Lancaster-fail

Buying a ‘5 and Insurance advice Insurance Advice
2

I moved from FJ this year.

I couldn’t tolerate the admin niggles.

Lancaster seemed competitive (for an old man like me).

I agreed the price and received the initial paperwork.

I asked for an agreed valuation and dutifully sent off my photos and description/mileage etc.

The valuation came back higher than expected and this (cynically) resulted in a higher premium. I had already paid the annual premium at outset so I received a notice asking me to pay the additional premium (£16.80 because the agreed valuation once underwritten had resulted in a higher premium).

Being an honest chap I paid immediately and received an online receipt.

Today (7 days later) I received a rather terse letter  telling me I still owe the money and that my insurance would be invalidated if I did not pay.

 

I do accept that things go wrong from time to time but I can’t abide poor administration. Especially if the marketing policy is designed to entice new customers.

Needless to say I am rather unimpressed with Lancaster’s administration department.

 

I have resolved the matter this morning but my point is simply this…these sorts of petty irritations and erroneous notices should not get as far as the customer.

A simple check on my file and account would indicate the premium and additional sum have been fully paid for the year.

 

I left FJ because of poor administration. It seems that Lancaster is no better!

 

I do accept that both companies will have many many satisfied customers so I would not wish to start a crusade against either company. 

I merely wished to point out that any successful business wishing to entice new customers needs to ensure the process for getting them on board is competitive, simple, seamless and stress free. 

Erroneous notices of unpaid premiums only serve to infuriate and frustrate the reputation between the customer and provider.

 

Come on Lancaster (and FJ) please try harder to get things right. Stop erroneous letters being sent out (which costs you money and me time) and which probably results in higher premiums for customers as your administration (paper/postage/whatever) costs must be higher as a result of unnecessary contact.

 

Rant over. I am now going to search insurance companies again with a view to moving somewhere else at the next renewal.

 

Grant

 

 

3

Hi Grant, understand where your coming from completely  not insurance but this happened today;

15th March, received letter to attend eye clinic, regular checks for potential problems. Letter said 16.30pm appointment and DO NOT DRIVE as part of the exam can affect vision. Fine with that, normal for my checks. Sunday 7th April, text msg telling me my appointment is important, number to contact if I can’t attend etc, along with a revised time of 16.45pm. Fine again, or so I thought. Got to reception today, 16.35, early for revised appointment, (or 5 minutes late for the original one) or so I thought. Into clinic waiting room, called straightaway and was given  a right telling off for being late!  “We Amost DNA’d you” when I showed them the text, I was told “ignore that, you had a letter” now call me old fashioned but I was always instructed to follow the last order, in my time as a civil engineer, always used the latest revision drawings, all that sort of stuff. Then it was, " we need time to carry out these assessment tests before your appointment with the consultant" that’s great too, why not just tell me in the letter, along the lines of PLEASE ARRIVE 15 MINUTES PRIOR TO YOUR CONSULTATION APPOINTMENT FOR TESTS/ASSESSMENTS . Simples.

Then, to finish it all off, having dragged my daughter and the three grandchildren to take me (as I was told not to drive) the consultant said that the drops were only for pressure tests so no problem with driving  we did write telling you that didn’t we? Now I’m not knocking the treatment I receive, I have regular checks for Basal Cell Carcanomas, plastic surgery for same including many minor ops, only this morning attended GP for full MOT and medications check etc, brilliant but then the eye clinic who tried to blame me for their own admin mistakes 

Barrie

 

4

I know what you mean. 

All I ask is that communications are accurate, timely and necessary.

 

I received a letter from the Consultant advising me that I would be admitted soon for a back operation. I uestioned the work “soon”. He said anywhere between 9 and 12 months.

 

Now I don’t think 9 to 12 months is soon.

 

It seems that in the NHS if contact is made within 18 weeks they meet there patient contact targets.

 

Now I wait and wait and…

5

Got my renewal for £171 from Harvey Keitel AKA  Direct Line . Went on furry rodent insurance site and up pops Lancaster insurance for £134. Simples thinks I so call Harvey to tell him the bad news. He takes it well and I cancel my insurance renewal. Go back to Sergie website and click on Lancaster insurance link for £134. Unfortunately when I click on the link the price has changed as if by magic to £189 ! Big con by the rotten rodent. Phone call back to Harvey who have retained my custom for another year. GRRRRRR

6

We’ve found this same thing with some online prices. If you keep clicking they think their product is becoming more popular than before and they bump the price up, almost as if it’s an auction. We’ve known airlines do it when you’re looking at ticket prices.

7

One way around the airline trick is to delete your most recent cookies on their sites.  So if you were online with them between say 14.30 and 14.45 had a quote, thought No, and then closed that window and moved on, then  before the next visit delete the cookies set during that fifteen minutes.  Then you become a fresh enquiry next time, and so are offered the too good to be true suck-in rates - again.

It doesn’t always work, especially if they have taken your details and stored them on their own site rather than on your computer.  Then the GDPR come into play, and you can request copy of what info they have stored.

8

That’s exactly what I do. Or I log in next time via another computer.

I have to book a fair number of hotel rooms when travelling with my work and it works on those comparison / booking sites, too, where they sometimes try the same game.