'robbing insurance scum' CONQUERED :-D

[Rick]

il send special delivery

[Jubfab]

spot on mate ? good luck. Just out of interest which address are you sending it to ? is it Leeds ?

 

Oh and the FOS is the ombudsman. It changed last year.

[Rick]

thats going to croyden the claims handler is located there and it says to send it to them or customer services

[Rick]

well no phonecall from them despite me stating that there should be no hesitation/

 

and i very much doubt il be getting a letter back either.

 

so how do you tackle the ignorant bastard approach?

 

do i waste another £2 on a phonecall again only to be told the person im asking for is still not available.... (do they even exist?)

 

or is it now time to go through ombudsman/

 

they still havent even returned my documents or keys!

[Rick]

so i call them again....

 

they got my letter but,

 

again after being too calm i get fobbed off with the 'wel get them to call you back later theyre not at the desk at the moment'

 

 

and did they fook?

 

so is it time to end communication with them directly and go through ombudsman.

 

bunch of dirty scum mother... i better stop there

 

 

[Rick]

To the ombudsman service

 

 

To whom it may concern,

 

This letter, accompanying a small pack of supporting documents has been compiled as a last resort to seek help in claiming what I was legally entitled to from the grossly incompetent company ironically named; Direct Line.

 

Ever since my car was stolen on 21/08/07 I have been led on a ‘wild goose chase’ as expressed in my initial letter of complaint to them, a chase which became far more extensive and time consuming on my part, the more I pushed matters.

 

I feel at no point thereafter was I given satisfactory answers or guidance by any part of Direct Line, not to mention their complete lack of correspondence. Not once have I received a letter from them regarding my claim other than to request my vehicle documents and keys, of which still, over a month later have not been returned despite asking on several occasions.

 

I understand that the case I present should be focussing on the financial injustice that I feel I have been subjected to, but thought that the above information would make a suitable introduction highlighting the ignorant and unprofessional nature of this company.

 

My initial dispute with Direct Line queried the valuation of my vehicle, deemed ‘written off’, and therefore eligible for a payment from Direct Line to cover my insured losses minus any agreed excess I had on the vehicle. (£89)

 

I understand that insurance companies have to go by their book when it comes to placing a value on a vehicle, this however does not mean that these values are up to date and/or fair in any way. I certainly did not agree with what I was offered when I called them for an update after hearing nothing for a few weeks.

 

I then accepted their offer to re-value the vehicle via another engineer that was supposed to call me back a week later with his report. This phone call arrived considerably later and was addressed by the original engineer (Matt Briton). The new valuation actually fell short of the original and again I disputed the valuation as being unrealistic.

 

It may be worth me adding here that during this time I had another running dispute with Direct Line who were telling me that I could not retain the vehicle after inspection as it had already been transported to a breakers yard over a hundred miles away and that if I wanted my possessions I would have to collect them myself, despite the vehicle being held locally a few days before.

 

This I finally managed to resolve after many more phone calls, once again at my own expense. At no point did Direct Line feel it necessary to consult me on any of these issues. It was agreed the vehicle would be returned at the cost of £50 to myself to be deducted from Direct Lines final offer.

 

At this point, the second letter I have enclosed was posted to Direct Line appealing to re-evaluate the figure they quoted and to reply with their final offer, along with information on the ombudsman service so that I could pursue further should their offer be unsatisfactory.

 

Enclosed with the letter were a handful of examples of recent sales, of which the subject vehicles were excellent if not very similar to the specifications of my own car before theft. This meant that the mileages were as close to mine as I could find, the cars were of same make, model and similar age. I also highlighted key features such as condition, Tax and MOT to compare against my own.

 

Example one was the closest match of the three. This car had similar mileage, exact model and similar age. The Tax and MOT are identical to that of my own car before theft occurred. This example I feel is most significant and sold at auction for £401. (Considerably more than the £189 offered by Direct Line before the £100 excess is deducted.)

 

Example Two was included as it showed a car of higher mileage than my own along less MOT and Tax. This sold at auction for £325, still more than what I was offered despite being higher mileage and with six months less MOT.

 

Example Three again shows another vehicle of considerably higher mileage with less MOT and Tax but still selling at auction for £370

 

I chose not to include any more examples as I felt these three alone were enough to back up my complaint, but upon request I can certainly produce more for you from more varied sources. I would also invite you to check with these sellers that the transaction was completed after sale on screen and that I have not tampered with anything I have presented to you. I am confident that you will have no grounds to disregard any of the evidence.

 

Having received no response from my second letter, I called Direct Line to confirm that it had arrived, which thankfully it had, reaching the wrong person, but nevertheless at its destination and had been passed on to another engineer to digest and ‘call me back’. I insisted that I speak to him directly as soon as possible and that previous promises to call backs had not been honoured. I was assured it was now a matter of urgency and I would be contacted within a few hours.

 

History repeated itself yet again. No contact was made.

