Help Required Footman James - Equity Red Star

[brucemillar]

Has anybody had experience of the above companies?

I am currently attempting to have a claim settled and appear to be going no where fast.

I have full breakdown and recovery (for the car driver and passengers) anywhere in Europe. This is all arranged through Footman James.

On the 26th August my Range Rover caught light and burnt out when returning from family holiday.

I called the "emergency helpline" number provided by FJ on the back of the tax disc holder. All details taken - Insurance confirmed - transferred to another chap who would arrange recovery.

No problem there then.

The problem starts when the "other chap" says he will get the car recovered but NOT me or my family as my policy does not cover us for recovery, only the car. He does offer to get us taken to a railway station at our cost. He puts me on hold to call back to FJ after I object and site my policy. He comes back on after several minutes, stating that he spoken with FJ and that THEY still refuse recovery.

Worse stil,l it is now after 18:00 on a wet Friday night stranded on the A66 with two kids and wife. Breakdown driver agrees to take us to Penrith where their is an Enterprise car depot. We get there and at our expense get a one way hire home.

FJ are now claiming that I called the wrong number (their helpline number) and as such have no claim against them for their refusal to honour my recovery insurance. They then say they may make a "contibution" towards my hire car costs.

I find this 100% unnaceptable. How can you sell insurance then not honour it, then blame the customer. They do have a recording of my initial call. What they say is that they have no record of the call after it was transferred and that Equity Red Star are denying that I requested recovery for me and my family.

Equity Red Star claim that they are investigating but also can find no record of my call (i didn't call them FJ did)

All this after FJ talked me into cancelling my 20 year AA membership for their scheme which they claimed would match the AA's service.

AVOID these people. I have four cars insured with them and am now sadly in the process of cancelling all cars and moving to another broker. Their attitude is along the lines of - So What !!

I have written to their customer service Department who say they will reply to me in due course. I do not hold out any hope for that to hapen as they have not instigated a single call to me to date. Every call, letter, email has been from me to them.


How can they be so uninterested in ther business? OH FYI. They have just called me offering a discount on my policy if I join the Mercedes Benz Members Club.

 

[davidjpowell]

Are they breakdown or insurance? If it's insurance (or maybe if sold by a broker?) they will fall under the FSA. Time to complain to the Ombudsman.

I've never really trusted these schemes, and stuck to the main breakdown organisation because of my fear of situations of the above. Covering the car and not the passengers is frankly ridiculous.

 

[wemorgan]

My only experience of FJ was when my MX5 broke down on my way home (in the UK). I called their helpline and a truck arrived 30mins later and ltowed me to the garage of my choice.

I was happy with their service. Sorry to read you've been less lucky.

 

[timk]

You have my sympathies. Both FJ and Equity Redstar make my blood boil after having to deal with them when my C43 was written off in February by a police car.

From recovery to the claim, the whole process was a nightmare. It made a hair-raising experience considerably more difficult to put behind me and it was six weeks before I got anywhere with my complaints.

I ended up getting the police to recover my car which was immobilised in lane two of a dual carriageway, as I'd spent ages trying to get FJ to recover the car but was cut off, put on hold and passed from pillar to post as well as told I didn't have recovery on my policy (which I did). Not ideal when you're standing in the central reservation of a dual carriageway in a state of shock. Eventually I gave up and got into the ambulance waiting to check me over.

Seven months on I'm still fuming about how I was treated, and wouldn't go near them even if they offered to insure me for free.

 

[flango]

Equity red star are a top company used to insure all my high performance stuff with them and SWMBO Audi is with them never had a problem I would suggest the issue is with FJ as if they had contacted ERS they would have done something instantly in my experience

 

[brucemillar]

Thanks everybody for your comments. Please keep then comming. FJ are trying to claim that I should have called their emergency help line (I did and they accept this). But I should have also called a separate breakdown/recovery number which is on my schedule. They seem unable to understand that it was their helpline that offered to transfer me to the breakdow/recovery line.

FJ are now denying that I asked for recovery at all. They say that on the voicetape I make no mention of recovery. They refuse to discuss if that was because their operator told me she was transferring me to the recovery line.

I have sked FJ if they would think it normal for their clients to not request recovery when stranded at night with their families in the middle of nowhere. They seem to think it is normal. certainly not something that they would be concerned about.

If on your travels you come accross families trudging along the hard shoulder or roadside verge, carrying suitcases (usually just after you have passed a broken down car) !!! Stop and congratulate them on the their magnificent choice of Insurance Broker. Footman James..

