Judith! Hi You were correct in the first instance, my insurance has been denied!! However I will pm you with the details, if it is not relevant to this thread

Hiya Sue, it was the Hospiten that i was taken to. There seemed to be some confusion over the paperwork for paying the bill. The insurance were supposedly paying for the treatment, but to cut to the chase, i ended up paying the bill on my credit card, which i didn't mind as i thought i would be reimbursed on my return to the UK...huh, hindsight is wonderful isn't it ....Rick

Thanks for replying Rick, I do hope you get it sorted eventually.

Hi,

I wouldn't listen to IM about claiming against the spanish hotel. They have referred to you to their spanish branch because they know they can get money from you, but you will only succeed in the claim if the paving was not compliant with lo0cal regulations so unless you can prove that it wasn't, you will be wasting time and money.

The best thing you can do is contact the financial ombudsman about the insurance company's response to your claim / query with the insurance company.

Hi Guys

Following my small claims court action against my insurance company, they have now paid my claim in full + court costs + interest, in total £1946.00, my thoughts are unprintable as to what i think of them, but you can guess.

The accompanying letter was from UK Underwriting who said that the claim was against them as the underwriters and not Direct Group who act as their claims administrators, and i should have followed the internal complaints procedure.

I was livid at their remarks, making out that i didn't follow the correct procedure. UK Underwriting and Direct Group share the same address, i rang the letter writer and asked why Direct Group didn't pass my case to UK Underwriting to deal with, he apologised, and said they should have.

An extract from the letter, "On this occasion, whilst concerns remain about the circumstances of the accident, and given due regard for decisions made on similar cases and the economic reality of allowing this case to take the legal route, we are prepared to to settle your claim in full".

I said to the guy on the phone, in other words you didn't have a leg to stand on, and that's why you paid up. I also voiced my concern that many other people would have ditched their claims a long time ago because of your dogged determination not to settle, no comment was forthcoming from him HUH!

The letter goes on to say that, "This decision has been made on economic grounds and does not alter the stance adopted by Direct Group in relation to your liability claim".

My insurance policy had legal cover for up to £25000, this has been refused as they reckon on balance the chances of suing the hotel for negligence do not warrant the case going forward, as the hotel say i was under the influence of alcohol. CRAP

Strange that my medical expenses get paid out, but the legal liability in my policy is refused. Hmmm i'll be writing to UK Underwriting with a view to allowing my £25000 of cover in the policy, so that i can sue the hotel.

Your comments would be most welcome.......Rick

Thanks for coming back to update your post. It is appreciated as many people post a complaint here never to return.

luci

Hi Rickshaw

Glad to hear you got paid out. Do you have an Insurance Ombudsman that you can make a complaint to?

Even though I have been paid, the Insurance Co are now chasing me for ALL my credit cards used to pay for the holiday. They also want our holiday itinerary and tax invoice showing the total cost of our journey. They wrote *Many credit card providers incorporate travel insurance with their products, and as a result, we may be able to recover some of our costs of the claim from your credit card's travel insurance underwriter*

I have already told them that we don't have travel insurance attached to our credit cards... but seeing is believing. Also why would we pay hundreds of $$$ each year to another travel insurance company if I had travel insurance with our c/cards. *light just switched on inside head... maybe they think I have claimed twice from the same accident!!!

I booked the flights separately each way online. I booked the hotels direct and used two different credit cards. I've since cleared my email box... but fortunately we still have all the hard copies.

Nothing is easy.

Cheers Geri

Hi Luci, i quite agree, so many people go onto forums, get the info from others and never return. Other people want to know the outcome of complaints, which might be relevant to the problems that they are encountering, so i will be posting with all the info that i have to hand. People were good enough to take the time to give useful info to me on here, the least that i can do is keep others informed of my situation.

Hello Geri, we do indeed have a financial ombudsman here in the UK, i will be exploring the possibilities of highlighting the disgusting way in which my case has been handled, insurance companies will try and wriggle out of paying a claim in any way that they can imho, they accuse joe public of making fraudulent claims, when they themselves are clawing back thousands with denied claims which are legitimate in the first instance.

I was speaking to a friend of my a couple of days ago who is having probs with Carphone Warehouse. His daughters mobile phone packed up after 4 months, he was told it was down to customer misuse, i'll cut to the chase...many, many people on the net have the same fault on the same model phone. He's been chasing this prob for months now, i told him to take a small claims court action out, i'll bet he gets the matter sorted b4 it gets to court, i'll post the outcome...for now though, i'll say bye to all...be happy....Rick

Even though I have been paid, the Insurance Co are now chasing me for ALL my credit cards used to pay for the holiday. They also want our holiday itinerary and tax invoice showing the total cost of our journey. They wrote *Many credit card providers incorporate travel insurance with their products, and as a result, we may be able to recover some of our costs of the claim from your credit card's travel insurance underwriter*

Not unusual. First the insurers will want to determine that you do not make a profit from your claim. For that reason they will want to see all documentation and the itinerary. Second they will explore all avenues to recoup the monies they have paid out. If another insurer can be held responsible then they will endeavour to recover their money from them. That is why they wish to check CC payments - just in case there is an element that you do not know about. I suspect in many cases it costs them more than they recover but that is a separate issue. They may even be recovering money from themselves if they underwrite the insurance element from a CC. Each division is there to make a profit.

Details of the Insurance Ombudsman can be found here;

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/

fwh

Hello once again to all. It's been a long time since i last posted, and that's because there's been no news on my claim. As a result of the accident,
i had to have an operation on my big toe to fix it in one position with a plate and screws, but it's generally ok now. Nine months of pain wasn't funny.

