Hopeless customer service from BajajAllianz, what to do next?

TheG2 · 2nd September 2013, 15:31

Ahh, why am I not surprised to read this. Bajaj allianz seem to be in the attitude world of their own. Their customer Care/Service seems a big joke.

I had taken the "one click" car insurance online since I was travelling and could not go to the office of my then car insurer. The policy taking process was simple and easy. No inspection and no-documents required.

I got the real experience and a pie of their customer service during the time of renewal.
They called me to remind me about the renewal some 20 days before the expiry and I said yes. But this time they needed to inspect the vehicle and needed some documents too. Why? I still have no clue neither did their representative then. Still I said OK.

I gave them all the docs needed along with the cheque post their inspection the very next day and forgot. However when I didn't receive even the cover note even after 3 weeks I called up their customer care as the guy who picked up the docs didn't answer my calls.

"Your policy has expired 2 days back and we have not received any confirmation from your end to renew it", said the customer care exec.

A personal visit to their head-office and multiple emails later, I decided to abort all ties with them and went ahead with a public sector company. Luckily I had put the cheque on hold.

The manager was very rude and had to no idea what was happening. And if I had renew the policy with them I would not only had to submit all docs again post a fresh inspection but also had to pay 3.6k extra since the policy had expired.

I said "good bye" to Bajaj allianz forever.

Best,

selfdrive · 24th September 2013, 16:52

Our Nano was pushed over a divider by an intimidating state transport bus. The front left wheel climbed up the divider (there is one to separate the lanes near Engineering College Pune). When I brought it back down to terra firma, it was not responding to anything the steering wheel did. I half drove half nudged it to the nearest empty space across the road and called for 24/7 assistance. The policy was with Bajaj Allianz

I got redirected 3 times before someone could register a request for a towing truck. No worries, but the towing truck was to take another hour to reach me. Also ok, considering evening rush hour traffic and the fact that I was bang in the middle of town. The tow truck arrived around 70 minutes later and the Nano was loaded and secured on the flat bed.

Now the fun began. The towing truck driver said that trucks are not allowed onto Tilak road, so he would drop it at another Tata workshop. I asked him to drop it at Bavdhan as I knew there was one in the locality. He refused stating that Bavdhan workshop only takes care of body work and that he had dropped a couple of other cars to the Sahakarnagar workshop. I asked him twice if this was correct information. He also confirmed this on the phone with someone at Bajaj Allianz. The towing truck went away. It was a Friday, so nothing happened till Monday when I got a call from the Sahakarnagar workshop stating they don’t work on insurance claim vehicles and this work is done at Bavdhan

So I started calling all & sundry in Bajaj Allianz to get them to move the vehicle to Bavdhan. I must have made at least 2 dozen calls to different people in different places in BA. It took them 5 days to move the car to the said workshop. The BA surveyor asked me to speak to the Bavdhan workshop head to get the car towed there. I was not happy but I still called him to expedite things. I was expected to arrange for a tow truck to move the car or go to his workshop with papers etc. After a couple of angry phone calls, the car was finally moved to the Bavdhan workshop and corrections made.

Now, BA says that we owe them INR 2,000 out of a claim of INR 4,500. This 2,000 includes 1000 INR for claim fees.
What kind of fee is this? Is this written somewhere in the fine print? I don’t remember any other insurance company asking for such an amount before. I think we will end up paying this amount.

Also, is it my fault if the towing operator towed the car elsewhere, why should I have been asked to pay for further towing charges? Not that I paid it, but it is just the nuisance factor. Someone less grumpy might have actually paid it.

Other than the towing truck assistance, everything was just a sour aftertaste. I need to look for another insurer.

TheG2 · 25th September 2013, 14:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by selfdrive

Other than the towing truck assistance, everything was just a sour aftertaste. I need to look for another insurer.

Dear selfdrive,
Sad to read about your episode. Thankfully nothing serious.
Bajaj Allianz is a big " NO " as a insurance company. Many of my friends outside this forum too have had their share of bad experiences with the company.

After checking almost all the private players, I think public sectors companies are best bet when it comes to vehicle insurance. But this is just my humble opinion.

Best,

noopster · 25th September 2013, 15:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by selfdrive

Now, BA says that we owe them INR 2,000 out of a claim of INR 4,500. This 2,000 includes 1000 INR for claim fees.
What kind of fee is this? Is this written somewhere in the fine print? I don't remember any other insurance company asking for such an amount before. I think we will end up paying this amount.

Mandatory deductible, probably. It's pretty standard.

Quote:

Also, is it my fault if the towing operator towed the car elsewhere, why should I have been asked to pay for further towing charges? Not that I paid it, but it is just the nuisance factor. Someone less grumpy might have actually paid it.

Is free roadside assistance part of your package? I always assumed if my car ever gave up in the middle of nowhere that I would be the one to pay for getting it moved.

