Discovery messing me around BIG TIME!!!

Just plain pathetically sad service - basically the first time since I joined Discovery more than a decade ago that I try and submit a claim other than an annual "Discovery Health Checkup" and now I'm getting shunt around left right end center (extremely frustrating especially if I go and do the calculation of all of the hundreds of thousands of Rands I've been "donating" to them over the years!!!)... Firstly I got misinformed regarding what pregnancy related claims (so called maternity "benefits") I could claim for - then later after I found out that they (badly) misinformed me and I then ended up submitting these claims that I didn't claim for at first - because they said I couldn't (even though when I then later on submitted the "old" claims I tried my very best to explain re the incorrect information that they provided me many months before and that they must thus please go back and listen to the said phonecalls in order to thus waive the "claim within 4months" rule seeing that it was a mistake on their side!)... but they simply came back to me and said "sorry - claims submitted was for longer than 4months ago - claim denied"... thus simply ignoring my explanation (perhaps ********ly thinking/hoping that by doing this I would just say "o okay that seems extremely fair - I'll just keep on paying you for doing nothing ..??!!)

When I then requested feedback based on the phone calls that I referred to (in which they would clearly pick up the on the agent originally providing me with incorrect information!) they claimed that during this said conversation, they apparently phoned me from their side whilst "they only keep record of the calls made by clients to them"... Is there anyone out there who believes this? And even if it was the case - does Discovery feel that this would form part of a "good system"?? Interestingly enough I've also had a case in the past where Discovery Insure also tried to get away with incorrect information conveyed to me by their call centre agents... so perhaps it's a company wide principle...

Even sadder, I've since spoken to at least 3 more call centre agents - each time spending (or rather wasting) my own airtime to try and bring the matter under their attention - but each time the theme seems to be "yes Sir I'm very sorry my colleagues should've done this and should've done that instead"... HOW ON EARTH ARE POOR INTERNAL-BLAME EXPLANATIONS LIKE THAT GOING TO SOLVE THIS ISSUE?!

Then to make the matter worse each time these VERY LONG conversations continues to the point where the agent ends in saying "they're SO sorry" (whatever!) and that "they're personally going to look deeper into the matter and get back to me very soon"... and yes this of course also never happens!!

I phoned again just now only to end up requesting to speak to a manager instead as this conversation was going down the exact same line as explained above yet again - then whilst I waited for the manager they cut me off (or perhaps it was a case of the line cutting out - although I would find the timing thereof extremely ironic!) - and in case it was indeed the line cutting out - seeing that they did already have all of my details open in front of them on "their system" (as I was already identified via voice recognition which was also confirmed by the agent herself) - and they know that if I then call them back from my side I would end up at another agent - wouldn't the logic/good mannered/good customer service thing to do from their side be to at least just call me back - especially since I literally complained about the fact that I've already had to explain this exact same situation to so many different agents about 2mins before the line cut out?! Well, clearly in the eyes of the agent whom I spoke to and her manager to whom she was busy putting me through to not... how can there be so much unemployment in South Africa yet so many big companies manage to appoint so many employees who delivers such poor service?! It blows my mind...

Think it's time for me to rather look out for a medical scheme who actually thinks further/cares more about their clients than just the debit orders they receive at the end of each month! So if you're reading this whilst trying to decide whether or not to sign up with Discovery - my recommendation would be a very strong NO...

FYI Discovery - if I recall correctly I actually mentioned via the phone to the very first agent whom I complained about this very issue that instead of having to complain via for example social media (which would end up costing myself more time and effort and Discovery some future clients) I'd prefer for you to please rather just solve this issue asap instead, but clearly I should rather have just gone this route right from the start (and saved myself the time and hassle of trying to be nice and get it resolved directly via your *********** call centre!) as you've now made it very clear that the "system" you've got in place simply cannot even deal in resolving the simplest of matters!

So to sum it up - STAY AWAY FROM DISCOVERY!