A customer calls late in the afternoon on a Friday, when most insurance adjusters are gone for the weekend and body shops are closed. His truck was in an accident for which he was not at fault, and he’s looking for an update on his claim, as there have been delays due to a part that was hard to find.

Customer: “I haven’t had a vehicle for weeks now! Why is this taking so long?”

Me: “I’m sorry, sir, but it looks like the part they were looking for was located two days ago, so we’re probably just waiting for it to arrive.”

Customer: “I called the shop yesterday and they said they were still waiting for you!”

Me: “It seems the part was ordered by the appraiser, who works for us and not for the body shop, so it’s possible they weren’t yet informed when you called. But I can confirm it’s been located.”

Customer: “Well, I’m still without a truck!”

I check his contract, which includes coverage for a rental, even in the case of an accident in which he’d be at fault.

Me: “Oh, has a rental not been offered to you? I see that it’s included in your coverage and would be covered in any case since you were not at fault.”

Customer: “Well, I’ve been nice and didn’t take one.”

Me: “Well, sir, I don’t know what to tell you. You pay for that protection specifically so that you’re not without a vehicle during repairs if the body shop doesn’t have a courtesy car to offer, especially if the repairs take longer than the four expected days we initially thought they would last.”

Customer: *Pause* “I’ll call back on Monday for an update.”

Related:
Absolutely Trucking Mad

I work in the call centre for a car insurance company that also offers roadside assistance.

Me: “Thank you for calling [Car Insurance Company]; you’re speaking with [My Name].”

Customer: “Oh, hi, I’m just wondering why you guys send out this promotion that ends on the twenty-ninth of September when it’s the second of October.”

Me: “Well, what most likely happened is we sent it out to you before the end date and you’re only just reading it now.”

Customer: “Ah, well, that would make sense. I got the letter a month ago.”

Further along, I’m updating his contact details.

Me: “Sir, do you have a mobile phone number that I could put into our system?”

Customer: “No, sorry, I only use my mobile in case I break down and don’t like to give it out.”

Me: “Well, sir, we are actually the roadside assistance company that you use, and if you call us and we need to call you back, we need your mobile number.”

Customer: “Oh, right. It’s [number].”

Later on, in the same call, I’m doing an insurance quote for him.

Me: “I understand that you want the policy to start at the end of November, but unfortunately, we can only do a quote for insurance a month in advance, so this is going to be a guide only.”

Customer: “That’s fine. I understand.”

We get to the end of the quote and he’s happy with the price.

Me: “Now, would you like me to give you a call at the end of October so we can go ahead with this policy?”

Customer: “Wow, that’s a bit far in advance, isn’t it?”

Me: “Your original reason for calling was to take out the insurance policy two months in advance and this is only one month in advance.”

Customer: “Oh, all right, then. That’s fine. Call me on my mobile.”

I facepalmed.

I’m a customer service agent for an insurance company. The people I help on the phone have questions about either their car, house, or travel insurance. Right now, we get a lot of customers who have questions about their travel insurance and recompense for cancellation costs if they cancel their holidays due to the current health crisis. Not this customer, though; he has a whole new set of reasons.

Me: “Hello, how can I help you?”

Customer: “I need to cancel my holiday with my family, and I was wondering if my travel insurance will cover the cancellation costs.”

Me: “Can you tell me what happened? In certain circumstances, we do cover cancellation costs, and with the current events, we are a bit more lenient with those circumstances.”

Customer: “Yeah, I need to cancel my holiday because I need to go to the hospital with my girlfriend for an echo; she is pregnant.”

Me: “Congratulations! Was your girlfriend also going on this trip?”

Customer: “Of course not! I was going with my wife and kids! And can you change the email address you have from us? That way my wife won’t find out about this.”

Me: “Let me get this straight; you want us to pay for your cancelled holiday with your wife and kids because you got your girlfriend pregnant?”

Customer: “Yes!”

Me: “Yeah, that’s not going to happen.”

Definitely the weirdest cancellation reason I heard so far!

Car insurance is compulsory in Italy. At the time of this story, upon payment — yearly or twice a year — you are given a piece of paper with your license plate number and insurance expiry date to display on the windscreen. The paper has a filigree and the data are impressed to prevent fraud, but this does not deter the smart alecs.

Coworker #1: “Say, mate, how come your insurance expires in two years’ time?”

Coworker #2: *Facepalms dramatically* “Oh, d’oh! I made a mistake!”

Coworker #1: “I am never again hitching a ride from you.”

My dad had six years with no claims on his insurance and his current insurance was up for renewal in around three months.

We were shopping one day and when we were heading back to the car, we were hit with over ninety-kilometre-per-hour winds. Thus, when my dad went to open the car door, it was blown out of his grasp and hit the door of the car next to us. We checked a few times and realised the only damage was a scratch in the paint as his door just scraped the outside of theirs. 

We waited for them to come out and when they did, my dad calmly explained what had happened and that it was an accident, handing over his insurance details along with his phone number in case this other guy’s insurance needed to hear it from him, too.

The guy was fine with it and said there was no use to get in contact with them as it was only a light scratch. Between them, over the course of ten or fifteen minutes, they agreed for my dad to pay for the scratch to be painted over. We left it at that, other than confirming where the “repair” was getting done so my dad could pay them, and we took pictures. There was text communication between them over the next few days confirming this was what was agreed.

Everything was all done and dandy… or so we thought. When it came time for my dad to renew his insurance, he was shocked at the quotes he was getting. He was currently paying approximately £300 per annum, and the cheapest he was being quoted was £550. He suspected there was an issue with the website, so he called them up to speak to someone where he was given the same quotation.

Understandably, he was confused, so he asked why it had almost doubled when he’d had a six-year no-claim bonus. The operator promised they would look into it and call him back within the hour. When he got the call back, that was when he found out this other guy did file a claim, despite saying he didn’t feel like they needed to as the matter had been solved civilly. My dad had proof of this via text. He was told that the other guy had provided pictures of “extensive” damage and had been awarded a payout.

Now, my dad was even more confused. A paint scratch is not extensive damage, and he’d covered for it to be repainted.

He told the operator all of this and it was just silent for a long time. Then, he was told to submit all the evidence online, but he didn’t have Internet at his house, so it was agreed that someone would be coming around to assess the evidence a week from then. They also confirmed that they had placed a temporary hold on the insurance to cover the time period.

So, a week later, we got a knock on the door. We assumed it was the person being sent out — alongside a police officer. That was when it dawned on us how serious this was. We showed them the evidence, including dates, times, messages, pictures, etc. Then, they asked for the name of the company who repainted the car and we gladly gave it. It was only a mile from where we lived. We both assumed they went there to confirm things with the owner of the place, but we were kept out of the loop for another fortnight whilst they investigated.

Finally, we got a call and the full picture came out. They had ruled in our favour. The guy in question had gotten into an accident a month or so later, which was where the extensive damage came from. He’d worded it that my dad was the cause, but my dad’s picture, alongside messages, proved the timing did not fit. The payout he’d been awarded had to be paid back in full to the insurance company and my dad’s rates would be lowered to £320, which was roughly what he was expecting it to be. We found out in the local newspaper that the guy was found guilty of insurance fraud and got stuck with a large fine alongside a six-month jail sentence.