Grumble Thread

[Pulcinella]

Home insurance renewal quote from Direct Line yesterday:
Last year £265.44
Next year £312.48

I feel a phone call coming on.
Despite cuts in policing I'm not aware of more burglaries etc, so can this increase be attributed mostly to increased costs if a repair is needed?
Another 'Benefit of Brexit'?

Surprise, surprise.
Loyalty discount applied when we rang up just now.
New price: £269.92

Maybe this should go on the Good News thread, but it's still more of a grumble.
We shouldn't have to apply for the discount, but this no doubt will be because of the new rule that everyone has to be offered the same (initial) price, i.e., no 'new customer' discounts are now permitted.

So, worth the phone call, Petrushka, if you have the time to call your insurer.

[Petrushka]

Surprise, surprise.
Loyalty discount applied when we rang up just now.
New price: £269.92

Maybe this should go on the Good News thread, but it's still more of a grumble.
We shouldn't have to apply for the discount, but this no doubt will be because of the new rule that everyone has to be offered the same (initial) price, i.e., no 'new customer' discounts are now permitted.

So, worth the phone call, Petrushka, if you have the time to call your insurer.

I gave them a ring this morning and managed to get a discount of £30. Better than nothing, I suppose, though I feel that the renewal rate is still excessive, especially as I've made no claim in four years. However, I've got no appetite for trawling the web for a better deal so have accepted it.

[Pulcinella]

I gave them a ring this morning and managed to get a discount of £30. Better than nothing, I suppose, though I feel that the renewal rate is still excessive, especially as I've made no claim in four years. However, I've got no appetite for trawling the web for a better deal so have accepted it.

Worth the call, then.

[oddoneout]

Surprise, surprise.
Loyalty discount applied when we rang up just now.
New price: £269.92

Maybe this should go on the Good News thread, but it's still more of a grumble.
We shouldn't have to apply for the discount, but this no doubt will be because of the new rule that everyone has to be offered the same (initial) price, i.e., no 'new customer' discounts are now permitted.

So, worth the phone call, Petrushka, if you have the time to call your insurer.

Insurance companies seem particularly good at coming up with reasons why premiums have risen. I reckon that their way of not losing out on the new rules is to hike the new customer rates and lower the existing customer renewal rates, so they meet in the middle and are "the same". There are some other ways round, some legit, others the authorities will be watching for - but how effective that monitoring will be who knows.

[Lordgeous]

Home insurance has been with Prudential for over 50 yeats, one claim about 10yrs ago for a burglary, put in a recent claim for a broken window, needed scaffolding etc to replace but they wouldn't pay because when asked how it happened I stupidly surmised, not knowing, maybe vandals (we somedtimes get drunken yobs in the street late at night), just guessing, but because I didn't report it to Police (and wasted their time) they wouldn't pay out!

[oddoneout]

Home insurance has been with Prudential for over 50 yeats, one claim about 10yrs ago for a burglary, put in a recent claim for a broken window, needed scaffolding etc to replace but they wouldn't pay because when asked how it happened I stupidly surmised, not knowing, maybe vandals (we somedtimes get drunken yobs in the street late at night), just guessing, but because I didn't report it to Police (and wasted their time) they wouldn't pay out!

Unfortunately, although it seems like wasting their time, calling the police is part of the process, not least because it gives you a crime number.

https://www.moneysupermarket.com/home-insurance/vandalism/

There is another side to reporting as well. If acts of vandalism are reported and there seems to be a pattern (times/days, location) then it makes it slightly more likely that action, or at least a show of interest, might follow. Sometimes such multiple reports may link in with other investigations. It is difficult as experience will often say, especially these sad days, "nothing will be done, as the police don't have the resources/aren't interested", but if the public don't keep reporting such things then, in today's wonderful way of working, the recorded data (low level of reported crime) may be used to justify even more cuts?

[french frank]

Unfortunately, although it seems like wasting their time, calling the police is part of the process, not least because it gives you a crime number.

