ECar - BEWARE of This Insurance Company
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Posts: 4 Newbie
I took out ECAR insurance and it has been the biggest mistake I have made when I am usually savvy to this sort of thing but I was in a hurry.
If you want to speak to someone it will cost you £1.02 a minute - and boy do you need to talk to them. Their email turnaround can be days! I have still resisted the urge.
They require copies of your driving licence and your no claims bonus. Yes they lose them or take days meanwhile your inbox gets emails telling you they haven't received them and they are going to cancel your insurance. Worse still is they also state in their emails that if they cancel your insurance you will be classed as having been refused insurance!
I tried to change the policy online today, with no luck, as I have a new car. When you get to the end of entering all your details a message pops up saying ring the help-desk (yes that's the £1.02 a minute line).
To be frank I have had enough of them and hate them with a passion. Understaffed with lousy customer service they are the worst I have ever used. I wont be renewing.
In my anger I phoned the FSC who have something to do with regulating them. They gave me two numbers which are not £1 a minute. Here they are (I haven't used them as yet but I intend to):
01454 634 876 (general number)
Here's one for Tracy Simms who apparently is the complaints person if she exists at all! She must be very busy or will soon be as these numbers are nowhere to be seen on the website. Her number is 01454 634 851, as I say these were passed to me by the FSC.
What really grinds my gears is the £75 fee they levy for cancelling your insurance (to keep costs down they say). They will do this plus keep any monies they deem fit for any insurance you have had. They cannot tell you what amount you will lose until they sever all contact with you - bum deal of the century - surely there's a law against people who operate like this.
There are no contact details on their website that allow you to speak to a human being without paying £1 a minute. Surely that's illegal too?
Avoid them as they are a scam, no other insurance company I have dealt with adopt these faceless methods.
Perhaps this is one for Martin to expose on some program as they really do take the proverbial! :mad:
I am currently still trying to switch insurances - I may just cancel and go back with Liverpool Victoria or Saga - should never have left either. It's always good advice to Google for muppets like these and if I had done that first I would never have gone with them. As I say I was in a hurry so went to Go Compare (god knows why I did that either I hate that opera singer but the website loaded faster than the meerkats)! AVOID THESE PEOPLE AT ALL COSTS ECAR SUCKS BIG TIME.
If you want to speak to someone it will cost you £1.02 a minute - and boy do you need to talk to them. Their email turnaround can be days! I have still resisted the urge.
They require copies of your driving licence and your no claims bonus. Yes they lose them or take days meanwhile your inbox gets emails telling you they haven't received them and they are going to cancel your insurance. Worse still is they also state in their emails that if they cancel your insurance you will be classed as having been refused insurance!
I tried to change the policy online today, with no luck, as I have a new car. When you get to the end of entering all your details a message pops up saying ring the help-desk (yes that's the £1.02 a minute line).
To be frank I have had enough of them and hate them with a passion. Understaffed with lousy customer service they are the worst I have ever used. I wont be renewing.
In my anger I phoned the FSC who have something to do with regulating them. They gave me two numbers which are not £1 a minute. Here they are (I haven't used them as yet but I intend to):
01454 634 876 (general number)
Here's one for Tracy Simms who apparently is the complaints person if she exists at all! She must be very busy or will soon be as these numbers are nowhere to be seen on the website. Her number is 01454 634 851, as I say these were passed to me by the FSC.
What really grinds my gears is the £75 fee they levy for cancelling your insurance (to keep costs down they say). They will do this plus keep any monies they deem fit for any insurance you have had. They cannot tell you what amount you will lose until they sever all contact with you - bum deal of the century - surely there's a law against people who operate like this.
There are no contact details on their website that allow you to speak to a human being without paying £1 a minute. Surely that's illegal too?
Avoid them as they are a scam, no other insurance company I have dealt with adopt these faceless methods.
Perhaps this is one for Martin to expose on some program as they really do take the proverbial! :mad:
I am currently still trying to switch insurances - I may just cancel and go back with Liverpool Victoria or Saga - should never have left either. It's always good advice to Google for muppets like these and if I had done that first I would never have gone with them. As I say I was in a hurry so went to Go Compare (god knows why I did that either I hate that opera singer but the website loaded faster than the meerkats)! AVOID THESE PEOPLE AT ALL COSTS ECAR SUCKS BIG TIME.
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Comments
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Saynoto0870.com brought up 01454 634810 for eCar.
Lesson learnt here: Don't pick the cheapest company you can find.
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Do you not wonder why they come out cheaper than the other insurers? Its not as if any insurance company operates as a charity or for the purposes of goodwill.
You will find a strong correllation between cheap up front prices and high subsequent prices.
It is perfectly legal to only have an 09 telephone number as long as you are open about the cost of calling it, which they are. I would suggest, as Adam has pointed out, that you familiarise yourself with SayNoTo0870.com which lists alternative telephone numbers for companies only publising their non-geographic numbers (and not just 0870 numbers).0 -
Eacr/ebike and evan are an ONLINE company.
