Worst Service Ever & No TCF Principles

Dear Complaints Department, Please note that I would like to lodge a formal complaint in terms of the overall service received on my claim, which after 2 and a half months, is now still not resolved. Please note that the claim was submitted on 28th October 2024 and claim reference was issued. NONHLANHLAMORAKA was the appointed claims technician. I was requested to submit a damage report and invoice which was done on 13th November 2024 due to delays from the service provider who previously repaired the damages around the weir. In the duration between 28th Oct and 13th Nov, no assessor or service provider was appointed nor was any correspondence or follow ups received. During this time a service provider attended to the premises and was suppose to do an assessment, of which no feedback was provided in terms of their feedback. Several follow ups had to me made with the claims technician to obtain feedback as no feedback is provided from the claims technician at any point. More than once when I called the technician was also not available and no return call. On 5th November 2024 the same service provider had to go to the premises for another inspection. No feedback again was received and I continuously had to call for updates. On 25th November 2024 I was informed that someone again had to go visit the premises. The appointment only occurred on 27th November 2024. This was now a month after the initial claim was lodged. Assessor went to the scene and a damage report was supp**** by Swimline North on 30th November 2024. Only on the 3rd of December 2024 did I receive feedback on the claim after I again had to call them. First I was informed that the entire claim will be rejected and it was left there. No formal rejection letter was received. I asked for a copy of the quotation in order to understand from the service provider what was wrong with the pool as the claims technician did not explain about the damaged pipe. I spoke to Slimline regarding the matter on 6th December 2024 and they explained the matter regarding the pipe. I then again called to speak to the claims technician, who as per usual was not available and was assisted by someone else. The alternative claims technician was kind enough to explain the matter and mentioned that a cash in lieu settlement is to be done for the pipe, it was just the vinyl that was being rejected. I left another message for Nonhlanhla to call me to discuss the matter and per usual, no feedback. After several attempts, Brandon was kind enough to assist me and discuss the matter, he also provided the damage report with the quotation as requested. Sadly, the cash in lieu payment for the pipe has still not been made and again today I had to call to follow up on this matter. This is the absolute worst service I have received from any insurance company and does not comply with the TCF rules. During the duration from last feedback on 6th December 2024 to date, the following has also transpired. I called Slimline to approve the repairs for the pipe based on the quotation that was provided and was informed that they cannot perform the actual repairs, although quoted for. I waited a long time to speak with the assessor, Marc to get feedback as to why quotations are provided for repairs that cannot be done. During our discussion, I also informed him that since then, I have spoke to a repairer who deals with vinyl. They had explained to me that since the water level has been low for longer than 72 days, the vinyl is to brittle and the entire lining now needs to be replaced. Marc agreed that this is resultant damages due to the leaking pipe as the tenants cannot fill up the pool and run the swimming pool pump because of the leaking return pipe. As a result, they could not fill up the swimming pool and had to leave the swimming pool levels low as it cannot be expected of them to keep filling it up and keeping the pool clean if water then leaks out. Water only leaked out when the pump is on, not when the pool was just left, therefore the resultant damages to the vinyl is due to the water seeping out when the pump is on. The water leaked out until it is below the weir line and then stopped leaking out as indicated on the photos taken between 6th December 2024 to date (which had been a whole month). The exposed part of the vinyl is now damaged and requires complete replacement, this is resultant damages. I do understand that there were parts of the vinyl that had torn, however this was above the water line not below same and can be patched. I also understand that the repairs to the weir might not have been done correctly, however your own service provider agrees that the resultant damages is due to the leaking pipe when the pump is used. I spoke to Brandon this morning regarding the matter and he persists that the damages are only due to wear & tear and would not even try to understand that the pipe is a contributing factor or consider looking at the quotation or following up with the service providers regarding their statements. I feel it would only be fair to consider the quotation supp**** for the replacement of the vinyl as the parts that are wear & tear are above the weir line and not the reason why the vinyl now needs to be replaced. This could be confirmed with Jo-Anne from Polly Pools who assist with the quotation on the matter. Furthermore, a full settlement would not be expected, but a reasonable ex-gratia amount could be discussed. Please may I ask for feedback on the complaint in the form of a call, not an email response since the delay of payment on the "valid" part of the claim took two and a half months and no proper feedback was received, I had to call every single time to get an update. Your urgent attention to the matter will be greatly appreciated. Kind regards, Francien Strauss

A week later, I get a call advising the claims department has been in contact, which they have not and that the I can rest assured that the complaint is being handled, however still no actual feedback has been supp****.