In September 2023, a Waitrose partner lost control of a lengthy snake of trolleys which crashed into my car in a store car park causing £5,000 worth of damage.
I made a claim through my insurer and Waitrose’s insurer accepted liability. Since then, Waitrose has changed the insurer dealing with the case three times, delaying proceedings, and now, 15 months after promising to cover the costs, has declared, without explanation, it was partly my fault.
In the meantime, my premiums have doubled and I have had to pay the £1,000 excess on my policy.
YN, Cambridgeshire
Waitrose has form on cutting and running when customers make a costly claim. Last year I reported how it had promised to cover the dental treatment of a customer who cracked a tooth on a bone in one of its meatballs, only to change its mind 11 months later.
It buckled under media scrutiny then, and did so again this time. Your claim was settled within two weeks of my interference, although Waitrose ducked all my questions about its behaviour.
“We work hard to meet customers’ expectations, so we’re very sorry this claim took longer to settle than it should have done,” it says blandly. “Although this has now been resolved, we’ve organised a £200 gift card as a gesture of goodwill to apologise for the experience.”
Email your.problems@observer.co.uk. Include an address and phone number. Submission and publication are subject to our terms and conditions
