Taking the stress out of complaints
Romantha Barron is in tears as she shares how much Handle My Complaint’s help meant to her.
The Perth disability carer was facing the prospect of forking out thousands to fix a collapsing ceiling in her home and garage. This is after RAC insurance rejected her claim for storm damage.
It wasn’t until she got in touch with Jo Ucukalo, CEO of Handle My Complaint, that things started to look up.
“Involving Jo changed everything,” she says, her voice breaking with emotion. “I’m sorry, I’m getting emotional – I just don’t know what we would have done without her."
Romantha’s nightmare began when water started seeping through her garage roof after one of Perth’s winter storms in June.
Although naturally concerned, Romantha had been insured with RAC since 2004 and never thought her claim would be rejected.
“They had an assessor come out and he was only there for a few minutes, just taking pictures. He didn’t even really talk to us, just said ‘OK, it’s storm damage’ and left,” she says.
Then Romantha received a distressing letter from the insurer.
“Upon inspection of your property, our builder has advised that the cause of damage to the garage and open plan area ceiling is due to glue failure,” the letter said.
“As the damage to your property cannot be attributed to an insured event covered under your policy and is excluded from your policy under the general exclusions, we are unable to accept your claim.”
Romantha couldn’t believe it. “How do you know glue is coming off a beam in the roof of a 20-year-old house? There was nothing wrong before the storm.”
Fears the ceiling would collapse
She says the assessor didn’t even climb up to inspect where the water was coming in. So she didn’t understand how they could make such a judgement.
Increasingly worried that the ceiling might cave in, and destroy their cars and other possessions, Romantha didn’t know where to turn.
“And then I remembered seeing Jo interviewed on A Current Affair. So I contacted Handle My Complaint,” she says.
Jo advised Romantha to get a couple of quotes for repairs from independent estimators to submit to RAC. The builders who closely inspected the damage confirmed that it was the result of strong winds and rain and quoted between $6,900 and $7,900.
In the meantime, more storms hit, flooding the garage with water forcing Romantha and her husband to keep their cars outside.
“We had a phone call from RAC after we engaged Handle My Complaint. But we just didn’t want to deal with them anymore,” she says.
“I sent their quotes to Handle My Complaint and in a few days, Jo had sorted the whole mess. I don’t know what magic words she used because I had been fighting them for weeks.”
To add insult to injury, Romantha already had several other disputes with RAC including a battle for the refund of money incorrectly taken for car insurance.
“I just was wondering what I was even paying insurance for,” she says.
Handle My Complaint outlined the sequence of events to RAC, including the fact Romantha had contacted the insurer on four separate occasions and been given conflicting information, and provided the builders’ quotes.
“It’s about taking the emotion out of the situation,” Jo says. “When you’re already distressed because you’re worried about how you’re going to repair your home, trying to find the energy to fight for your rights becomes even harder.”
Taking the temperature down
Handle My Complaint deals with the facts. And acts as a liaison between the complainant and the company involved to help take the temperature down and get a satisfactory resolution.
While Romantha is immensely grateful to have the claim sorted in her favour, the damage has been done in terms of customer loyalty. She plans to change insurers, not just for her house and contents, but for the family cars.
“It isn’t just that they reject my claim but the way you are treated. You ring a call centre and you just talk to so many different people, and have to repeat yourself so many times,” Romantha says.
This is a common experience for people who turn to Handle My Complaint for assistance.
“One of the most frustrating things is when you just don’t feel like you’re being heard,” Jo says. “And the more people you talk to and have to explain again and again, the more frustrated and angry you get.
How Handle My Complaint helps
“We have a system that ensures complaints are followed through in a calm, logical and professional manner – everything is tracked so that no information is lost.”
Romantha says she can see how people just give up. Even once Handle My Complaint had sorted her claim, the money wasn’t in her bank account when RAC said it would be.
“I told Jo ‘I haven’t got the money yet, can you contact them’. Then they told her they were waiting for the bank account, which wasn’t true. After she followed up again, the money was suddenly there.”
Romantha says Jo’s calm approach made a world of difference.
“I was so stressed out I wasn’t really even thinking properly,” she says, getting teary again.
“I don’t know where I would have found that money, maybe use a credit card I’ve never used in my life. Now I tell all my friends if you ever have any problems with insurance companies, or whoever, just contact this lady. She is just magic.”
So the next time you feel hopeless in resolving your complaint, don't give up yet. Tell us and we'll help you sort it out with less stress.
