Insurance rant (OT)

This site contains affiliate links for which LandyZone may be compensated if you make a purchase.
S

Stephen Hull

Guest
Apologise for being off topic but I felt the need to vent my spiel!

<start rant>

Since the Cooperative Insurance or CIS closed down its offices and
stopped using insurance representatives to call at your home in order
to collect insurance premiums an alternative method of payment was
required to pay for (in my case) my car insurance.
Easily enough done you would think by setting up a Direct Debit with my
bank to pay CIS monthly instalment for my car insurance.
However this now has to be done by telephone or via the internet since
there is no office or representatives available anymore.

I decided to setup a Direct Debit to come out of my bank on the 3rd of
every month with CIS and October being the first payment, This was
emphasised during my telephone call to the call centre which I think is
in India.

My insurance was due for renewal on the 27th September but because I do
not get paid until the 30th of each month is was agreed that the direct
debit would start on the third. However in spite of three phone calls to
the call centre explaining my situation the setup was as follows;

1 27th September 2005
11 3rd October 2005

The first date as I was led to understand was the start date of the
insurance and the following date the first actual direct debit payment.

So why on the 27th September did CIS try to take the first instalment
out of my bank when there was insufficient funds which resulted in a
direct debit charge from my bank of 25 pounds?

When I called CIS to find out why they had tried to take out the first
payment on the 27th instead of the 3rd they said that it is what I
agreed on because I had signed the insurance document. After explaining
to them that the very first payment should have come out on the 3rd not
the 27th as was my instruction I asked them to refund me the 25 pound
charge because it was NOT my fault the first payment came out on the
27th, reiterating why would I do so when I get paid on the 30th of each
month not the 27th but CIS refused to refund my bank charge.

I therefore threatened to cancel my insurance with them and slate them on
the Internet if they refused to refund my 25 pounds bank charge.
They refused so I immediately cancelled my insurance the direct debits
and took my business elsewhere. The CIS were not interested in losing a
long term customer who had never made a claim in the ten years of being
with them.

Obviously I was not happy with the way CIS had conducted themselves
towards me, a so called valued customer.

Perhaps the Indians at the call center could not understand my English
and interpreted the wrong information regarding the date, I don't know,
but what I do know is the CIS have treated a long term customer badly
and their customer relations is not very good to say the least.

Seeing as I had to find an alternative method of paying because they
closed their offices and no longer had representatives available and it
is they who made a complete hash of setting up my direct debit
payments, the CIS can now consider themselves to be well and truly
SLATED! on the internet.

If you want to be treated as a nonentity then go ahead and sign up with
the CIS or Cooperative insurance company for your car insurance.
However if you want to be treated as a wanted valued customer then my
advise is take your custom somewhere else.

Now I am with the Norwich Union who use English call centres and I have
fully comprehensive car insurance as opposed to just Third Party Fire
and Theft offered from CIS and as an extra bonus 30 quid cheaper than
what CIS offered.

Just thought this might serve as a warning to would be insurance
customers looking for car insurance to be more aware than me with
regards to signing insurance documents.

</end of rant>


Steve.



--
Vehicle Painting Pointers: http://www.stephen.hull.btinternet.co.uk
Coach painting tips and techniques + Land Rover colour codes
Using a British RISC Operating System 100% immune to any Windows virus.
"Whatever is rightly done, however humble, is noble". Henry Royce
 
CIS ? based on dealings in the dim and distant I would have described them
as a circus act - heavy on the clowns.Uncompetitive quotes and a cavalier
attitude to policies . My mother dealt with them for many years eventually
pulling the plug when she found her policy had been changed without
permission or notification giving her an excess and downgraded from fully
comp to TPF&T this without reduction in premium.
They also tried to (pressure) sell me an endowment mortgage swearing black
was white how much less it would cost than the repayment I had opted for
despite the fact that I had worked out the figures in advance and they had
not and were quoting castle in air "facts" I didn't even ask them to give me
a quote they made an appointment with my (ex ) Wife after my mother had
mentioned to their collector that I was buying a house.
All in all I think you may be better off elsewhere.
Derek


