Online car insurance quotes....Confused.com

[crank39]

My recent experience...

Looking to buy a car so Wednesday night decided to get some quotes for the car i'll probably be buying, so, on confused and compare the meerkat sites, i fills out all the jazz and gets my quotes from both, higher than i thought but hey ho, confused was £650 compare was £600

Thursday afternoon get a phone call direct from confused regarding last nights quote, to be fair i was expecting it. Chap mentioned they can probably beat the online quote by putting me through to Be-wise insurance who don't partake in online quoting, me well i said why not...be a fool not to, chap said he'd pass on all my details to Be-wise and they would quote me so on hold i went for 30 secs then a guy answered.....hello i said.....he replied hello how can we help.....erm i was just put through to you by confused....yeah and, do you require a quote....erm i'm sorry but you lot rang me

So, went through all the friggin jazz again for the lad to say stay on the line and he'll get my quote, so i waited and waited, he came back on and said right i'm putting you through to another person who will give you your quote by this time i was getting a bit annoyed, so went on hold for 20 secs to be answered again by someone else, i thought he'd read me out my quote.........no such luck.......'Hi, how can i help!'.........arghhhhh!!!

Right, i was desperate after all this time to try and finally get this cheaper quote, i raised my voice to this guy, i said i had given my details twice already but keep getting put through to get the quote but a new person always answers, anyway so i went through all the crap again, went through every detail, including all mods i'm gonna carry out, he checked with the underwriters and they weren't too fussed about them.......right your quotes are coming through now,......right sir the best quote for you today is...........£2419.57p .........YOU F****** WHAT, what planet do you live on?..........Whats wrong sir?.............WHATS F****** WRONG, where the hell do you get those figures from?.............Well its a prestige car and the modifications, Erm hang on you said they weren't bothered.........erm its the value of the car MATE (not sir this time)..........Would you like me to go ahead with this quote for you then MATE?...........NO BLOODY WAY, i won't be buying it if its that much!...........So then MATE have you had a cheaper quote?.........TOO right i have.......been quoted £600 online last night!...........Don't pay any attention to those online quotes mate, waste of time.......so what do you want me to do with this quote for you, would you like to incept the policy?.............NO WAY......Not at that price!!!........Phone goes dead, guy hangs up. 2 hours wasted

Anyway, didn't have my laptop in the van so drove home to retrieve the compare the market quote and there it was as clear as the day is long £600, rang the company, in this case elephant.co.uk, spoke to a nice lass from cardiff who went through all my details at my request to make sure they weren't mis-quoting, all details correct so the quote stands £600

So i will be looking at the car tomorrow.....snow permitting with a view to buying it.

My advice, do not use confused.com, if you do then make a number up, don't waste your time giving the same details over and over again, they're all in together and all they want are your personal details to sell on, there probably is no policy to sell at the end of it hence the ridiculous price

 

[snico]

Better to use a number of comparison sites, when you get your best quotes from each one, ring them direct and negotiate a better deal for yourself.

I have been with the same company for about 5 years now, they dont always come out top on comparison sites, but when I call them they always get me a better deal.

 

[joinerjohn]

Last year, my brother's insurance renewal came through the post to his house. He didn't even bother opening it, thinking it would be similar to his last years premiums. A fortnight later his bank refused a direct debit on his account. Turns out, Direct Line insurance had actually put his insurance premiums up from £355 the year before, to £1730.
As he'd not opened the letter he didn't know. Needless to say he was straight on he phone to them and their "Customer Services" were adamant, that his insurance premiums had increased by about £1400 in one year (even though there was another claim free year). He cancelled his insurance policy there and then. Went back online and got a quote £70 cheaper than his previous years insurance. About a week later , Direct Line phoned him saying there had been a monumental f**k up of biblical proportions. "F**k up? ," my brother said to them,,,, ""Seems like the shareholders have really got it in for you."

 

[libby lou lou]

How did he let it happen twice? ...Never mind wondered why your smilies wer'nt in line.

 

[chapeau]

What really gets my goat is they send out a renewal notice which is double the price you would get if you bought the policy on their web site.

You could argue that's just being sneaky and how businesses work. A quote which you can take or leave.

BUT

If you do nothing, they auto renew on the higher price. So it's not take it or leave it at all.

If you look at the law, auto-renewing at a significantly higher price than what they would offer you in the open market is (IMO) a criminal offence under the fraud act.

