Budget Insurance, avoid at all costs

This review is related with Renew-It Greenstone I signed up with Budget Insurance in January 2021 for third party liability car insurance as well as comprehensive household insurance.

On April 1st 2021, my vehicle was involved in a rear end collision with an unlicensed driver. I had to pay the excess of R7500.00 directly to Renew-It Greenstone which I was promised would be recovered from the guilty party to date it has never been recovered.

On April 8th 2021, my vehicle was collected in working order with no engine damage or any other damage other than what was caused by the accident and was delivered directly to Renew-It Greenstone. Repairs were estimated to take up to 3 weeks. On April 18th, I was informed that parts were ordered from Japan without my knowledge, this would delay repairs until Mid-June 2021. On June 20th 2021, I was informed that the vehicle was ready for collection however I wouldn’t be able to collect it that day and I would collect it the following day. On June 21st I was informed that the vehicle did not pass a quality inspection test with regards to the towbar. This would be the last communication I would receive from both Renew-it and Budget Insurance. On June 28th 2021, after no communication at all, myself and my son went to the premises of Renew-It Greenstone only to find out that my vehicle was transported to the premises of Vanos Tech Pty Ltd located in Pomona without my knowledge or consent. I was informed by Bradwyn, a supervisior at Renew-It Greenstone, that the vehicle engine seized on the 3rd test drive coming back from a wheel alignment, which is not included in my policy, this story was then changed to seizing on its 1st test drive, afterwards I was informed that no test drive was conducted.

Whilst at Vanos Tech, my engine was opened twice without my knowledge or permission and inspected twice, allegedly by an independent mechanic who turns out is under the payroll of Budget Insurance. My odometer was also tampered with, showing an increase of 26 km which is coincidentally the exact distance from Renew-It Greenstone to Vanos Tech in Pomona. After informing Renew-It as well as Budget Insurance of this, this was quickly rolled back to its original reading. I have proof of 2 reports from Vanos Tech showing these differences.

Following all this, Louis Meyer, a representative of Budget Insurance, denied any wrongdoing and put responsibility on me, citing that I used inappropriate oil. My vehicle was serviced just a few months before this.

When I received my vehicle back, half of my engine was missing, my oil dipstick was damaged, my ignition key was broken, my remote was damaged, my left rear tyre was punctured, my vehicle was full of dust and dirt and my battery was damaged beyond repair and had to be replaced. After confronting Renew-It about this, it was claimed that the vehicle was received by them in this condition, which respectfully is complete nonsense.

Following all of this, the total damage amount resulted to over R150 000, I had to purchase 2 other vehicles, one for me and one for my son so he can do his work and a total of R42 000 in repairs to my vehicle, which included a replacement engine, a new car battery and a new ignition key.

Both Renew-It Greenstone and Budget Insurance, despite previously admitting fault of this as Renew-It stated that there would inquire with their insurance to cover the cost of damages, would go on to deny any and all responsibility. Bradwyn was later sacked by Renew-It Greenstone for his role in all of this, and I believe it was him who drove the vehicle without allowing the engine to idle to let the oil go through the engine after sitting stagnant for over 2 months, thus causing the engine seizure. Over the course of all this, I asked both Budget Insurance and Renew-It Greenstone several questions to which I never received any answers. 1. Why was my vehicle driven after it was ready to collect and who drove it? 2. Why was my engine opened twice without my knowledge and consent and who authorised it? I certainly didn’t. 3. Why was the mileage on my vehicle different from 2 reports sent by the same “independent mechanic” when the vehicle could not be driven? 4. Why were the copies of the service invoices ignored, which was issued only months prior to the accident? 5. In February 2023 after I repaired my vehicle at my own cost, I returned my vehicle to Renew-It Greenstone as rust has developed on what they had allegedly fixed.

This matter was presented to the Ombudsmen, who after a year concluded that they could not proceed any further as Budget Insurance had presented them with a 39 page long investigation, which was basically the same page copied over and over again. All evidence I presented was ignored by both Budget Insurance and the Ombudsmen. I have proof to all claims that I have made. Ladies and Gentlemen who are reading this, if I were you, I would avoid Budget Insurance at all costs, you’re better off insuring your vehicle elsewhere.