I have just been to ING to sort out car insurance for my new car. I had a company car until end Dec so never had my own car insurance. Apparently the fact we rent our house is bad, the fact we've just moved is bad and I am treated like a new driver. What's more the system was not able to cope with the fact I had my driving licence at 17. The computer whizzed away and behold, 1400 euro a year. Is it me or is that absolutely enormous? I have, touch wood, never had an accident and been driving in London then Paris and here in the accident capital of the West for 5 years. Being made redundant is an absolute bummer.
All of this was of course conducted in the best traditions of Belgian customer service. The woman treated me like a complete numbskull. When I suggested an attestation from my company to show I had been insured without incident as a driver on their policy she looked as though I should get real. Every time I asked a question she looked as though I was torturing her and when she disn't know the answers when I was asking her what things in the contract meant she said I could always go elsewhere. Then she rang up the helpline and the guy there didn't know and by this stage she was practically throwing the phone at me. In the end I joke not she told me she didn't want to speak to me anymore, my personal circumstances weren't her problem.
It was actually really unpleasant. I know there's no point getting upset as customer service is an unknown and sinister concept to Belgians. But it never ceases to depress me when things like buying a new car that intrinsically should be pleasant are made so fatiguingly hard and expensive here.
That's it, rant over.