Most appalling service I've ever had (and I'm 69).
1
I've been insured with Direct Line on my car for many years, never had to make a claim. They always processed renewals etc efficiently, so thought I'd switch the home insurance to them as well, as they were cheaper.
They process your application efficiently, of course, but then it recently came to the point of having to actually make a claim. We had a fire in our bedroom, a mirror had reflected sunlight onto our "thick drape) curtains, which caught fire. Fortunately, we were in the house, and able to put it out in minutes with buckets of water. The Fire Brigade said that if we hadn't, the whole place would have burned down (it had started to get through the ceiling).
Sent through a claim to Direct Line the same day (June 20th), with photos of the damage etc. Curtains, carpet need to be replaced, some furniture, ceiling replastered etc.
Have never had an acknowledgement of the claim. Over the following weeks tried contacting online, by virtual assistant, and by phone. Eventually got through to someone,who said someone would be responding in a couple of days. Zilch. Last week I tried again, and they eventually gave me a claim reference number and transferred me to the loss adjusters they use for this (Sedgewick), which took about two hours on the phone. The Sedgewick guy assured me that someone would be back to me later that day.
Zilch.
Trouble is, there are details that need sorting - like - the bedroom is not uninhabitable, but do we go ahead with getting new curtains before having the claim approved? - I struggle to sleep in sunlight. The charred stuff in the bedroom - do we just chuck it out, or do we have to keep it there as evidence?
They are utterly useless, in my experience, a complete rip-off, relying on people just to give up on pursuing their claims, and I post this review in the hope that I can avoid you going through the same agony, or to encourage them to change their policies and take their jobs seriously.
Reviewed on: 19th July 2022