 

 

 

 

 

As previously mentioned, writing to you was my last resort but I feel I have nothing more to gain from constantly pursuing Direct Line. I have spent many hours contacting direct line by all available methods and into producing this case to present to yourselves, admittedly it’s over a few hundred pounds but frankly its money I cannot afford to lose. I’m fighting hard to recover what I am legally entitled to and what Direct Line should have paid me in the first place and prevented such escalation.

I feel that I have given more than enough opportunities to rectify the matter.

 

If you decide in favour of my complaint I would like to request that if possible; the repayment of all costs that have arisen from constantly calling Direct Line (roughly £20), the true value of my vehicle (£350-£450), all be paid as soon as feasibly possible, by Direct Line to myself.

 

I am highly appreciative of anyone that has read this letter for his or her time and hope that someone can assist me in claiming back what I feel I am owed.

 

 

Thanks once again for your time

 

[Cookie]

Very well written letter that m8, clear and all the valid points highlighted

 

Let's hope you get something positive of them now

[Rick]

Very well written letter that m8, clear and all the valid points highlighted

 

Let's hope you get something positive of them now

 

i fookin hope so.

 

if all else fails il order in some TNT

[Smudger105e]

Good luck with your actions, hope you get adequate response and compensation to which you are entitled.

 

It really pees me off that insurance companies tend to get every last penny out of us, but seem to drag their feet when a payout is required.

 

And why is it that ooo, floods, premiums will go up. ooo windy times, premiums will have to go up. Never go back down when it's sunny, do they?

[Vista]

Have you sent this letter already? If not, and if it's of any help, I've added a few comments in red.

 

To whom it may concern, Call the ombudsman and explain your complaint, get a name and address it to that person, i.e. Dear Mr/Mrs/Ms etc

 

This letter, accompanying a small pack of supporting documents has been compiled as a last resort to seek help in claiming what I was legally entitled to from the grossly incompetent company ironically named; Direct Line. Resist the temptation to be rude about DL, it may be accurate but you don't want the man at the ombudsman service to pick your letter up last thing on a Friday afternoon and think "oh great another moaner"

 

Ever since my car was stolen on 21/08/07 I have been led on a ‘wild goose chase’ as expressed in my initial letter of complaint to them, add the words "see reference A" and enclose a copy of it labelled reference A, you want to make it easy for them to use your information) a chase which became far more extensive and time consuming on my part, the more I pushed matters.

 

I feel at no point thereafter was I given satisfactory answers or guidance by any part of Direct Line, not to mention their complete lack of correspondence. Not once have I received a letter from them regarding my claim other than to request my vehicle documents and keys, delete word "of" which still, over a month later, have not been returned despite asking on several occasions.

 

I understand that the case I present should be focussing on the financial injustice that I feel I have been subjected to, but thought that the above information would make a suitable introduction highlighting the ignorant and unprofessional nature of this company.

 

My initial dispute with Direct Line queried the valuation of my vehicle, deemed ‘written off’, and therefore eligible for a payment from Direct Line to cover my insured losses minus any agreed excess I had on the vehicle. (£89) explain whether £89 was the excess or the settlement as it's not clear

 

I understand that insurance companies have to go by their book when it comes to placing a value on a vehicle, this however does not mean that these values are up to date and/or fair in any way. I certainly did not agree with what I was offered when I called them for an update after hearing nothing for a few weeks.

 

I then accepted their offer to re-value the vehicle via another engineer that was supposed to call me back a week later with his report. This phone call arrived considerably later and was addressed by the original engineer (Matt Briton). The new valuation actually fell short of the original and again I disputed the valuation as being unrealistic. So the 2nd valuation was apparently done by the same person as the first? if so make this clearer

 

It may be worth me adding here that during this time I had another running dispute with Direct Line who were telling me that I could not retain the vehicle after inspection as it had already been transported to a breakers yard over a hundred miles away and that if I wanted my possessions I would have to collect them myself, despite the vehicle being held locally a few days before.

 

This I finally managed to resolve after many more phone calls, once again at my own expense. At no point did Direct Line feel it necessary to consult me on any of these issues. It was agreed the vehicle would be returned at the cost of £50 to myself to be deducted from Direct Lines final offer.

 

At this point, the second letter I have enclosed Add "see reference B and mark letter reference Bwas posted to Direct Line appealing to re-evaluate the figure they quoted and to reply with their final offer, along with information on the ombudsman service so that I could pursue further should their offer be unsatisfactory.

 

Enclosed with the letter were a handful of examples of recent sales, of which the subject vehicles were excellent if not very similar to the specifications of my own car before theft. This meant that the mileages were as close to mine as I could find, the cars were of same make, model and similar age. I also highlighted key features such as condition, Tax and MOT to compare against my own.

 

Example one was the closest match of the three. This car had similar mileage, exact model and similar age. The Tax and MOT are identical to that of my own car before theft occurred. This example I feel is most significant and sold at auction for £401. (Considerably more than the £189 offered by Direct Line before the £100 excess is deducted.)

