XS Direct - Is it a scam?!

zakary said:

Dear Readers,

I took out an insurance policy with this company last year. I paid for it through a comparison website and it came up with "insure your motor." I never realized this was just the broker until I had an accident in February this year.

It was a minor incident where I reversed into a car at less than 5mph. He was already close behind me so the impact was minimal. I called my insurance company (insure your motor) who redirected me to XS Direct. This is the first time I heard of them.When I called them they informed me that I had an all section excess of £3000 which meant I was liable to pay up to this sum which I never realized.

They than called me a few days later saying the other party was claiming for injury so they sent someone to investigate my car and take pictures.

I did not hear from them again until this week (3 months later). They said they posted a letter to me (which I never received) so they emailed me on Thursday stating it was the last date of payment for the full £3000. I was shocked! I was abroad so I called them on my return on Friday. They agreed to give me another 2 weeks to sort out the payment, but advised if I paid before the end of the month they could give me a 10% discount which I found quite strange.

I asked them to send me a break down of the charges thinking I was paying for injury compensation but when they sent me the breakdown the total amount was all for repair works carried out on the car. I think they have made all of this up! But not sure what to do...Do I have to pay? Is there any way around this? Anyone else dealt with this company before? Pls help!

I'm personally having the exact same issue with XS Direct right now. I nudged someone late December 2019, took photos of the damage and done everything by the book. When I met up with the investigator, I'd already known I had a £3000 excess on the policy, but the damage to both vehicles was minimal. My own was not even scratched and the damage on the other vehicle was not correlated with the size or shape of my own vehicle. I reported this incident to police and the insurance company, broker being Insure Your Motor and also a finance company Close Brothers too, so 3 different companies involved in 1 single policy cover. After meeting with the investigator, I had explained I thought this was a classic cut in front scam, as another car cut the vehicle in front of me up, passing 5 lanes of traffic leading to a motorway and also back city bound where I lived. To me it was like something from a dash cam scam show so i reported it all to police and XS Direct right away telling them everything and showing the photos i had taken of the damage to both cars. Like i said mine was not damaged at all and the other was old damage, and in no way matched the size nor shape of the front of my car. They met with me on a Friday, on the following Monday, 3 days later, i received an email saying the claim had been settled. No personal injury just a damage claim. They still, to this day, have not told me how much the claim was settled for but i only found out when trying to get insured again via another company. The cost was £9800 for a simple damage claim that did not match the incident. Now I cannot get insurance for my car which is an essential to me, the only company that will insure me is XS Direct again but only if I pay the £3000 excess up front. I was willing to take another policy with them in order to pay the installments and also pay off the excess in one single monthly payment option, but now they have put a block on me from getting insurance from anywhere else, as every other company I have tried and that's over 35 within the past 2 days, keep referring back to XS Direct and say thats my only option. For one, I'm disgusted that XSD never told me the cost of the settled claim and I had to find out from another company. Now my only option for insurance is with XSD again but to do so I have to pay the £3000 up front first before they will open another policy. I was wondering if there is anything I can do, being the uncorralated damage, the reports on the day of the incident, the weekend it took for them to swiftly settle the claim and now it all has me with zero option of using another company for insurance leaving me without transport that I need to visit and care for my father who's a pensioner and not very well as the accident took place 23rd December 2019 and my mother passed away the day after, Christmas Eve! XSD have left me in a no option position bar paying the £3000 and taking up another policy with them again. This has got to be somewhat wrong, in someway there has to be foul play on their behalf. What I see it as is institutional extortion at it's best! If theres anything I can do I would appreciate some advice.

Previous accidents that's all. I've mailed the claims manager who I had been dealing with telling him I found this complaint very similar to mine. After settling the claim, I had to find out by another insurance company the cost of the settlement and still cannot contact any department of XSD bar the direct email address for the claim manager. Even the phone number passes me to a finance company so it's impossible to speak to a relevant person regarding this issue. I would be willing to take another policy with XSD if they allowed me to add payments of the £3000 excess on top of a policy but they are adamant so far they want the full amount before they will open me another policy. This alone is stopping me from getting a policy with other insurers as I've spent the past 2 days trying over 35 companies who keep referring back to XSD. They knew about the other incidents as I declared them on the issue of the policy so I don't understand why they wont allow me to repay the £3000 and have a policy back with them, instead of making me pay the excess first but still willing to issue me another policy after it is paid in full. I dont understand it at all, and especially when I contact the numbers I was given for them, I'm directed to either Insure Your Motor or the other finance company Close Brothers. After seeing this comment, it raised alot if questions for myself and it all does seem like there is something wrong with the way this is and has been handled. If XSD want full payment of the excess even after the claim settlement, I wouldnt expect them to insure me again although they said they will IF the excess is paid in full first. To me, it just does not make sense.