Customer (Don't) Care

<p>So I had a bumper bash, hit a pole in a lack of consentration, not my finest moment. Discovery Insure started of quite helpful, despite initially not wanting to give me the courtesy vehicle before the assesment results were in, they thankfully changed their mind.</p> <p> </p> <p>My contract stipulates a 30 day courtesy vehicle from Avis. This seemed sufficient given that the repair estimate said 10 days subject to "part availability". As luck would have it, my vehicle's parts needed to be imported from Japan, 20-30 days turnaround time. Still, I had the courtesy vehicle, so it would be tight but I should have had the car back in time.</p> <p> </p> <p>After many false promises from the panelbeaters about how they were "almost done", the car rental agreement lapsed. I needed a commuter to work but, not being unreasonable, I paid for it out of pocket. My contract said 30 days afterall and I assumed it only fair, since the panelbeater can't be held responsible for the delay due to part delivery.</p> <p> </p> <p>I would later find out that the first delay was due to the assessor not listing all the parts to be ordered, though I think the panelbeater should accept some responsibility here, who doesn't make sure they order all the long lead items at the same time. After exhausting the nearly exact excess amount on car rental I was forced to return it. This brings us to a month and a half after the accident. I don't think it was unreasonable for me to have had some concerns at that point. I started trying to locate the Discovery Insure representative, that was supposed to be handling my claim, via e-mail since inexplicably she had no phone number listed on her e-mail signature. I guess that would make her too easy to reach. Much easier to reply 3 days later to an e-mail, if at all. </p> <p> </p> <p>I simply got the company line eventually, "Discovery won't extend the rental agreement as we can not be held responsible for the delay due to part availability", despite me emphatically stating that, that was hardly my point. I merely wanted Discovery to assess what was causing the delays and who should be held accountable, I am their client afterall. I did not choose the panelbeater, they did, is managing the repair of my vehicle in a timely fashion not part of my insurance policy? Why should I have to pay for unnecessary delays, and then be expected to pay an excess to the panelbeater on top of that?</p> <p> </p> <p>Receiving no joy after repeated e-mail pleading, I attempted to contact every department listed on the website - claims; complaints...... It all seems to go to the same dark inbox where unread e-mails go to rot and die. Excluding the chosen one that got a reply that seemed to be cut and paste a standard template, reasuring me that this is not the way Discovery conducts business and it pains them that I am so upset because customer satifaction is a priority. "Your dispute has been escalated to the appropriate manager" seems to be the real e-mail signature as the previously mentioned claim agent also promised this seemingly fictitious manager would contact me. </p> <p> </p> <p>With no other avenue open to me I resorted to contacting the call centre where the lady, using that term loosely here, simply listened for key words and phrases and read legal retorts from a prepared statement, I assume. Regardless whether I had any valid points, I speak with more respect to the toothless begger that won't take "no" for an answer and spits on my windshield. </p> <p> </p> <p>Today, four days short of 2 months post accident, the latest is that the panelbeaters ordered the wrong part and they are waiting for the correct one to arrive, but they deserve a review in their own right. Discovery seems to have broken up with me and we are not speaking.</p> <p> </p> <p>This entire ordeal has now evolved in such a constant nerve racking source of stress that I honestly feel helpless and defeated. That is probably why this review is not concise, as I suspect it is more cathartic at this point. But I will end off by saying that despite initially handling the process of my claim fairly smoothly it seems that calling it a "customer care" line is playing very fast and loose with the definition.</p> <p> </p>