Telecom screwing me around with Insurance Claims.

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Telecom screwing me around with Insurance Claims.

ReaperZ

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#10437 22-Nov-2006 11:53

oh how we love these guys,

about 2 months ago i lost my Harrier , fully insured with an excess of $85 which im happy with

anyway when it came to make a claim, the process was an absolute nightmare.

first time i went into the store(after being instructed to do so by the insurance company, and also filling in a lost property form at the police station) they said 'no we cant help u. send it to the insurance company' - which is odd because its Telecom Insurance (just for reference, telecom insurance ISNT PART OF TELECOM AT ALL ! so ive been informed) .. after phoning back the insurance company and getting them to talk to the manager at the telecom shop (who i was initially dealing with) they agreed to take the phone and process the claim.

Since the phone was lost, a replacement phone was to be issued - however they couldnt just provide me with the one they had in stock .. god knows why - they had to get one couriered from somewhere - which took 4 days (was promised overnight) ?
Confused

and i had to ring them on the day it arrived for them to actually say 'oh yes .. it is here' after ringing them every day

the manager also refused to provide me with a loan phone (being on contract surely thats only fair - since im effectively paying for day to day use) and after contacting a manager on the telecom helpdesk who told me YES, they have to provide me with a loan phone to use , the manager of the telecom store still refused to provide me with a loan phone and said that the people i spoke to at telecom (on the phone) were in charge of LANDLINES and had no authority (even though i rang the mobile enquiry line ?)

after getting the lady manager at telecomNZ(the one i phoned) to ring the manager of the store, he finally agreed to provide me with a loan phone. a $100 black & white nokia (i was happy to have a phone) - however being on a data plan with xxxMB of traffic to use a month i felt i was entitled to some compensation. even $20.. no such luck !

sadly yesterday my new pda fell out of my pocket and the lcd smashed all over the ground Sad

took phone into telecom (a different store) after contacting insurance company .. filled in some paperwork and left them to it. Loan phone given on the spot without any hassles Thumbs Up

now i rang the insurance company today and amazingly they havent even heard from the telecom dealership regarding my phone being bought into them. i rang the telecom store and asked them why .. they said they didnt have to ? so i rang telecom insurance back and said 'can u please ring the dealership?' to which i got a reply 'no, we cant do that, we're too busy and its not our policy' .. so telecom wont call the insurance company, the insurance company wont call telecom .. Twisted

and apparently it will take them 3 weeks to provide me with a replacement PDA, even though theres one sitting on the shelf in the telecom store!!!!

it makes me wish id just f***ing chucked it at the managers car and claimed it was lost Blah

/rant over

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BDFL - Memuneh
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#53194 22-Nov-2006 11:58

In all fairness this is hardly Telecom's fault. The stores are independently owned, as the insurance company...

Telecom should provide better "people skills" training to their dealers though...

ReaperZ

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#53196 22-Nov-2006 12:03

freitasm: In all fairness this is hardly Telecom's fault. The stores are independently owned, as the insurance company...

Telecom should provide better "people skills" training to their dealers though...

true, but to me, as a business consumer, if i see a store tabelled TELECOM - they are part of the telecom business - and therefor should act under the same responsibilities as Telecom NZ.

its like saying if u go to McDonalds and eat a bad burger and get sick, you cant hold mcdonalds responsible for it, only the employee at the store - bad example i know but you get what im saying

im paying for a service from TELECOM NZ, why cant TELECOM NZ help me, instead of 'their retailer'

freitasm

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#53198 22-Nov-2006 12:07

Yes, true. But those managers you are talking about have no idea that people associate their image with Telecom's... A shame really.

bradstewart

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#53200 22-Nov-2006 12:12

I once had a very similar problem with the manager at a Telecom More Mobile store. It took a lot of threats and finally the involvement of a high up at Telecom to get the issue sorted.

In the end I took my refund round the corner to Orb and I've never had a problem with their service. I had spent $1000's at the other store, personally and for work but that didn't mean anything to the guy. His loss I guess.

It would seem this is not a problem limited to Telecom but you can find in almost any shop you walk into.

nzbnw

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#53206 22-Nov-2006 12:25

TELECO INSURANCE (NZ) LIMITED is actually owned by Telecom New Zealand. You can check the companies office.

Usually claims are approved in store. I would be really interested to know which store you are currently dealling with.

nzbnw

tonyhughes

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#53207 22-Nov-2006 12:26

FYI:

Harvey Norman
Leading Edge
Noel Leemings
Orb
(and more)

Are all independently owned stores. Im sure you dont consider Harvey Norman a "Telecom store", despite them having the same "Telecom dealer" status as Orb or Leading Edge. Just like DSE carries Vodafone products/services, but are not a "Vodafone Store" - i.e. its not reasonable to hold them responsible for fulfilling Vodafones obligations, especially if you didnt purchase from that particular store to begin with.

Also, the phones in stock in a privately owned store have been bought and paid for by that store, the replacement phone is being given from the insurance company to you - the stores stock simply does not factor into the equation.

If I see Toyota plastered over a Toyota dealer in Auckland, and I bought a Toyota in Wellington that has faults, is the Auckland dealer liable to do all my warranty work, or supply me a loan car. Nope.

I agree that you had a nightmare, and customer service was clearly lacking, but you also need to know that just because you choose to say that anyone with Telecom on their door is "Telecom", doesnt make it so.

By dedicating time and effort, and providing a loan phone to you, the store is losing money. You should be sure to thank them for their help at the earliest possible convenience.

