Ok my problems started when i changed insurer to direct line

i called and purchased a policy "home insurance plus"over the phone,i told the agent everything,my previous insurers,my expensive hobby items that were listed and specified under my previous policy..

ok agent tells me all my goods are covered for the sums ive asked,all my goods are insured exactly as ive requested,the agent tells me unlike my old insurers "i do not need to separately list anything thats worth under £4000 each.....!!im told if i can carry it,its insured!....after being told EVERYTHING i wanted to hear ,the agent ends the sales pitch with some meaningless words about personnel effects or possessions being covered but a value limit was on those items,thinking like any sane thinking human being i duly think nothing of it as all i have without question made sure are covered EARLY ON IN PHONE CALL..in the event anything happens to my stuff while at home or away i pay my premium and the jobs done....perfect!!

Next the unthinkable happens,i drive 130 miles away from home,park up,go into a hotel,return to my vehicle to find all my clothes and some belongings strewn across a lawn and through a hedge..

the police are called.......the claim begins!!

So after reporting the claim pretty much the first thing im advised is about a measily limit on any claim from an unattended motor vehicle!!horrified i explain this cant be right as when i took out the policy i made sure the agent was well informed about my goods,their values,and what i needed from my cover,

The complaint begins with customer care and service

Ok this is where im cutting it short,but in essence,the sales and service "customer relations" uphold my complaint..its officially agreed my policy is miss sold over the phone,the call is transcripted and indeed everything i say is true,of the miss sale and the miss representation of the cover again is not in question,this is all recorded on direct lines own systems

now over the course of weeks and weeks of hassle and severe personal anguish im contacted by just about every member of customer relations and their managers,over managers,senior managers ,the list goes on and on and on,every one of these people are telling me the call is clear,the miss sale even clearer,the "we are so so sorrys" keep coming,but all recorded calls keep telling me "this claim must be paid in full!!"

Like everyone else ive spent the hours and hours and hours stuck on the phone listening to that stupid music,somtimes to be cut off halfway through,somtimes to speak to someone who will call back,"of course you wait in all day and they dont call",i spend most of the time just getting more and more angry and feeling stupid....stupid for listening to them,stupid for being made a fool of..

Ok now a complaint is issued against claims,this brings a slightly better feeling of someones listening as i do get some calls from claims,claims themselves are on record telling me personally "we have no problem with this claim,i have since found out claims contacted my previous insurers to confirm i had all the goods i said i had insured with them,also they are left in no doubt everything ive said to this point is absolutely true!.."i guess it shows the lengths these people go to to try to get out of paying"!!a lady in claims tells me i have no problem with this claim i am reporting it should be paid in full as a cash settlement!I ask"so you are paying the claim in full?"yes it will be settled in full,i will be getting one of my colleuges to call you soon!!!"of course im let down by them a few times,hanging around all day waiting for calls that dont come!

now without going into specifics as im told by customer relations "WE HAVE NEVER EVER HAD A CASE LIKE THIS!!"i will summarise

customer service tell me claim AFTER EMAILS FROM CLAIMS THEY CONFIRM will be settled in full,THERES NO WAY OUT OF THIS,CUSTOMER RELATIONS OWN PERSONNEL GUY SAYS "THEY MAY TRY AND FIND A WAY" ALARM BELLS RANG WHEN CUSTOMER RELATIONS HAD BEEN ASKED BY CLAIMS,"HAS ANYONE TOLD THIS GUY WE WILL PAY OUT IN FULL ON THIS CLAIM?CLAIMS ARE TOLD BY CUSTOMER SERVICE,OF COURSE WE HAVE INFORMED HIM IT IS BEING SETTLED IN FUL..AFTER ALL THATS WHAT YOU AT CLAIMS HAVE TOLD US!!im telling you direct line claims are nothing short of crooks themselves,trying to cover their own tracks! "he has been told on many many occasions"claims tell me claim will be settled in full after customer service add an endorsement to policy,customer relations are told by underwriters" we dont need to add anything "pay the claim",claims say many many times they are paying it and continually change their minds ..claims are told by their own company..this policy was miss sold "we are in trouble here" pay the claim!!,claims continue to mess me around,resulting in me loosing a holiday,being sent to doctors and prescribed sleeping pills and anti depressants "first and only time in my life!!"

CLAIMS CALL ME AND NOW TELL ME THEY ARE PAYING AN INTERIM PAYMENT..IM TOLD BY LADY AT CLAIMS"THIS IS AN INTERIM PAYMENT..WE ARE NOT SURE HOW"OR WHO WILL BE PAYING THE DIFFERENCE!!!"

