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So angry with T-Mobile's insurance provider
DD2, who is 15, was at a friends house last night at a party. Her mobile phone was in her zipped handbag with a pair of shoes, a make up bag and a hoodie on top of it and the bag was tucked beside a sofa in the room they were in.
Despite this, when she went to ring m to collect her she found that her phone had been taken from her bag. She told the hostess, who said that she wasn't the only one there that evening whose phone was missing so some nasty little toe-rag had obviously decided to go round helping themself.
We reported the theft to T-Mobile who have blocked the SIM and phone and then we phoned the insurance company, who we were told when we bought the policy (and if you look on their leaflet says in tick boxes) that the phone is covered for loss, theft an accidental damage.
The lady at the insurance company advised OH (phone contract is in his name) to declare the phone as lost rather than stolen as unless we could categorically say that it had been stolen and had a crime number we couldn't proceed with a theft report. She entered all the details and then said that we weren't covered as DD had been negligent by not having her bag on her person all evening :mad: .
Now if she had left her phone on a bar and gone off dancing, or her bag on the floor in a club, I could understand it but this was in a zippe bag at a private party in a house. DD is obviously devastated (Inconvenience aside -loss of contacts, photos etc and replacement phone £129) and even the staff at T-Mobile have said it is ridiculous and we have to appeal as they believe that the insurance should cover her. The lady at T-Mobile also advised us to complain to T-Mobile as apparently everyone in their claims department thought she should be covered.
So - just wondered if anyone else had had this problem and won on appeal. The company is CCP Phonecare and on my bank statement they appear as Homecare insurance.
Will also post on insurance board - any advice gratefully received but at this rate looks as though the 'insurance' is not valid unless you're mugged!!!!!!
Despite this, when she went to ring m to collect her she found that her phone had been taken from her bag. She told the hostess, who said that she wasn't the only one there that evening whose phone was missing so some nasty little toe-rag had obviously decided to go round helping themself.
We reported the theft to T-Mobile who have blocked the SIM and phone and then we phoned the insurance company, who we were told when we bought the policy (and if you look on their leaflet says in tick boxes) that the phone is covered for loss, theft an accidental damage.
The lady at the insurance company advised OH (phone contract is in his name) to declare the phone as lost rather than stolen as unless we could categorically say that it had been stolen and had a crime number we couldn't proceed with a theft report. She entered all the details and then said that we weren't covered as DD had been negligent by not having her bag on her person all evening :mad: .
Now if she had left her phone on a bar and gone off dancing, or her bag on the floor in a club, I could understand it but this was in a zippe bag at a private party in a house. DD is obviously devastated (Inconvenience aside -loss of contacts, photos etc and replacement phone £129) and even the staff at T-Mobile have said it is ridiculous and we have to appeal as they believe that the insurance should cover her. The lady at T-Mobile also advised us to complain to T-Mobile as apparently everyone in their claims department thought she should be covered.
So - just wondered if anyone else had had this problem and won on appeal. The company is CCP Phonecare and on my bank statement they appear as Homecare insurance.
Will also post on insurance board - any advice gratefully received but at this rate looks as though the 'insurance' is not valid unless you're mugged!!!!!!
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Comments
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Think an appeal is the only option for you. Has it been reported to the police and have you got a crime number? Maybe look at your home insurance see if that will cover theft away from home. Have you got an all inclusive bank account that gives you phone insurance?
Good Luck0 -
chilli_dog wrote: »Think an appeal is the only option for you. Has it been reported to the police and have you got a crime number? Maybe look at your home insurance see if that will cover theft away from home. Have you got an all inclusive bank account that gives you phone insurance?
Good Luck
We haven't reported to the police as the lady at the insurance company said to go down the loss rather than theft route. Also want to speak to the parents of the girl whose house the party was at to see if they reported it as several items went missing but can't get hold of them.
Mobile phones are covered on our household policy but wasn't going to go down this route as it will obviously have an impact on future insurance quotes. Guess we will have to if the mobile company won't cover her :mad: .0 -
Just been doing some digging. Sounds like fonesafe like to say no,
http://www.uk-insurance-index.co.uk/review-124.html0 -
This company has got me mad and im not even involved.
