Direct Line Car Insurance Review

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Direct Line Car Insurance
1.5 stars
Average rating for this product is: 1.5 out of 5

From 7 ratings and 149 reviews

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Guest's Review of Direct Line Car Insurance

24th Jul 2009

Overall Rating

1 stars
  • Value for money
    1 stars
  • Reason for going with this company
    Cheapest Quote
  • Driver Type
    Lady Driver
  • Customer Service
    1 stars
  • Have you made a Claim
    Recently Settled
  • Cover Taken
    Comprehensive
  • Previous Insurance Company
    Direct Line

I took out insurance with Direct Line as they were a well known and supposedly fair insurer. From appalling customer service to unfair practice, this company should not be allowed to operate.

1st Problem
The main reason I chose Direct Line was because they promised that they would refund a quarter of my policy amount if I took a pass plus certificate. When I sent them a copy of the certificate I was told that they were only going to give me a 5 percent discount.

2nd Problem
I phoned Direct line the day before I moved house to inform them of the change of address. They charged me a £35 admin fee and sent me a new certificate, which had my new address as the policy holder, but showed my old address as the place where my car was kept. I phoned again to rectify this and was charged another £35.

3rd problem
My car went off the road as the result of a diesel spill. Direct Line put this down as MY fault on my policy despite a police report to the contrary. I was told that it could not be proven that the accident wasn't my fault, and that the money would have to come from me because they could not get it back from anywhere else.

My car was of low value and so was written off. I was then informed of a large hidden excess of the same value as my car, so I was unable to buy another for several months, costing me £40 a week in train fares, which of course Direct Line did not pay for.

I also needed treatment for whiplash, which I got no compensation for even when I needed to take time off work for the appointments.

At no point did I speak to a polite and helpful person, everyone I spoke to was rude and unpleasant, they have minimal training and do not think that customers are important.

I wish I had never had anything to do with Direct Line and would recommend that they be avoided at all costs. They have recently sent me a letter telling me that they will automatically renew my policy at the end of this month. Luckily the payment details they have are no longer applicable, so even if they do manage to mishandle my cancellation they willnot be getting any more money.

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Members' Comments onGuest's Review

  • Diana Polkey Rank: Corporal on 15th Sep 2009

    I found this review very helpful because...thanks I will not being useing Direct line Not sure which Insurance company to use think they are all as bad as each other If you need another company to go to avoid Fortis they are worse than Direct line