Yes, having the crime number to report on your claim form is crucial. You and the police will probably accept that the chances of identifying vandals are pretty small and they won't spend much time on it. My car was stolen in the middle of the night from outside my house. I reported it, but the police closed the file very rapidly on the grounds that there were no leads to follow up.

[Lordgeous]

Unfortunately, although it seems like wasting their time, calling the police is part of the process, not least because it gives you a crime number.

https://www.moneysupermarket.com/home-insurance/vandalism/

There is another side to reporting as well. If acts of vandalism are reported and there seems to be a pattern (times/days, location) then it makes it slightly more likely that action, or at least a show of interest, might follow. Sometimes such multiple reports may link in with other investigations. It is difficult as experience will often say, especially these sad days, "nothing will be done, as the police don't have the resources/aren't interested", but if the public don't keep reporting such things then, in today's wonderful way of working, the recorded data (low level of reported crime) may be used to justify even more cuts?

I know that but I was only running through what might have caused it. I had no idea if it was vandalism or not. I should have just kept my trap shut!

[Petrushka]

Home insurance has been with Prudential for over 50 yeats, one claim about 10yrs ago for a burglary, put in a recent claim for a broken window, needed scaffolding etc to replace but they wouldn't pay because when asked how it happened I stupidly surmised, not knowing, maybe vandals (we somedtimes get drunken yobs in the street late at night), just guessing, but because I didn't report it to Police (and wasted their time) they wouldn't pay out!

The one time I made a claim was a couple of years ago when a vehicle crashed into my front wall. It was a third party claim and the amusing thing about it (or not) was the fact that it was a police car that did the damage! The embarrassed police driver had to give me an incident number against themselves and I can tell you it took a long time for them to cough up.

[oddoneout]

Just had proof that companies don't expect anyone to read the small print. I've been applying online for a new credit card with Lloyds, got to the last stage having been told I was approved and, me being me, started to read the reams of small print before ticking the final "signature" box. Penultimate page and I get timed out... After contacting the live chat, told I would have to start again, which I did. Ominous wait on the checking pre-eligibility stage and then "sorry, we can't offer you a credit card". Telephone number only between 9-5 so have to wait until tomorrow to shell out money on call charges which I suspect will not bring a satisfactory solution. I was timed out because I had been static on a page for too long apparently - since when has scrolling through pages of a document been deemed "static"? Answer - when they don't expect you to actually read said document, it would seem...
What has really got me spitting feathers is that the only reason I'm having to do this in the first place is that John Lewis is withdrawing its Partnership card and the replacement not only means applying for a card with a new company(so a risk of being refused) but doesn't suit as far as bill payments are concerned, and didn't seem to have a soft check stage to the application process, so I'm ditching JL. Not happy, as I'll lose the gift vouchers I used to get, but I'm not the only one who's giving up on them - the process has been a big PR/customer relations mess.
A further irritation is that I should have been able to do the Lloyd's application in branch, except that the person who used to do such things left last month and has not been replaced. I was told though that on the basis of the information the branch had I would be approved for a card.
As a final raspberry, saving the refusal document also superimposed an uncompleted feedback box for the live chat, so I can't see the whole document...
I don't like doing things online at the best of times and this sort of incident does nothing to change my antipathy.
Time for a glass of something relaxing while my dinner cooks. Tomorrow is another day, and I might get lucky.

[Pulcinella]

