To find this annoying and pushy

[pigsDOfly]

I had a phone call this afternoon from an unidentified number. Person on the other end said he was calling from Churchill insurance regarding my home insurance renewal.

I received the documents a few days ago and the renewal date is in a couple of weeks.

I asked him why he was calling me and he repeated that it's to do with my home insurance, 'yes, but why are you calling me?'

Apparently, 'to see if we can help you in anyway today'. Unless they're lowering the quote, which I very much doubt, no you can't help me. 'And can I confirm the first line of my address'

Now, I don't know if I'm overly suspicious but to me this screams scam so I told him I've received the documents and if and when I want to renew my policy I'll call them.

I did a search on a 'who called me' website and it turns out that it is a genuine Churchill insurance number and people are getting these calls all the time; clearly I'm not the only one who thought it was a scam.

So are all insurance companies doing this now?

Would anyone else find this really annoying?

It's not an overdue electricity bill, I'm not obliged to pay what they're asking, and I very well might go with a different company. So stop bothering me with your scammy type calls because I'm not going to give some random caller my details.

I never, ever give any information to cold callers phoning about money, insurance, accident, computer problem etc; I don't even confirm my name.

" Just put everything in a letter and post it. Or email me. At the addresses you'll find on my account. The one you're phoning about. "

Just say you'll call when you're ready

Which is exactly what I did.

I had a call from the bank asking me to give personal information to prove my identity. I quite sensibly, in my view, did no such thing.

The following week I received a letter from the bank detailing fraudulent activity on my account and to get in touch. Why didn't the original caller tell me to contact my bank? Why did they expect me to give out personal details over the phone? Strange!

@Mousetown Ok, I was just throwing it out there as an example of an idea. My point is, I never feel comfortable just giving answers to someone who rings me and demands them, given that it's precisely what we're told not to do.

TBH I don't usually answer unless it's a number I recognise. I've had a massive uptick lately in the number of 'HMRC are coming for you' phone calls I'm receiving.

@pigsDOfly

Just say you'll call when you're ready

Which is exactly what I did.

Sorry sounded like you bitched about the cost of your renewal and then refused to confirm your address (he needs to confirm DPA to discuss the cost with you). But I'm glad you thanked him and wished him a good day haha. I feel bad for that poor guy who probably had to make a hundred similar calls out, not you, who had the inconvenience of 1 phone call. But then I've worked in a call centre 🙃.

Also, I never give out personal information to someone calling me. I always say "oh sorry I'm not comfortable giving that information out, I'll call whichever company myself when I get a second. Thank you though'.

I am amazed at how people can get such insights into your emotional world from such little info! I don't think you sound anxious or pissed off. I too hate people calling me and then asking me for my details, and I never provide them. In this day and age I think it paves the way for scammers and should not happen.

Companies who are cold calling then asking for confirmation of details shouldn’t be doing it as it means people are far more likely to fall for scams. If this is a Churchill policy they need to stop it.

First line of address isn't dodgy you get asked it in pharmacies,doctors,vets all sorts of places

@Jumpers268 No, the bit about not being able to help me unless they were lowering the quote was what I was thinking, not what I said to the guy.

We didn't discuss anything, other than the fact that he was ringing about home insurance and then him asking me for the first line of my address.

@BrownEyedGirl80

First line of address isn't dodgy you get asked it in pharmacies,doctors,vets all sorts of places

Yes, of course you do but usually you're ringing them or you're picking something up in a pharmacy.

Not quite the same as someone you don't know ringing you and asking for your address.

@BrownEyedGirl80

First line of address isn't dodgy you get asked it in pharmacies,doctors,vets all sorts of places

It is dodgy, because, as someone else already said upthread, when you're in a pharmacy etc you know you are talking to a genuine employee of that business and not some random scammer. If someone calls you they could be anyone.

@MintyMabel

Companies who are cold calling then asking for confirmation of details shouldn’t be doing it as it means people are far more likely to fall for scams. If this is a Churchill policy they need to stop it.

They will receive a massive fine if they didn’t do this.

[quote pigsDOfly]**@Jumpers268 No, the bit about not being able to help me unless they were lowering the quote was what I was thinking, not what I said to the guy.

We didn't discuss anything, other than the fact that he was ringing about home insurance and then him asking me for the first line of my address.[/quote]
Ahhh okay sorry! Then yes, I agree. If I call, I would say is that Miss Smith for example, they would say yes or no obviously haha, I would then say I'm just calling to confirm you've received your renewal? And then, is there anything I could help you with with regards to it? They would say yes or no, if they say yes normally their renewal has doubled for no reason, I would then say I need to confirm data protection to be able to discuss your policy is that okay? If they say no they're not comfortable I just say that's absolutely fine, just call the number on your renewal document whenever you have time. I do agree, some can be pushy and that's not good customer service! P.S. I didn't work for Churchill! 😂😂.

I work in insurance. Basically this is just a service call. It allows an insurer to catch up on any details they may not be aware of, and allows the insurer to encourage you to review. I would not see this as a massive problem. Just say I am fine thanks and put the phone down if you are not happy. Oh and always check the price with a comparison site making sure the cover is the same, and the brand is comparable.

@Tambora

If someone rings me about my insurance, or phone or some utility or other, then I'm darned if I'm going to answer their security questions. They already know who I am because they phoned me. I don't know them from Adam.

I tell them that I'm not at liberty to divulge that information and when they ask why, I say it is for data protection reasons.

This. ^

I had 'domestic and general' call me some months back (supposedly,) trying to palm off one of their useless 'not worth the paper it's written on' insurance policies. (As the TV was a year old.) First thing they said was 'confirm your name, first line of your address, date of birth etc etc etc,' and after confirming my name, I suddenly thought 'hang on, this could be ANYone.'

Like you Tambora, I refused to tell them anything else, and they also said to me that it's for 'security reasons.' I said 'well I am telling you nothing else,' and hung up.

There have been SUCH an inordinate amount of scams this past 12-15 months, that only a fool would be happy to share all their personal details and information with a random stranger who rings you out of the blue/unexpectedly.

@pigsDOfly YANBU at ALL.

And I have a similar story...

DH got a new car 18 months ago, and it had 6 months warranty on it with 'Exile Warranties.' Several things went wrong with it (though not super major things.) He took the car back to the dealer, for 5 different things. 3 things were small-ish and had a cost of less than £50 each, and were covered. The other 2 things were £200 to £225. They weren't covered conveniently.

So 3 weeks before the 6 months was up, Exile texted and wrote to DH, asking him to extend the warranty for an additional year. £390! They also emailed, and texted him. (3 or 4 texts over 3 days actually.) DH ignored them. So 2 days before the warranty was up, they rang him and asked him to take it out. (Like you said about your insurance company - pushy!)

As DH said, if he was interested, he would have responded to the email, text, or letter, and also, nearly £400 for the warranty is very high, especially as in his experience, anything that goes over double figures is not included. So we may as well save the money and pay for the repairs ourselves. 12 months on, and he has paid NOTHING ELSE for repairs!

'Exile Warranties' is not the real name of the warranty company

You can ask them to do part of the questions when they’ve called you. So you can say I’ll give you my street name and you tell me the number, or give them the day and month of your DOB and ask them to say the year. That way you know they are looking at your information. We are encouraged to do this when outbound calling in my office if people are hesitant about us calling them and asking DPA checks. Mind you when we are calling people it’s because they’ve asked for a call back not out of the blue!

i wouoldnt give out my details either op-theyir the ones who want to sell something you dont have to comply