First the hotel said that i was under the influence of alcohol, now they are saying that the area where the accident happened was coned off, they even sent photo's of the walkway with no entry sign cones, what rubbish. The photo they sent showed in the distance the other end of the walkway with NO cones lol...oh dear, what muppets.

I've just had a letter from my solicitor which says......

"l have received a call from the defendant requesting an extension of 2 weeks to the pre-action protocol. lt would appear that my letter to them pointing out
the weaknesses in their evidence has done the trick and the reason that they are requesting the extension is that they are trying to agree an indemnity with the hotel in Spain, so that they can proceed and deal with your claim. lt appears they now accept that they are going to be liable and have confirmed
over the phone that in all probability they are going to concede liability"

So it looks like good news up to this point. l still find it strange that lrwin Mitchell reckoned i had no claim on the travel agents (lowcostbeds) and they couldn't take the case on.

Anyway, i'm all typed out now i'll report back with future progress...for now, take care one and all....Rick

Thanks for the update. It's always appreciate when people come back to update on their progress rather than posting asking for help and disappearing after members have wasted their time replying.

Good luck with the claim and keep us posted on your progress.

luci

Claim still ongoing, 2 years in February, but getting closer to a solution hopefully.

My solicitor has sent a claim into lowcostbeds for £4000.00 on Monday. These claims can be painfully slow. A claim that l had against Airtours in the year 2000 took 4 years ...but...l came away with £6k .

It seems that companies will go to any length to wriggle out of their obligations, an awful lot of people give up before they get started. Strongly worded letters from travel companies, plus a big name puts people off, they think that they can't possibly take a big organisation on....WRONG....if you are not to blame for a problem, fight them tooth and nail, it makes me sick the way in which they try to railroad us into dropping legitimate claims.

I will keep you informed as to the outcome.

Regards......Rick

Many thanks Rick for update. Good luck and please keep us informed.

A warm hello to one and all.

My claim has now been settled to the tune of £4740.00. A court case was looming and that's why they caved in and paid out. My claim was for a holiday accident in February 2009. Heaven only knows why travel companies spin it out for so long when they know damned well that they will eventually cough up.

l would love to know how much the solicitors fees were, probably three times the amount that l was paid.

At the end of the day, if you have damning evidence against a travel company then PERSEVERE with the claim, you have to possibly wait 3 - 4 years, but you will win your damages.

This claim was a mirror image of a claim against Airtours in 2000 when l got food poisoning in the Dominican Republic....four years it took before they settled (£6k) with a week to go before the court hearing.

l despise travel companies and insurance companies with a vengeance, if they can wriggle out of paying up, then most certainly will, the small print is loaded against us the consumer.

Rick

Well done Rick,it took a while but you got there in the end
Margaret(madmum)

Well done Rick many thanks for letting us know.

l despise travel companies and insurance companies with a vengeance, if they can wriggle out of paying up, then most certainly will, the small print is loaded against us the consumer

Sorry Rick, while my experience has been for somewhat smaller amounts of money, I’ve actually found honesty, fairness, and straight dealing. Not many folk seem to have a good word for these guys so I’ll mention my experiences.
2007 – I’d just swapped my annual Tesco Travel Insurance policy to AA Travel Insurance as a result of using a web comparison site.
Having held the new policy for just 3 days, I went on holiday to Kenya and, first day there, succeeded in snapping my Achilles tendon. Which resulted in a couple of days in Mombasa general hospital, and a bill for way over a thousand pounds. It took a few phone calls from my hospital bed, but the AA paid up OK before I left Kenya. The local Thomson/FC rep helped me to get my flight home by wheeling me through the airport in a wheelchair.
2008 – I took a three day Thomson excursion in India from Goa to Hampi.
The hotel in Hospet, near Hampi was truly ghastly, and cockroaches and bloodstained bedding were two of the issues. I took it up with the Thomson Rep when I returned to Goa and showed photographs of the horrors. She took it up with the local Thomson office in Goa for me, and they paid me compensation of half of the total trip cost, and paid it in cash before I left Goa.
2012 – I’d booked a nice 5star hotel near Side in Turkey through Thomson and paid the supplement for single occupation of a double room with balcony. On arrival, the hotel, despite me arguing with them, fobbed me off with a substandard room. I discussed it with the on-site Thomson rep, she took the case up with the local Thomson office, and within three days they paid me acceptable compensation in cash in resort.
As a result of my experiences I’m very comfortable booking Thomson holidays and in using AA Travel insurance.
My advice is, always talk promptly to a local rep if possible, take photographs and detailed notes of any issues, act firmly but always politely, and try to keep smiling.
PS I even managed to enjoy a Kenyan Safari after my hospital visit, albeit on crutches!

Forgive me for being naive but how come the compensation was for £4,700 when the initial cost to the OP was for just under 2 grand?
My friend took ill in the Dom Pep with food poisoning and got back the price it cost her for her holiday.
Is it because she didnt claim through a small claims court that she didnt get compensation.

Jaytrip, even if she had pursued it through the Small Claims Court she wouldn't have received the £6,000 pounds payout that rickshaw apparently received for his claim relating to the Dom Rep holiday because the maximum limit even today is only £5,000 and you can't usually re-claim any legal costs from the loser. If his case was going through the SCC system it's would have been cheaper for them to go to court than settle for £6,000 before the case went to court. As he appears to have had representation it was presumably not pursued through the SCC.

It's been unclear from the beginning re the Lanzarote incident what exactly Rickshaw was further claiming for from lowcostbeds because his insurance company had already paid for the original claim for re-imbursement of his medical costs as a result of an earlier SCC claim. Presumably it was for negligence?

SM