 
"Stephen Hull" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> Now I am with the Norwich Union who use English call centres and I have
> fully comprehensive car insurance as opposed to just Third Party Fire
> and Theft offered from CIS and as an extra bonus 30 quid cheaper than
> what CIS offered.
>


Stephen,

I'm with you on this one. I certainly think it's on topic as many Landy
owners will utilise CIS. I would support a scheme where companies have to
disclose if they make use of cheap foreign labour the likes of call centers.
I feel that we should have a choice to ensure our custom goes towards paying
the wages of folk in our own country first before making use of cheap labour
elsewhere. I'd not mind paying a little extra to know my neighbours and
countrymen were able to have some job security.I've also been very
frustrated by the lack of grasp of the english langauge by people in call
centres.Don't get me wrong I'm not on a racist mission, I would be equally
as happy knowing some of the members of our local ethnic minorities as well
as the rest of the community were able to earn a crust too rather than
sponge off the tax payers.

Lee D


 
On Sat, 01 Oct 2005 17:37:37 +0100, Stephen Hull wrote:

> Now I am with the Norwich Union who use English call centres ...


Unless things have changed in the last 6 months they use a mixture of
local and foreign call centers.

In my experience if you get connected to an english call center you'll
be speaking to some one who understands the insurance, your particular
usage of English (accent or otherwise), your problem and how to get
the computer system to accept what is required. Get connected to a
foreign call center and you get someone who doesn't understand
insurance, has to be spoken to in very simple and plain english and
can only follow the computer script.

--
Cheers [email protected]
Dave. pam is missing e-mail



 
On Sat, 01 Oct 2005 17:37:37 +0100, Stephen Hull <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Since the Cooperative Insurance or CIS closed down its offices and
>stopped using insurance representatives to call at your home in order
>to collect insurance premiums


etc...

My father was a CIS Agent for 30+ years. It wasn't an easy job but he
worked at it and developed a couple of good 'books'. He retired 20
something years ago, died 11 years ago, and would probably be spinning
in his grave had he not been cremated.

For him you see, the Co-operative 'movement' was important, with
heritage, history and political (with a small 'p') relevance. Going
to collect the 50p a week meant he had contact with the customers, and
he by virtue of this managed to save at least 20 lives over the years.

The CIS however, have had to adapt to survive, losing all of the
previous value, and becoming just 'another' company.

Very sad indeed, both for the customers and for the Co-operative
movement.


--
"We have gone from a world of concentrated knowledge and wisdom to one
of distributed ignorance. And we know and understand less while being
increasingly capable." Prof. Peter Cochrane, formerly of BT Labs
In memory of Brian {Hamilton Kelly} who logged off 15th September 2005
 
The co-op used to be good when you got a good local agent.
to buy car

You can't beat actually dealing with a human face to face rather than
over a phone and it made the hassle of getting cover notes at short
notice much easier!

I dont know how CIS insurance survive now. I dont know anybody who
uses the co-op now as everybody got ****ed off with the crappy service
once they lost their local agent!

5 or 6 years ago nearly everybody i knew who insured a car round here
was with the co-op!
 
On Sat, 01 Oct 2005 21:40:56 +0100, Tom Woods <[email protected]>
wrote:

>You can't beat actually dealing with a human face to face rather than
>over a phone and it made the hassle of getting cover notes at short
>notice much easier!


The downside of this being that Agents occasionally got knocked up
half way through the night with some drunken **** demanding a cover
note... My father was always very understanding, and polite in his
decline of such requests. My mum never liked it when I got to the
door first and told them to **** off...


