to complain...veeerrryyy long sorry

[just1moreplease]

so bit of background needed here,

sadly just after christmas my half brother passed away. obvoiusly a very sad time for my family. it was very unexpected and he was only 31. as you can imagine this has really knocked my mum sideways.

any way, last year my mum bought a car and insured it. all fine so far. she ended up selling the car and so no longer needed insurance. (bear with me please, i will get to the point soon)

when my mum called to cancel ins policy they said fine, although as policy not finished yet there will be a small charge.

mum accepted this and made final payment.

after this they continued to take monthly dd for next 3 months. as these were cancelled by mums bank, she was incorrectly charged.

so, on 29th jan my mum receives letter from insurance company saying she owes them £33.50. due to all the other things going on my mum agrees to pay this, but not straight away. she asked for some time due to bereavement. ins company agreed.

funeral was held on tues, after service my mum checks phone and serval missed calls. she calls number back and is ins company demanding payment.

when my mum explains situation, day of funeral etc. the man just says 'making a payment takes 2 min'

so very firmly she says ' no i have just buried my son , you will have to wait'

to which he replies ' what..have you been buring him sine 29th jan?'

she has only just told me this and i am absolutely fuming.

i want to phone them and complain but mum just telling me to leave it.

Complain What an insensitive bastard.

Sorry for your loss.

Outrageous. Definitely get a letter off to the managing director of whatever company it is.

So sorry for you and your mum.

Firstly, so sorry for your loss.

Secondly, how can she owe them any money when she cancelled the policy and was still wrongly charged for 3 months?

Thirdly, yes definitely complain, to the top management, copy in as many people as you can at the company including the public relations team if you can get their information.

Personally I would be going to the papers as well. That is outrageous behaviour of the highest order. Utterly despicable.

DEFINITELY complain. And document all calls. Insist they listen to that call (they will be recorded, give them date/time/the phone number) and nmake sure they do something about it. That is disgraceful. I made a company listen to their own recording once, they backed down completely.

Absolutely complain. I dont know how she owes them money though?

Complain, complain, complain.

Outrageous behaviour both from the company as a whole and the guy who said that to your mu, he deserves the sack imo.

Complain. How disgusting. So sorry your mum had to deal with such an insensitive prick on such a difficult day. And it truly sounds as if she doesn't owe them anything anyway! Definitely complain and don't give up until she gets a full apology and reimbursement.

Complain - write a letter to the insurance director and threaten them with the Insurance Ombudsman.

www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/

Unleash all manner of woop-ass on them!! go for it, they are being outrageous.

Go straight to the top, don't accept anything less than a full apology and write off of all monies owed (if indeed they are owed) if they are not, then insist on repayment of all charges incurred by their erroneous charges and ask for compensation as a gesture of apology too.

The arses! I'm fuming on your behalf.

Complain - that is disgusting.

These phone calls are sometimes taped as well so ask for a copy.

If you dont get the response you deserve, then as insertexpletive said, go to the Insurance Ombudsman.

Your mum doesn't owe them a penny she needs you to get in there and fight on her behalf as she is too distressed at the moment - they have acted appallingly. . I had similar shit last year after I organised insurance for my son. The deal was to produce no claims certificate and drivers licence. Said need to get new licence from DVLA as lost. they agreed - no problem. Anyway to cut a long story short mix up at DVLA, none of it my fault, kept insurance company informed following threats of cancelling insurance, repeated calls from me, all other conditions met. Paid £50 deposit and £45 first direct debit. They went ahead and cancelled after assuring me they wouldnt. My son stopped by police, car impounded (£150), fine £200, £600 extra in insurance costs for next 3 years and penalty points on clean licence. The company has behaved appallingly and the Financial ombudsman has found in our favour, but the bastards have not made any attempt to pay up and have even ignored the ombudsman.!!

definitely definitely complain.

thanks everyone. so sorry to post and run like that, internet probs.

im 100% she did not owe that money. she has paid it now, but only as they were threatening to take her to court.

i am livid at the way she has been treated. i called them earler and spoke to someone.

she asked me if they guy mum had spoken to was called x, i said i was not sure. was promised call back by someone more senior. no call, suprise suprise.

called them back and explain situation again. this time they say there is no way of knowing who she spoke to and that the call was not recorded. makes no sense. we have been promised a call from senior management tomorrow. i did not expect a large company like the aa to treat customers this way.

shall be following up with a letter though, no way am i letting this go.

beammeupscotty that is shocking treatment, and your poor son having points on his liscence

thanks all.

Complain - if you dont want to - I'll do it for you.

Bloody bastards.

This sort of thing has happened to me whilst my DD was dying and after she died. I had it from everyone from sky tv to the bloody local dog warden. It has happened to lots of my friends who has lost their children. Banks are particulary wanky it seems.

No excuse.

I don't often suggest this as a first course of action but your mother's experience is precisely the sort of thing to report to the press. The BBC Regional News are often particularly keen on this type of story.