
    - The appointment was 1 hour late which I will be invoicing for my time

    If anyone else has any other ideas I'd appreciate it.
  • ValiantSon
    ValiantSon Posts: 2,586 Forumite
    mschris wrote: »
    So you think this is fair? Just? There's nothing wrong with this process.

    I've made it perfectly clear what I think, but just to make you happy (as if) I'll spell it out for you again.... Yes, I think it is fair. No, I don't think there is anything wrong with it.

    You made the error by assuming that you would continue to benefit from your remuneration package after you had left employment. This was not logical or sensible and, unfortunately, you have paid the price (literally) for your lack of thought.
  • mschris
    mschris Posts: 19
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    @ValiantSon I'll ignore - see above
Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 342.4K Banking & Borrowing
  • 249.9K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 234.6K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 607K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 172.8K Life & Family
  • 247.4K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.8K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards