Extended car warranties

Ok, why do we buy these insurance policies? I bought an extended warranty with Warranty Direct having done some online research and it seemed a more comprehensive policy than that offered by the manufacturer BMW, even though it was more expensive. And then I had to claim when my 320 apparently had a turbo failure. Now I am in the bracket of the mechanically challenged and really don't know what goes on under the bonnet......

The BMW dealership had to get approval from the insurer to repair the fault. They considered the problem and felt that the cost through a dealership would be prohibitive, so asked for permission to take the car to their preferred garage, to which I agreed. I live in Kent and they took it to Yorkshire! Now the policy states that they will pay for a small hire car for 7 days after a valid claim is determined. They asked to take the car to their preferred garage on 3rd October having determined that it was cheaper to do so, so they were aware that the failure was significant. A valid claim was not determined until 1st November in their eyes and then the car was not returned to me until 15th December. I will leave you to guess what the total car hire bills came to for the 11 week period. I run my own small business so I had to have a car just to get to the business premises, deal with customer enquiries and all those myriad of things that go to running a business. During hat whole period the staff at Warranty Direct made contact with me only a handful of times and all the running was left to me to keep calling them to find out what the status was, when I might expect my car back etc. I gave up in the end and spent many fun filled hours calling the garage in Yorkshire.

Of course I complained but it all essentially fell on some very deaf ears.

So today's customer service badge goes to Warranty Direct, who sell an insurance policy that will leave you very much out of pocket if the claim is significant. They take the car to far flung fields, which takes time, and save their costs in doing so but will only pay for 7 days car hire under the policy wording. So it saves he customer nothing and actually costs a lot if you need to be mobile whilst they have your car. They also get another badge for their appalling efforts in keeping the customer up to date, so that you have no idea whether to extend a weekly car hire or not

Has customer service died in England?

This blog is dedicated to good and bad customer service. I would love to be able to include great examples of excellence in such regard, but have a tendency to think that there are going to be many more examples where companies and organisations have done things for their own good and have totally ignored the interests of the customer when arriving at their preferred solution. By dint of the fact that I live in England the service standards to which I will refer will tend to happen somewhere on the shores of these green and pleasant lands. Let's face it we Brits have never been great at customer service and I fear it is getting worse, but maybe the odd name and shame will help just a fraction....and if it doesn't, well at least I will get the frustration off my chest.