Quote:

Other than the towing truck assistance, everything was just a sour aftertaste. I need to look for another insurer.

I think you'll find they are all pretty much the same. Stick with the known devil!

selfdrive · 25th September 2013, 16:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by noopster

Is free roadside assistance part of your package? I always assumed if my car ever gave up in the middle of nowhere that I would be the one to pay for getting it moved.

yes it is including free roadside assistance.
I didnt bother too much with the undue delay as this is anyway a second car and we were not even in town

What really irritated me was that I had to do all the calling and running around to even get the car to the correct workshop (8 days, of which nothing was done on the first 5 days). Actual repair took less than a day. everyone just kept directing me to call someone else and I ended up explaining the issue to at least 7 different people, none of whom were able to help me.

It finally took a stern call to BA to get things moving. What I do appreciate is the 24/7 assistance, without which I would have a lot more trouble. I am not sure how Oriental would have responded in such a case.

Apparently, tow trucks from insurance companies can drop a Tata car in the workshop outside of work hours but individual tow truck operators cannot.

2nd September 2013, 15:31	#16
TheG2 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Mumbai Posts: 96 Thanked: 71 Times	Re: Hopeless customer service from BajajAllianz, what to do next? Ahh, why am I not surprised to read this. Bajaj allianz seem to be in the attitude world of their own. Their customer Care/Service seems a big joke. I had taken the "one click" car insurance online since I was travelling and could not go to the office of my then car insurer. The policy taking process was simple and easy. No inspection and no-documents required. I got the real experience and a pie of their customer service during the time of renewal. They called me to remind me about the renewal some 20 days before the expiry and I said yes. But this time they needed to inspect the vehicle and needed some documents too. Why? I still have no clue neither did their representative then. Still I said OK. I gave them all the docs needed along with the cheque post their inspection the very next day and forgot. However when I didn't receive even the cover note even after 3 weeks I called up their customer care as the guy who picked up the docs didn't answer my calls. "Your policy has expired 2 days back and we have not received any confirmation from your end to renew it", said the customer care exec. A personal visit to their head-office and multiple emails later, I decided to abort all ties with them and went ahead with a public sector company. Luckily I had put the cheque on hold. The manager was very rude and had to no idea what was happening. And if I had renew the policy with them I would not only had to submit all docs again post a fresh inspection but also had to pay 3.6k extra since the policy had expired. I said "good bye" to Bajaj allianz forever. Best,
	() Thanks

24th September 2013, 16:52	#17
selfdrive Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Zurich Posts: 2,962 Thanked: 3,534 Times	Re: Hopeless customer service from BajajAllianz, what to do next? Our Nano was pushed over a divider by an intimidating state transport bus. The front left wheel climbed up the divider (there is one to separate the lanes near Engineering College Pune). When I brought it back down to terra firma, it was not responding to anything the steering wheel did. I half drove half nudged it to the nearest empty space across the road and called for 24/7 assistance. The policy was with Bajaj Allianz I got redirected 3 times before someone could register a request for a towing truck. No worries, but the towing truck was to take another hour to reach me. Also ok, considering evening rush hour traffic and the fact that I was bang in the middle of town. The tow truck arrived around 70 minutes later and the Nano was loaded and secured on the flat bed. Now the fun began. The towing truck driver said that trucks are not allowed onto Tilak road, so he would drop it at another Tata workshop. I asked him to drop it at Bavdhan as I knew there was one in the locality. He refused stating that Bavdhan workshop only takes care of body work and that he had dropped a couple of other cars to the Sahakarnagar workshop. I asked him twice if this was correct information. He also confirmed this on the phone with someone at Bajaj Allianz. The towing truck went away. It was a Friday, so nothing happened till Monday when I got a call from the Sahakarnagar workshop stating they don’t work on insurance claim vehicles and this work is done at Bavdhan So I started calling all & sundry in Bajaj Allianz to get them to move the vehicle to Bavdhan. I must have made at least 2 dozen calls to different people in different places in BA. It took them 5 days to move the car to the said workshop. The BA surveyor asked me to speak to the Bavdhan workshop head to get the car towed there. I was not happy but I still called him to expedite things. I was expected to arrange for a tow truck to move the car or go to his workshop with papers etc. After a couple of angry phone calls, the car was finally moved to the Bavdhan workshop and corrections made. Now, BA says that we owe them INR 2,000 out of a claim of INR 4,500. This 2,000 includes 1000 INR for claim fees. What kind of fee is this? Is this written somewhere in the fine print? I don’t remember any other insurance company asking for such an amount before. I think we will end up paying this amount. Also, is it my fault if the towing operator towed the car elsewhere, why should I have been asked to pay for further towing charges? Not that I paid it, but it is just the nuisance factor. Someone less grumpy might have actually paid it. Other than the towing truck assistance, everything was just a sour aftertaste. I need to look for another insurer. Last edited by selfdrive : 24th September 2013 at 16:54.
	(1) Thanks