Of course if you report them to the police you would get nowhere as they are more interested in getting quick results elsewhere. Your average policeman also doesn't understand the law beyond how to nick somebody for walking down the road wearing a silly hat.

A complete scam. What I do is shop around on websites. Call my agency to see what price they will give but don't let them know what price you have seen. Don't worry, they know exactly what other companies are quoting you, insist that they give you their best price.

If you like it, take it. If not - important - in the same call revoke their self decided authority to auto renew - they don't like that at all.

Then decide what to do. You now are in control as your current agenct doesn't hold their trump card of the auto-renewal scam.

But shop around, the insurance companies are scam artists and you should treat them as such when giving them your cash.

 

[wotan]

Keep away from Admiral multi car policy's
As the only driver of my cars, a Passat estate and a Mondeo, bearing in mind that I can only drive one at a time, the car that was not being used was parked on secure private property, they gave me a quote.
It was more than three times what I had paid to insure one car, I just don't know how they calculated that out, maximum no claims bonus achieved, surely that should be applied to the car being driven, that being the case, the inference is, that the car not being used is a higher risk than the one that is being used!
I would appreciate comments on this, as I am at a loss to understand it.

Wotan

 

[chapeau]

We use Admiral Multi Car. It's not cheaper than insuring them separately but it would require using different insurers, and we think dealing with one insurer is easier.

Admiral are complete charlatans though. But they all are, so it doesn't come into the equation. They will match what we find elsewhere, it is a struggle, but they will eventually do it.

 

[Bodgeitandleggit]

We use Admiral Multi Car. It's not cheaper than insuring them separately but it would require using different insurers, and we think dealing with one insurer is easier.

Admiral are complete charlatans though. But they all are, so it doesn't come into the equation. They will match what we find elsewhere, it is a struggle, but they will eventually do it.

We have 2 cars in our household and I tried Admiral multi car and it was just a rip off,would have been better doing them all on a seperate policy ..but I found Aviva had a really good deal with 50% reduction for the second car and it was alot cheaper..I will be keeping a eye on the renewal notice though

 

[Corgigrouch]

Most folk automatically assume that online will be cheaper than a high street broker... But it aint always so and you get to talk to a real person.

 

[securespark]

I'm gonna sound like a grumpy old frat, but here goes...

I remember my Grandad renewing his car insurance year after year with the same company. The (handwritten) letter asking for renewal in 1978 went,

Dear Mr Cottle,

It will soon be time to renew your vehicle insurance.

I trust you have been satisfied with the service we have provided for you over the last year.

As you have insured your vehicles with us for 55 years now and accrued XX years without claim, we would be pleased to offer you Fully Comprehensive insurance for your motor car TGL 478S for a further year.

The premium for next year will be £XX.XX. This figure takes into account your continued and valued custom.

If you are happy to proceed on this basis, please send a cheque for the above amount to us by XX.XX.

Signed


Thomas Norman Frizzell.


He started insuring with this chap in the twenties, and took out his last policy in 1985.

Nowadays, you get ripped off for being loyal and the best prices go to those who are new customers. Go figure...

 

[ImayKnow]

When enquiring on comparison websites, I always open up the link to the terms and conditions, because you will find there is a question hidden asking if the companies can make contact direct with you - I always say NO, or set the check box as appropriate.

Some websites do not conceal this and make it obvious, just make sure you find it and do the necessaries before selecting the search option.

 

[longdogs]

All the comparison sites are interested in is sending you an e-mail every single day for the rest of your life.

 

[Confuseddotcomonline]

My recent experience...

Looking to buy a car so Wednesday night decided to get some quotes for the car i'll probably be buying, so, on confused and compare the meerkat sites, i fills out all the jazz and gets my quotes from both, higher than i thought but hey ho, confused was £650 compare was £600

Thursday afternoon get a phone call direct from confused regarding last nights quote, to be fair i was expecting it. Chap mentioned they can probably beat the online quote by putting me through to Be-wise insurance who don't partake in online quoting, me well i said why not...be a fool not to, chap said he'd pass on all my details to Be-wise and they would quote me so on hold i went for 30 secs then a guy answered.....hello i said.....he replied hello how can we help.....erm i was just put through to you by confused....yeah and, do you require a quote....erm i'm sorry but you lot rang me

So, went through all the friggin jazz again for the lad to say stay on the line and he'll get my quote, so i waited and waited, he came back on and said right i'm putting you through to another person who will give you your quote by this time i was getting a bit annoyed, so went on hold for 20 secs to be answered again by someone else, i thought he'd read me out my quote.........no such luck.......'Hi, how can i help!'.........arghhhhh!!!

