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This was, alas, the highpoint of the story, a moment when I could feel that my ingenuity
and resourcefulness had enabled me to win a round in my eternal struggles with Customer
Service. Someone does indeed call me and explains the reason for the long delay. It seems
that the insurance adjustor did, in fact, visit the dealership right away to examine the car,
but the dealership was closed for lunch when he arrived. He took the required photos, and
he expected the dealership to call him, but they never did.
One might ask why the insurance adjustor never called the dealer over the next six weeks,
but it's clear that the woman who is telling me this fishy story is already so embarrassed
by its absurdity that there's no point in making her feel worse. The important thing is that
the wheels are now in motion, albeit slow motion. The actual repair at the body shop takes
only a few days, but between the time that the adjustor makes his visit, authorizes the re-
pair, certifies the repair, and completes the required paperwork for me to retrieve my car,
more than a month goes by. Busy guy, this insurance adjustor.
I submit my claim to Zurich-Connect for reimbursement for my rental car expenses (about
1,700 Euros for my five week rental). Weeks go by, months go by. Calls to customer ser-
vice tell me that the case is “in progress” and that my claim is being processed. My calls
and emails to the woman initially assigned to my case by the Chief Claims Officer go un-
answered. Finally, I write directly to the Chief Claims Officer to ask for his help. The next
day, I receive a call from a representative of the company who tells me that there is no way
they can reimburse me for the full amount of my claim, but that she is able to offer me
300 Euros as a settlement. She explains that my rental period for a substitute vehicle was
simply “too long” and that this is a highly irregular situation. As we talk, she raises the of-
fer to 500 Euros and eventually makes me a final offer of 700 Euros, which I refuse.
I write an indignant letter to the Chief Claims Officer bringing to his attention the fact that
someone from his company tried haggling with me over a reimbursement and blaming me
for length of the rental period when it is patently obvious that the fault lies with Zurich-
Connect for their mishandling of the entire affair. I would have been happy to have the car
back in three days instead of after eleven weeks.
The CCO's reply sends me into a mild state of shock. I am to understand that despite the
various anomalies of this case and the exaggerated, prolonged duration of the substitute
vehicle rental period, the company is nevertheless willing to offer me a generous, if unmer-
ited, settlement of 700 Euros. Take it or leave it.
***
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