Bob Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 Argh. Decided to go with a renewal with Elephant.co.uk as they came out the cheapest, but forgot I had left the payment term as a single payment. Unsurprisingly, when HSBC saw someone wanting a payment for £900 off my CC they declined. And so an email from Elephant asking them to get in touch, which I do. So I phone them up and am greeted by a lady who's English is competely unintelligible - I HATE it when that happens, first of all! I want to ensure my car in ENGLAND, paying with ENGLISH pounds, is it too much to ask to speak to someone who can f**king well speak ENGLISH?! "I'd like to change the payments to monthly based, please" "Sorry, but you can't" "Eh?" "You can't change the payment plan mid-term" "I'm not mid-term, the renewal was supposed to be Monday" "It's after your renewal date" "But I haven't paid yet?!" "Umm . . ." "I can't afford to pay in one lump sum, so you can't have the money" "Umm, you can't change the payments mid-term" "What if you give me a new quote?" "There would be a premium increase" "How much?" [after 5 long minutes on hold] "You can't change your payments mid-term" "Really? Thanks for that. How much extra for a re-quote?" "15%" "Gnnnnnnnnnuuurrrrgh???????" " . . . . . " "That's nearly another £150" "You can't change payments . . ." "Mmph. Sod this, how much to cancel?" "Nothing yet" "Good, cancel the insurance now please" "Okay. You must send us back the Certificate of Motor Insurance though" "Why? It's a bit of printed paper?" "It's in our terms and conditions" "Can't I just stick it in the bin?" "It's in our terms and conditions. You can send it Freepost" "What's to stop me taking a colour photocopy?" "Ummmmmmm . . . . . . ." And to top it all off, the "interactive internet based insurer" 's website isn't currently interactive. Or indeed usable by existing customers, which means they end up speaking to . . . well, I shan't offend anyone by not saying any more. Seems like the old adage, "Things are cheap for a reason" fits rather well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoboblio Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 Yup... I'm only with them because my other choices are limited.... and their stupidity can be manipulated into your favour. They are a bunch of useless testicle juggling monkeys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merckx Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 Bloody idiots. I wonder if you'll be able to just go through Elephant again and click the button on paying with installments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gzaerojon Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 elephant, diamond and a few other internet insurance companys are all part of the admiral group, i gave up with elephant as i got 4 quotes in the space of 10 mins all exactly the same details... all different premiums, guestimated premiums! is this the future?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockys96 Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 yeh, good luck with 6 mods, i didnt really want to go with admiral, lancaster are quality Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenb Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 I'm with elephant too....they are blooming hopeless. Still, they are cheap......as the saying goes.....you pay peanuts...you get monkeys... oh well. it took me 3 attempts to explain that the refund I am due for my premium wont be accepted as the debit card details they have for me are no longer valid.......streuth.....finally i sorted it and I'm now waiting the 7-8 days it'll take. I know what your frustration is though mate..... That stupid holding music too....makes you wanna call the samaratins.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerotop Dave Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 Elephant are indeed el crappo. Mine is up for renewel and I'm not going with them again. Tried Sky today but couldn't get an answer, will try again tomorrow. BTW, all that 'send the policy back' cobblers is indeed cobblers. I have four of their insurance documents from changing car and changing address and never sent any of them back. They also didn't make any change on my policy when I went from having the car outside each night in a car park to it being locked away out of sight in a garage, and when I moved out of every single company, bank, utility, whatever, that I had to contact with my new address Elephant were the only people to charge me £10 for the 'privaledge'. That's their admin charge... for typing five lines of an address, pressed the print button and bunging it into an envelope. Yes they are cheap, but they just don't fill me with confidence for when I come to make a claim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockys96 Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 mate ask to speak to JESSICA on 01480 484848 Lancaster insurance. as long as your car is 10years old it classifys as a classic policy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenb Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 mate ask to speak to JESSICA on 01480 484848 Lancaster insurance. as long as your car is 10years old it classifys as a classic policy. Are you limited with your mileage on a classic policy or can you have an everyday classic policy such as I've had in the past with AON. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham S Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 I've had the same problem, the only thing was they were only wanting 350 fully comp!! work that out, so kind of stuck with them, havent takent the policy out yeh, still hoping for something better to turn up! also every quote i did was always different too, might try that Jessica though and see Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockys96 Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 i dont think you have to, have a word. i put down 7,000 miles the easiest insurance people ive had the pleasure of speaking to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockys96 Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 350 is a bit cheap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daston Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 Yep I'm with lancaster real good policy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenb Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 I've had the same problem, the only thing was they were only wanting 350 fully comp!! work that out, so kind of stuck with them, havent takent the policy out yeh, still hoping for something better to turn up! also every quote i did was always different too, might try that Jessica though and see £350...very impressive indeed. worth talking to the chimps at elephant for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham S Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 i know, my other car is a vectra 2.0 16v CDX and its insured with them, and its only 10quid cheaper, thats what annoyed me! and they never asked for a proof of no claims! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 and they never asked for a proof of no claims! They will if you want to claim. The sending the certificate back thing is probably to stop people pretending they have insurance to the old dear in the post office giving you your tax and the plod on the side of the road. Of course now it's all digital anyway it's irrelevant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeT Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 350 is a bit cheap i used to pay that with elephant too but they only insure so many mods Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenb Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 i know, my other car is a vectra 2.0 16v CDX and its insured with them, and its only 10quid cheaper, thats what annoyed me! and they never asked for a proof of no claims! I was with Admirl before so they literally transferredmy details from one system to the other.......and were £100 cheaper too....... i cant believe they didnt ask for you NCB......but as per above....come claim time (if and when it did happen) you'd need to provide it. cant believe they insured your vec. for a tenner less........you on limited mileage with the Supe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TREG Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 Give A PLAN insurance a try-they beat the trunked internet site for me:clap: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerotop Dave Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 I was quoted £293 with elephant... still don't inspire confidence though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markie Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 Guys, try bell direct. They are better than elephant in all departments I find and also cheaper. They are actually the same group etc etc. Even their web site is better than elephants, but still very alike. Funny, seeing as they even operate out of the same building. http://www.bell-direct.com - I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyhawk Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 The last time I tried Elephant (about 18 months ago), they wouldn't even offer me monthly payment terms? I got a quote, which was £1700 as my NCB was on my Lexus, and they guy asked for the payment; when I said, "I'm sorry but I don't have a spare £1700 at the moment!" he simply said "Then we can't insure you"....?!? Then I went to Direct Line, who were insuring my Lexus, and they said: "we wont insure that car (Supe) without NCB", "but my NCB is on my Lex, which you are currently insuring?" "Errr...." So I say: "How about transferring the NCB to my Supe then, and hiking the premium for my Lex?" "We won't insure the Lexus without NCB" "!?!" In the end they changed the vehicle on my lexus policy to my Supra, and then re-insured my Lexus without NCB, which 10 minutes earlier they said they couldn't do! The odd thing was, my Supra is a lower group than my 8 year old LS400, so I got a hugh premium reduction on the change of vehicle, and when adding the Lex as 3PFT, the two policies were cheaper than my original Lex as FC?!? I think they just roll a dice and see what premium they fancy charging at the time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terribleturner Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 Elephant were the best for me price wise, but what i can't agree with is they're willing to charge you for each additional mod, but they wont pay out for any of them in an accident. Plus i could twist the sound of each new mod to make them sound any less important Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperSupra Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 mate ask to speak to JESSICA on 01480 484848 Lancaster insurance. as long as your car is 10years old it classifys as a classic policy. So would my 1995 J-spec clasify as a "classic" then? That would be sweet! Oh yeah and I'm with Elephant at the mo, and like everyone else, I've found them to be as intelligent as a bunch of zombified monkies (on the whole!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerotop Dave Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 Elephant: £308 Hastings Direct: £1000+ Lancaster: £501 Sky: £491 Any others I can try? I'm determined to get away from elephant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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