Snowboard Club UK :: View topic - Board stolen, insurance problems!!! NEED HELP!!!

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Abroad - Board stolen, insurance problems!!! NEED HELP!!!

tamkite - Apr 15, 2008 - 05:14 PM
Post subject: Board stolen, insurance problems!!! NEED HELP!!!

Hi, I was away to Tignes mid March and my board got nicked on my second last day there. Don't have any receipts for my Palmer board or Flow bindings and need them for insurance, got photo's and video of me on the board but no receipts.

Wondered if anyone has any receipts that they don't need and could give to me, I know this is desperate but the way things stand just now I get nothing back for my board and they won't pay me for the board I had to rent as "I have no proof that I had a snowboard stolen or even took one on holiday with me" according to them, even though I have a police report for my stolen board and paid £30 for sports luggage on the plane!

Also a word of warning, I booked my travel insurance online with Tesco for my mate and me, I got no policy documents sent through. Instead I got a confirmation email which had my name and my email address on it along with the price I was getting charged. They don't send out policies, you can only read it online apparently. When my board got nicked it was secured through my bindings to my mates board and locked to a ski rack with a DEMON cable lock(which I've now realised can be cut through with a decent pair of scissors) Both boards were stolen and the lock was left on the ground after the cable was cut in two.
We went to the police and the police officer refused to issue my mate with a crime report as his name was not on the insurance policy (they wont even talk to you about stolen items unless you have your passport & insurance document with policynumber and the insurance company's address on it) I phoned Tesco and asked the police officer to speak to the guy from the insurance company and he would rectify the problem but the police officer decided he couldn't speak or understand English at that point! After 2hours I got my report for my stolen board and my mate got nothing. I decided that whatever I got for my board and bindings from the insurance that we would split as it wasn't fair for him to get nothing but it looks as though we're both getting that!

I'm now home and Tesco say I need receipts AND MY BOARDING CARDS FOR THE FLIGHTS to prove that I was actually away on holiday along with the police report, then they'll evaluate my claim and decide how much if any they'll pay me!!

ANY HELP WOULD BE REALLY APPRECIATED AS WE'VE HAD NEARLY £1000 WORTH OF GEAR NICKED BETWEEN US AND ARE CURRENTLY LOOKING AT GETTING F*CK ALL BACK AT THE MOMENT!!

Sorry for the long winded rant but really p*ssed off at getting stuff stolen and then at the hassle of trying to claim back!

PS. Boards were left about 1.30pm-2pm when we went to grab something to eat so be careful where you leave your gear. Our's were locked to a ski rack for half an hour in the middle of the afternoon and I never thought for a second they'd get stolen! Looks like I'm gonna have to give up lunch when snow boarding or take a sandwich in my pocket and eat it on the chairlift to make sure this never happens again!!!

nickmotture - Apr 15, 2008 - 05:21 PM
Post subject: RE: Board stolen, insurance problems!!! NEED HELP!!!

Alas thats standard procedure with insurance, ive just had the same things with a 2 grand dv camera that was lifted, i dont have the receipts as ive had it a few years so no pay up!

reckoner - Apr 15, 2008 - 05:59 PM
Post subject: RE: Board stolen, insurance problems!!! NEED HELP!!!

Is the make of the bindings on the police report? or have you told the insurance company what bindings have been nicked?
If not I have a receipt for a pair of k2 formula's you could have

Mutley - Apr 15, 2008 - 09:17 PM
Post subject: RE: Board stolen, insurance problems!!! NEED HELP!!!

I had my board and bindings stolen from a supposed secure lock up in Mayrhoffen in feb. I had a reciept for the board but not the binding's. In the end the insurance company accepted a copy of my bank statement with the payment for the bindings highlighted. This could be worth inquiring about in your case.

One more thing try and find out what your single item payout limit is. My insurance, provided through this website out of interest, classed the board and bindings as one single item as they can't be used independantly. The single payout limit was £400 squid and thats what they gave me even tho my gear was worth £500. At the end of the day I was reasonably satisfied to get a half decent payout at all.

Good luck tamkite, i know exactly how you feel.

tamkite - Apr 15, 2008 - 09:19 PM
Post subject:

The make will be in the police report, it's not on the slip I have (it's all in French) but the insurance company get a copy of the forms i filled out when they process the claim apparently and I had to put the details of my board and bindings on it. The police officer was an ar*ehole! He could speak English fluently and I had to write a big paragraph detailing what happened which he read aloud when he was looking at it but insisted he couldn't speak ANY english when I tried to get him to talk to the insurance company so he'd understand that my mate was covered on the same policy. Think he couldn't be bothered with the hassle or the paperwork, I was polite and tried to converse with him using my limited French but he was an ignorant tool!!!
Cheers for the offer mate, appreciate it but the insurance company wont be long in shooting me down if the report and receipts don't match up!!

jacks - Apr 15, 2008 - 10:55 PM
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If you cant find receipts for your goods see if you can get the store you bought your gear from to write on headed paper or e-mail (with the employees name and title) listing and confirming the items purchased, when and how much. Your insurance company may accept that.

