Great staff, slow service and lack of aftercare
I took out mobile phone insurance with Gadget Cover as there was a discount offered through the company I work for. I opted for loss cover as an extra, on top of the standard accidental damage cover for my iPhone 5s. Unfortunately I dropped my phone whilst on holiday and was unable to retrieve it so made a claim on my return. The claims process was completed over the phone on weekdays (they don't seem to work weekends) and once accepted, a replacement handset was arranged. I had to pay extra for the excess as I was only 2 months into my cover period as well as the remaining premiums for the rest of the year immediately, which didn't bother me too much and this was clearly stated in my docs. The first thing I will mention is that during my claim and all subsequent phone conversations/email correspondence with Gadget Cover, the staff are very polite and professional and always happy to help which is great. My issue with the service is the length of time it took forever for me to receive a replacement handset. I assumed it would be days rather than the two weeks it took from notification of loss. If, like me you rely on your phone heavily, this is not a good company to use as you will be sat waiting for a replacement phone for a while. I was told my phone would be with me on a particular date but when it didn't arrive, I called to find out where it was. I was told that it hadn't been sent yet because there was an issue with stock but I had to make contact in order to find this out. When the handset did arrive, it was in a cardboard box with no documentation accompanying it. I then had to chase for proof of purchase which is a requirement from Gadget Cover to make a claim with them. I'm aware that I wouldn't need it to claim from them again but this would be required if I decided to take cover out for my phone elsewhere.
Since the claim, I've had a bit of difficulty with the proximity sensor on the iPhone so got back in touch with Gadget Cover, expecting some kind of warranty to be in place for the handset they had provided. I was informed that the warranty was only for 90 days so no longer covered and another claim would need to be made! This seems woefully inadequate for a device that originally cost over £500 to purchase and really disappointed me as it felt like they were saying I was now on my own. As mentioned, the staff are amazing but if you are looking for a company that can keep up with the pace of modern life, you may want to look elsewhere. The price is very low which is great but I wouldn't mind paying more if I could get a replacement phone in 48 hours and have a year's warranty on my replacement handset like other companies offer. On reflection this policy doesn't meet my needs and I'll be shopping elsewhere despite having paid for the whole policy term. The final feedback I want to raise is with Defaqto 5*, as it's plastered all over the Gadget Cover website. Look carefully at what this actually means as the criteria are very narrow and it led me to believe that this would be a great company as a whole but relates to very specific propositions. I do not blame Gadget Cover for this as I believe it is a misleading rating generally on insurance products for consumers.
Reply from Gadget Cover
Hi
We are glad to hear that our staff were great, when you made a claim with us and when dealing with subsequent queries. We are happy to hear our staff described as polite, professional and always happy to help. Our happiness ends there however, as you state that your claim experienced delays and that you were not satisfied with the aftercare that followed your claim. We are sorry to learn of your dissatisfaction. We apologise for these apparent failings and for any inconvenience caused.
We have amended, and one could say improved, our policy wording with regard to the need for outstanding premiums to be paid. The outstanding premiums would now only be required if a claim had been made and then the policy was cancelled within the first 12 months from the policy’s inception. The condition that resulted in an increased excess fee applying to claims within the first 3 months, has been removed from the policy wording altogether.
The majority of claims are turned around in days and something would have had to go wrong, to say the least, for a claim to take more than a few days. We apologise for any fault on our part, for the delay or delays. We do understand that the gadgets that we cover are relied upon heavily in the modern world.
We continue to cover repaired or replacement items after a claim. We do have a warranty period which covers breakdown and on top of that we would cover subsequent thefts or damaged items too. We do not limit the amount of claims that can be made.
Your request for a ‘proof of purchase’ should have been carried out with absolutely no fuss, whether you were going to remain covered by us or whether you wished to seek cover elsewhere. It is true, that we ourselves ask for this from the claimant in the event of a claim. Although as you state, if you had already claimed we would not require this.
We have bettered our wording, regarding proof of purchase too and we now only ask for evidence of ownership. This is a much more open, lenient and customer- friendly policy requirement.
We would strongly disagree that the ratings of our service are misleading, in any way, or that the criteria is narrow. We are not shy in opening ourselves up to audits, surveys or customer feedback. We strive to be great, feedback and the like only helps us in this regard. With that in mind, we thank you for providing your feedback.
We would implore you to contact us directly, in particular our complaints team, to enable us to address your complaints in a more personable manner. We apologise once more for any errors or failings and for any inconvenience caused. As we aim to demonstrate, we are always looking to get better and improve. Thank you.
Kind Regards
The Gadget Cover Team