--
"We have gone from a world of concentrated knowledge and wisdom to one
of distributed ignorance. And we know and understand less while being
increasingly capable." Prof. Peter Cochrane, formerly of BT Labs
In memory of Brian {Hamilton Kelly} who logged off 15th September 2005
 

"Stephen Hull" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> Now I am with the Norwich Union who use English call centres and I have
> fully comprehensive car insurance as opposed to just Third Party Fire
> and Theft offered from CIS and as an extra bonus 30 quid cheaper than
> what CIS offered


But were Norwich Union not one of the first to opt for indian cal centres???
I'm sure there was a big fuss about it in all the major rags at the time,
and any time I call them it certainly isn't an "indigenous Britain" that
answers me, usually someone with only the absolute barest minimum of a
remote semi-understanding of the English language, that has never heard of
Morayshire and has no idea what a landrover is!
Badger.


 
On Sat, 1 Oct 2005 23:19:51 +0000 (UTC), Badger wrote:

> But were Norwich Union not one of the first to opt for indian cal
> centres??? I'm sure there was a big fuss about it in all the major
> rags at the time,


You could be right. ISTR thinking, Oh no, I'll see how it goes but
vote with my feet otherwise.

> and any time I call them it certainly isn't an "indigenous Britain"
> that answers me, usually someone with only the absolute barest
> minimum of a remote semi-understanding of the English language, that
> has never heard of Morayshire and has no idea what a landrover is!


When the Mondeo hit a wall an rolled around 50% of the calls to NU
Dierct I made ended up in the UK. One to a very helpful and clued up
lady with a delightful Scottish accent. She even had a DDI number so
you could call back and reliably speak to the same person. Always
preferable than speaking to random call center operative who doesn't
know the background and can only go on the notes (if any, if accurate)
left on the computer system.

The calls that were answered by someone with an indian accent were
long and painful. I was only about 60% confident that what ever I said
had been understood and only 30% confident it would actually happen.

From general comments in here about insurance the NFU will be getting
asked when renewal time comes along.

--
Cheers [email protected]
Dave. pam is missing e-mail



 
In message <[email protected]>, Badger
<[email protected]> writes
>
> "Stephen Hull" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>> Now I am with the Norwich Union who use English call centres and I have
>> fully comprehensive car insurance as opposed to just Third Party Fire
>> and Theft offered from CIS and as an extra bonus 30 quid cheaper than
>> what CIS offered

>
>But were Norwich Union not one of the first to opt for indian cal centres???
>I'm sure there was a big fuss about it in all the major rags at the time,
>and any time I call them it certainly isn't an "indigenous Britain" that
>answers me, usually someone with only the absolute barest minimum of a
>remote semi-understanding of the English language, that has never heard of
>Morayshire and has no idea what a landrover is!
>Badger.
>
>

Even worse, some of them use Scottish call centres. Totally
unintelligible.
--
hugh
Reply to address is valid at the time of posting
 
In message <[email protected]>, Dave
Liquorice <[email protected]> writes
>On Sat, 01 Oct 2005 17:37:37 +0100, Stephen Hull wrote:
>
>> Now I am with the Norwich Union who use English call centres ...

>
>Unless things have changed in the last 6 months they use a mixture of
>local and foreign call centers.
>
>In my experience if you get connected to an english call center you'll
>be speaking to some one who understands the insurance, your particular
>usage of English (accent or otherwise), your problem and how to get
>the computer system to accept what is required. Get connected to a
>foreign call center and you get someone who doesn't understand
>insurance, has to be spoken to in very simple and plain english and
>can only follow the computer script.
>

I had a similar experience with Nat West trying to explain that the
branch in Nantwich Road, Crewe wasn't the Nantwich branch and wasn't the
Crewe town square branch. All I wanted to know was whether it was open
on a Sat morning.
--
hugh
Reply to address is valid at the time of posting
 

"hugh" <hugh@[127.0.0.1]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In message <[email protected]>, Badger
> <[email protected]> writes
>>
>> "Stephen Hull" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>>
>>> Now I am with the Norwich Union who use English call centres and I have
>>> fully comprehensive car insurance as opposed to just Third Party Fire
>>> and Theft offered from CIS and as an extra bonus 30 quid cheaper than
>>> what CIS offered

>>
>>But were Norwich Union not one of the first to opt for indian cal
>>centres???
>>I'm sure there was a big fuss about it in all the major rags at the time,
>>and any time I call them it certainly isn't an "indigenous Britain" that
>>answers me, usually someone with only the absolute barest minimum of a
>>remote semi-understanding of the English language, that has never heard of
>>Morayshire and has no idea what a landrover is!
>>Badger.
>>
>>

> Even worse, some of them use Scottish call centres. Totally
> unintelligible.