anthonyexmouth - Apr 15, 2008 - 11:44 PM
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this is a nightmare. i lost my bag on a chair lift in andorra last year. digi cam, 80Gb ipod, minidv cam and sat nav. only had reciept for the fuji didgi cam but fortis paid out for everything.. including the bag. all on 1 receipt and the andorra police report. defo wont be going to tesco for my insurance

Prive - Apr 16, 2008 - 08:28 AM
Post subject:

i had the same thing when i was in 2 alps i didnt have a receipt for the board but was a regular at my local shop and asked them to make up a new receipts for me so if you get on well with your local shop ask them to do you a new receipt.

i hadnt even bought the board from them but they were col about it

Mosh.n.Ride - Apr 16, 2008 - 10:22 AM
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Sorry to hear about your loss Sad

One of my mates got his board stolen in front of the pub late in the evening 3 weeks ago - can't understand why they took his board which was in a really lame state while there was other brand new board near by but whatever. I never let my board anywhere without a look at it!

Anyway, regarding the "receipt", as stated a bank statement should be enough provided that the shop validate that it was a snowboard. I am afraid that getting an insurance from places like Tesco may be dangerous as they don't seems really professional to me.

Regarding the police officer, well some of them can be really annoying, and as I am French, I am sorry to say that lot of french people are even more annoying against foreigner especially since english skier are often really impolite on the slopes…

Good luck to try to get your money back, if possible.

dunx - Apr 16, 2008 - 10:45 AM
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A shop letter will normally do the trick and include the relevant bank statement too. As if you'd still have your boarding card... so just include a copy of the e-ticket (assuming it was easyJet, etc) or again a relevant copy of the bank statement.

The SCUK insurance policy has a £800 single item limit BTW, which would just about cover a Burton Vapor and decent bndings, but a good lock is always better than the hassle of losing your board.

I know insurance companies have to make a living, but it's the rings you have to jump through and the assumption that you're lying that winds me up. I don't know of many people who have had to claim on the SCUK policy, although I do know they have paid out at least two $10,000+ claims over the last two years. Hopefully, dealing with them is reasonable.

SteveV - Apr 16, 2008 - 10:28 PM
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sorry to hear about your board.

I never imagine any boarder as being a scummy thief!!

Have you tried you home insurance policy. Most policys cover for items up to £2500 away from your house.

I realise that you would want to claim off your holiday policy but they are really good at making it difficult to claim for stolen items. They make you wonder why you bothered having it. I treat my holiday insurance as a medical cover and rely on my house policy for items.

If you need a reciept see you try your local shop and see if they will sort you out if you promise to buy the replacement from them.

Good luck.

tamkite - Apr 18, 2008 - 06:35 PM
Post subject: Board stolen, insurance problems!!! NEED HELP!!!

Thanks for the advice guys, a trip to my local shop tomorrow will hopefully get me a receipt and then I'll be sorted. Smile

Still had my boarding card from the flight, it got wedged in my passport when I put it in my pocket so I'm OK for it at least.
Tesco Travel Insurance (i think) is actually dealt with by the Royal Bank of Scotland, so i assumed if anything went wrong then they would be a good company to be insured with but I'm obviously wrong!!!
First time I've ever had to claim and hopefully the last. Going to New Zealand for 4weeks at end of June, anyone know a decent insurance company I can use? Don't trust myself to choose one after this f*ck up!!!

snowgirl1324 - Apr 18, 2008 - 08:59 PM
Post subject: RE: Board stolen, insurance problems!!! NEED HELP!!!

It's a sad state of affairs, and sh1t that you had your board nicked, but you have all the thieving dishonest bas'tads out there for you having to produce receipts etc, too many people lie about loosing stuff they never even had to claim the insurance money, its a multi million pound business I'm afraid.

For the future, I keep a record of all the stuff I take boarding, cams, boards, jacket n pants, boots, everything but my normal clothes (which are cheap sh1t), with serial numbers, colours, brands etc on my PC, I print a copy out for every bag I take on holiday, so if the worst happens I will have a copy for the police, I also take photo's of the stuff and keep it on my PC and backed up to disc, with a copy at my parents too, in case I get cleaned out or burnt down.

May seem a bit anal but it really helps when you have to claim. Millions of pounds of stolen kit gets auctioned off every year as it cant get returned to its owners, as they cant identify it!

Anyway, good luck with your claim, all the advice above is good, hope you get some pay back! Thumbs Up

JonnyGRanger - Apr 28, 2008 - 06:25 PM
Post subject: RE: Board stolen, insurance problems!!! NEED HELP!!!

Snowgirl, that's some really good advice.
I may be doing the same later.

Az - Apr 28, 2008 - 06:44 PM
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Alot of locks are pretty easy to cut if a determinded enough thief had the right tools. They are mearly a means of deterant. Still advisable to use one though and just stay vigilant.

Anyway you've had a good lot of sound advice from people here and I hope you get it sorted Thumbs Up