Write a letter to the company giving them 28 days to resolve your claim, after that complain to the FSA (i think they govern insurance companies) also complain to Tmobile whilst its a seperate company they did sell you the insurance.0 -
Thanks Chilli-dog - I'm sure you've got better things to be doing on a Saturday night than getting angry on my behalf but I do appreciate your help :beer: .chilli_dog wrote: »also complain to Tmobile whilst its a seperate company they did sell you the insurance.
T-Mobile call centre have actually been great and they cannot believe that the phone is not covered. The lady OH spoke to advised that we write to T-Mobile customer service complaining as she thought it was apalling.
I've also got this advice from on FlameCloud on the Insurance boardFlameCloud wrote: »Follow the insurers complaints procedure. Don't try to 'appeal' it, ask them for the complaints departments address and send them a recorded letter. They have to acknowledge this within 5 days and issue a final response within 8 weeks. If they havnt paid then take the claim to the FOS.
This is not IMO negligent. For this to stick, the insurer would have to prove that your daughter was reckless in her actions which caused the loss. This is massivly hard to prove. If your daughter considered that the phone might get stolen and took steps to prevent it (putting the hoodie on top, hiding it) then this is categorically NOT negligence- quote the (binding) precedent Sofi v Prudential Assurance Company Limited (1993) at them if they really wont listen. (This bascially says that if you recognise a risk, take steps to prevent it and it happens anyway then you cannot be held negligent.
So am going to give them both barrels on Monday morning. I'll keep you posted!0 -
chilli_dog wrote: »Just been doing some digging. Sounds like fonesafe like to say no,
http://www.uk-insurance-index.co.uk/review-124.html
I read the complaints of that and I think for most of them I agree with fonesafe. You don't take out an insurance policy in your name if your not using the phone. It wont be covered if someone else breaks it, thought that would be common knowledge. Same with the washing machine accidents. With anything you always have to read the small print, especially for insurance companies. They will all try to get out of paying out for a claim, not just fonesafe. Thats just my opinion though.
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princessjessica08 wrote: »I read the complaints of that and I think for most of them I agree with fonesafe. You don't take out an insurance policy in your name if your not using the phone. It wont be covered if someone else breaks it, thought that would be common knowledge. Same with the washing machine accidents. With anything you always have to read the small print, especially for insurance companies. They will all try to get out of paying out for a claim, not just fonesafe. Thats just my opinion though.
All I would reply to that is that when buying a contract phone for an under 16, the contract has to be in someone else's name as under 16's can't have credit. Maybe this should be made clear when selling a phone as a present. Also my Fonesafe policy quotes that accidental damage is covered and I would have thought that leaving a phone in a pocket prior to putting in a washing machine would be an accident . I certainly wouldn't do it on purpose! 0 -
Am pleased to report that after appealing the decision as advised, Fonesure have 'carefully considered our refusal and my comments and as we are such valued customers, have agreed to replace DD's phone as a gesture of goodwill":rolleyes:
Whilst I'm delighted that she is getting a replacement phone, since when did insurance that you pay for payout as gestures of goodwill - I thought that was part of the contract.
Oh well - lesson learnt here is that the insurance company will try their best to wriggle out of paying but persistnace appears to pay off! Thanks for all the advice I received.0 -
Hey Amanda,
Well done, glad you got it sorted.
:beer:
:beer:0 -
I have been a contract customer of T-Mobile for about 20 years and have generally been happy with them. I recently upgraded my handset to the LG Secret. The upgrade department suggested insurance and, as this is a top of the range 'phone, I agreed. The terms and conditions were clearly explained to me, so all was well.
Yesterday I spilt a cup of coffee all over my desk and 'phone (clumsy, I know) and it is as dead as a doornail. I tried calling Fonesafe to make a claim and they said they only had details of my old handset and I couldn't make a claim on the new one. I then rang T-Mobile and they said I WAS insured. Someone is clearly lying and I am stuck in the middle0
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