Ahmnoreallyawratsharewhitye'reblitherin'oanabootthereweeman...... bytheway!
Badger. ;-)


 
On Sat, 01 Oct 2005 21:54:23 +0100, Mother <"@ {mother} @"@101fc.net>
wrote:

>On Sat, 01 Oct 2005 21:40:56 +0100, Tom Woods <[email protected]>
>wrote:
>
>>You can't beat actually dealing with a human face to face rather than
>>over a phone and it made the hassle of getting cover notes at short
>>notice much easier!

>
>The downside of this being that Agents occasionally got knocked up
>half way through the night with some drunken **** demanding a cover
>note... My father was always very understanding, and polite in his
>decline of such requests. My mum never liked it when I got to the
>door first and told them to **** off...


Aye, I see your point (and understand it since I'm self employed and
the only way to escape phone calls at stupid hours is to have a phone
that is turned off when i'm off work)

I think if i were an insurance agent and was woken up by a drunken
**** wanting a cover note I would slap on a significant surcharge (a
drunken fool and his money are easily parted!)
 
On Sun, 02 Oct 2005 09:35:03 +0100 (BST), "Dave Liquorice"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>The calls that were answered by someone with an indian accent were
>long and painful. I was only about 60% confident that what ever I said
>had been understood and only 30% confident it would actually happen.


If you get someone who you can't understand just hang up and ring
again. You usually get through to someone else. Some companies only
seem to transfer a certain % of calls to each call centre and its luck
which one you get.
This only works if there isnt a big queue/wait first (obviously)
>
>From general comments in here about insurance the NFU will be getting
>asked when renewal time comes along.


 

"MVP" <mr.nice@*nospam*softhome.net> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Sun, 2 Oct 2005 11:49:24 +0000 (UTC), "Badger"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>
>>"hugh" <hugh@[127.0.0.1]> wrote in message
>>news:[email protected]...
>>> In message <[email protected]>, Badger
>>> <[email protected]> writes
>>>>
>>>> "Stephen Hull" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>>> news:[email protected]...
>>>>
>>>>> Now I am with the Norwich Union who use English call centres and I
>>>>> have
>>>>> fully comprehensive car insurance as opposed to just Third Party Fire
>>>>> and Theft offered from CIS and as an extra bonus 30 quid cheaper than
>>>>> what CIS offered
>>>>
>>>>But were Norwich Union not one of the first to opt for indian cal
>>>>centres???
>>>>I'm sure there was a big fuss about it in all the major rags at the
>>>>time,
>>>>and any time I call them it certainly isn't an "indigenous Britain" that
>>>>answers me, usually someone with only the absolute barest minimum of a
>>>>remote semi-understanding of the English language, that has never heard
>>>>of
>>>>Morayshire and has no idea what a landrover is!
>>>>Badger.
>>>>
>>>>
>>> Even worse, some of them use Scottish call centres. Totally
>>> unintelligible.

>>
>>Ahmnoreallyawratsharewhitye'reblitherin'oanabootthereweeman......
>>bytheway!
>>Badger. ;-)

>
> You want fries with that... ken?


Bit yer meanin' chips sharely, nae fries, that's fur suthernirs 'nat, innit?
An' ma name's Badger, nae ken. Awright? ;-)

BTW, I informed N.U. in writing that if they didn't employ people who could
actually speak english I would not be renewing with them. Did I get a
reply?....... did I heck as like!

Badger.


 

"Tom Woods" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Sun, 02 Oct 2005 09:35:03 +0100 (BST), "Dave Liquorice"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>The calls that were answered by someone with an indian accent were
>>long and painful. I was only about 60% confident that what ever I said
>>had been understood and only 30% confident it would actually happen.

