#BEWAR# Despair, Deception and Disillusionment with Dialdirect (How to find out accidentally that you are with THE WORST insurance company)

<p>My Insurance History:</p> <p>1.) I have been driving my own vehicle since 2005 and never registered any claim for a vehicle accident up until this current incident on 15 May 2017.</p> <p>2.) My first vehicle was a Toyota tazz with uninterrupted comprehensive insurance for 9 years. (2005 – 2013)</p> <p>3.) I was still a student while driving my Toyota and therefore had it insured under my parent's insurance policy through Santam.</p> <p>4.) I was the regular driver of this vehicle for 9 years without any accident claims whatsoever.</p> <p>5.) The original Santam policy does not indicate who the regular driver for this vehicle was.</p> <p>6.) I do however have in my possession a signed letter from Santam, stating that there was never an accident claim lodged for this vehicle.</p> <p>7.) I sold my Toyota conquest in 2013 and purchased my Ford Fiesta and took out insurance in my own name.</p> <p>8.) From 2013 onwards, I had comprehensive insurance on this new vehicle, for which I was the registered regular driver.</p> <p>9) From 2013 up until I joined Dialdirect in June 2016 I changed between several insurance companies in order to save on my premiums.</p> <p>10) I still had comprehensive insurance without any break in cover whatsoever during this period.</p> <p>11) I have never claimed for an accident with my Ford Fiesta.</p> <p>12) On the 8th of May 2017 Dialdirect notified me of a proposed change on my policy schedule and increase to my monthly premium of R 1 134.00 that would be effective from 1 June 2017. This is a R300 increase from my original premium from when I joined. </p> <p>13) On Saturday 14th of May I changed to budget insurance since they offered a much lower premium with an even lower access than Dialdirect. My insurance cover with Dialdirect would end 31 June 2017 ****tle did I know then, that Budget Insurance are part of the Telesure group).</p> <p>14) As luck would have it, on Sunday 15th May, my car was in an accident....</p> <p> </p> <p>Based on the information above, I believed I qualified for a 7 years NCB (No claims bonus) since I have indeed not had any vehicle accident claim in the last 7 years. How I was sorely mistaken....</p> <p>Summary of my Incident:</p> <p>1.) Vehicle (Ford Fiesta) towed to assessors following vehicle accident registered with Dialdirect on 15 May 2017. (No other vehicles/parties involved in incident).</p> <p><br /> 2.) Vehicle repairs following accident totals R 33 376.83.</p> <p>3.) I have a registered access of R 5 600.00 on my policy with Dialdirect.</p> <p>4.) Dialdirect requested that I myself provide proof of 7 years uninterrupted insurance with my previous insurance companies before they process the claim. That's right people - It is now MY job to contact previous insurers while they hold my car repairs ransom.</p> <p>This information was not requested when I joined them. Dialdirect argues that they enter into the contract in good faith with the client. What this means is that what you told them during the inception of your policy is taken to be true and they give you the benefit of the doubt that it is so. After all, this allows them to take your monthly debit orders and getting paid without having to go through the lengthy verification processes from previous insurers beforehand.</p> <p>Background checks are reserved only for those times when they actually have to commit from their side from the contract to pay you back when you are in need. This is when they put the brakes on the process. It has now been a month since my accident and I am still without a vehicle. I have to use uber to get by at great expense.</p> <p>And may you not be as unlucky as me, working on a remote site trying to commission a drinking water treatment plant for desperate people, and having to down your tools and take time to phone and email previous insurers from 7 years back, to prove you have been insured as you have stated.</p> <p>5.) After two weeks of digging and begging for archived information from all my previous insurers, I finally managed to prove that the vehicles I was driving I had uninterrupted insurance for at least 7 years.</p> <p>6.) However, since the policy I had with Santam 7 years back with my Toyota, does not list me as the registered regular driver, Dialdirect refuses to count this policy towards my No Claims Bonus tally. Even though I have NEVER CLAIMED BEFORE, this is apparently irrelevant in Dialdirect's interpretation of a "No Claims Bonus". Misleading maybe?</p> <p>7.) During the telephonic registration of my Dialdirect policy, the consultant asked me the following: </p> <p>“Have you had comprehensive vehicle insurance as a regular driver for more than 7 years?”</p> <p>To which I responded “yes” because I was the regular driver whether this was registered on the policy or not. I was not asked whether I was registered or noted as the regular driver with any of the policies stated above but merely whether I was the regular driver. The fact remains that I was the regular driver for both vehicles stated above and that the vehicles I was driving was comprehensively insured for at least 7 years without any lapse in insurance or without any accident claim. I do have the recording of this conversation in my possession. I can prove without a doubt that I was the regular driver and have many parties that will testify to this. I can’t help but wonder how a case like this will be argued in court and what the outcome will be.