HS
Helen S

1 reviews | Active since Dec 2018

05 Dec 2018, 17:35

Santam after a 100 years still dont care

One star is one star to many I became a client in 1972 Friday November 2018 I had a fire inmy kitchen - I put out the fire without hesitation eben though I suffer from asthma In shock I registered the claim - I broker if I could go to a hotel ore guesthouse - Im a pensioner and dont have funds to pay - accrding to lady I could not, because assessor have to come out te see if its save or not - asthma suffere + smoke = inhalation = disaster They send out a person who declared house fit to stay in - but electricity were tripping so I knew there where problems Accordingvto him he was the person appointed to do repairs, but that he could only do so after the holidays on 15th of January 2019 and that I have to wait - big problems because my house was rented out gor holidays I slept in my car and next morni g I discoverd an sos nr - they gave me permission to move into a guesthouse - I chose the cheapest one They say they were going to send out an emergency assessor on Monday I called the builder of the house and asked for help because of electricity and favt that I could mot wait untill after holidays He had a look at the electricity and decided to call in the help of an electrician He told me that he needed to bypass wires that were damaged - I called sos line to ask permission for person to go ahead - the refuse and say the will send somebody on their list - if I should go ahead a d something happens they wount acknowledge claim and that I should pay guy if I decided to make use of him - with what money because if assessor says no then the wont pay I decided to go ahead without permission to save guard hose I asked them if builder could remove the cupboards to counteract fumes ect - they said no Seeing that the guy Santam send out could only start to work in January 15th I had to cancel the agreement to tent out my house I lost an income of nearly R40 000 because of the way they handled the claim - I could not keep people hanging on a string and not get accommodation this late so Santan forced me to take action and cancel At the end the are willing to use builder I recommended and he is willing to help even though its his holiday The lady at the brokers who told me that we have to wait started this whole unfortunate insident and now brokers just shrug away my lost of income because accorfing to them I am mot allowed to rent out my house like thousands of other people - no where in tje contract they even mention boarders ect If they and Santam have handled the claim differently then I would have taken diffetent steps, but they did not and now they want to get out of the problem by saying Im not allowed -- if they had a list of people willing to work over the holidays and if they helped me on Friday in a reassuring way then things would have been different - shame on Santam

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Replies (2)
Santam
Santam's reply06 Dec 2018, 09:41
Official
Good day

Thank you for your post.

We note that the Client Services Manager has been in extensive contact with you and that all of the above concerns have been addressed on numerous platforms and occasions.

The Client Services Manager has indicated that he will respond to you during the course of today regarding any concerns you may feel have not been addressed already.

We trust the above is in order.

Thank you and kind regards

Kurt Koopman

Client Care Manager
HS
Helen S's update12 Dec 2018, 22:08
Reviewer Update
Santam did nothing to address my complaint about how my claim was being handled and the lost of income Yes my claim due to the fire is in more or less final stage Please read THIS complaint again - I repeat. - if you did not send out one of your listed people to look at damaged and if that person did not tell me that you choose him to do the repairs and that he will only be able to start working after the builders holiday - I would not have cancelled my booking and lost my income You only addressed the claim fir damage - you did not addressed the fact that you "forced" an incompetend person on me and wanted me to roll over and play dead If I did not put up a fight - I would have been left without a kitchen- you were prepared to let me stay in a house that were a danger to my health - at the moment Im on the street - moving from family members, to friend, to guesthouse, because they already have made arrangements for the holidays so the only can accommodate me for a day or two Like Ive said I've been with Santam since 1972 and have to listen to people who have been with you for a few years and had huge claims compared to mine Santam you dont take responsibility for the fact that you don't have people listed who are prepared to work during the Christmas holidays - I don't have your resources, but eith a simple adverti*****t I found at least 20 people, plus a company with all the necessary resources that dont close down for builders holidays - you are not even aware of them - a big company with apparently a goo track record Santam I think you should take responsibility for claims not trying to pay out as little as possible - again to pay a CEO a bonus of 6 figures does create questions and that is above her salary and all her benefits - if this has happened to her- her bonus would still be intact and she would have been booked in to a luxury hotel, while a large team of contractors would be hired to make her nightmare go away as quicly as possible