Most things can be done online (like adding drivers/vehicles).
If it can't you email them and they get back to you within 4 hours.
If you try to use a product in a way it was never intended then YES it will be expensive.
The telephone charges are designed to be high to keep costs down and stop you phoning.
You are meant to email or go to the website.
It's doesn't make it a bad product necessarily - just you aren't using it correctly.
If you want Phone service, then DO NOT use an on-line only company.0 -
Insurance is too complicated to be email only.
It's find for the proposal, but if anything out of the noraml happens, you need to be able to talk to them.0 -
Insurance is too complicated to be email only.
I'm not sure I would agree.
I've had insurance for 26 years and rarely needed to make amendements so it's not complicated for everyone.
Also the web interface allows you to add drivers, vehicles, modifications etc.
But I agree with personal choice, if you don't feel comfortable with that then don't go with a company that is largely web/email driven - that was my main point - if you don't like it then don't buy it.but if anything out of the noraml happens, you need to be able to talk to them.
There are phone numbers for claims. breakdown, legal etc.
But yes sometimes things do happen.
I had to add someone with a claim onto my policy with ebike (a friend agreed to take my bike for a service whilst I was on holiday). At that time you could not add on claims via the web interface, so I emailed.
Because they had to go to their underwritters it took more that 4 hours, so I didn't get the advertised response time.
They sent me a letter asking for payment which went to the post office.
I went to collect it shortly before going on holiday, so it was in that case quite stressful trying to get something sorted before my holiday.
So yes I agree it can be less than ideal.
But the point remains - If you don't want an online policy with an online comapny then DON'T BUY ONE.
If you feel it's too complicated to manage that way, go for a company with good phone service0 -
I'm not sure I would agree.
I've had insurance for 26 years and rarely needed to make amendements so it's not complicated for everyone..........................................
........But yes sometimes things do happen.
I had to add someone with a claim onto my policy with ebike (a friend agreed to take my bike for a service whilst I was on holiday). At that time you could not add on claims via the web interface, so I emailed.
Because they had to go to their underwritters it took more that 4 hours, so I didn't get the advertised response time.
They sent me a letter asking for payment which went to the post office.
I went to collect it shortly before going on holiday, so it was in that case quite stressful trying to get something sorted before my holiday...................
So, complete lack of service if you need a response to sort something out there and then, and potentially no insurance.
I'm with the op, sometimes there's too cheap.0 -
My personal experience is that other people with phone services have not been able to contact their insurers on a Sunday, whereas with the on-line policies 99% of the time you can do it on the weekend (with occasional exceptions).So, complete lack of service if you need a response to sort something out there and then, and potentially no insurance.
It's not just about the money.I'm with the op, sometimes there's too cheap.
Yes there can be occasional problems with on-line services but a lot of the time doing things on-line can be quicker and superior to using a phone service.
Examples are - phone services not available out of office hours, or hanging on the phone for an hour to get through.
I don't think it's a black and white as you make out, there can equally be problems with phone services and you can not ALWAYS get to speak to someone with all companies. Some are imited to office hours only.
But I am all for freedom of choice.0 -
I think your more with everyone but the OP by saying there is "too cheap".
Plus with Lisy's comment, I have to say these all remind me of the comments years ago before the explosion in credit hire/ repair etc where people would buy TPFT insurance and then complain it didnt cover the damage to their vehicle when they had a non-fault accident.
There are exceptions to every rule but buy from a company that is cutting costs to the bone and you will most likely find lower quality product, lower standards of service and higher secondary charges.0 -
is in the eating.... So far it's been 27 hours and no email response from ECar. Their site still refers you to phone their helpdesk at £1 a minute yet they advertise you can change details online. This is not the case. I have not been able to so far.
Since then I checked with a friend who is also with ECar and won't be renewing - he couldn't amend his details either.
When a company advertises the ability to change details and get quotes online well it should do what it says on the tin. This company doesn't.
If I could change the details online and they did repsond as they should or as they advertise I wouldnt have an issue.
The warning still stands. AVOID them.0 -
Eacr/ebike and evan are an ONLINE company.
Most things can be done online (like adding drivers/vehicles).
If it can't you email them and they get back to you within 4 hours.
If you try to use a product in a way it was never intended then YES it will be expensive.
The telephone charges are designed to be high to keep costs down and stop you phoning.
You are meant to email or go to the website.
It's doesn't make it a bad product necessarily - just you aren't using it correctly.
If you want Phone service, then DO NOT use an on-line only company.
I have emailed them and I have tried changing the details online. A product should be as advertised. I have no ability to get a quote online and that is after following exactly what they tell me to do - it refers me to the £1 a minute line. As for the email it's been 27 hours and I am still counting - no reply. Reminder has been sent. Their record for replying or rather replying so outside their SLA is 4 days the average is 2 days. Lousy to say the least.
I wouldn't want this to happen to anyone else hence the warning, it's a heads up. I wouldnt have a single issue of they replied to emails or their online site worked as they say it does. Anything else is just lies at worst and lousy service at best.0
This discussion has been closed.
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