 

Example Two was included as it showed a car of higher mileage than my own along less MOT and Tax. This sold at auction for £325, still more than what I was offered despite being higher mileage and with six months less MOT.

 

Example Three again shows another vehicle of considerably higher mileage with less MOT and Tax but still selling at auction for £370

 

Mark the pages examples one, two and three

 

I chose not to include any more examples as I felt these three alone were enough to back up my complaint, but upon request I can certainly produce more for you from more varied sources. I would also invite you to check with these sellers that the transaction was completed after sale on screen and that I have not tampered with anything I have presented to you. I am confident that you will have no grounds to disregard any of the evidence.

 

Having received no response from my second letter, I called Direct Line to confirm that it had arrived, which thankfully it had, reaching the wrong person, but nevertheless at its destination and had been passed on to another engineer to digest and ‘call me back’. I insisted that I speak to him directly as soon as possible and that previous promises to call backs had not been honoured. I was assured it was now a matter of urgency and I would be contacted within a few hours.

 

History repeated itself yet again. No contact was made.

 

 

 

 

 

As previously mentioned, writing to you was my last resort but I feel I have nothing more to gain from constantly pursuing Direct Line. I have spent many hours contacting direct line by all available methods and into producing this case to present to yourselves, admittedly it’s over a few hundred pounds but frankly its money I cannot afford to lose. I’m fighting hard to recover what I am legally entitled to and what Direct Line should have paid me in the first place and prevented such escalation.

I feel that I have given more than enough opportunities to rectify the matter.

 

If you decide in favour of my complaint I would like to request that if possible; the repayment of all costs that have arisen from constantly calling Direct Line (roughly £20), the true value of my vehicle (£350-£450), all be paid as soon as feasibly possible, by Direct Line to myself.

 

I am highly appreciative of anyone that has read this letter for his or her time and hope that someone can assist me in claiming back what I feel I am owed.

 

 

Thanks once again for your time End your letter Yours Sincerely or similar

 

Best of luck mate, hope you get what you're owed.

[Rick]

too late mate already sent.

 

i had labelled up everything for reference dont worry/.

 

thanks for taking time to read it all though, you people must get sick of me whining all the time

 

i just dont like to be beaten

[Vista]

i just dont like to be beaten

 

I'm with you there mate, insurance companies take you to the cleaners every year. The money you want back from them is an absolute drop in the ocean to them and refusing to pay you is probably going to cost them more in admin costs than just paying you a fair sum.

 

I fight them tooth and nail when I have issues with them, though admittedly it helps that I'm married to a solicitor.

[Toby]

Vista,

Why do you say keep the FOS up your sleeve? Why not go there as soon as you feel you're being screwed over?

I waisted weeks (of stress) on a dented wing for my insurance co. told me it was a right off cos Mk1 Cortinas are only worth about 2-3k.

I appreciate the insurance companies don't want to pay out too much but...if they base their premium on the value you give them then surely in my case you have paid for £10k of cover?

After contacting the ombudslady, my insurance co. rang me asking if they could give me £50 for waisting my time and go ahead with the repair.

At last!! but I would have thought they would almost be my first port of call in the future.

I will be interested to see how this goes now. Good luck!!

[Vista]

I didn't say keep them up your sleeve did I? I said that you want them on your side by not coming across too balshy with them.

[Grovesy]

I think id rather be the criminal in this scenario too mate, bigtime rip off. Why do you think alot of people drive around with no insurance! This country has seriously gone to pot. Makes no sense to be law obiding these days

 

Yeah.. its true.. no wonder so many ppl drive around with no insurance!! This country has seriously gone downhill

[Toby]

I didn't say keep them up your sleeve did I? I said that you want them on your side by not coming across too balshy with them.

 

Sorry mate must have miss read it. too late, too tired, too much alchlihole

[Rick]

well i got a letter of acknowledgement back from ombudsman...

 

see how things go from there.

 

still nothing from DL, no documents returned, no payments, none of the promised phonecalls, nothing!

 

what a bunch of twats

[Rick]

how wierd. the second i wrote that a letter came through the door from them

 

saying theyv written to DL who should now be getting in touch to resolve the matter

[Rick]

result!

 

ombudsman ordered them to sort it out.

 

i had a good ol chat with a proper engineer, who phones me as promised and we agreed ata value of 400 quid - excess and the 50 quid i paid to have it back

 

which leaves me 250 bucks and whatever i make selling the parts

 

 

bottom line is they should have sorted it in the first place rather than fook me about.

 

Consumer power :-D:-D

 

thanks to everyone for your advice

[ZetecVan 2.0]

Well done Rick! Sounds like you got a lot of good advice and stuck to your guns!

[Burns]

nice one rick

[Mr Sam]

sweeeet

[Copey]

thats great Rick!!

[Toby]

Well.......they had it comin' to em!

 

And you gave it!!

 

Well done and congrats.

[Twinkle]

nice job fella