Ok the interim payment arrives,the claims people now advise "this is all we will pay!",i say hold on ive been told by EVERYONE at EVERY level this claim will and MUST be paid in full.....i am told it is up to customer service to sort out,it may have to go to fos service!!

Customer service staff are absolutely shocked to hear this,i am told by a customer service representative "every member of our team who has listened and read the sales transcripts agrees you were miss sold,and the policy was mis represented,the sales staff deviated from the strict sales script that all sales staff MUST use..then theres the recorded fact i was told anything that was worth less than £4000 didnt have to be listed separately as was the case with my old insurance company,so some of my stuff claims say isnt covered is as a direct result of them telling me on recorded call "i didnt have too!!!??also im simply advised,"if you can carry it,and its worth less than £4000 pounds per item,your covered!!again im told,there is no question direct line are at fault,there is no question we are in the wrong..this claim must be paid!!

i am then advised by customer services that their management ,senior management,have all agreed the same,all admit i have been told this many many times and apologize in the strongest terms,again im told it has already been looked at by their own inhouse fos stage two team who again say..we have to pay this claim in full,direct line are wrong here.no question about it!

customer service and direct line sale now tell me they are automatically issuing me with a compensation "the max they can give in that department" as gesture of goodwill and to try and make amends for my treatment

so here i am today,sunday 6th april 2014,the whole mess has gone on for months and months and months,ive been miss led,ive been promised so much and yet got nothing but treated with contempt by direct line homes claims team

The thieves stole my stuff,direct line claims seen to want to take my soul!!

Shame on you direct line claims...shame on you!!,after reading all these cases online today i felt i just had to write and advise everyone dont believe a word they say,of all the [edited] ive had the misfortune of meeting lately they are by far the most despicable

Avoid them like the plague!!

THE CASE CONTINUES...."I WILL UPDATE AS AND WHEN I HEAR ANYTHING"!!

Hello and welcome to CAG. I've started a new thread for your problems as you posted on an old one.

I hope the guys will be along later or tomorrow with advice for you.

Just a tiny point if I may. I know that you're upset, but block capitals in your posts is the equivalent of shouting. We're on your side here.

My best, HB

You don't mention what was actually stolen. Why were these items in an unattended motor vehicle ? I suspect that this claim is suspected of being fraudulent, but they have no proof of this. This may be the reason why the claim is being so slowly progressed. I am not sure Direct Line are being totally upfront with you about why there has been this delay. You should consider making a Data Protection Subject access request for copies of all records relating to the claim and also copies of all policy servicing records. Then you may see what people have noted on your policy, which they have not told you about.

Having dealt with such situations, I would bet on it, that your claim is currently subject to investigations and you are being stonewalled. My advice is to get the Subject access request off to DL urgently and see what they disclose. If they are making untrue allegations against you, speak to a Solicitors.

Thank you for replying Uncle Bulgaria, I hope freefall man catches up here soon.

HB

dear sir thankyou for you advise and help

ok firstly there is no question of a fraudulent claim,the incident had several eye witnesses involved but the equipment "skydiving gear" was simply taken as a result of what was apparantly a opportunists group attempting to steal my serio/dvd system,all of the equipment was both itinerised,documented,reciepted and all serial numbers/photograhic proof supplied

the equipment has never shown up anywhere and general feeling was its been dumped"most probbably in the sea!!

so as far your concern goes i dont think thats the issue,again the problem is the original phone call,or "point of sale" of my policy,it simply was flawed at best,however its now admitted in more phone calls/exchanges that the problem is who will pay

claims have paid the interim payment i discussed ,but they now "after telling me and customer care service and their managers i will be paid in full!!"that its not a claims issue,this is a sales issue...

there is absoloutly no denial,no single thing that points to your idea from claims..again its all on record that every single department at direct line has stated i should be paid in full.that i have done nothing wrong..that direct line have both miss sold,miss represented,and miss informed me from the start..

again its been through every single department and thats all i ve had,we are wrong,all the case notes are on file and i now have my refferal rights,i was told by customer servive last thursday its now at the highest level they have seen..an executive level

again an inhouse fos stage two team has also ruled ...it should be paid,there is simply no case to answer,these are direct lines own words "not mine"the issue is claims have paid the maximum they say they are liable for.well over £10.000 pounds.customer relations and sales have said claims must pay the full amount as they had previously "on many occasions said they would"..

