Abysmal handling of my warranty claim ***

I lodged my first warranty claim with Auto & General on 4 December 2025 after my car had been taken in for service and it was found that the shocks required fixing. I lodged the claim with Clydale after speaking with her telephonically and she advised that I forward the quote so that the claim could be opened. Later I was then informed that my claims handler was Mpho Maleka. on 5 December 2025 I forwarded him the documents that I had sent to Clydale as well as the email trail with the lady at the car dealership who was responsible for the car while it was there.

On the same day, Mpho called to tell me that my claim had been rejected as the components are not covered. I told him that I needed him to show me where on my policy, this was reflected, and despite directing me to a link on my documents, he could not find any reference to shocks being excluded from my warranty claim.

I then told him that I needed something in writing from Auto & Genereal which showed that my warranty policy documents specifically exclude shocks, because the copy I have shows that they have "unlimited cover". He then asked that I send pictures of the components that the dealership had quoted as well as the service history of the car. The pictures were sent on the same day.

Days passed with no feedback from Mpho until on 19 December I sent a follow up email to him asking for feedback. he then sent a reply saying " The claim has been rejected due to uninsured components, rear shocks are wear and tear therefore are not covered under mechanical warranty."

I then asked him to send me documentation that showed that these components are excluded from the policy and the reasons for the rejection as the policy documents I have show that shocks are covered under the policy.

That was the last I heard from Mpho.

On 7 January 2026, I followed up again on the requested documents and it was only today 26 January 2026 at 16:11 that I received an email with a letter dated "26 August 2025", referring to my "claim lodged on 11 August 2025" stating that my claim was not accepted as I will not be indemnified for any components not specified under the "components covered" section of my policy.

There are several issues with this letter.

1) the letter is dated 26 August 2025 - however it was sent on 26 January 2026 2) It refers to a claim I allegedly lodged on 11 August 2025 - however, I lodged the claim on 4 December 2025 3) The letter states that my claim has been rejected as the components are not specified under "components covered" - the policy documents I have, specify that I have unlimited cover for shocks. 4) The letter referes to an internal dispute resolution procedure which I can initiate if I am not happy with the outcome of my claim, but this must be done within 90 days of receiving the letter of outcome - Mpho deliberately backdated the letter to 26 August 2025 - thereby ensuring that I would fall outside of the 90 day period and therefore have no recourse whatsoever.

Once again, Auto & General has failed me as a customer, in December, I had to come onto this platform to complain, before they authirised a valid service claim. And now they have unreasonably rejected my warranty claim despite the policy documents clearly showing that the components are covered. Their customer service is appauling and their consultants never provide feedback unless pestered, and even then, they do the bare minimum

I have been a loyal Auto & General Customer for several years and have been on the service and warranty VAP for over 2 years.

This has been the most disappointing experience and confirmed to me that this is not a service I would recommend to anyone.