Asda Dog Insurance Not Always Stress Free
Just like many of the products onsale in Asda supermarkets across the country, the retail chains dog insurance has also been ‘tried, tested, and chosen by you’, though not always to good effect.
Dog owner Janice Stafford has reported many months of stress, as she tried to get Asda to process a claim when her dog Ben needed an operation. It all began when Ben was being exercised by his owner on a local beach. During the trip he snapped his cruciate ligament, and lost the use of that leg. Ben was in a lot of discomfort and had to be carried back to Janice’s car. After being rushed straight to the vets, Ben’s diagnosis was confirmed. He would need an operation, which was carried out in January of this year.
Ben’s operation was carried out successfully, with the cost of this and additional care totalling £626. Janice, of Blyth Northumberland, hoped to easily claim this amount back from dog insurance provider Asda. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. Although financial organisations are often quick enough to take direct debits for insurance policies, processing a claim can sometimes be an entirely different matter.
Although the dog insurance claim form was promptly forwarded on to Asda after the dogs operation, Janice waited month after month for her claim to be dealt with. In total, over four months passed before Janice decided enough was enough. It was time for further action.
Despite Asda advertising that their dog insurance will take the stress out of having a dog that becomes ill, this situation was exactly the opposite. Regular emails and phone calls were being met with responses like ‘it’s being forwarded to the correct department’, or ‘there are a backlog of claims’. Even when staff promised to sort out the situation, there was little sign of a result. Even a letter to Asda’s Head Office was met with little more than an agreement that the situation was unacceptable. Lack of action seemed to be par for the course for this claimant.
In a last ditch attempt to get her dog insurance claim resolved, Janice turned to Mr Justice, at the Sunday Sun, who intervened on her behalf to get the matter resolved. Two days later Janice was able to breathe a sigh of relief, when a settlement was promised. In the end, her Asda dog insurance claim resulted in a payment of £561.33, with an excess of £65 taken off. A victory of sorts, although there has been little in the way of an apology from Asda, and the situation should not have taken anything like this long to be resolved.
Janice’s dog eventually made a full recovery, and the claim was paid, but only after a long and drawn out dispute. It just goes to show, when the things that are designed to make our lives easier work, it’s great. But when there are problems, the situation can be anything but stress free.
DogOwner.co.uk Says: Like all large insurance companies, Asda handles 1000's of claims each year - so it's easy to see why things can take longer than anticipated. It's frustrating, but keep a log of calls and other correspondence so if you do need to refer back you will have a handy log of information. As a last resort, the Financial Ombudsman provides independent help and advice.