so im stuck beteween claims and customer service,a massive under value and a massive mess.....

all i want is it sorted so i can get on with my life,direct line claims are playing very underhanded games,again even asking their own company if i had been informed if anyone had told me i would be fully compensated...again only for claims to be told i had been told this by every department and manager on the case file

i have been told there are no investigations,there is no problem with the claim being real...the problem is direct line claims are blaming customer relations and sales,they are saying claims must pay..and im stuck in the middle...

after all its gonna end up with the fos to sort,but the fos stage two team at direct line has already said"it must be paid,there is no case for this customer to answer,we are in the wrong!!"

i cant understand why they continue to do this to me...

as i said the theft saw my stuff stolen direct line claims seem to get off on putting the knife in and turning it at every chance...

although prolonging the misery by continually agreeing the claim in full,then playing mind games with me

thankyou for you answers as well

Have they issued a final decision? (it sounds like they have).

If so, go to the Financial Ombudsman now as it can take time for them to deal with the complaint. I'd also carry out a data subject access request as per Uncle Bulgaria's post above.

How much is the claim for? What is the sum insured for personal possessions?

hello thanks for reply

the claim was for 26k,they have paid 11k

claims are limiting the claim,everyone else at direct line inc the in house fos team agree "pay the man in full"

i took out a policy "over the phone",glad i did id never do one online now,at least all this is recorded...i told them value i needed insured from home or vehicle,the call is absoloutly unquestionable,the cover was miss sold,miss represented and again every single person at every single level from sales and service,through to managers-over managers-senior managers,and indeed even a senior claims had personally told me over the phone this claim will be paid in ful!!its as simple and as cut and dried as that..claims even told customer service "many times" to inform me the claim is being settled in full!!

i mean how can this happen?how can this be allowed to continue?i am being told if claims wont settle outstanding then it could be sales and service to fund if max limits will allow?im told "OVER THE PHONE ALL RECORDED"if it has to go to the fos you simply cannot loose,every person at every level agrees you have bee wronged by direct line,we have the fos telling us here "just pay it!!"

these are the comments im getting,this is the life im living,and all because a direct line sales person deviated and distorted the original sales call"again all acknowledged and accepted by direct line themselves

all this against them and they still wont do whats right!!

If this was a problem of the policy record not being correct and therefore preventing the claims department from paying the claim in full, it could be easily solved. All it would take is for someone from the policy servicing side to correct the policy records, put notes on the policy and then speak to claims to ensure they dealt with the claim.

I think the problem is as I have commented before. Direct Line believe that the claim event may not be totally genuine, but they cannot prove it. They are obviously not telling you this, as if they did, they would have to give reasons as to why they don't believe what you have told them.

I would suggest that you send off the subject access request and pursue this further with the FOS.

forgot to add even direct line customer service have told me i have been awarded compensation for the "MISS SELLING" of this policy,i didnt ask for it,they offered it,so direct line as well as admitting liability for the claim,they are also compensating me for the miss sale,yey claims in their own strange weird world seem to make up the rules as the go!!

thanks again anyone who can help

hello thanks for reply

the claim was for 26k,they have paid 11k

claims are limiting the claim,everyone else at direct line inc the in house fos team agree "pay the man in full"

i took out a policy "over the phone",glad i did id never do one online now,at least all this is recorded...i told them value i needed insured from home or vehicle,the call is absoloutly unquestionable,the cover was miss sold,miss represented and again every single person at every single level from sales and service,through to managers-over managers-senior managers,and indeed even a senior claims had personally told me over the phone this claim will be paid in ful!!its as simple and as cut and dried as that..claims even told customer service "many times" to inform me the claim is being settled in full!!

 

i mean how can this happen?how can this be allowed to continue?i am being told if claims wont settle outstanding then it could be sales and service to fund if max limits will allow?im told "OVER THE PHONE ALL RECORDED"if it has to go to the fos you simply cannot loose,every person at every level agrees you have bee wronged by direct line,we have the fos telling us here "just pay it!!"

 

these are the comments im getting,this is the life im living,and all because a direct line sales person deviated and distorted the original sales call"again all acknowledged and accepted by direct line themselves

 

all this against them and they still wont do whats right!!

Even with a claim of that value, all it would take is for an underwriting manager to check the original phone call to make sure the risk was accepted on the basis that you advised them and they would speak to a claim manager, so the claim would get settled in full.

