Day 91 - 12th January 2011

I receive a follow up letter from Mark.  It is 5 days past the deadline for reply of the 5^th January. He tells me he has completed the investigations and is sorry I have had cause to complain but hopes his comments fully inform me of their position. He tells me that the date I logged the claim was the 8^th October 2010 after I had noticed watermarks to the hallway ceiling. He adds that a further investigation from the appointed contractors found that the lounge ceiling and walls were also watermarked.  The floor tiles in my bathroom were also lifting and cracking as a result of the leak.  I can’t help wondering why he is telling me this.  It’s my house, I was there when it happened.   He tells me that I will be aware that Asprea were appointed to deal with this matter on behalf of the insurance company and that my complaint has been escalated to his office as I’m unhappy with the contribution in respect of the non insurance related works.   I can’t help thinking that I am fully aware of all of this as I have lived through every single frustrating moment of it and have shed tears on more than one continued occasion.  Mark goes on to tell me that Alison at Asprea wrote to me on the 14^th December to explain that she had increased the contribution towards non insurance related work to 50%.  I wonder if I am to learn anything new at all from this “full review” that Mark has done. Mark assures me that had Alison not already increased the contribution to 50 % it would have been the first thing he would have done. It does make me wonder why they ever tried to tell me it would only be a 30% contribution.  If they know the Ombudsman’s view is that it is reasonable that they pay 50% of the cost it seems underhand and unethical of them to try and get away with paying less.  Mark goes on to tell me that he cannot increase the offer any further and he quotes a section of the policy that explains why not.  I note the wording and put it to one side to check against my policy when I get it out. I note with disappointment that Mark, despite having had since the 16^th December to review my case, has made no acknowledgement of the poor service issues that I raised. There is no comment on the situation with the cost allowance of the tiles being less than I paid for them and there is no mention of how the claim will now move forward.  I note with resignation that once again I shall have to be the one to kick start the process, despite not having the information I need to be able to make any decisions.  

I sigh at the prospect of having to spend yet more time writing letters and chasing people up.  I feel to be banging my head against a brick wall in an attempt to make Aviva understand just how frustrated and dissatisfied I am with this experience.  I sit down and type from my notes, the full history of this case in chronological order.  As I type it out, I am constantly astounded at the lack of customer focus there has been, whether it be trying to get me to settle for the cheapest wallpaper and tiles available to buy, fobbing me off with a lower contribution to the uninsured tiling than the Ombudsman has ruled is reasonable, failing to provide me with information I ask for, trying to limit the amount of the claim by not checking out the damage properly, not returning phone calls or just being downright slow in replying to my letters.  No one seems in the slightest bit concerned that the special plans I had for spending the first Christmas in well over ten years with my mother were ruined.  This has been a stressful time for me and no one seems to care whether things get sorted or not.  It takes me the best part of the afternoon to complete the schedule of events and by the end of it I have eye strain, head ache and a severely aching wrist from an old repetitive strain injury. There are still questions to answer before things can move forward-the cost allowance of the tiles being a major one. How can I go out and pick tiles without knowing for certain how much has been allowed?  Nadine was looking into this on the 15^th December and to date I have heard nothing further. The schedule of events also makes it clear that I have concerns about the cost of the wallpaper allowance and the issues surrounding the decoration of the lounge.  I have tended to focus on the bathroom  situation as that is where the major work need doing but these other issues will also need resolving.