2 Complaints for Santam (very bad service) & 1 compliment for Brighton Body repair and Spray

So where do I start. What seemed a good Idea to move all my insurance to Santam in 2017 ended up not being such a good idea.

In 2017/06 my broker moved all my insurance over to Santam. At the time I thought, this is a good company but expensive. He said, it's worth it paying more so I went for it.

At first I added 2 vehicles, my Gold 6 and a Mithubishi Bakkie. For the whole duration that this vehicles was with Santam, NOT ONE CLAIM! Golf 6 (2017/06/02 - 2020/04 with a few months that I removed it) Mithubishi (***) We then bought a Amarok Bakkie. More expensive vehicle and triple the installment. Unfortunately had an incident on 2017/10 while in vacation. And because we want to keep the vehicle in a good condition, had to put in a claim. So logic tells me, big insurance premium so the damage will obviously be high as well and therefor I pay more. I went, got quotes form my preferred dealer. Bakkie was fixed in a few days. Everyone is happy. In the meantime added a Caravan 201909/27 and removed again 2020/01/08 due to selling it. NO CLAIMS.

We had another incident with the bakkie a few years later 2020/01 we put in a few claims to get the bakkie fixed. Again, our pride and joy and do not want it to look bad. This time it was different. The claim to get approved took long. Eventually I was told it was approved and to take the vehicle to Coles Body Repair in Parow. First I thought this was odd as we stay in Kraaifontein and I work in Bellville. Nevertheless, we took it (had to pay someone petrol money to take us there). I can not remember how long the vehicle was there, but longer than usual. We got notification that the bakkie is ready. Again, paid someone to go fetch him. Got there. My husband had so many complaints about the body work. Firstly, they scratched the tailgate and try to patch it up but did a poor job of it. They sanded down the door to the core and then tried to fix it. They put body filler on the wheel arch but it wasn't straight. The sanded away the body line of the bakkie. They resprayed the front door not sure why but there was overspray everywhere. And it look like they fixed the body at the back where they had to fix the dent, from the inside with a hammer. This was my first complaint. They then said that the bakkie wasn't ready yet but yet we got a notification to come fetch it. Again, my husband had to pay someone to come fetch him. Also bare in mind that my husband is self employed and time taken of work is money we lost.

So 3 days later they let us know the bakkie is ready. Some of the issues where fixed, not really to his satisfaction but we needed the vehicle as it has been in repairs for more than 2 weeks at this point. But there was still a lot of issues. The outlines of the doors and archers was wobbly (was explained that you will never get it 100%). And more small issues that I can not remember now. WE left the vehicle there to fix again as the owner agreed not good work was done.

In the 3rd week, again paid someone to take him all the way to Parow (taking time of work) to go fetch the bakkie. At this stage my husband phoned me and said, this people is just going to continue messing up the bakkie. I then made contact with my broker and asked for the assessors detail which I then got from Coles owner and I made contact. We where advised to take the vehicle home and she will come view it there. At this stage we suffered expenses not just paying someone to take us to and from every time, but also the time spent taking off to do so.

She came the next day. We showed her that they broke the clips of the bumper because replacing it was not part of the quote so they had to remove and put it back but braking it in the process (this is now our problem). There where hand and other marks in a different white on the vehicle on the back. Not sure how they got this right maybe thinners? Anyway my husband showed all the problems and she was in agreement that we wend the vehicle to Brighton Body Repair and Spray. We took the bakkie but had to fetch it again as the Lockdown was enforced. But let me tell you, when we took it back, they fixed the bakkie up so well. And what awesome service. We where very happy with the outcome.

I then got an email in April to say that my premium was gong to be increased after looking at everything as my risk percentage was 113%. My premium jumped considerably. I then asked a question. Am I liable for both claims for the work that was done. Did Coles Bodywork and Brighton Body and Spray go off against my name? I still do not have a definite answer. If I was a client, I would not have paid Coles a cent.

My broker lodged a complaint on my behalf, because at this point, my husband took the bakkie back to Brighton to query a paint mark that is on the tailgate which he said in his professional option is because of all the body putty that he saw that was on the tailgate because of all the previous repairs that is now coming to surface. The Assessor came out again and approved for the tailgate to be replaced. Today I find out that I am liable for the replacement. So another cost that will increase my risk profile. I am at this point Paying a premium of R1550 for a bakkie. I should not be liable for this cost as it is still fixing my vehicle to the state that it was in. I am being told that the amount of premiums that I have paid does not amount to the claims. Maybe I am not sure how insurance works? You pay it monthly, you may pay for years and never claim but that's the risk you take. So this part you do not have a problem with. A Golf that I paid for years and never claimed. You happily did not have a problem with that. A Caravan that a had on for a few months, never claimed. Money lost, you do not have a problem with that. A I also do not have a problem with that. But what I have a problem with, is if you do pay your premiums (in might I had trying times) never skip one and just pay it without asking questions or being explained why you where told your new premium is R1436 but sorry we going to take R1550 just because we thought you owe us more because of your claims. This is the first time that I feel I am being treated like a ******** for putting in a request or service that I pay for monthly.

So don't get me wrong I understand that you are a business, but I am pretty sure customer service also plays a part because what else puts you apart from the rest. Should you make money, I am sure you should, but instead of trying to keep me as a client and trying to selvage the relationship so I can "pay back the damage" as you call it, you are not giving me good service at all. Like you just want to collect my increase debit order and sweep the problem under the rug.

What do I want? I want to know exactly what amounts (claims or costs) are written against my name. Amounts that was not discussed with me. Dealers that was not discussed with me and also not advising me that my premium would go up so considerably. If so, I could have made a discussion to go forward or not. I want to know what Coles Bodyworks was paid at my expense and what Brighton Body and Spray was paid. I am not going to be held liable for the tailgate that is going to be replaced now because of cheap discussions for fixing something with body putty instead of replacing it in the first place to save you money and still put me on a risk profile. I want my premiums to be restored to what it was. If all my "demands" can not be met or appropriate negotiation, I fear that customer service is no longer important to this company and I am sure someone else will take me as a loyal client. It has taken me a long time (since March) and a lot of consideration to decide if I should lodge this complaint or not but I am sure if you take the time to read this, you can understand that I have now had it. Lodging a complaint with your department getting replies like we have to investigate because they have no track of this, is not what one want to hear. And I am sure that one would also take the time to ask someone senior to make contact with your client which also has not happened, despite having a broker might I add. I've been very patient this with this whole situation and still paying my premiums every month. But I've now had it.