 Orange Care Insurance
Hi all,
Here's one for you if Orange ever try to charge you an admin fee for processing a claim on your Orange Care...
Orange Care is an insurance policy that protects your handset. It's underwritten by HSBC, and is governed by the FSA's guidelines for insurance. As such, the policy has to provide you with indemnity, which (in simple terms) puts you in the same position you were when you started - it's one of the basic principles of insurance. As part of this, all administration fees for the insurance HAVE to be part of your premium - i.e. the £5 or £6 you pay per month. Anything extra has to be called an excess, and has to be outlined in your policy.
I know this as I know someone who works in insurance. Which was mightily handy when Orange tried to charge me a £15 administration fee for replacing a broken mobile phone covered by Care. After speaking to customer services, who spoke to Orange's legal dept, I had the admin fee returned, and every payment I'd ever made to Orange Care.
Phone Customer Care, and ask to speak to a manager. Mention that you are fully aware of their escalation procedure, and that you wish to speak to a manager about a legal issue. Outline the above, and tell them that you require them to refund the administration fee, and (if you wish at this point to cancel your care) that, as they are in breach of contract, you want your contract cancelled, and your premiums reimbursed. Also remind them that as they're governed by the FSA, you have the right to submit an official complaint to them, which would result in an investigation into their practices. Also ask when the last time the insurance department had any FSA training - as this is a requirement of FSA membership, and they can levy a fine for inadequate/incorrect training.
Took me less than a week to get the lot back.
Dave | 
