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Credit Agricole/Pacifica, Insurance error


f1steveuk
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Brief background. Ten years ago, when we still owned an property in the UK, we brought a house in France, using CA as our bank.

When we signed for the property, I called CA and told them we needed to insure it. We went through the details, and I was asked for my UK address. I told them we were about to sell it, but as it was the address we had set the account up from, we were told we should use that one, and inform them of the change once we sold the UK house. We told them of our traveling arrangements etc, and that when visiting the UK for work, we would be staying with relatives.

Insurance put in place, I received the contract, which I signed, and weeks later, changed the UK address. No problems. Perfect.

 Until now. My mother in law moved to a smaller house, so when in the UK we stay with my brother. I informed CA of the change, and they now tell me I have the wrong insurance. Now nothing has changed but the addresses, and the insurance was ok last time we changed our address, but now they have decided I MUST change the policy to maision secondaire, as I am not there 24/7. Now I asked them, does that mean I was sold the wrong insurance, as I have it in an email, that it would be unlikely they would have paid any claim. But they have been avoiding answering that question. Either it was old to me incorrectly ten years ago, or they trying to get me to change it to the wrong one now, and they themselves have said, nothing has changed, even on their part. To add insult to injury, the message I got simply said, "we can reduce your insurance payments by 50%, just change to this policy", but without explaining the implications on my cover. The new cover protects 3000Euros of frozen food (in a maision secondaire!!!!!???) but does not cover any valuables, but obviously I cannot carry everything I own with me.

My first thought is to sue them for the over payments for ten years, because it seems like they got it wrong.

Opinions, experience or suggestions gratefully received !!!

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Think the main problem is the amount of money you have to fight them and the amount they have to defend.

Does France have an insurance ombudsman? Though, I believe with the UK one you have had to take your case to a certain level before they will step in.
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I've been in dialogue with them since April. They have apologised, but on the whole they have tried their upmost to stick their heads in the sand and tried to ignore it. They contradict themselves regularly (all in email, so I have a record) and in general acted appallingly, again, which they have partially admitted. I have even said to them, had they put their hands up and said at the very start "oops, we got that wrong sorry" , I would not have continued to chase it, but they have been beyond useless!!

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Steve you are looking a dead horse up the *rse if you are expecting a  French enterprise to say we are wrong. I bought my wife a smart phone last year, from a French on line company, it never arrived. Several E/Mails from me and several standard printed E/Mails from them saying they would sort it out. Nothing, so I contacted my UK credit card company and the money was back in my account within 1 week. Eight months down the line not a dickey bird from the French company, no sorry; we can't work out why it went missing, sorry you haven't received the service you should have. We also bought something from Lidl France and when it broke down within the Guarantee time I returned it to the local shop where it was bought (Loir et Cher), they said you have to send it to Paris and they were adamant. Upshot, I will never again buy online from a French company, I will buy from the UK or USA who know how to offer customer service, I would go further to say unless there is no other choice, I will not spend any money in France on French products, it's their loss, but they don't care and they wonder why the country is in the Shite. Since we have had our holiday home 10 years; I've always tried to shop "local", no more. It's like banging your head against a brick wall.

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Even if they admit that they were in the wrong, and it sounds like they do the concept of actually making good their error, making you good if you like would be incomprehensible to them. Most French people faced with this would make loads of noise but not take any action, if you push them (the vistim) and say "put up or shut up" they just give the fatalistic shrug of the shoulders and say "qu'est on peut faire?".

Even if your monies had been put to the correct insurance that would have covered you in the event of a loss you can be fairly sure that it wouldnt in as much as they would have done everything to deny the claim.

I avoid all insurances except those I am legally obliged to have, and the insurers lie and tell me that there are others I should have [:(] when I have a problem i sort it out by my own means, the time of loss is not the time to be fighting the very people who have taken your money to take care of things for you when you have said loss.

I still buy things in France if they are cheaper I just put no value on the guarantee, the French are often wary of buying from overseas because of accessing the guarantee yet effectively they dont have one on most French bought goods.

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[quote user="Chancer"]

I still buy things in France if they are cheaper I just put no value on the guarantee, the French are often wary of buying from overseas because of accessing the guarantee yet effectively they dont have one on most French bought goods.

[/quote]

I thought that there is now Union-wide EU prescribed customer protection legislation which is based on the English Sale of Goods Law?

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[quote user="BJSLIV"]I suppose the obvious question is, is it now, and was it ever your maison principale?[/quote]

Ah, there in lies the usual insurance company "get out clause".

It is our only property, we do not own anything in the UK, but that is a technicality. So far CA (and to be precise Britline, so no French shrugs, all English head in the sand!!), have said, it's not a principal residence because, we don't pay income tax in France, then it was because our account is to a UK address (regardless it's not ours), then because we are not in our home for over a certain amount of days a year, then not over a certain amount of consecutive days etc etc

I found the AA in the UK do a "holiday home" insurance that is half the price than CA's "maision secondaire" insurance, to which CA's response was "shall we cancel ours then", blowing over the fact that they technically left me uninsured.

Sounds like an uphill struggle, but for them to defend against a small claim for 50% of the premiums, would cost them more than paying it back (to me it's a principle, although I know sometimes principles can cost money, sometimes too much money), but that's assuming they use common sense and logic!!

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As others have implied, no point suing, it would just cost you a fortune, go on for years, and you would probably lose.

Best to just change insurers, but do your homework first.

And go in to see them, arrange it face to face, not online. Most CA banks have an english speaking agent.

We're insured with CA/Pacifica, and when we claimed for storm damage in ?2009 we nearly didn't get it because our Nathalie at CA had made a mistake on the contract (said we were tenants not owners). She did apologise and corrected the mistake. We should have checked the contract too.

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F1SteveUK.

I reckon that the majority of French insurance subscribers are  uninsured but if they have never claimed then they wont have found out.

Dont expect common sense or economics to play any part in their thinking, insurance companies frequently spend far more money on experts and avocats trying to deny a claim than they would in having settled it and given themselves a good reputation.

My last car insurer resiliated my contract at renewal, they wrote to me 2 months before saying that they were doing so citing a change of strategic direction, a shame as they were by far the cheapest and needless to say I have never had a claim.

I had been direct with them, they are Assuravenue a web insurer arm of Alliance I think, now I have found insurance 43% cheaper through an intermediarie and that is after they have taken their cut, my new insurance company? - Assuravenue [:D]

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