VERY POOR SERVICE FROM HOLLARD INSURANCE (AVOIDING ACCOUNTABILITY)

I had a motor accident with my vehicle in 2017. My claim to fix the damage was approved by Hollard. The vehicle was fixed by a Panel Beater, which was approved by Hollard Insurance. After receiving my vehicle back, I started encountering problems with the aircon of my vehicle. I informed Hollard and took the vehicle back to the Panel Beaters to repair. On 2 occasions they refilled the gas and then told me that it was just a loose pipe and the person who worked on the Aircon would have a look to fix it. Once again the problem pursued. I contacted Hollard again and an Assessor was sent out to evaluate the situation. It was determined that the repairs on the car was sub standard, that parts which were claimed for, were merely repaired and not replaced and that a lot of the damage was not fixed but only the surface was in a presentable condition. My car was then sent to another approved panel beater, who had to redo the whole repair process. In the meantime I moved to Cape Town, whilst my car was being repaired in Johannesburg. I had not transport for approximately 3 weeks after arriving in Cape Town and also had to arrange and pay for someone to drive my vehicle down from Johannesburg to Cape Town. The aircon problem still persisted. This was brought to my Insurance Brokers attention and they asked me to take it in and have it checked out. Once again, I had to take out the vehicle and this time the company who checked it out said it was an electrical fault which they fixed. After that the gas lasted about 1,5 months before the same problem happened. In the meantime we were in lockdown and the vehicle was not used often due to this. Once we were able to start moving around again, the problem once again started and persisted. I had to refill the gas several times and it never lasted more than a month. Earlier this year, I personally went to a specialist on aircons and told him that my aircon is not working. He inspected the vehicle properly (at my own cost) and then pointed out that the condenser of the aircon was damaged in a vehicle accident. This was told to me without him having any history or the background that my vehicle was in an accident and that the problems started since the accident and after the repairs were done. He took photo's of the damage, wrote me a report and I forward this to my Insurance Broker to take up with Hollard. Since then, (approximately 3 months ago) Ihave on several occasions phoned/e-mailed my Broker an asked to arrange with Hollard to send out an Assessor to come and evaluate the situation and sort it out. I have seen copies of the e-mails that the Broker forwarded to Hollard. I never received a phone call or was put in contact with any assessor. After phoning on a weekly basis to follow up, after approximately the 9th week, a Hollard representative phoned me and told me he needed the photo's as it was going to be discussed during their board meeting. Another 2 weeks down the line, I once again enquired and then received an email from my Insurance Broker (a one liner) indicating the claim was not approved as it was not caused by the accident. I wrote an email asking a proper report and feedback on how this was determined and was told that the report would be sent to me as soon as they receive it from the Assessor. As to date, I have not received any response or any reasons for this decision. It has taken me hours to withdraw all the relevant communication that was exchanged between my Insurance Broker from PSG, the previous panel beaters, and Hollard Insurance, but I supp**** them with detail regarding the original claim and it is very clear that the damage to the condenser was caused by the accident. I have dealt with Hollard for many years. This is the poorest service I have ever received from Hollard in all the years I have been dealing with them. I was informed by my former Insurance Broker that they changed systems and that all the relevant correspondence in this regard went missing. They therefore can not trace it. I got the impression that they were trying to avoid the situation and therefore went through all correspondence on my cloud and forwarded all the proof to them. From their side - only a one liner and no proof on how they came to their conclusion. Hollard as well as the Insurance Broker from PSG has got all the information and proof they need, which I personally forwarded to them. I have had it with this cat and mouse game without anybody taking the responsibility to assist me.

Only one of the e-mails I forwarded to Hollard is stipulated below. My reaction was one phone call from this person who asked me for the photos and told me it would be presented on the same day I sent it through.

""Goodday ******x,

With reference to the attached or below information, this matter, together with all the relevant correspondence, proof of my statements, etc. was supp**** to ******xx 8 weeks ago already, with a request to send out an Assessor to come and evaluate the situation.

I think this claim is very valid, seen in the light that insurance policies commit to repairing and returning your vehicle in the state it was before the accident. From the offset of work being done on my vehicle, it was a disaster. As per previous correspondence I had to query the operation on the aircon with ************ on several occasions and also had to the vehicle on many occasions. On one occasion I took my vehicle to them and despite the fact that we had an arrangement to meet and discuss this situation, there was nobody available to assist me. As far as I know ********* no longer exists and went bankrupt. It was due to problems with the aircon that the Assessor determined that the job done on the vehicle was far beyond standard. Some of the damaged parts were merely covered. New parts that were indicated on the invoice were never replaced with new parts and obviously the damage to the vehicle was not done in a manner where the full extent of the damage was determined.

This has been an ongoing issue for approximately 5 years now. It was brought to ******************x (Insurance Broker) on several occasions. According to ****** their system crashed and he lost all my correspondence. I did however keep record of all correspondence and on what happened in this regard.

The aircon remained a problem since the accident and as per my e-mails (records) you will note that I regularly updated Jacques. The following reasons had an impact on the reason for this long period of carrying on with the aircon not working :

I relocated to Cape Town whilst the new job was finished in Krugerdsdorp by ***xx Coachworks. Their service was very good, but they only focused on the issues which were invoiced by Dent Doctor, therefore the aircon was not really handled as an issue. Dent Doctor also filled the car with gas approximately 3 times because the gas did not last very long. I was without any transport when I arrived in Cape Town and had to make plans at my own cost to get my vehicle to Cape Town. Hollard was not prepared to assist in this regard.

This vehicle should have been inspected by an Assessor before it was sent to me, which obviously was not the case. If it was done, he never looked at the aircon, because if he did, he would have noticed that there was damage to the condenser, which was caused by the accident.

Unfortunately, I do not have sufficient technical knowledge to be able to identify the real problem but took the car in on several occasions to have it re-gassed. The gas never lasted more than a month.

During this time, we were going through lockdown and the vehicle was not used on a regular basis.

I went to at least 2 other Aircon specialists who indicated that there must be a leak. Tests were done but it did not indicate a leak. The last person who did a proper evaluation (costing my another R1 000), was the first one to identify the problem. He did not have any background about the history of the vehicle but took photographs and told me straight away that the condenser was damaged in an accident. I am the sole owner of this vehicle and bought the vehicle new in 2005. Therefore it could only be the relevant accident I had which is now under discussion.

It has taken 8 weeks now to get an answer from you. I have been very patient, but feel that we are now passing the line of being reasonable about an outcome.

All my information I have attached is 100% correct and I supp**** you with proof of this.

I would really appreciate your urgent attention to this matter. If I do not pay my monthly premium for my insurance, my insurance is cancelled, but I have to wait for 8 weeks for an answer to my problem, where everything has been given to you in detail.

I hope to hear from you soon, and trust that the outcome will be positive.

If you require anything else from me, please contact me at ************