Help needed: Carphone Warehouse & LIfeline Insurance

Wilde

Hi all,

I purchased an iPhone 4s from Carphone Warehouse in March . I also purchased insurance from Lifeline, as was recommended by the sales assistant who said that though it was expensive it was the best. I signed an 18 month contract. I also had to pay a 150 euro deposit as well at the time, as the sales assistant said you sometimes had to.
On Friday, the 11th, I was at a gig in town and my phone got pickpocketed. I spent the next few hours searching for my phone in the pub and waiting for the security supervisor. As it was busy it was impossible to see on CCTV. I work weekends and was in the follwing two days. I rang vodafone and got them to blacklist the handset. My parents went to Carphone Warehouse and got the forms on Sunday and I went to my Garda Station on Sunday but it was closed. I went first thing Monday and got the forms signed and stamped and returned to Carphone Warehouse. They then requested that I ring Vodafone and request a letter stating the phone had been blacklisted. I recieved the letter on Wednesday and submitted the forms. I was assured by the sales assistant at the time that there would be no problems and that they would ring me if any arose. They said my phone replacement would be there Friday or Monday. I went over the forms at the time and when I enquired about what date/time to put for loss, they said to put the time I first realized it was missing. I rang on Friday and was told my phone was not in yet and that it would be Monday. When I asked about the claim they said it was not coming up on their system but they were sure that it was fine. I asked for the insurance companies number and the said they would ring and ring me if there was any problems. I rang again today, was again assured that my phone would be in soon and they said to ring back after their 4pm delivery. By chance I asked for the insurance companies number, after yet again being told that they couldn't see it on the system but were sure it was fine.
When I rang the company they said my claim was rejected on the 16th and that they had sent a letter to this effect. I never recieved this letter. They rejected my claim as I had not contacted a Garda Station with 48 hours. I explained that I work and don't drive so my local Garda station is the only one I had access to. They said I could appeal, by letter or email. However after googling Carphone Warehouse and their insurance, I am now aware of their habit of reneging due to technicalities. Their customer service is shockingly belligerent if questioned, no matter how politely. Could anyone give me some advice on this matter? Has anyone made a successful appeal? What will happen to my contract and deposit if denied? Is their any point filing a claim with the financial ombudman or SCC? Their staff repeatedly assured me that my claim would be successful and pawned me off if I enquired. No mention was made of the 48 hour clause by the staff any of the numerous times I was in the shop, or even in contact with them on the weekend of the incident. I was instructed by the staff to put Friday night as the time which immediately negated my claim. Any advice is welcome, thanks in advance.

Jarren

5 CLAIMS & COMPLAINTS
5.1 Claims
5.1.1 Making a Claim
(i) If Your Equipment has been Lost, Stolen or Damaged maliciously, You must report it to the Gardai or Other Relevant Authority within 48 hours of discovering such Loss,
Theft or Damage and have the claim form stamped by them. If the Gardai don’t stamp Your claim, please call Us on 1850 424 800.
(ii) If Your Equipment has been Lost or Stolen, You must report it to the Network Provider within 24 hours of discovering such Loss or Theft and arrange for the line to be barred
and the IMEI or serial number of the Equipment to be blacklisted.
(iii) If You are making a claim for Damage You must bring Your Damaged Equipment to a Carphone Warehouse store so that the Damage can be assessed and, where appropriate,
repair or replacement can be arranged.
(iv) You must make the Claim within 60 days of discovering the Damage, Loss or Theft.
(v) To pick up a claim form, call into any Carphone Warehouse store, visit www.Carphonewarehouse.ie or call 1850 424 800 where You will be informed how to make a claim.
You will need to provide Your name, address, date of birth and the policy number shown on Your Certificate.
(vi) Only the Policy holder can process the Claim for Theft, Loss or Damage. Also only the Policyholder can take ownership of the new Equipment in the case of replacement
unless previously agreed in writing by Carphone Warehouse.
5.1.2 Handling Claims
(i) In handling Your Claim, We may take action in Your name to recover from anyone else any payment We have made, the cost of any calls We have made, and/or the cost of any
temporary or permanent replacement Equipment provided under this Policy. We will pay the cost of taking this action.
(ii) You will also be required to provide such information, documents or receipts reasonably necessary to support and/or verify Your Claim.
(iii) We may settle Claims by paying You directly or by paying Carphone Warehouse or another shop or agent for the provision of repairs or a replacement for the Equipment.
(iv) Within 10 working days of a decision being made with regards to Your Claim, You will be advised in writing as to the outcome of that decision.
5.2 Complaints
5.2.1 We aim to give excellent service to all Our customers but We recognise that sometimes things can go wrong. We take all complaints We receive seriously and aim to promptly
resolve all issues raised by Our customers. If You are not happy with the service You have received from Carphone Warehouse in relation to the purchase of Lifeline
insurance or while making a claim We would like to hear from You. You can contact Us as follows:
(i) In writing, addressed to: Lifeline Insurance Complaints, Carphone Warehouse, 3rd floor Office suite, Omni Park Shopping Centre, Santry, Dublin 9,
(ii) Via Our website at: www.Carphonewarehouse.ie and submit a form,
(iii) By telephone, on number: 1850 424 800.
Please make sure that You always include Your name and address and the Policy number shown on Your Certificate. If You wish to make a formal complaint about any aspect of Your experience with Lifeline We would ask that You ensure that these complaints are put in writing through our postal address or website.
5.2.2 We will do Our best to resolve Your complaint straight away; however, if this is not possible We will send a written acknowledgement of Your complaint within five working
days. We will investigate Your complaints and respond as quickly as possible and provide a full written response.
5.2.3 If You are not happy with Our response, You can contact the Financial Services Ombudsman Bureau in writing at The Financial Services Ombudsman Bureau, 3rd Floor
Lincoln Court, Lincoln Place, Dublin 2 . You can also obtain a full copy of Our internal process for handling complaints using the contact details listed in clause 5.2.1 above.


http://www.carphonewarehouse.ie/content/Lifeline-Ts-and-Cs/696


Complain to the Ombudsman OP

theteal

you've got to love how particular the phone insurance crowds are!

appeal away op but they make their living off their T+C's. fundamentally it is your responsiblity to read the terms but any good mobile store I've experienced will stress, stress and stress again the notification deadlines for making a claim when the customer signs up for insurance - I'm sure they deal with such cases on a regular basis and its really out of their hands

uppishhauk

I worked for a mobile company where every so often i would need to call Lifeline to advise of a handset blacklisting for a customers claim,
then when the customer called them they would say your provider never confirmed the blacklisting with us.
they are known for doing anything they can to get out of a claim