Hello,

Just wanted to share you the nightmare day we had yesterday, buying and more importantly taxing a new car. If anyone has any advice etc, please respond as we really need all the help we can get.

So, last week, my girlfriend was crashed into by some young kid on the way to work. The lad paid her the value of the car, for the damage (and obviously allowed her to keep it so it can be sold for scrap or spares and repair), so we started the hunt for a new one. We found a nice luxuryKa about 40 miles away and decided go see it. She was chuffed to bits with it, so she put a deposit down on Friday and we agreed to go back yesterday.

The car was SORN'd, so we were told we'd need a certificate of motor insurance or a cover note to get it taxed. After changing her insurance, she asked for a cover note. Direct Line told her they don't do cover notes but to use the policy outline on their website from her online account, which is valid proof of a policy. I must admit, I was skeptical, but we drove the 40 mile trip to the car with the documents in-hand and popped into the local post office. The female worker told us she couldn't put it through as it was neither a cover note, nor certificate of motor insurance. The woman told her, that if Direct Line could email a cover note (she gets emails on her phone so this was a perfectly realistic option), that would be acceptable.

In a panic, my girlfriend phoned Direct Line and asked them for a cover note as she was now without a car. They firstly informed her that they do not use e-mail as a form of communication. Absolutely flabbergasted, my girlfriend asked "why do you use an online policy manager then?". Direct Line told her that it simply allows you to view active policies, but that 'Direct Line does not acknowledge e-mail as a valid form of communication'. They told her the only way they could do it was via Fax at a charge of £9.50. After reminding them that nobody has used Fax since about 1997, we started walking around the area looking for a random shop that might have a fax machine and would be willing to let us use it. After about 10 minutes, we found a bookstore who said we could use theirs. Result? No chance.

My girlfriend phoned Direct Line and informed them we'd found a Fax machine. She was told that they would happily fax the documents at 9am the next day! This was at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, so it wasn't like they were even close to closing time. She was told they were 'really busy' and had to prioritize their team members. By this point getting quite emotional, my girlfriend pleaded on the phone that we'd driven quite a long way and that she had no way of getting to University or Work unless they did this for her. Let's be honest, how long does it take to b***** fax a document? The staff member told her they would extend the insurance on the old car for 5 days. Despite being repeatedly told that the car needed taxing today, the phone operator told my girlfriend "why don't you get your policy documents special delivery, it only costs 14.95". My girlfriend angrily told them that she'd paid enough considering they'd already charged her a fair whack in administration fees for simply changing the car.

So my girlfriend is now driving around in a car which has quite a lot of rear end damage and is probably unsafe. Hope she doesn't get pulled by the police, I wonder who they would blame.

Cheers Direct Line. What was that motto again? "When it comes to insurance, our customers are our b**** ?"

Edited by Skezza on 22/10/2013 at 12:03