Just had proof that companies don't expect anyone to read the small print. I've been applying online for a new credit card with Lloyds, got to the last stage having been told I was approved and, me being me, started to read the reams of small print before ticking the final "signature" box. Penultimate page and I get timed out... After contacting the live chat, told I would have to start again, which I did. Ominous wait on the checking pre-eligibility stage and then "sorry, we can't offer you a credit card". Telephone number only between 9-5 so have to wait until tomorrow to shell out money on call charges which I suspect will not bring a satisfactory solution. I was timed out because I had been static on a page for too long apparently - since when has scrolling through pages of a document been deemed "static"? Answer - when they don't expect you to actually read said document, it would seem...
What has really got me spitting feathers is that the only reason I'm having to do this in the first place is that John Lewis is withdrawing its Partnership card and the replacement not only means applying for a card with a new company(so a risk of being refused) but doesn't suit as far as bill payments are concerned, and didn't seem to have a soft check stage to the application process, so I'm ditching JL. Not happy, as I'll lose the gift vouchers I used to get, but I'm not the only one who's giving up on them - the process has been a big PR/customer relations mess.
A further irritation is that I should have been able to do the Lloyd's application in branch, except that the person who used to do such things left last month and has not been replaced. I was told though that on the basis of the information the branch had I would be approved for a card.
As a final raspberry, saving the refusal document also superimposed an uncompleted feedback box for the live chat, so I can't see the whole document...
I don't like doing things online at the best of times and this sort of incident does nothing to change my antipathy.
Time for a glass of something relaxing while my dinner cooks. Tomorrow is another day, and I might get lucky.

A word of warning.
My partner tried to arrange a temporary increase in his credit card limit (to pay for flights to Oz this coming new year): the bank's site was misbehaving, but when he got through to a real person the application was rejected on the grounds that he had made several attempts in the recent past (an hour or so!) and was not able to reapply for another 6 months.

Fortunately, I had enough limit on my card, so we moved the payment to that one instead!

[oddoneout]

A word of warning.
My partner tried to arrange a temporary increase in his credit card limit (to pay for flights to Oz this coming new year): the bank's site was misbehaving, but when he got through to a real person the application was rejected on the grounds that he had made several attempts in the recent past (an hour or so!) and was not able to reapply for another 6 months.

Fortunately, I had enough limit on my card, so we moved the payment to that one instead!

This was/is my concern, hence having to bite the bullet and attempt to get through by phone tomorrow. I think the repeat attempt may be why the refusal second time around. I used to have more than one credit card which had proved helpful when I was renovating my house but about 5 years ago realised that having one I no longer used (ironically a Lloyds card), and one that was becoming less and less useful in terms of usable rewards(Tesco), it was time for a rethink.I had a JL card as a result of them replacing the store card with a credit card which provided undated straightforward gift vouchers in return for points collected so I started using that and got rid of the other two - and it will now stop working at the end of the month. I have a debit card for my main bank account (but prefer not to use it) so not completely stuck, but still would rather have a credit card for general spending. Although if there are no longer incentives to use it I may rethink my everyday spending arrangements.
It's all such a tiresome faff though.

[Serial_Apologist]

This was/is my concern, hence having to bite the bullet and attempt to get through by phone tomorrow. I think the repeat attempt may be why the refusal second time around. I used to have more than one credit card which had proved helpful when I was renovating my house but about 5 years ago realised that having one I no longer used (ironically a Lloyds card), and one that was becoming less and less useful in terms of usable rewards(Tesco), it was time for a rethink.I had a JL card as a result of them replacing the store card with a credit card which provided undated straightforward gift vouchers in return for points collected so I started using that and got rid of the other two - and it will now stop working at the end of the month. I have a debit card for my main bank account (but prefer not to use it) so not completely stuck, but still would rather have a credit card for general spending. Although if there are no longer incentives to use it I may rethink my everyday spending arrangements.
It's all such a tiresome faff though.

What do you use for everyday grocery spending without a debit card at least? Pay by change?

[oddoneout]

What do you use for everyday grocery spending without a debit card at least? Pay by change?

Well, as cheques are no longer an option(!) I'll be using cash again. Being able to shop little and often and only having myself to shop for meant that was what I used to do pre-Covid and the move to contactless. I have been moving back that way to stop impulse/lazy buying choices as, although by no means profligate, I was spending more than was necessary on too many occasions.

[teamsaint]

Well, as cheques are no longer an option(!) I'll be using cash again. Being able to shop little and often and only having myself to shop for meant that was what I used to do pre-Covid and the move to contactless. I have been moving back that way to stop impulse/lazy buying choices as, although by no means profligate, I was spending more than was necessary on too many occasions.

By choice I use cash as often as I can.
We ought to be very wary of those who want to abolish it.