If this was a problem of the policy record not being correct and therefore preventing the claims department from paying the claim in full, it could be easily solved. All it would take is for someone from the policy servicing side to correct the policy records, put notes on the policy and then speak to claims to ensure they dealt with the claim.

 

I think the problem is as I have commented before. Direct Line believe that the claim event may not be totally genuine, but they cannot prove it. They are obviously not telling you this, as if they did, they would have to give reasons as to why they don't believe what you have told them.

 

I would suggest that you send off the subject access request and pursue this further with the FOS.

hello again sir and thankyou

again i can tell you claims are on the files and system telling customer service "add an amendment to the policy ,or add the equipment and we will settle in full!!",customer service inform me over the phone

"we have an email from claims tellking us to add this amendmend and you will be paid in full!!"...then another call from customer relations saying the underwriters have told us we dont have to add anything,claims must just pay this in full!!

this is how it goes on and on!

thanks again

hello again sir and thankyou

 

again i can tell you claims are on the files and system telling customer service "add an amendment to the policy ,or add the equipment and we will settle in full!!",customer service inform me over the phone

 

"we have an email from claims tellking us to add this amendmend and you will be paid in full!!"...then another call from customer relations saying the underwriters have told us we dont have to add anything,claims must just pay this in full!!

 

this is how it goes on and on!

 

thanks again

Thinking about this again.

There will be a limit for personal possession, which cannot exceed a certain percentage of the Contents sum insured. So the £11k amount may be the maximum claims will pay for a personal possession claim. Unless they are authorised by an underwriting manager to pay an amount exceeding the normal limit.

By paying £11k, Direct Line have already paid much more than then £2k limit for thefts from unattended motor vehicles.

The salesperson you dealt with has made a massive mistake. The risk should perhaps have never been accepted. I really doubt that Direct Line would cover £26k worth of sky diving equipment. There may be a reluctance for Direct Line policy servicing to admit their staffs error to the underwriting manager. But that is what needs to happen for the claim to be progressed.

Think your complaint with Direct Line will need to be elevated to Executive level.

CEO email address [email protected]

thankyou again sir and all you have just written is about 100% correct with one amendmant i will add

yes sales madea massive mistake which all agree and absoloutly say i did nothing wrong..in fact i did everything right...thats why were this far in..direct line policy servicing have already admitted their staff were wrong,their staff acted improperly and miss sold and miss informed me as to my cover,they have admitted openly my claim should be paid in full "and will be paid in full"..what direct line claims and service cannot agree on is who pays it all

thats where im stuffed.....its already at an executive level and only this morning i have again been called by customer relationbs who again appologise over and over..who again tell me over the phone says this must be paid in full!!

a full timeline has been preppaired for a meeting at executive level today to decide the outcome!!..we will see..i fear im going to have to go down the fos route on a case that in essance ive already won!!..again ive been told "we do not have a leg to stand on"!!direct lines own words "not mine"

so i may have to go to fos to get a decision the fos stage 2 team has alraedy made formerly to direct line..."PAY THE CLAIM IN FULL!!"

i will keep you all updated

thankyou again sirs,i know its complicated,again direct lines own take is "we have NEVER had a case like this!!??

p.p.s i forgot to add,the underwriters have already made a decision "it must be paid in full"...

again its me hung out to dry every time!!

just to update all those that are trying to advise and help me with this....

well i was told this was going to a meeting at executive level and i would have their decision on monday.....

in true direct line fashion monday came and went without any news..."direct line are real good at this bit!!"

today tuesday i call them,customer relations confirm to me the executive who apparantly looked at this has again moved it up to the next level of executivness!!!???"how far does this go?are they simply stalling me so i run out of time to go to f-o-s?

its a never ending game of tourture and mind games from direct line...

while on the phone i take the opportunity to make sure customer relations confirms...

EVERYONE AT EVERY LEVEL FROM CUSTOMERS RELATIONS,SALES AND SERVICE,THE UNDERWRITERS,CERTAIN CLAIMS PERSONELL,AND ALL MANAGERS WITHIN THESE DEPARTMENTS....AND DIRECT LINES OWN IN HOUSE F-O-S TEAM ALL AGREE :

THIS CLAIM SHOULD BE SETTLED IN FULL!!!.....

it turns out one of the customer relations managers was previously a manager with f-o-s,this lady herself has told me personally the claim must be paid in full,"i mean she ran the f-o-s there for a bit,"youd think her word would count for something?...apparantly direct line listen to their own staff and experts as much as they listen to their customers!

again here i am,another night wondering why ive been treated like this??

i will keep you all updated

thankyou