LM
Lovedale M

1 reviews | Active since Oct 2019

04 Nov 2019, 13:13

Poor service from the OSTI

I filed an online complaint with the Ombudsman late last year,around November, citing poor service and requesting a refund from the insurer - reference number ***. A month later I received correspondence from the Ombudsman advising that the insurer has not responded and 7-day reminder has been sent to them(Ref no : ULC: M2957/18 CRM:***) .I wrote several emails to the OSTI requesting feedback but with no assistance. The response from the insurer was only mailed to us by mid August. By this time I had lost interest in the intricacies of the case and therefore i directed my frustrations to the OSTI as to why a simple case like this with the re-reimbur*****t request of less than R2000.00 took so long and how is it possible that the insurer was offered such a long time to respond to my complaint. To my amazement, without explanation the case is now closed. I would like the Ombudsman to give me a full report on how this case was handled resulting is such a huge delay and also to understand what is the purpose of their 7 day reminder letter.

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Replies (1)
Ombudsman for Short Term Insurance
Ombudsman for Short Term Insurance's reply07 Nov 2019, 14:23
Official
Dear Lovedale Myeki

We apologize that the matter took longer to be resolved than you had anticipated. Our decision and the basis on which it was made was communicated to you in writing on 22 October 2019. 

We note your grievance with the delay in which the insurer provided its submissions. We advise that our office continually followed up with the insurer in this regard. Additional penalties were issued against the insurer for its failure to respond within the stipulated times. This was done in terms of our process. The insurer's response was received on 16 August 2019 and provided to you on 19 August 2019. 

We hope the above provides some clarity. 

Yours faithfully, 

Ayanda Mazwi 
Senior Assistant Ombudsman.