Insurance rant (OT)

CIS ? based on dealings in the dim and distant I would have described them as a circus act - heavy on the clowns.Uncompetitive quotes and a cavalier attitude to policies . My mother dealt with them for many years eventually pulling the plug when she found her policy had been changed without permission or notification giving her an excess and downgraded from fully comp to TPF&T this without reduction in premium. They also tried to (pressure) sell me an endowment mortgage swearing black was white how much less it would cost than the repayment I had opted for despite the fact that I had worked out the figures in advance and they had not and were quoting castle in air "facts" I didn't even ask them to give me a quote they made an appointment with my (ex ) Wife after my mother had mentioned to their collector that I was buying a house. All in all I think you may be better off elsewhere. Derek

Stephen,

I'm with you on this one. I certainly think it's on topic as many Landy owners will utilise CIS. I would support a scheme where companies have to disclose if they make use of cheap foreign labour the likes of call centers. I feel that we should have a choice to ensure our custom goes towards paying the wages of folk in our own country first before making use of cheap labour elsewhere. I'd not mind paying a little extra to know my neighbours and countrymen were able to have some job security.I've also been very frustrated by the lack of grasp of the english langauge by people in call centres.Don't get me wrong I'm not on a racist mission, I would be equally as happy knowing some of the members of our local ethnic minorities as well as the rest of the community were able to earn a crust too rather than sponge off the tax payers.

Lee D

Unless things have changed in the last 6 months they use a mixture of local and foreign call centers.

In my experience if you get connected to an english call center you'll be speaking to some one who understands the insurance, your particular usage of English (accent or otherwise), your problem and how to get the computer system to accept what is required. Get connected to a foreign call center and you get someone who doesn't understand insurance, has to be spoken to in very simple and plain english and can only follow the computer script.

etc...

My father was a CIS Agent for 30+ years. It wasn't an easy job but he worked at it and developed a couple of good 'books'. He retired 20 something years ago, died 11 years ago, and would probably be spinning in his grave had he not been cremated.

For him you see, the Co-operative 'movement' was important, with heritage, history and political (with a small 'p') relevance. Going to collect the 50p a week meant he had contact with the customers, and he by virtue of this managed to save at least 20 lives over the years.

The CIS however, have had to adapt to survive, losing all of the previous value, and becoming just 'another' company.

Very sad indeed, both for the customers and for the Co-operative movement.

The co-op used to be good when you got a good local agent. to buy car

You can't beat actually dealing with a human face to face rather than over a phone and it made the hassle of getting cover notes at short notice much easier!

I dont know how CIS insurance survive now. I dont know anybody who uses the co-op now as everybody got pissed off with the crappy service once they lost their local agent!

But were Norwich Union not one of the first to opt for indian cal centres??? I'm sure there was a big fuss about it in all the major rags at the time, and any time I call them it certainly isn't an "indigenous Britain" that answers me, usually someone with only the absolute barest minimum of a remote semi-understanding of the English language, that has never heard of Morayshire and has no idea what a landrover is! Badger.

You could be right. ISTR thinking, Oh no, I'll see how it goes but vote with my feet otherwise.

When the Mondeo hit a wall an rolled around 50% of the calls to NU Dierct I made ended up in the UK. One to a very helpful and clued up lady with a delightful Scottish accent. She even had a DDI number so you could call back and reliably speak to the same person. Always preferable than speaking to random call center operative who doesn't know the background and can only go on the notes (if any, if accurate) left on the computer system.

The calls that were answered by someone with an indian accent were long and painful. I was only about 60% confident that what ever I said had been understood and only 30% confident it would actually happen.

From general comments in here about insurance the NFU will be getting asked when renewal time comes along.

In message , Badger writes

Even worse, some of them use Scottish call centres. Totally unintelligible.

I had a similar experience with Nat West trying to explain that the branch in Nantwich Road, Crewe wasn't the Nantwich branch and wasn't the Crewe town square branch. All I wanted to know was whether it was open on a Sat morning.

Ahmnoreallyawratsharewhitye'reblitherin'oanabootthereweeman...... bytheway! Badger. ;-)

You want fries with that... ken?

-- Mark.

................................................................ Posted via TITANnews - Uncensored Newsgroups Access >>>> at

If you get someone who you can't understand just hang up and ring again. You usually get through to someone else. Some companies only seem to transfer a certain % of calls to each call centre and its luck which one you get. This only works if there isnt a big queue/wait first (obviously)

Bit yer meanin' chips sharely, nae fries, that's fur suthernirs 'nat, innit? An' ma name's Badger, nae ken. Awright? ;-)

BTW, I informed N.U. in writing that if they didn't employ people who could actually speak english I would not be renewing with them. Did I get a reply?....... did I heck as like!

Badger.

Don't you mean, "more easily parted"?

Badger.

Whole point is, you/we shouldn't have to!

Same here.

Badger.

Small world, I used to bank with Nat West in Crewe. I was in bed one day after working nights and heard a knock at the door, I got up and answered the door all bleary eyed and was confronted by two representatives from the bank who wanted to know when I was going to pay off my unauthorised overdraft. Ok it was in the 80's but for goodness sake it was only a tenner.

I made the bank wait by paying back a pound per week on principle for coming to my home without an appointment and I soon after closed the account, We just can't win.

Steve.

I think they have become too big and so they now share the same arrogance that many other large companies do by simply not giving a toss about customers because there are always other customers to take our place when we get fed up and tell them to shove it!. They should be bending over backwards for our custom.

Steve.

Glad to learn its ON topic and not just me who's being shafted.

I am NOT a racist either, Britain has always maintained a relationship with the squires and peasants the bosses and workers the rich and the poor who have always been treated as US and THEM. This tradition still continues today in the common workplace and in business but nowadays unfortunately political correctness gets in the way of commonsense.

Steve.

I live ON the Wirral not IN the Wirral its referred to more as an island than a peninsular but outsiders think its part of Liverpool not realising Wirral is actually separated by the river Mersey.

Steve.