>
> If you get someone who you can't understand just hang up and ring
> again. You usually get through to someone else. Some companies only
> seem to transfer a certain % of calls to each call centre and its luck
> which one you get.
> This only works if there isnt a big queue/wait first (obviously)


Whole point is, you/we shouldn't have to!

>>
>>From general comments in here about insurance the NFU will be getting
>>asked when renewal time comes along.


Same here.

Badger.


 

"Tom Woods" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Sat, 01 Oct 2005 21:54:23 +0100, Mother <"@ {mother} @"@101fc.net>
> wrote:
>

<snip>
> (a drunken fool and his money are easily parted!)


Don't you mean, "more easily parted"?

Badger.


 
In message <[email protected]>
"Thingy_wotsit" <[email protected]> wrote:


>> Now I am with the Norwich Union who use English call centres and I have
>> fully comprehensive car insurance as opposed to just Third Party Fire
>> and Theft offered from CIS and as an extra bonus 30 quid cheaper than
>> what CIS offered.
>>

>
>Stephen,
>
>I'm with you on this one. I certainly think it's on topic as many
>Landy owners will utilise CIS. I would support a scheme where
>companies have to disclose if they make use of cheap foreign labour
>the likes of call centers. I feel that we should have a choice to
>ensure our custom goes towards paying the wages of folk in our own
>country first before making use of cheap labour elsewhere. I'd not
>mind paying a little extra to know my neighbours and countrymen were
>able to have some job security.I've also been very frustrated by the
>lack of grasp of the english langauge by people in call centres.Don't
>get me wrong I'm not on a racist mission, I would be equally as happy
>knowing some of the members of our local ethnic minorities as well as
>the rest of the community were able to earn a crust too rather than
>sponge off the tax payers.
>
>Lee D
>

Glad to learn its ON topic and not just me who's being shafted.

I am NOT a racist either, Britain has always maintained a relationship
with the squires and peasants the bosses and workers the rich and the
poor who have always been treated as US and THEM. This tradition still
continues today in the common workplace and in business but nowadays
unfortunately political correctness gets in the way of commonsense.

Steve.


--
Vehicle Painting Pointers: http://www.stephen.hull.btinternet.co.uk
Coach painting tips and techniques + Land Rover colour codes
Using a British RISC Operating System 100% immune to any Windows virus.
"Whatever is rightly done, however humble, is noble". Henry Royce
 
In message <Fmz%[email protected]>
"Derek" <[email protected]> wrote:

>CIS ? based on dealings in the dim and distant I would have described
>them as a circus act - heavy on the clowns..
>Derek
>

I think they have become too big and so they now share the same
arrogance that many other large companies do by simply not giving a toss
about customers because there are always other customers to take our
place when we get fed up and tell them to shove it!.
They should be bending over backwards for our custom.

Steve.

--
Vehicle Painting Pointers: http://www.stephen.hull.btinternet.co.uk
Coach painting tips and techniques + Land Rover colour codes
Using a British RISC Operating System 100% immune to any Windows virus.
"Whatever is rightly done, however humble, is noble". Henry Royce
 
In message <[email protected]>
"Badger" <[email protected]> wrote:

>
>But were Norwich Union not one of the first to opt for indian cal
>centres??? I'm sure there was a big fuss about it in all the major
>rags at the time, and any time I call them it certainly isn't an
>"indigenous Britain" that answers me, usually someone with only the
>absolute barest minimum of a remote semi-understanding of the English
>language, that has never heard of Morayshire and has no idea what a
>landrover is! Badger.
>
>

I live ON the Wirral not IN the Wirral its referred to more as an island
than a peninsular but outsiders think its part of Liverpool not
realising Wirral is actually separated by the river Mersey.

Steve.


--
Vehicle Painting Pointers: http://www.stephen.hull.btinternet.co.uk
Coach painting tips and techniques + Land Rover colour codes
Using a British RISC Operating System 100% immune to any Windows virus.
"Whatever is rightly done, however humble, is noble". Henry Royce
 
Back
Top