I feel like throwing the towel in - More Than insurance

[Miss Audi Cab]

I am having a nightmare with More Than and am so upset that I am thinking of selling my cab

I bought a policy with More Than back in March 2009 and in the policy booklet and schedule advised that I was entitled to 'Maximum No Claim Bonus'

Following is text taken from the More Than booklet which was sent with my schedule detailing my Maximum No Claim Bonus:-

'At More Than once you've earned the maximum no claim bonus you'll be entitled to keep it for the life of your policy, no matter how many claims you have to make'

I had a very minor parking accident (reversed into another car's bumper) and reported this to More Than who assured me that the insurers would sort it between themselves and that my no claims would not be affected. They also advised that if I wasn't claiming for damage to my own car then all they would need to do is pay the other insurance company the other party's excess. I didn't claim for damage to my car.

Now that my insurance is due for renewal I have been hit with a £450 increase in annual premium and a reduction to 2 years no claim bonus (from 12 years). They also advised that it cost £1008 to repair this:

I'm really fed up and was wondering whether there are any panel beaters/bodyshop people who could give me a rough idea on whether £1008 would repair this.....and also anyone with insurance knowledge who could advise me.


Many thanks

 

[FactionOne]

£1008 to repair? I reckon you could get them to drop the £8.

Honestly though, do More Than think the car's finished in Caviar Black Metallic? That's mental! Unless the pictures are misleading, it looks like a couple of inch long scratches in the paintwork (and if I can make out three I'd say two of them haven't gone all the way through the lacquer), accompanied with a bit of a push in the deepest one.

Obviously it might make it to that money if it went to Audi and they properly took the mick, but that sounds like a stretch even for the a main stealer. I reckon it could be fixed without replacing the bumper (perhaps a bit of plastic-weld/filler might be required, but a good body shop would make it so you'd never know it wasn't a brand new bumper), I reckon you'd easy get it done inside £100 cash, maybe ~£200 if they had to put a bit of time in and then sprayed the whole bumper to keep it even. Even with a GOOD margin of error, that's a bleeding long way from £1008.

I'm not quite sure the best way to go about it, but I'd be kicking up a proper stink about that. Have you started with good print-outs of the pictures attached to an extremely strongly worded letter requesting an explanation of just how they've arrived at their figures, and where 10 years of your 'bulletproof' NCB have gone? Surely there's nothing reasonable they could say which would explain such ridiculous numbers? I can't imagine they'd be able to stick to their guns for long. If you haven't sent a letter yet I'd get on to it, and make it very clear that a copy has also gone to the Financial Ombudsman ( http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/ )

Hope you get it sorted, let us know...

Rob.

 

[Scotties]

Don't back down. In the past I was involved in an accident and I told my insurance company I would not accept liability. The next day my insurance company accepted liability on my behalf, which meant I couldn't argue my case and I was stuck with a fault claim. After 9 months of phone calls and letters they agreed to let me keep my no claims bonus.

The bottom line is a no claims discount will cost them nothing, its a case of someone typing 5 instead of 3. It will cost them more to keep arguing, its not as though you will stay with them. I know about 10 years ago, if you went to the Ombudsman it used to cost £1500 for the insurance company. I don't think that will have changed in favor of the insurance company so they will probably back down before it gets to that stage.

 

[Miss Audi Cab]

Thanks Guys - I really appreciate your time on this. I will do as you say....I'm a bit of a dog with a bone so I won't back down and will fight it to the end.....as I need to get insured the only problem I have is to renew my car insurance and what to declare whilst I am in dispute But I will let you know the outcome.

Thanks a million once again

 

[johnnythepie]

Hmmm.Reminds me of when i parked my b7 behind a horsebox with a 3ft gap and left the handbrake off.£50 damage to the horsebox and £1800 to mine.All that was replaced was a grille and bumper.Thats how much the stealer charged my insurance company admiral, who were great to deal with.Kept my full ncb, but had a £100 hike on the next renewal.Just done a meerkat for my renewal in april, and More Than were mega cheap.£180 cheaper to be exact.And theyve already phoned me up to persuade me to switch.Thank you miss audi cab, ill not be signing up!!!

 

[Keeno]

It's amazing what the threat of an Ombudsman can do (as Rob pointed out). Make sure you put everything in writting so there's no way of them wriggling about saying "She never told us/sent us XYZ".
FYI, the ombudsman won't touch a case unless you've been through the problem company's full official complaints procedure - it should be in their literature somewhere. Normally just the threat is enough though, my old bank refunded a couple hundered pounds worth of charges after months of going backwards and forwards as soon as I mentioned them.

But yeah, stick to your guns and they'll give it up eventually because they know they're in the wrong. My guess would be they were hoping you'd be some pansy with the attitude of "Well, I'm sure they know best..."

 

[Miss Audi Cab]

Update - Written reponse received from More Than completely missing the point....quelle surprise! Explaining why I have a fault logged against me. I have no problem with being responsible for the bump, I want them to admit that they have mis-sold a policy by misleading me into thinking I had bought a policy with Maximum No Claims bonus protection.....So, I have now requested a breakdown of the claim, sent them copies of the documents in question with regards to their wording and asked for them to reinstate my no claims bonus.......I have also mentioned the fact that my renewal premium is more expensive than someone who is returning to driving after serving a driving ban.....Hmmm, 17 years of trouble-free motoring, 1 minor incident......

John - I'm glad this may have influenced your decision as my experience with More Than has confirmed in my mind that they are the worst insurance company I ever have had to deal with (although they were quick to respond).

Thanks for your help, it's very supportive