Insurance comapny taking the P1ss

[Virtual_Unknown]

when i bought my clio at the begining of feb i changed my insurance over from my rallye, becuase of a drop in the premium i was a due a refund of £350 which they said they would refund straight away, its now 4 months later and i have yet to have the refund!!
I have called them 7 times now, the first 3 times i spoke to complete retards who just fobbed me off, saying they didnt have the information to hand and they would call me back, i would then get an answer machine message telling me that the refund would be done shortly.
on the next call i got someone remotely competant who told me that my refund was actually for £150 instead of the £300 but she didnt know why and would call me back when she found out, suprise, suprise i never got a call back.
my next couple of calls have been with a "manager" the first he apologised prefusely and he said he would look into in personally and it would be sorted, the next he apologised again and said that as an apology he would make sure that the refund was done that day and they would also not take this months payments as way of compensation -

i checked my account today as ive been away for a week and the refunds still not been done and they have taken this months payments aswell -
ive had enough of the retards and am in the middle of writing a complaint letter but i need to know what "boddies" i can threaten them with, do i go and see the citezons advice bereau (sp)

anyone else had a similar problem??

cheers guys
Joe

 

[172mgw]

if they nreally dont wanna help, and check thoroughly cos insurance companies have good lawyers, then go to the Genreral Insurance Standards Council, or gisc for short.this is the insurance regulatory board! but like i said, if u misheard them, and thye did offer to sort it, in an unusual way, then u will look a prat! hop this helps u m8!

 

[Virtual_Unknown]

cheers mate - they have offered to help about 5 times, its just the fact that they dont actually do what they say there going to and after 4 months i am still waiting for my refund which is just a little bit of a p!ss take

 

[TheJesus]

i had a similar problem over my insurance and them oweing me a years no claims. This was with performance direct. It took 16 months to sort, in which time I was unable to get insurance from anywhere. The insurance ombudsman would have been the person to sort this out, but they shat themselves and faxed it over that day.

Do you have internet banking setup? you could get them to confirm over the phone that this will be done and advise them that you will hold and get them to wire it through there and then. Real time transaction updates will let you know if their taking the piss again. Also get names and staff numbers and departments of people you speak to, then when/if you do have to comlain at least you will have something to go from. Normally when you ask for this info you are on the phone longer as they are flapping around trying to help you, rather than get rid of you asap like they would normally.

[Edited by TheJesus on 07 June 2004 at 2:39pm]

 

[Virtual_Unknown]

so is the Genreral Insurance Standards Council different to The insurance ombudsman??

 

[172mgw]

yeah u have to give em time, they work very slowly, and wont pay out till all wages and bill r paid etc, so it may take a little bit longer!

 

[clio172boy]

I had the same problem with Adrian Flux / Cando Finance. They didnt stop my direct debit when I finished the policy I had to cancle it with the bank then try to get my money back. It took me a lot of phone calls, loosing my temper, finding out names, writing letters and getting very annoyed with people to finally getting a cheque for my own money. I am still fighting for extra charges as well. I know how you feel mate.

 

[172mgw]

yes, the gisc is the governing body of insurance companies, bit like a citiens charter if u like for the insurance industry! and if u want to b a player in the insurance market place, u need to belong to gisc!

 

[172mgw]

also, if u get no joy, try the fos(financial ombudsman service) or the fsa(financial services athourity)both of which regulate financial institutions like insurance companies and banks!