</p> <p>8.) So, based on the "registered/noted regular driver as indicated on the policy" clause (WHICH WAS NEVER MENTIONED IN MY ORIGINAL QUOTATION OR IN MY TELEPHONIC CONVERSATION WHEN I JOINED) , Dialdirect claims that they can only verify 4 years of comprehensive uninterrupted insurance instead of 7. </p> <p>9) I was deceived by Dialdirect. My honest interpretation when I was asked "Are you the regular driver?" means just that - you are the regular driver of the vehicle yes/no? NOT REGISTERED AS A REGULAR DRIVER ON THE POLICY? OR NOTED AS THE RGULAR DRIVER ON THE POLICY?</p> <p>10) So I was told that seeing as I only qualify for a 4 years NCB, this meant that the discounted premium of R 834.11 that I signed up with in June 2016 should have actually been closer to R 1135.55 per month instead due to me not having qualified for the 7 years NCB. </p> <p>I have been with Dialdirect from 1 June 2016 to 31 May 2017. So the total difference in the premiums should be in the vicinity of 12 x (R 1135.55 - R 834.11) which is R 3 617.28, correct? So just pay this excess on top of your policy access and all is well right? WRONG.</p> <p>What Dialdirect does, is use the additional premium difference that they believe you should have paid, based on information that they should have verified at inception of the policy but didnt, to force you to pay an additional prorata amount of the outstanding claim that you did not agree to or where aware of when you joined. </p> <p>In short, Dialdirect is forcing me to pay a 14.04% additional portion of the claim</p> <p>The actual email response from Dialdirect's dispute department reads as follow:</p> <p>_________________________________________________________________________________________</p> <p>As discussed NCB [No Claims Bonus] is linked with policy discount, meaning for every year NCB noted on your policy, you receive a certain percentage of discount on the policy.</p> <p>1 year NCB is earned for every year of uninterrupted comprehensive vehicle insurance, with you as the noted regular driver and in which you have had no claims.</p> <p>At the sale of this policy, during the conversation with our Dial Direct sales consultant, you advised us that you have had uninterrupted comprehensive vehicle insurance as a regular driver with no claims. Based on this info, a 7 year NCB with the relevant policy discount was allocated to the you.</p> <p>During the claims investigation, we were only able to confirm 4 years of uninterrupted comprehensive vehicle insurance with you as the noted regular driver. You therefore only qualified for a 4 NCB and would have paid an increased premium of R1 135.33.</p> <p>The percentage difference between what you paid as to what you should have paid adds up to 14.04%. We were therefore prejudiced with 14.04% premium income.</p> <p>In view of the fact that we would still have accepted your policy but on a higher premium and in line with the Ombudsman’s stance, we are willing to settle the claim as follow:</p> <p>DAMAGE R33 376.83</p> <p>Less Prejudice (14.04%) R 4 764.00</p> <p>Less Basic Excess R 5 600.00</p> <p>TOTAL SETTLEMENT R23 012.83</p> <p>In the above offer, 14.04% was deducted from the claimed amount as we only received 85.96% of the correct premium. A decision to make a pro-rata offer was made based on the fact that we received 85.96% of the correct premium and will thus only pay 85.96% of the claim. The payment is therefore in proportion to the amount of the premium which we received for this specific risk. </p> <p>As confirmed, authorization will be given for the repairs as per your request. Should you not be able to provide us with the proof from Santam that you were the noted regular driver of the vehicle insured with them, you will be liable for the R4 764.</p> <p>_________________________________________________________________________________________</p> <p>11) Hypothetically, if the damage to my vehicle was extensive and it was written off, say a book value claim of R90 000 was lodged, Dial direct would expect me to pay R 12 600.00 on top of my policy access of R 5600.00 because they managed to find a loophole of a policy 7 years back where I wasn’t the “registered” regular driver under a previous vehicle policy. Even though they lead me to believe and trust that when I signed up with them (while they were happily taking my money every month) that I only had to cater for a contingency of R5600.</p> <p>When I signed up with Dialdirect, I answered all questions honestly and truthfully to the best of my ability. If any of the information that I have provided was not in line or in contradiction with the definitions and terminology that Dialdirect’s representative conveyed to me telephonically, this was in part due to the vague nature of the verbal contract, which is skewed towards deceiving the user and protecting the Insurer by leaving statements that is open for interpretation - an interpretation which Dialdirect plays perfectly to their own benefit and your detriment in order for them to avoid paying out legitimate claims. </p> <p>I have already proceeded with lodging my complaint with the FAIS Ombud Office and have received a response and case number. I might be successful or I might not in fighting this claim, and if the Ombud Office finds in favor of Dialdirect, I will pay the additional fee of R 4767.00 even if I have to obtain a personal loan to do so.</p> <p>But my story to the public to all my connections both family and friends will be to never trust any Telesure affiliated insurance company - ever. I have been claim free for more than a decade, yet they will search to find a way to invalidate your claim and you will end up paying more than what you contractually agreed to regardless of whether you are in the right, whether you have done everything in good faith or have been completely honest and upfront. Dialdirect has made an enemy for life and I will spread the word.</p> <p>To those who wish to join Dialdirect, BE WARNED! </p> <p>The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist</p>