Colleague bought a new (used) car at the weekend. Usual, all excited, can't wait to collect etc.
She said she had to phone insurance to get the cover note issued. Overheard her conversation and, apart from the fact she was on hold initially for 12 mins, the actual call took a further 9 mins. She was having to give every personal detail, details of other insurances, breakdown insurances - the full works!
When she came off the phone I commented that it was an awful long call to get a cover note - apparently this was the insurance division of the large motor retailer and she had been told by the salesman that she had to phone them to get the free 7 day cover so that they could tax her car!
When I explained to her that she had just spent 21 mins giving away all her details to be bombarded with every renewal and junk mail going she was totally oblivious to the whole thing. Of course I then had to tell her that she had still to phone her own insurance company to arrange her own cover note and change of insurance!
She must be a salesman's dream customer!
|
rather be gullible than nosy ..... did you really time the call that exactly ??
but yes ur correct junk mail for ever now
|
There's usually the statutory obligation to ask (in general terms) 'Can we use your info/details to forward for offers/literature/information to us and/or 3rd parties' . If she said 'no' & 'no' to this her details won't (or shouldn't be) used for such purposes. As for giving details - isn't that standard on any insurance quote/cover?
|
And amazingly the word gullible isn't even in this year's edition of the OED.
apostrophe (after the possessive article) is though :-) - PU
Edited by Pugugly on 27/03/2008 at 21:16
|
|
Yep, i've just bought a car from possibly the same place, was also told about "free" insurance for 7 days, didn't bother , just rang my own insurance for cover note.
|
|
|
|
"free 7 day cover"
Why is she gullible to get something for free?
|
"free 7 day cover"
I know Norwich Union do a policy like that.
I don't see anything wrong with it at all. It is a very useful product to have access to. My friend bought an additional car for which he had not had time to surf the net to get the best quotes. He rang Norwich Union (call centre in India), they took details of the car, his previous driving experience, etc. (just as any other Insurer would do ). Did NOT ask about house insurance or other pushy sales stuff. Asked about need for breakdown cover which was declined. They faxed his cover note the dealer while he was still on the phone for the Insurance to take effect on day of delivery. No pressure, no telephone numbers asked for, no email address asked for. All they said was if you want to extend the cover for a full year from beyond the free 7 days, the quote is £xxx.
Well, the friend collected the car, then shopped around on the internet giving his details to various other search engines (as listed by "monesavingexpert" Martin Lewis ), found a couple of quotes slightly cheaper. Rang Norwich Union on day 6, told them of the cheaper quotes. They matched the cheapest and gave him £40 cash back and a new Policy for a whole year on top of the free 7 days he already had! So all in all a very good result.
I think BoobyG's colleague is smart girl. Well done to her. Not gullible at all.
|
I'll second the praise for NU free 7-day cover. Its handy when buying a new car and your old one still needs to be insured for a few days. I used it. They did ask about taking details so that they could make me offers for other products - I politely declined - no problem. Other questions are just standard insurance quote question (DOB, job, convictions etc). The cover note is immediately e-mail to the dealer and the customer.
The cover is standard comp. cover and they try to price-match.
|
Its not really free cover when she is already paying for insurance anyway with her existing policy. She wasn't going to cancel it for 7 days and then start it again!
All she had to do was call her own company (which she eventually did) and get the details changed. But instead she had her time wasted for no benefit to her as she was doing what the salesman told her to do!
|
BobbyG
I think some dealer advise using the 7-day NU policy because it means they can get a cover note to immediately tax the car (via e-mail) rather than waiting for the customer own insurance company to post one out, which can take several days.
|
I think some dealer advise using the 7-day NU policy because it means they can get a cover note to immediately tax the car (via e-mail) rather than waiting for the customer own insurance company to post one out, which can take several days.
Exactly what I did and also confirmed the fact that premium for my current policy was reasonable. Seems a very reasonable way of marketing to me and if NU get some new business from this approach good luck to them.
How cynical are some people?
|
|
|
|
"Its not really free cover when she is already paying for insurance"
Of course it is. If I gave you a Bucks Fizz CD, despite the fact that you already had one that you'd paid for, you'd still have a free Bucks Fizz CD - even if you can't play them both at the same time.
|
Not only free, but she may have benefited.
If the new car is more expensive to insure, she will save seven days' worth of the higher premium that would otherwise have been paid to her existing insurance company.
Put another way, she will start paying the higher premium a week later, but will have been insured for the whole time.
|
|
|
Of course it is. If I gave you a Bucks Fizz CD despite the fact that you already had one that you'd paid for you'd still have a free Bucks Fizz CD - even if you can't play them both at the same time.
Surely - you'd have two free drinks coasters?
|
|
|
If I gave you a Bucks Fizz CD,
If the ungrateful wag eschews your generous offer of the free Bucks Fizz CD (not 'Fun Time in Faro' by any chance is it?) - I'd gladly accept - they're something of a collector's item in fashionable N.Wales.
|
>>I'd gladly accept - they're something of a collector's item in fashionable N.Wales.>>
Not amongst the friends I have in North Wales - Bob the Builder and Pam Ayres are to the fore.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