P.S. I would push for a pro-rata credit for the whole time you dont have access to mobile data. Although its not Telecoms fault you destroyed your unit, im sure you would find someone to help. Perhaps email the store, and they might pass on to appropriate Telecom staff. (Though obviously te store cant commit to, or give you, a credit themselves/.

Good luck with getting a quick resolution to your troubles.

ReaperZ

127 posts

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#53211 22-Nov-2006 12:44

nzbnw: TELECO INSURANCE (NZ) LIMITED is actually owned by Telecom New Zealand. You can check the companies office.

Usually claims are approved in store. I would be really interested to know which store you are currently dealling with.

nzbnw

im dealing with the Telecom Store in Westfield Shopping Mall (Queensgate Lower Hutt -wellington)

<a href = "http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/3752/picture002jh9.jpg"> </a>

now i may not be a phone expert, but i would say the LCD is stuffed.. lol

lcd connected with the corner of the curb as falling out of my pocket getting out of my friends car.

(Moderator edit (BG) - Corrected image tags (we use HTML code rather than BB code here))

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caldazar

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#53212 22-Nov-2006 12:46

It is sad that Telecom can't co-ordinate its customer service.

Yesterday I rang 6 Telecom stores with a basic question about a mobile contract. Only one person could answer the question.

I rang 126 with the same question. They told me to ring a store.

Telecom rarely seems to have people that will say "Hey, I don't know but I'll find out for you.". A shame really, cause I'm sure they lose a huge amount of customers due to their customer service.

ReaperZ

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#53215 22-Nov-2006 12:52

tonyhughes: FYI:

Harvey Norman
Leading Edge
Noel Leemings
Orb
(and more)

Are all independently owned stores. Im sure you dont consider Harvey Norman a "Telecom store", despite them having the same "Telecom dealer" status as Orb or Leading Edge. Just like DSE carries Vodafone products/services, but are not a "Vodafone Store" - i.e. its not reasonable to hold them responsible for fulfilling Vodafones obligations, especially if you didnt purchase from that particular store to begin with.

absolutely, im more than aware of this. however it wasnt one of those stores, it was a specific Telecom Retailer outlet (sadly even these have nothing to do with telecom)

DKS1DR

37 posts

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#53296 22-Nov-2006 22:27

freitasm:

Telecom should provide better "people skills" training to their dealers though...

Although I am sure you didn't mean to imply that all Telecom Dealers need to learn some "people skills", being that I work for a Telecom Dealer (Leading Edge), I feel this should be reworded.

As for the original post/rant, the whole issue should have been resolved in less than 15-30mins (unless the device was to be sent for repair, or no stock in store). The way it works in our store, you come in with your insurance issue. We call Mob Ins to get a claim #. They will generally ask to speak to the customer. Once we get the claim number, a replacement unit is taken from our stock (we get reimbursed for it), things are changed over, the excess is taken and you are on your way. If we do not have a replacement unit, a loan phone is provided, so long as we have one. If we don't, we will even try to shuffle the staff phones around to sort out a solution. If we need to source a replacement, we can have it next day, so long as our order is away before 4pm, and the supplier has them in stock. If it is an urgent situation, we will even call the other dealership (Orb) in town to see if they have the device. You shouldn't have to piss around waiting for something like this.

And lastly for the "You have Telecom labeled on your door, so you must be Telecom" thing, [sarcasm]we love nothing more than having someone come in having issues with their device that they purchased over the phone from Telecom directly and expecting us to either replace it or give them a refund[/sarcasm]. C'mon, I mean you can't buy a bottle of coke from Woolworths and take it back to New World for a refund now, can you?

freitasm

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#53297 22-Nov-2006 22:28

DKS1DR:
freitasm:

Telecom should provide better "people skills" training to their dealers though...

Although I am sure you didn't mean to imply that all Telecom Dealers need to learn some "people skills", being that I work for a Telecom Dealer (Leading Edge), I feel this should be reworded.

You are correct, I didn't mean all Telecom Dealers.

ReaperZ

127 posts

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#53298 22-Nov-2006 22:30

DKS1DR i dont spose ur store is in wellington ?

DKS1DR

37 posts

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#53385 23-Nov-2006 16:00

Nah, sorry mate. Not far from ya tho, over the hill in Mastertiny.

nzbnw

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#53450 24-Nov-2006 00:16

DKS1DR:

And lastly for the "You have Telecom labeled on your door, so you must be Telecom" thing, [sarcasm]we love nothing more than having someone come in having issues with their device that they purchased over the phone from Telecom directly and expecting us to either replace it or give them a refund[/sarcasm]. C'mon, I mean you can't buy a bottle of coke from Woolworths and take it back to New World for a refund now, can you?

We get that all the time too. No Telecom store will replace a phone ordered through a call center.

If you start dealing with a call center, then stick to dealing with them through out the transaction. Same applies for Telecom Retail Stores and Dealers.

nzbnw

PS: DKS1DR - I Think I said I would get you a spread sheet on call plan cost, send me a PM and I'll send it your way if you still want it, althrough it doesnt include Flexi plans. Sorry, been busy =).

nzbnw

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#53451 24-Nov-2006 00:20

ReaperZ:

im dealing with the Telecom Store in Westfield Shopping Mall (Queensgate Lower Hutt -wellington)

If you PM me I can put you in touch with the right people to get this sorted, if you havent already.

You may want to confirm with the store, if they have a claim number and if not why not?

Cheers

nzbnw

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