Thread: jjrj thread

Originally Posted by beccus

I have replied this morning.

Norwich Union destroyed my life. I was employed by DAS Legal Expenses as a litigator. DAS sells legal expenses insurance policies on the back of various insurance company's household insurance polices. Norwich Union provides DAS with approximately half of its business. Prior to these events I had never been involved in any disciplinary action and had been employed by for more than six years.

During October 2006 I was dealing with a claim on behalf of a Halifax policy holder. I was seeking to recover the excess he had paid in a subsidence claim against his neighbour, the third party, who was insured with Norwich Union. The neighbour had failed to respond to my correspondence and I had advised that proceedings would be issued against him to recover the excess.

At the end of October 2006 I received a telephone call from a Norwich Union claims handler. She told me that I was unable to issue proceedings against their policy holder because of a Memorandum which stated that all insurance companies who had signed up to the Memorandum would not issue proceedings against each other. She advised me that Halifax had signed up to the Memorandum. I advised her the existance of any Memorandum could not have any effect on the Halifax policy holder or on myself as DAS was a different company to Halifax. She said that she knew who DAS were, that we sold legal expenses policies on the back of Halifax policies and that we also sold legal expenses on the back of Norwich Union policies but that this would now cease and put the phone down. I advised the DAS Sales Department of these incidents and proceeded to issue the proceedings against the third party.

At the end of November 2006 I was advised by my manager that Norwich Union had submitted a complaint about me, they alleged that I had been abusive to their claims handler during the telephone conversation. I strenuously denied that I had acted unprofessionally in any way and it became apparent that although DAS and Norwich Union profess to record all calls, a recording of the conversation had not been retained by either company.

My immediate manager advised me that the Halifax policy holder's claim no longer had any prospects of success and the claim against the Norwich Union third party should not be pursued further. There is a clear conflict of interest issue here and Norwich Union should have been advised that their unsubstantiated allegations attempting to prevent proceedings against their policy holder could not be entertained but this clearly cannot happen when the third party is Norwich Union.

I sent correspondence to Norwich Union advising that they had made allegations against my professional reputation which were untrue and which I considered to be defamatory and I required a retraction and an apology. For this reason I was suspended from my employment and eventually attended a disciplinary hearing where I was dismissed from my employment. I suffered from work related stress and am now living on benefits.

Norwich Union failed to respond to my correspondence for a period in excess of six week, after I had contacted their Chief Executive. An in-house solicitor responded, advising that they stood by their allegations and if I did not like it I should issue defamation proceedings which would be vigorously defended. DAS tried to prevent me corresponding with Norwich Union threatening further disciplinary sanctions but I have a legal right to clear my name and I persisted. Norwich Union failed to comply with the pre-action protocol for defamation action and failed to respond to my questions advising that I was fully aware of their position and should issue proceedings against them if I did not like it.

I issued defamation proceedings against Norwich Union in the High Court during July 2007. The Norwich Union in-house solicitor immediately made an offer of amends to myself, they provided a letter which confirmed that their allegations were not correct, that they were aware that I did not make abusive remarks to their handler and they apologised for any distress which they had caused.They offered a paltry amount of compensation and advised that if this figure was unacceptable they were prepared to attend a without prejudice meeting to discuss compensation. I immediately telephoned the in-house solicitor accepting the offer of amends but not the compensation due to my loss of employment caused by their actions. I advised that I was prepared to attend a without prejudice meeting to negotiate the compensation and the solicitor confirmed that he would speak to his client and revert to me with possible dates. My prompt action meant that Norwich Union were able to advise the court that the offer of amends had been accepted and they avoided counsel's fees for the drafting and submission of a defence.

Since then Norwich Union failed to provide any dates for the without prejudice meeting advising that there is no point as they believe that their offer was fair. I have now been required to make an application to the High Court for a hearing to decide the amount of compensation. Norwich Union have threated to apply for the reimbursement of all of their costs which they advise will be extensive to come out of any settlement if I proceed to court rather than accept their offer.

I have commenced proceedings in the Employment Tribunal against DAS and I have become aware of the involvement of Norwich Union in my dismissal. The in-house solicitor telephoned DAS and wanted to know why I was still sending correspondence to them after I had been told not to and what they were doing about it. I also became aware that copy correspondence between myself and Norwich Union was passed to DAS to assist their defence, without my consent, contrary to the Data Protection Act.

I am advising of my experience in this thread to make the public fully aware of the actions of Norwich Union, the largest insurance company in the UK and the power that they seek to weld over companies who enter business with them and the employees of those companies. The public will then be able to judge whether Norwich Union is a company which they would wish to give their business to. The Consumer Action Group has made it possible for power to be transferred back to the consumer, by providing a forum so that the actions of companies like Norwich Union can be aired and discussed and reasoned choices can be made. The power has been transferred away from companies like Norwich Union who cannot see any reason why they should be accountable for their actions.

If you have concerns over the events which I have described you should vote with your feet, obtain insurance from a reputable company and boycott Norwich Union, but don't just leave it at that, ensure that all of your family and friends as well as any organisations that you have associations with, are also aware of the dubious business practices of this company and take their business elsewhere.

Over to you Beccus.

Similar Threads:

Originally Posted by beccus

jjrj
As this is still an ongoing issue it is not appropriate for me to reply on the forum about these issues, however, please rest assured that it is not being overlooked.

Becca

I am sure that if there is anything that I stated that is not the truth Norwich Union would have taken the appropriate action. I have nothing more to loose and truly believe that it is my duty to make consumers fully aware of the actions of Norwich Union and that you confront them and stand up for what is right at your peril. The placing of a customer relations advisor on this Website is clearly nothing more than a public relations smokescreen.

I have to agree if true Norwich union are not only acting disgracfully, thay are sharing information with they are not allowed to do.
I for one will watch this tread with interest.

I will ensure that everyone on this site is made aware of the way that this matter is finally resolved.