A wise author once wrote "Dark is not the opposite of light, meerly the lack of it" Theref...
A wise author once wrote "Dark is not the opposite of light, meerly the lack of it" Therefore will somebody change the bulb in my head for I feel it it is growing a little dim.
Hi there to all who know me and also to those who don't, I haven't written a review for a very long time now. Although I am going to really steer hard to keep this as a review and not as some kind of personal rant that should be sent to the doldrums of the ciao café then filed under lost.
So the story begins with the taking out of the policy, this was done online it was a pretty painless and quick procedure as it should be I hate complex websites and tend to avoid them like the plague. However this is not a review of the site so I shall press on with the relevant stuff, this is where it starts to get a bit complicated so do bear with me. I would like to point out that this review is mainly about how they dealt with my claim and in parts about how they treat me as a customer, neigh as a fellow member of the human race. In all fairness it was not in any way a simple claim however here we go anyway.
It all started back last August 2007, due to family bereavement and an absence of a will to that effect a rather large personal estate was left hanging in the balance. This was then cocked up royally by an incompetent solicitor which left me in the financial crapper and bankruptcy. I was by now financially broken and slightly miffed to say the least. I then had my house repossessed by the mortgage company which probably could have been
helped but that is far and beyond the point in question and my own demon. They arranged people to come and change the locks and make sure we left the property vacant; the keys were then left in the care of the estate agents who were going to market the house for them. We however had nowhere to put all our possessions and couldn't afford the hefty storage charges or removal fees either. We spoke to the agents who told us we had 2 weeks grace in which we could contact them and arrange a mutual removal date once we had secured alternative accommodation arrangements. I specifically remember asking if our home insurance would still cover our effects and was told that yes it did/should, so as far as I was concerned that was covered and in a safe place.
THE BURGLARY & THE SCARY MAN
Thanks for bearing through the background stuff but I do feel that it is relevant to the review as it gives a good picture to the circumstance of the claim.
Once I had gone through the process of reporting the break in a couple of weeks later whilst I assumed that the claim was being processed, which I should know better than just to assume. Suddenly there was this rather large and very intimidating man turned up on my doorstep, I mean this guy looked like one of those big dodgy bouncers outside seedy nightclubs you would not want to meet him alone down a dark alley. He was apparently sent out by and on behalf of Direct Line PLC; he explained he was a consultant and that he was to go over some abnormalities in my claim. Ok I thought fair enough I mean my financial position was bad at the time this may have raised a few eyebrows of suspicion I could see it from their point of view and half expected to be asked a few hairy questions. So he sat down in my front room and out came a Dictaphone, oh here we go I thought I could see where this was going and prepared myself for a grilling. However nothing could prepare me for the sheer arrogance of this horrible obnoxious man, I mean he was asking some real personal questions and twisting my answers to a really unreasonable point. This guy was not going to stop until he got the answer he wanted or he was just going to keep going until he contorted all my information to fit his idea of a fraudulent claim. By now I was really starting to feel uncomfortable in my own front room, now I am sorry but I don't care who they are or who they work for that is not right. I mean this guy had obviously taken one look at my claim file then one look at me and made his mind up there and then, though forgive me if I'm wrong but he was supposed to be impartial to either side. After he finished the grilling and by now was leaving me feeling quite literally dirty and in puddles of cold sweat were pouring down my back he informed me he was going to speak to my old next door neighbour who was also a friend.
So a few more days passed then I bumped into my friend at the local shops which where quite nearby also to my new address. Upon speaking to her I was mortified to find out that not only had he spoken to her although that wasn't what she called it exactly. Apparently he caught up with her just as she was just arriving home after a long day with her parents who had been minding her two very young children as she is a single mum living alone. Bearing in mind that it was getting late on in the day and this large cumbersome kind of guy who she did not know or have any prior arrangement to speak to her. Naturally she was actually quite scared and told him that it was not a good time to through the grilling, however instead of taking light of her situation and backing off and making other arrangements he persisted with his line of interrogation. Now this is the part that really shook me to the core, he asked her what sort of person I was and then the real baddie, did I or my wife take drugs and were we addicts of any kind and HAD WE EVER TAKEN THEM INFRONT OF HER??????. He carried on apparently with these kind of questions until luckily for her the guy who lived over the road arrived home and could see that he was causing her obvious distress and told him to sling his hook which he then did. He apparently spoke to other people close by on the street, but I do not dare ask to find out what was asked of them as these people once used to be my friends and neighbours. I dare not show my face on the street now as I feel the people who once treated me with respect and kindness probably think I am some kind of junkie which is unfair and just not true. I have been slandered and there is nothing I can do as the damage is now done and it is all direct lines fault for rendering the services of this horrid tyrant and ever letting him loose on the human race.
THE OUTCOME
As you can guess direct line refused to pay out on my claim and cancelled my policy with no redemption for the 5 months left to run on it and no apology for the way me and my family and friends were treated. Like I said they took one look at me and my unfortunate situation and instead of treating me like the innocent consumer I was just condemned me without even a regard for anything other than what they believed to be true. I however have lost everything I ever had including what little pride or dignity I had or gained which actually meant more than any possession I owned or lost.
However you will not beat me down I will hold my head up high and look people in the eye when I tell people just what an ugly nasty two faced corporation you really can be when your true colours come through. At least we know where your hundreds of millions of pounds profit you announce every year comes from you just sh** on the little people and bully them into your idea of a submission.
You can take it all stick it up your arse set fire to it, then you can use the smoke to blow it up the arse of your oh so lovely share holders.
Oh and for those of you wondering, no I did not have anything to do in any way with the burglary of my premises in any way shape of form.
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I hope the ombudsman would take a more friendly view of your situation ~ have you complained? That really sounds very different than their 'advertised' kind handling of people's claims!
. . . . . ♥ jesi ♥
salem_witch 02.03.2008 18:33
That's terrible. I hope you've made an official complaint.
HotBabes 27.02.2008 11:05
How dreadful! I've heard a few things from various people about them being 'pushy' but no where near as bad as the way you were treated. x
Advantages: Value for money, excellent cover and speedy, courteous service. Disadvantages: Compensation is paid is in form of gift cards to specific retailers. Cash would be more flexible.
Hishyeness 10.03.2009 (28.04.2009)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Direct Line Insurance plc
Advantages: Value for money, excellent cover and speedy, courteous service. Disadvantages: Compensation is paid is in form of gift cards to specific retailers. Cash would be more flexible.
Hishyeness 10.03.2009 (28.04.2009)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Direct Line Insurance plc
Advantages: Cheap online policy, easy to fill in the online forms Disadvantages: Policy Wording does not cover everything you need to avoid problems when claiming
Advantages: Competitive premiums, can buy over phone or internet Disadvantages: Numerous errors by sales staff, inefficient service, slow response to letters
Connoisseur_Haggler 13.06.2001 (13.06.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of DirectLineInsuranceplc
Feb 26th, 2008
very helpful by (100%):
