1 reviews | Active since Jul 2016
DON'T use Budget as your vehicle insurer
<p>I had Comprehensive cover on my Cross polo with Budget insurance, It was ****** last month. I logged a clam with Budget and so the nightmare began.....</p> <p>Firstly they insured my car at market value, when I asked for "the highest value" in the sales call which should have been Retail Value, Secondly they asked in the sales call if my car had a tracker which it did not and the sales person continued with the quote etc., To my amazement when my car was ****** they said I now have a 7.5% (Value of car) additional excess to pay because my car did not have a tracker, Had this been explained to me in the sales call, I would have installed a tracking device. Thirdly they insure me on Retail value a year ago, but since that point the retail value of the car depreciates and when my car was ****** they wanted to pay the current retail value and NOT the retail value I was quoted on last year, In my opinion Budget is cheating their clients this way as the term "Retail Value" is very loose and can change as Budget feels fit.</p> <p> </p> <p>I forced Budget to go through the sales recordings where I asked for my car to be insured at the "Highest value" and yes Budget did eventually pay out the current retail value of the car. (Which was very little considering I cannot replace my car for the amount they paid out about (R92000) before deducting my excess which was almost R13000 Because I did not have a tracker.</p> <p> </p> <p>I have never had a car ****** from me before and I was very unsure of the process to follow but when speaking to Budget and asking questions they make you feel as if you are a ******** and you stole your own car as everything needs to be investigated. I even had to supply invoices from my last service etc. on my Car (even though I feel it has absolutely nothing to do with my car being ******) when they came to collect the invoices/keys and cars books from my house, they attacked my domestic worker and then my mother asking where the car parks at night, was it here last Friday etc. I am not a ******** and I don’t appreciate Budget treating me as such.</p> <p> </p> <p>Budgets service is a joke and they will look for any excuse not to pay out.</p> <p>But what they are very very good at is getting sales people to call you and sell you all types of "Value added products".</p> <p> </p> <p>Needless to say I bought another polo with a retail value of R58000 and I asked for a quote from Budget,</p> <p>My premium on the new car is R1100 now where I was paying less than R500 on the more expensive Cross polo.</p> <p> </p> <p>To add to my frustration with them, My wife’s car is also insured with them and when the inspection was done on the car the windscreen had a crack in it which Budget did not want to cover, which I totally understand, however I replaced the windscreen at my own cost and then phoned in to ask if I can forward an invoice for the new windscreen so Budget can now also cover the windscreen from here on out, I was told I have to take the car for an inspection again.</p> <p> </p> <p>To cut a long story short I phoned SANTAM for a quote on my new car, Not only did they beat Budget in premium, excess and service. They will also install a tracking device free of charge, and should your car be ****** after having the tracker installed they waiver my excess unlike budget where you won’t have to pay an ADDITIONAL excess.</p> <p> </p> <p>Not to mention that SANTAM who I have never dealt with before has not even requested that I have my car inspected and they have insured my car at a fixed value( Retail Value as of day I received the quote from them)</p> <p> </p> <p>Budget is not a good company to insure your car with in my experience and I believe they are using loop holes for their own benefit.</p> <p>I hope anyone planning on insuring or already insured with them will read this as I would have like someone to warn me about how Budget conducts their bussiness.</p> <p> </p>
Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.
We are really sorry to hear about your loss and the frustration you experienced during the processing of your claim
In response to your complaint; we wish to advise as follow:
- The value of a vehicle depreciates each month
- We are pleased to hear that they have paid you out on the retail value of the vehicle as you initially requested at sales stage. Please bear in mind that based on the fact that a vehicle depreciates each month; there is no way any insurer would pay you out on what you originally paid for the vehicle
- The policy terms and conditions form part of the contract and it is clearly stated under the excess portion of the schedule that should your vehicle be ****** and in the absence of a tracking device; 7.5% of the value of the vehicle would be charged in addition to the basic excess
- We are saddened to hear that you were made to feel like a ******** during the validation process. The senior consultants are appointed for the mere purpose of confirming the incident and to ensure that the information provided at sales stage is indeed accurate
We have requested that the claims manager contact you; should you require further clarification regarding the claim and settlement there-of.
