“AVOID AVOID AVOID
AVOID AVOID AVOID
Brightside have the most obscure and convoluted claims process I have ever encountered. At all stages calls are automatically diverted to Slater and Gordon, a Claims Management Company who need to make money from their involvement with your claim. Brightside say that they have an agreement with Slater and Gordon to administer claims on their behalf which is separate from Slater and Gordon's Claims Management business. If this is true then it is virtually impossible to access. The insurance policies that Brightside sell are with insurance underwriters, such as Tansar for motor policies, but it is virtually impossible to deal with the underwriter, you are forced into Claims Management by Slater and Gordon. It is especially difficult to progress any claim for "add on" policies such as guaranteed hire car because these are administered by Slater and Gordon and unless you are extremely persistent you can not get beyond the claims management business. Claims management is all very well if you have a no fault claim and you want to opt in to claims management (such as claiming for personal injury etc). But it should not be used as a default setting for customers wanting to make a claim, you should be able to make a claim to your underwriter as an individual and not be represented by a company trying to make money from their involvement. In addition, the telephone line is awful - 30 to 60 minutes to answer a call, uninformed call centre staff giving inaccurate and misleading information, sometimes told different things each time you call. Please be aware that Brightside is an insurance broker, not an insurance company, and when you have questions about a claim they are not interested, they just say that they don't deal with claims. And you are likely to spend hours on the phone getting passed from company to company.
IT IS MY WORST EXPERIENCE EVER with motor insurance, and I have had insurance for almost 30 years now, and dealt with a wide range of companies
IMPORTANT ADVICE - Look at the reviews from customers who have had to make a claim, not at the reviews from customers who are pleased with the low prices. The prices may be low but if you ever have to make a claim you will wish you had paid a little bit more for a reputable broker with adequate customer service.”
“AVOID AVOID AVOID
AVOID AVOID AVOID
Brightside have the most obscure and convoluted claims process I have ever encountered. At all stages calls are automatically diverted to Slater and Gordon, a Claims Management Company who need to make money from their involvement with your claim. Brightside say that they have an agreement with Slater and Gordon to administer claims on their behalf which is separate from Slater and Gordon's Claims Management business. If this is true then it is virtually impossible to access. The insurance policies that Brightside sell are with insurance underwriters, such as Tansar for motor policies, but it is virtually impossible to deal with the underwriter, you are forced into Claims Management by Slater and Gordon. It is especially difficult to progress any claim for "add on" policies such as guaranteed hire car because these are administered by Slater and Gordon and unless you are extremely persistent you can not get beyond the claims management business. Claims management is all very well if you have a no fault claim and you want to opt in to claims management (such as claiming for personal injury etc). But it should not be used as a default setting for customers wanting to make a claim, you should be able to make a claim to your underwriter as an individual and not be represented by a company trying to make money from their involvement. In addition, the telephone line is awful - 30 to 60 minutes to answer a call, uninformed call centre staff giving inaccurate and misleading information, sometimes told different things each time you call. Please be aware that Brightside is an insurance broker, not an insurance company, and when you have questions about a claim they are not interested, they just say that they don't deal with claims. And you are likely to spend hours on the phone getting passed from company to company.
IT IS MY WORST EXPERIENCE EVER with motor insurance, and I have had insurance for almost 30 years now, and dealt with a wide range of companies
IMPORTANT ADVICE - Look at the reviews from customers who have had to make a claim, not at the reviews from customers who are pleased with the low prices. The prices may be low but if you ever have to make a claim you will wish you had paid a little bit more for a reputable broker with adequate customer service.”
“Shocking customer services. Rude on the phone continued to talk over me. Then i said i was taking over her. I moved address 2 months ago same street same post code and they charge me admin fee wasn't happy but paid it.
Today called up to say iv now passed my full bike test and charged me again. Said my renewal is October and if this was not waived i wont be staying with them. Her manager said its in the TOB so i have to.
I used to be a manager at Hastings Direct and we would regularly waved the admin fees if it meant keep the customer happy.
Brightside have a lost a customer for next year and will never use them again or recommend them, backward thinking staff who have no idea about customer service or business retention.”
“Awful service. Claims and complaints are dealt with in such a way that I have spent literally hours on the phone on hold and sending numerous emails, none of which get answered.
If you have better things to do with your life stay well away!
Hopefully someone at this firm gives a damn and calls us to sort this out... Case ID - 201901362”
“Terrible customer service. Terms buried in smallprint. They make money from alterations and changes that might be required to your policy when you realise the small-print. Their insurance is cheap, but this is only because they don't expect you to stay once they have fleeced you for everything else they charge for (and they never answer the phone so they cant be challenged)”
“Shockingly dishonest and potentially fraudulent company. I am currently in the process of making a compliant to the Financial Ombudsman about their practices. I accepted a motorcycle quote from them of 365 GBP for 12 months for 3rd party liability insurance and some of their add-ons. I answered their questionaire honestly and only after I paid, the paperwork stated the no-claims was supposed to be in the last two years. I told them immediately that my last insurance policy was 2 years and 2 months ago. They waited until after the 14 day cooling off period to inform me they are raising the rate by 119 GBP since my last insurance policy was just over 2 years old. I looked around and realized there were a lot more competitive quotes than that. I cancelled less then 14 days after I recieved the notice of increase. After ignoring the request for cancellation for 7 days, they inform me thatthey are charging me over 200 GBP for an insurance policy that lasted less than one month when the orginal 12 month policy that was quoted at 365 GBP (484 when they raised it)! Darkside claims that I have to pay the full 12 months additional add-ons, which was not the way they representated them at all at purchase.
--> Stay away: Darkside may seem like a good deal from the initial quote, but just wait....”
