A review by THEMIGHTYDOMSTER on Direct Line June 21st, 2001
Author's product rating:
Speed Of Response
Acceptable
Cost
Very reasonable
Level Of Cover
Comprehensive
Customer Service
Very poor
Advantages:
Cheap
Disadvantages:
Cheap
Recommend to potential buyers:
no
Full review
‘Direct Line & Sinker’
I am a dissatisfied Direct Line Rescue (ex)customer. I, like many others, took the time and effort to shop around for my motor insurance, when I got the lowest quote available on the market from ‘DL’, I was astonished to see that the premium was a LOT lower than the main rivals, so much so in fact, that upon speaking to one insurer to ask for a comparison, they asked who I had spoken to so far and the poor girl on the other end of the line could not get off the phone quick enough after the hearing the words ‘Direct’ and ‘Line’ in the same sentence.
The insurance was a dream - well at least the fact that I was comprehensively covered for less than most companies would charge me for Third Party Fire&Theft was a dream - I even had the good presence of mind to take up the very competitive breakdown cover that offered a REDUCING premium for non-usage...Fantastic thought I.
Fantastic that is...until I accidentally bought a car that could only be described as a ‘pile of crap’.
The problem started when the car wouldn’t! Direct Line Rescue, very helpfully declined assistance on the grounds that I was parked outside my own house and I didn’t have the right type of cover, the only course of action was to upgrade my cover, which I did.
So, the next day, having had no means of transport for 24 hours whilst they made sure they were gonna get my money for the upgrade, I called again with my new policy number. “No problem sir, we will immediately despatch one of our EXPERT local garage representatives to your location so that we can help you out”
‘EXPERT LOCAL GARAGE REPRESENTATIVE’...Hmmm, perhaps the alarm bells should have started ringing about then, but I thought ‘no...a professional organisation like Direct Line, is not gonna employ a network of monkeys are they now?!’
Credit where credit is due, the monk...(I mean expert local garage representative) did arrive in under 30 minutes, I was impressed, so far I had courtesy and promptness (I don’t get that from my better half).
Unfortunately, our friend with the spanner was unable to give a proper analysis at roadside due to the fact that there were leaves on the line, or the wrong type of snow, or something like that anyway...
The terms of my cover stated that ‘in the event of one of our expert local garage representatives, not being able to get you moving, we will tow your car to a local garage of your choice’ - Very useful, if you know where all the garages are...strangely, I didn’t!!
The Expert Monkey, offered to very kindly take my car to his firms depot so that the rest of the zoo could have a look at it and try to find out what was wrong with my beloved automobile, to which I agreed, on the condition that they would provide me with a quote for the work required, I stated: “Please do not incur any costs in this respect as I don’t know if I will be able to afford to have the work done immediately, I might need to move it to my mums house, where it could safely rot while I raised the necessary funds”.
“No problem” shouted the expert as he downed another banana, scratched his arse and swung into the cab of his truck off a nearby tree!!!
About a week later, I had still heard nothing from my alleged distant cousins, so I phone the garage to see if they had found out what was wrong with it.
“Nah mate...we can’t work it out, it seems to be terminal, so you will need another engine, we can get you a reconditioned one for £1200+VAT!”
“But that’s about a hundred times what I paid for the car!” says I
“Well its that or scrap it mate, the going rate for scrapping cars is about a pound each!”
“WHAT????, I’ll have the car back then, I will of course need to get a second opinion”
“Okay mate, tell us where you want it taking and we will charge you an absolute fortune for giving your car back”
“no you wont”
“yes we will, and what’s more, you owe us £80+VAT for taking it apart and putting it back together again”
“I’m not paying that!”
“Yes you are...and until you do, we are gonna slap another £15 a day for storage”
And so...after a very vocal call to Direct Line Head Office, including threats of bad publicity in the form of getting a certain ginger Ms Robinson on the case, I was granted reprieve, I got my car back, and got it delivered to my mums house, where it commenced its rotting programme, unfortunately, I had to concede the point that the monkeys did have to dismantle the engine to establish the cause of the problem and it still cost me £80+VAT, but a small moral victory was won and I felt better about it anyway.
So...the moral of the story is, don’t let the big corporate bullies push you around and don’t get breakdown cover purely based on cost, at least with the AA, you know that their monkeys would be in with a chance of producing Shakespeare on a typewriter, the vans are nice and yellow and you get what you pay for...peace of mind.
DON’T USE DIRECT LINE RESCUE, THEY ARE MUPPETS!
Good points - cheap n cheerful, polite and prompt
Bad points - innefficient, no customer loyalty, no proper corporate image to convey, happy to overcharge without proper explanation, dress up in childrens clothes and drink tea all day in an amusing fashion!
...shopping about, I came across direct line through the website, I had read alot of good reviews on the companies Breakdown service. What sold me the cover was > 10% discount for buying online
> Average response time of around 40 minutes
> No call out discount after one year
> 8 out of ten cars fixed at the roadside
with having a baby in the car alot this gave me peace of mind.
what put me off the "big brand" breakdown companies was I had a policy ... ...Internet
You can quote, purchase cover, amend details all online for ease of use.
conclusions
Direct Line breakdown is in my view the best on the market for the price and service, I would recommend to anyone going by my experience to go with direct line breakdown. ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Cheap Cover Disadvantages: Still waiting to see any
I've just read an op on Directline Rescue which was less than flattering shall we say.