Beware though. They may be like me and have lied to FJ that hey wanted recovery. Preferring instead to walk the 350 miles home.

Why do we have insurance? I start to see why so many dont bother..

 

[Deleted member 37751]

At least you've still got your sense of humour Bruce.

For the terrible service that you've received, I hope a fair few people see it and decide to not take out their cover. If I ever needed breakdown cover, I certainly wouldn't use Footman James.

 

[brucemillar]

Dear Stuart

Vehicle Reg: N920 DJN
Date of Claim: 26/08/2011

As discussed again with you last night. I am not happy at the way that my claim is being dealt with.

The facts of the matter remain the same; Namely:

On the 26th August I called your Helpline number and stated:

1) My car was on fire.
2) My wife and children were with me at the side of the road.
3) That I would require immediate recovery for:
a) The car
b) My family

I was transfered by your operator to another individual to "deal with the recovery" It is not me who did not call the correct number (as you continually state). Either your helpline number is incorrect - this would seem unlikely as they answer the phone and take your details. or more likely your recovery service does not exist and your prevarication since the 26th August is designed to ensure that I will tire of having to make continual telephone calls to you to investigate a sham service.

I have accepted that you have struggled with two of your staff "off sick"
I have accepted that it is all Equity Red Stars fault.
I have accepted that you are waiting on the Equity Red Star Manager to call you back.
I have accepted that you are now out of the office for two days and cannot call me back till Friday of this week.

All of this leads me to believe that you have mis-sold me my insurance and contunue to do so. My latest cover with you comes complete with the same emergency helpline number. I would presume that it offers the same phantom service.

I have now accepted that you have no intention of re-imbursing me my hire car costs for the one way hire arraged by myself with no help from Footman James or Equity Red Star.

What I now propose to do is to publish my experience of your service. Before doing so I am prepared to await your return from two days off (lets hope you dont break down and need help getting home) so that I can await your call. When as I expect you dont call me (staff off sick) I can call you again and we can start the whole process again.
Alternatively you could do what you advertise and have this sorted by explaining to me what corrective action you have put in place to avoid this scenario in the future.

Regards

Bruce Millar

 

[davidjpowell]

Have a look here. You don't have to accept it as there is a further route.
http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/

 

[SilverSaloon]

a letter to their CEO may help? if i ever have a problem with a company and getting no sense from their "customer services" dept, i usualluy google their email and email them politiely, stating the facts and asking them to pass it to a senior employee to sort the mess out. usually works.

 

[Red C220]

Take it to the Ombudsman, it will take ages, cost FJ more money to defend than your hire car costs.

I've taken LloydsTSB through this, it took 18 months and was worth is for satisfaction only.

 

[brucemillar]

My anger is not about the money. It is the the way they are dealing with this. It should have been one phone call.

Sorry to hear that we made a mistake with your cover Mr Millar. We will re-imburse your one way car hire and want to re-assure you that the reason for this has been researched and measures put in place to prevent a repeat. Simples !!! 1 call 5 minutes.

Instead we have multiple calls, emails denials, frustration and anger with an eventual loss of bussiness imminent for a company that has had four of my cars for over 20 years.

For those who question why premiums rise here is one simple reason. FJ have to employ people to generate jobs for themselves by self induced confusion, waffle and downright incompetence.


Must stay calm. Step away from the gun cupboard. Relax, have some wine. Repeat to yourself slowly. I must not kill the insurance man. I must not kill the insurance man.......

 

[Satch]

First off "Footman James" is just a trading name of Aon. It does not provide the recovery service nor does Equity Red Star, who are an insurance syndicate.

So they will have a white label arrangement with somebody who actually provides the recovery service. (I imagine any call out would cascade down a chain, so always a chance of an omnishambles)

Well, the Recovery Service will do only what they are instucted by their client, which is Equity Red Star with Footman James (aka Aon) in there as intermediary. There may even be another party who acts for one of them as a call centre. Messy, because you now you have three maybe four entities involved all potentially pointing fingers at each other.


But the key is what you were offered by the broker, what you contracted for with them and what the policy documents say.

If the broker clearly offered AB&C and the syndicate now are claiming actually it only delivers A, then someone has screwed up. So off to the FSA with a formal complaint.

