I had a vehicle policy (standard private vehicle, Fully comp Soc and Dom, recovery, courtesy car, foreign travel inc) with OneCall for a year, a year in which I had a continually poor level of service. Trying to get through the call system to speak with someone was the a rigmarole of option after option. I had to change my vehicle part-way and got stung with an admin charge plus a compulsory increase on my excess taking me from £100 to £400. To cancel would have been crippling, and the call taker represented them to a tee i.e. ruthless. I took my car abroad, and was the victim of the most minor hit and run. I did my best to find an independent repairer but all found it a bit awkward or quoted silly money. The policy was coming up to renewal time and I was conscious not to delay further so I called. The call-centre spent half an hour taking details. Then they referred me to One-Call (why?) whereupon I was interrogated for a further 30 mins. At the conclusion they said I would be referred to a third department who would call me back in a few days. After nearly a month I had no call so I complained. I was then suddenly contacted by their selected repairer (via a message service, no human being) saying it had been authorized. Their repairer told me the cost would be in the region of £600 (not the figures I'd been getting independently). A week went by and I was told the insurer had agreed the quote and to make arrangements. The repairer then mucked me about with multiple calls and text messages trying to book me in and provide a courtesy car. In the meantime I'd had my first renewal quote through the post...they'd dropped the compulsory excess they'd hit me with and the price was a moderate hike on the previous quote. I was already disatisfied and so contacted them and told them NOT to automatically renew. It took half an hour of negotiating before they confirmed that they'd agree to CANCEL the renewal! Then the final straw...days before lapse I got ANOTHER renewal quote through the post...the cost had DOUBLED and the excess had gone back to the extortionate level they'd hit me with. But that's not all...today I get a call from the repairer. OneCall have refused to honour the courtesy car as I had refused to renew the policy. No such clause was declared to me when I agreed the contract. I can't even see how that would be legal, and potentially it borders on Fraud by False Representation. I am obviously going to have to complain again, and it's a tiresome process with this company. I have told no untruths, have fulfilled my part of the contract. They might be 'cheap' but you get what you pay for. Bad service with a rip-off at every turn.
Reviewed on: 15th November 2019
