Got vouchers valid for 30 minutes!

Ok, we went up to Currys on Saturday to finally get our vouchers. I talked to the same guy I spoke to there the previous weeks, he was a bit confused when I told him that the girl from the claims department said I'd be able to collect the voucher number. He went off to make a phone call and find out what the situation was.

He came back a while later and said, Ok, I have the voucher numbers. But we only had 30 minutes to spend them.

Ahhhhhhhh! Quick, find something we need!

I had already bought a camera for my last holiday. I was hoping to recoup the money I spent on that camera by buying something we needed for the house. But what to buy?

He kindly offered to cancel the vouchers for us (yes, very generous indeed) and said when we find something we want to buy all we have to do is ask for new vouchers.

So, we cancelled the vouchers.

And what really gets me is that as that the girl from the claims department could have just told me to wait 'till I was buying something and then claim the vouchers.

First response from Coverplan

Ok, I got the phone call, she said I will be able to collection the vouchers at the shop if bring proof of id/address.

I'll believe it when I see it...

No word about vouchers or fax

I havn't received acknowledgment of my last fax. So I rang this morning to see what's happening.

Now she says that they will give the voucher number to the shop. This is good, faster and more reliable than the post. She'll call me back when this is done.

Now I just wait...

But this is what the guy in the shop tried to do but was unsuccessful. I'm not that hopeful.

Phone call from retail manager

After what he said the previous day, I was expecting a lot. I was told there was good news and bad.

The bad news was that he was unable to do anything for me with regards to getting the vouchers.

The 'good' news was that if I wanted to buy something in Currys/Dixons/PC World before I got the vouchers they would refund me the money (from the vouchers) once I brought the vouchers into to the shop and explained the situation to managerial staff.
This was not good news because it got me no closer to getting the vouchers. Also I didn't like the prospect of having to explain my situation and hoping they believe me, after all I have had nothing in writing so far.

Something good did come from this phone call. I was informed of how much value I was entitled to get. He said I would receive €490 for purchases in one of their shops plus €19 towards a Coverplan purchase. Obviously I would not purchasing a Coverplan again so the €19 was useless. But I was happy with the €490 figure, if I ever get it.

Visit to Currys shop

I was now fed up of Coverplan and ther excuses. I decided to ring the Currys shop where I had bought the camera to see if the could help me. Of course no one would answer the phone, it just kept ringing and ringing. I then decied to go up to the shop after work and talk to someone in person.

I asked to see a manager and I explained my situation to him.
He said he was shocked, as he was the one who accepted the broken camera from me originally and remembered that it was a long time ago.
He said he couldn't do anything at the moment because they were closing the offices. But he took my number and told me that he would ring me tomorrow and he would have the vouchers for me. He said what ever it took, even if he had to get on to the head man, he would get it sorted.

Finally, someone taking me seriously. I felt I had achieved a victory, I was now looking forward to the phone call I would get the next day, and have this issue sorted once and for all.

Fax or fiction

Still no acknowledgment of the fax I sent, so I rang them to see what had happened.

I was told that the number I used was correct but unfortunately the fax was in another building at the other side of the country and that all fax's had to be posted. What kind of an excuse is this!

They keep telling me that I have to deal with the claims department, but that department has no outside phone line or fax.

I know for a fact the fax machine was in the same building as the people I call because the previous day one them sent me a fax while on the phone.

Is this pure incompetence or just delaying tactics?

My second fax

The indemnity form I got needed to be signed by my partner as she was the policy holder. No problem, she signed it. The next day I faxed this indemnity form to the claims department. With a request that the vouchers be sent as soon as possible and via the Royal Mail Airsure service. I explained that two previous letter that they sent were lost and that I would like the tracking number or parcel number once it was dispatched.

I also requested an acknowledgment of the fax, by phone or fax.

Nothing

Its now three days since I sent my fax, and nothing.

I rang Coverplan to see if they received my fax. He wasn't able to tell me. But asked what I had requested in my fax. When I said I had requested a copy of the indemnity form he said he would try a print a copy and fax it to me.

After waiting on hold for a few minutes the indemnity form finally came through. What I was trying to get for over two months was finally here in a matter of minutes.

Wow! What I was previously told was impossible had been done. Had Coverplan actually improved their procedures since the 4th of November? I started to feel I was getting somewhere.

But the indemnity form is only half the battle...

My first fax

I sent a fax to the claims department requesting that the indemnity form be faxed to me. I also asked for more information about the registered letter that they said was sent on the 5th of December.

Still no letter

A new year, and still I haven't got my vouchers. Or even the registered letter that they sent.

Is it possible that a second letter to the correct address went missing? But this time it was registered, or so I was led to believe, and I should at least get proof that it was sent.

When I rang Coverplan they informed me that the letter of the 5th of December was not treated any differently than their standard letters so there was no parcel/tracking number or any information available.

I was told that the claims department might have more information about the, supposedly, registered letter. And that I would have to write to the claims department for more information as they have no outside phone lines.

I then asked what they were going to do about my vouchers. He said I will have to sign an indemnity form first, which he would post it out to me.

I was not satisfied with sending the same letter a third time to the same address, so he suggested I write a letter to the claims department requesting a faxed copy if the indemnity form. When I expressed concerns of using the postal system and the time required he helpfully provided me with a fax number.