Right, i was desperate after all this time to try and finally get this cheaper quote, i raised my voice to this guy, i said i had given my details twice already but keep getting put through to get the quote but a new person always answers, anyway so i went through all the crap again, went through every detail, including all mods i'm gonna carry out, he checked with the underwriters and they weren't too fussed about them.......right your quotes are coming through now,......right sir the best quote for you today is...........£2419.57p .........YOU F****** WHAT, what planet do you live on?..........Whats wrong sir?.............WHATS F****** WRONG, where the hell do you get those figures from?.............Well its a prestige car and the modifications, Erm hang on you said they weren't bothered.........erm its the value of the car MATE (not sir this time)..........Would you like me to go ahead with this quote for you then MATE?...........NO BLOODY WAY, i won't be buying it if its that much!...........So then MATE have you had a cheaper quote?.........TOO right i have.......been quoted £600 online last night!...........Don't pay any attention to those online quotes mate, waste of time.......so what do you want me to do with this quote for you, would you like to incept the policy?.............NO WAY......Not at that price!!!........Phone goes dead, guy hangs up. 2 hours wasted

Anyway, didn't have my laptop in the van so drove home to retrieve the compare the market quote and there it was as clear as the day is long £600, rang the company, in this case elephant.co.uk, spoke to a nice lass from cardiff who went through all my details at my request to make sure they weren't mis-quoting, all details correct so the quote stands £600

So i will be looking at the car tomorrow.....snow permitting with a view to buying it.

My advice, do not use confused.com, if you do then make a number up, don't waste your time giving the same details over and over again, they're all in together and all they want are your personal details to sell on, there probably is no policy to sell at the end of it hence the ridiculous price

Hi crank39, I am a representative of Confused.com. I came across this forum thread and was disappointed to hear about the service you received.

Would you be able to email us your details to [email protected], so we can investigate why the service you received was so poor?

 

[crank39]

I never actually received any service thats the strange thing about it.

I knew full well i would get a phone call the following day and why not, if the sole purpose of the call is to get you a better deal than the one provided online then thats totally fine with me. But from thereon in the system falls to the ground, you get put through to a random insurance company on the promise that they WILL beat your online quote, why bother trying otherwise, Confused must be on some sort on commision for putting you through to any insurance company they choose from a list, thats certainly the impression i got.

Regardless of all the spiel given by the Confused agent the other insurance company know nothing about you, nothing about last nights search, the car you want or any thing else.....and what really bugged me was they think YOU'VE rung them, i'm sorry but i was busy at work, i haven't got time to ring around for quotes when i've got somebodies bay window in bits on the front lawn.

So you then have to go through all the details again, put on hold, then a few more details then on hold again only to be put through to someone else, fine if its the same department because you know you're new improved quote is coming but no, you get put through to a totally different insurance company and the merry go round starts all over again.

Finally a received a phone call from i pressume a Confused rep asking if i'd had any joy with my quotes to which i replied the system was a joke and clearly not working, she said she'd been searching on my behalf while i was bounced from pillar to post but couldn't find anything, she did however put me through to a local (to my home address) branch of Swintons, thats fine because i just wanted it over with especially with the previous quote at £2400, lady answered from Swintons with 'Hello Swintons, how may i help'........arghhhhh not again!!! More details, another 20mins explaining the spec of the car and then to be told the quotes coming in at £2500.....oh not again, i'm friggin 42 years old, its a land rover discovery 3 not a citroen saxo for a 17 year old.....where the hell is this cheaper quote

You wouldn't mind if there was one at the end of it all but it seems its just a money making exercise by Confused to pass you over to another insurance company and get their commision. You then get sent round the houses waiting for that 'cheaper quote' when all thats happening is your details are being collected by everyman and his dog and being sold to the highest bidder.

 

[chapeau]

funnily enough, just used confused.com for a house insurance quote. It's hidden away, but there is a box to tick so they don't call, but it's hidden and you need to click on a link to see it.

Very sneaky.

They did come up with a quote from Legal and General of ONE THIRD the price of the renewal quote just received from churchill.

They came up with a quote from Churchill of LESS THAN HALF the renewal quote churchill came up with.

Absolute frigging thieves.

So a well good site, as long as you find the sneaky 'dont call us box'. There's always one there....

And you should give a junk email address and junk PAYG phone number anyway.