Excess effort just trying to get Axa to pay up over an insurance claim

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My partner’s car was hit by another vehicle. My insurance policy requires me to reclaim the £450 excess from the third-party insurer. I therefore lodged a claim with Axa. One month, five phone calls and many emails later, I have been told that Axa has closed my claim without paying up. Each time I ring I’ve had to hold for an hour or more, I have repeatedly been given erroneous or misleading information and Axa lost vital paperwork. Obviously, Axa has little incentive to give good customer service to non-customers, and it seems to be the policy to ensure that they do not pay out the money owed.
MAT, Bristol

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The most dispiriting thing is that it’s so familiar to hear of understaffed helplines and agents who are overstretched or indifferent, or both. Slamming shut a mismanaged claim might have seemed the easiest way to evade responsibility, so your tenacity is to be congratulated. Axa paid up the day after I got in touch and agreed its service did “not meet the high standards expected”. It has offered £100 in compensation which you plan to donate to a financial advice charity to acknowledge the fact you had to involve Your Problems to get your dues.

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