The FSA just love Aon, having fined them £5.25m a few years back for not having anti corruption procedures

So once sure of your ground, contact John Clifford who is listed on the FSA Register as the Complaints Man and copy the FSA. Simples.

https://www.fsa.gov.uk/register/firmContact.do?sid=127827

 

[Spinal]

Just saw this... stay away from Red Star! My bike was insured with them when I was in an accident...

That was a good few years ago, never saw a penny from them...

M.

 

[brucemillar]

Footman James have come back to me today. They now accept that my cover was not provided as per my policy. They blame ERS. Bizarrely they have not settled my car hire costs as that is still being look at.

I have no confidence that this will not happen again.

 

[brucemillar]

Well Footman James have now finally responded to me. They have sent me a cheque from Equity Red Star for the cost of my hire car only. They have said that they do not feel that I am entitled any compensation for being stranded with my family at the side of the road due to what they now accept was their error. They say that their apology should be adequate.

They simply cannot accept that that leaving a family stranded 5 miles outside the nearest town is not acceptable insurance cover. They feel that saying sorry should cover me for my lack of cover.

So. If you are offered breakdown cover with ERS or Footman James/AON be very very careful if you expect to have yourself and your family recovered. Just because it says on their book that this is the cover that you have it will not be of any help when it is not available. Be prepared to start ordering Taxi's and Hire Cars at your expense.

 

[Charles Morgan]

Small claims court time.

 

[st13phil]

They say that their apology should be adequate.

They simply cannot accept that that leaving a family stranded 5 miles outside the nearest town is not acceptable insurance cover. They feel that saying sorry should cover me for my lack of cover.

Now do what Satch suggested, i.e:

The FSA just love Aon, having fined them £5.25m a few years back for not having anti corruption procedures

So once sure of your ground, contact John Clifford who is listed on the FSA Register as the Complaints Man and copy the FSA. Simples.

https://www.fsa.gov.uk/register/firmContact.do?sid=127827

Don't get mad, get even

 

[Satch]

Now do what Satch suggested, i.eon't get mad, get even

Indeed so. There is a word for what they have done: it is called MIS-SELLING, something that has a huge amount of focus these days .

Their FO&D response is however typical of the dead bat response financial services companies dish up in response to complaints. Nobody is going to admit to any form of culpability or negligence when they know they are probably already in the ****.

So just take it for what it is and press on with your complaint.

how to complain

 

[danclyon]

I had a policy with ERS via a broker. Breakdown I got elsewhere for some reason - think it was price - sounds like I was lucky!!

Anyway, we had two claims in two years. One was a non-fault claim. ERS outsource the WHOLE thing to a Claims Management company. The car was assessed within 48 hours, at home, at my convenience (it was all cosmetic). The assessor couldn't have been nicer, even offered to sort out some other things in the process as they would have to - and offered to refurb the wheels as one of them had a mark in it (unrelated to the accident!). I politely took what I was entitled to. They then sold the details of my claim to ambulance chasers and I've been trying to get rid of the bleeders for the last 2 years.

The second accident was "fault" - non-gritted road, ice, kerb, verge, hedge, crunch - very low speed, but wheel stuffed, big scratch in side, front suspension needing work, and a hell of a strange noise when started/moving the steering wheel once sorted. Car was booked into a local body-shop the day after the accident - very prompt. What then happened is it too 4 weeks for me to get the car back from replacing a wheel, tyre, and hub/stub/bearing/driveshaft and drop-links. When I got it back it made a hell of a racket, and the huge scratch was still there. Cue me faffing around with the Audi main dealer to get the noise sorted (the impact had knackered a pulley bearing - ERS didn't want to pay for it as it was a "consequence" of the accident), overly hard suspension that turned out to be the tyre place that supplied the tyres had inflated them to 64psi vs the 32 they should have been, and no dice on the scratch as "it was months old".....strange as it wasn't there when I cleaned the car earlier in the day before the wife went out, and it wasn't there when I walked round the car before she left......Overall the standard of work has been shoddy, the experience rubbish (they did eventually pay for the bearing as "goodwill") - and the total time taken of a month was because they didn't authorise any of the repairs via their own system......so - total work done was about £800 of which I had to pay nearly £300 as they made me pay for half a tyre, and I asked them to replace the other side so we were equal on tread depth. Total claimed from ERS by Body Shop - £2000 (which is the cost of the claim) - owing to the £60 a day for the courtesy car which I couldn't drive as it had a 50 mile/day limit on it and my office is a 250 mile round trip....

Based on my first experience, they were great. Second, I will never, ever, use that shower of s**t again.