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Original poster

Who uses Direct Line for car insurance?

20 replies

Pixel · 08/12/2006 13:52

The insurance brokers I've used for about 20 years (and have always been very good) have been taken over and now my policy is due for renewal they seem to be making a right song and dance about it. It's always been very straightforward before, which is why I've stuck with them, but now I've had letters with info missed off, phone calls not returned etc so I'm wondering if it's time for a change. Dh is keen to go with Direct line and the online quote seems reasonable.....what do you all think? Are they reliable and helpful if you need to claim, or has anyone found them to be an absolute nightmare?

TIA for any advice .

OP posts:

charliecat · 08/12/2006 13:56

I would imput your details into confused.com
They will tell you whos cheapest for you in a couple of minutes out of loads of companys, then ask MN about whoever it is!

SenoraPostrophe · 08/12/2006 13:59

directline are good, but do get a couple of other quotes first.

mind you, I've never had to claim...

PartridgeinaRustyBearTree · 08/12/2006 13:59

DH & I are both with Direct Line - never had any problems - I haven't had to claim, but DH has & it was all straightforward

mygirllolipop · 08/12/2006 14:29

Message withdrawn

PrettyCandlesAndTinselToo · 08/12/2006 14:36

We havew been with DL on and off for several years and have not had anythingto complain about. The reason we are on and off with them is that renewal is often more expensive than taking out a policy as a completely new customer - they don't seem to be at all interestd in customer retention.

DizzyBinterWonderland · 08/12/2006 14:39

they are extremely good. i use them for all our insurances. had no problems with the one claim we've made. all there call centres are in the UK and you can do a lot of stuff on their website. i just changed my car and changed the policy on line. very convenient indeed.

sandcastlesforanaussiexmas · 08/12/2006 14:42

Pixel, we had to stop a claim with direct line as we cancelled the policy 3 months after the claim went in. Basicaly, dh car got broken into & radio/cd player stolen. We put in a claim, told them we were emigrating in 3 months..what happens. They said no trouble, you've been with us 6 years, full no claims, only those 3 months left on policy year, they will settle the claim.

Well they didn't. The quibbled & quibbled over minute details, everything from 'they had no proof it was a cd/radio' 'they had no proof it was even stolen' even tho we had a crime number, letter from the car manufactors that we brought the cra with a cd/radio fitted & a reciept for the replacement.

Then they said they couldn't settle as they couldn't send money overseas (even tho we still have an english bank account & wanted it paying into there, but that wasn't god enough as they had to send it to us, not our account). We lost over 300 pounds. We spent $50 on phone calls trying to sort it & to get dh no claims, which they refused to send, only doing so eventually when dh threatened to call head office.

They are crap! I have heard other stories about them stalling claims before too. We had all our policies with them, bt the 1 time in 6 years we did need to claim, they couldn't be arsed to settle!

Original poster

Pixel · 08/12/2006 14:53

Ooh some conflicting advice so far! I must admit the idea of the UK call-centre sounds good to me but then Sandcastle's story sounds horrendous.

I will get some other quotes and I'm sure there will be cheaper ones but I'm worried about 'cheap' meaning 'complete rubbish'. Obv I don't want to spend a lot more than I need to but would rather pay a bit extra for peace of mind iyswim.

OP posts:

jurathernothavesprouts · 08/12/2006 14:56

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

sandcastlesforanaussiexmas · 08/12/2006 15:05

Actaully thinking back, that was or 2nd claim. We had to claim when some ejit rear ended dh's car in the work car park. They refused us the use of a hire car, even though we paid extra on the policy for one, as dh needed it for work.

Then the wouldn't pick our car up from his work. They expected him to drive it 20 miles home, with no rear windscreen, leave it out the side of the house (no off road parking) with no windscreen for more than 12 hours, i.e overnight & beyond) Instead of letting dh leave it securely locked up at work. He told them that there was no way he could do that so they would have to collect it at work.

As the car was new, the dealer who sold it to us said he would give us a hire car thru the new buyers policy. He claimed off DL for the cost. They paid him, but 5pounds less & added it to dh's next installment!!

PrettyCandlesAndTinselToo · 08/12/2006 15:05

Cheap can mean rubbish. We regretted taking out a policy with Elephant as we only learned of certain restrictiions after having taken it out. Also had problems with them when they insisted that they had made reasonable effort to contact the person who pranged our car by phonig them at 5.30, even though the number for them was a home phone number!

TinselgalacticWalrus · 08/12/2006 15:09

I have always found direct line to be really good. I made a claim on my car ins a bout 3 years ago, and it was v straightforward.

Whenever I have rang them for anything they have always been really helpful.

Their breakdown cover is excellent too.

Darciesmum · 08/12/2006 15:12

We've insured with direct line a couple of yrs ago, found something cheaper the same day called to cancel took them over a month and number of phone calls and letters to get my money back!

suedonim · 08/12/2006 16:41

We've been with DL for years and not had any problems.

saadia · 08/12/2006 16:58

I had problems with DL several years ago - ie around 1998/99. Car got broken into a couple of times and the repairs took forever - months. They were constantly fobbing me off about when it would be ready, I had a 1 1/2hr journey to work on public transport and it was an unbelievable pain. I phoned constantly, wrote letters of complaint but it still took forever. They may have improved now though.

NannyL · 08/12/2006 19:24

my dad liked direct line until he had to make a claim from them (when some guy crashed into him)

from that day on he vowed never to touch direct line again... and actively shares his story so other friends / aquantiances dont make the same mistake!

ChristmasisComing · 08/12/2006 21:00

We are with DL and have just made a claim. Luckily the car is driveable so we do not need a hire car as they will not give us one (altho liability has been accepted by the other party so we would be entitled to one).

They wanted to send us to an 'approved' garage in the centre of town (no courtesy car) whereas i want to use the Toyota main dealer just up the road - who DO give courtesy cars. As a result we have to wait longer for them to get an engineer out and, of course, he can only come out 9 - 5 and cannot say what time!!! Will have to see what happens ...

When we were with Toyota insurance we had no such problems and very good service.

Original poster

Pixel · 08/12/2006 21:04

Thanks everyone. I'm still undecided but will show this thread to dh when he gets home, just to prove that DL aren't necessarily great just cos his mate is with them .

OP posts:

LIZS · 08/12/2006 21:06

We use DL. Made a claim several years ago which was a bit of a hassle - we'd hit a deer, couldn't contact them easily on a Sunday for some reason (think they had regional lines not a centralised one then) No hire car but they did repair our Rover which was almost written off as the impact had damaged the front end using a garage attached to our dealer. The actual communication etc was fine. Believe things are rather more efficient now and their add-on roadside service is good value.

Original poster

Pixel · 08/12/2006 21:09

Ah, we ticked the box for a courtesy car when we did the quote but from what I've read here it's a waste of time because they don't seem very keen on supplying them do they?! I don't need roadside assistance anyway because I've already got that with GEM.

OP posts:

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