We are indeed sorry to lose you as our client and sincerely apologise that you experienced the process in a negative light.
Kind Regards
The Budget Team
Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.
We are really sorry to hear about your loss and the frustration you experienced during the processing of your claim
In response to your complaint; we wish to advise as follow:
- The value of a vehicle depreciates each month
- We are pleased to hear that they have paid you out on the retail value of the vehicle as you initially requested at sales stage. Please bear in mind that based on the fact that a vehicle depreciates each month; there is no way any insurer would pay you out on what you originally paid for the vehicle
- The policy terms and conditions form part of the contract and it is clearly stated under the excess portion of the schedule that should your vehicle be ****** and in the absence of a tracking device; 7.5% of the value of the vehicle would be charged in addition to the basic excess
- We are saddened to hear that you were made to feel like a ******** during the validation process. The senior consultants are appointed for the mere purpose of confirming the incident and to ensure that the information provided at sales stage is indeed accurate
We have requested that the claims manager contact you; should you require further clarification regarding the claim and settlement there-of.
We are indeed sorry to lose you as our client and sincerely apologise that you experienced the process in a negative light.
Kind Regards
The Budget Team
Exactly my point, the value depreciates monthly but my monthly premium stayed the same. So you are actually charging me more and more each month. It is a big joke and I in no way think that Budget is fair and transparent. I'm very sure you are saddened, please don't irritate me with your false compassion. The fact of the matter is I went on a verbal agreement with you people where you failed to be transparent. And please let's not fool one another here, it is a negative process especially because you are trying to ***** me at every corner. Please remove your comment "there is no way any insurer would pay you out on what you originally paid for the vehicle" I have the documentation from Santam where there is a value not a sneaky "Retail value" as the insured amount maybe you should rephrase it to "there is no way any sneaky/loop hole finding insurer will insure the a vehicle at the price you bought it" that way budget forms apart of that group.
Exactly my point, the value depreciates monthly but my monthly premium stayed the same. So you are actually charging me more and more each month. It is a big joke and I in no way think that Budget is fair and transparent. I'm very sure you are saddened, please don't irritate me with your false compassion. The fact of the matter is I went on a verbal agreement with you people where you failed to be transparent. And please let's not fool one another here, it is a negative process especially because you are trying to ***** me at every corner. Please remove your comment "there is no way any insurer would pay you out on what you originally paid for the vehicle" I have the documentation from Santam where there is a value not a sneaky "Retail value" as the insured amount maybe you should rephrase it to "there is no way any sneaky/loop hole finding insurer will insure the a vehicle at the price you bought it" that way budget forms apart of that group.
I was contacted by Budget after this complaint, basically they spent 15mins contradicting themselves and don't have real answers to my questions. As to why they leave out important parts in the sales calls, they also say your premium is based on risk, ie where the car parks etc. Bit funny none of that changed only the value of my car but my premium remained the same. The budget representative also told me that not everyone likes to hear the truth so they don't state the truth. I am willing to share the phone call recordings if there is any doubt. They can also answer questions and can tell you what other insurance companies offer. What a joke..... Please guys take my advice and stay far far far away from these guys! To budget, I will not forget this ordeal and I will be posting about my experience on every social media platform available. As i told your representative that called earlier I do not want anything from Budget but to let people know what they can expect from your company and give them fair warning not to get caught like I did with your business deals that are not at all transparent!
I was contacted by Budget after this complaint, basically they spent 15mins contradicting themselves and don't have real answers to my questions. As to why they leave out important parts in the sales calls, they also say your premium is based on risk, ie where the car parks etc. Bit funny none of that changed only the value of my car but my premium remained the same. The budget representative also told me that not everyone likes to hear the truth so they don't state the truth. I am willing to share the phone call recordings if there is any doubt. They can also answer questions and can tell you what other insurance companies offer. What a joke..... Please guys take my advice and stay far far far away from these guys! To budget, I will not forget this ordeal and I will be posting about my experience on every social media platform available. As i told your representative that called earlier I do not want anything from Budget but to let people know what they can expect from your company and give them fair warning not to get caught like I did with your business deals that are not at all transparent!