My own experience has been good so far.
My husband and I bought our first little car about 4 months ago. I rang all the insurance agencies for quotes, to find that Directline wasn't only the cheapest but had great service. I don't actually drive, I've held a provisional licence for 12 years but never got any lessons. Directline actually lowered the premium when ... ...But I digress. This op is about their rescue service. Upon buying out M reg Ford Fiesta we decided to take it for a little spin as you do! Wanting to try all it's speeds out we headed for the motorway, where upon hitting the outside lane at about 80 miles per hour, the exhaust decided to 'drop off'. I had arranged for cover on the car to start at 7:30pm it was now about 8pm. We hastely pulled over and rang my husbands parents (who are with Directline ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Brilliant Service Disadvantages: Average cost - but you get what you pay for.
Direct Line rescue are admittedly my first rescue company, although I would happily recommend them to anyone. I had to shop around and although I have since changed, this was merely because I couldn't afford to keep up the payments.
I am not complaining, if I could afford to go with Direct Line again then I undoubtedly would, and their rates for older drivers are certainly very competitive, but not for younger drivers. I am only 18 and just switched, ... ...no I wasn't eloping!). Direct Line answered my call from a payphone and picked me up before taking me to my car over 3 miles away. They happily serviced it and found the problem counldn't be sorted - so they sorted me with a trip home and even got my car back too!. Superb. The second time was when I was nearer to home, breaking down on the M4. This time they arrived within 10 minutes of my call and sorted the car on the spot with minimal fuss and ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Excellent service and fair prices Disadvantages: none so far
...this, I decided to join Direct Line.
They offer:
- 24 hour assistance, 365 days a year - Over 6,000 selected breakdown specialists nationwide
- Quick response time (they claim less than 40 minutes in average)
- 10% discount in the following year, if they are not called out for one year
Depending on your needs and the prize you want to pay, they offer a number of different services:
1. Rescue
Roadside assistance including one hour's free labor, ... ...if required.
2. Rescue Plus
As rescue plus cover for breakdown at home.
3. Recovery
As above plus transport of car and passengers to your original destination, your home address or a suitable garage, if the car can't be fixed the same day.
4. Recovery Plus
As above plus
- A hire car to return home or continue your journey, or - The cost of alternative travel to return home or continue your journey - B&B in a local hotel while your car is fixed ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: good discounts Disadvantages: dont know of any
I have been insured by Directline now for nearly five years,every time |I renewed my insurance they offered me the chance to join there breakdown service.I all ways refused as my cars were new and were already covered through another breakdown company.
I have just purchased a second hand car,insured again through Directline and this time I have taken out Directline rescue. This was offered at a discount of 30% as i am already a valid customer, if ... ...month period you get an extra 10% off the next years premium. As far as I am aware, Directline are the only company to offer this discount.
AS of yet i have not had to call them out, so can not tell you how reliable they are, but when I do I will let you know.
I would certainly use this service again.
You get a full cover service which includes (1) Road side assistance including 1 hour free labour
(2) Home assistance
(3) Priority assistance ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: was cheapest Disadvantages: hidden charges and lack of communication
...5 working days, if so why did they not tell me this as it meant my current car was now uninsured and I was keeping the vendor waiting. Apparently I should have been told it would take 5 days when i gave the date of change as I needed to tax the car.
When the certificate finally arrived I realised the £16 was mainly a £15 fee for change of car.
Obviously that was my own fault for not reading the small print but previously I have been able to change my car free and get a cover note by return post with other insurers.
Looks like I will be going back to directline next time!...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Low Price Disadvantages: No service, cannot get through to customer service, information incorrect after 3 attempts
...After 12 years with DirectLine, I changed to Privilege, same company, cheaper price. My wife had a no fault accident, tried to speak to someone on a mobile phone following the accident, constantly being passed around, left for over four and a half hours on the side of the road waiting for the car to be recovered. The phone bill exceeded £7.00, problems getting through to customer services, as per other reviewer's comment's, kept being passed around each passing the buck.
Three weeks later, still waiting for a response to my complaint letter. Be advised the company also is part of the DirectLine and Green Flag group. If they agree for the vehicle to be recovered it will be Green Flag, if you try to contact customer services, you sit in DirectLines insurance quotation queue and pay for it. The company has also been informed on three...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: No advantages that I am aware of. Disadvantages: Very high hidden charges, unhelpful staff and local agents
...I paid Green Flag over £160 a year for the highest level of recovery service they offer. This turned out to be useless when I had an accident.
They refused to recover my car without taking a £78 payment. This was because the car involved was not my main car, and therefore not insured through DirectLine insurance (DirectLine operate the recovery sevice under the name Green Flag). It seems my personal; 'any vehicle' cover does not cover any vehicle.
When the local recovery agent finally arrived they demanded a further £150 to move the car less than a mile down the road to my home. This charge then turned out to be £150 plus 17.5% vat. This fact was deliberately hidden from me by the local recovery agent.
Needless to say, the customer service representatives on the telephone were rude and unhelpful.
Avoid Green Flag...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
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