Hi there,

I really need help exposing E&L Insurance for basically committing what I think amounts to fraud, I am unsure if you have made enquieries before but apparantly there has been a watchdog expose.

The story is this:

My dog somehow got a grass seed stuck in his eye and had to have an operation to remove it. I paid for the vet bill on the day and asked the vets to send off the completed form for me. I got an email a few days later saying that they cannot accept liability because it was a "previous condition". I can't understand how a grass seed in a dogs eye can be a "previous condition" he has had an eye infection before but this had nothing to do with that. It is a foreign body under his third eye lid that caused him great distress.

I phoned them and asked them to clarify and they insisted that it is not covered on my policy. I then get a letter from them in the post saying there is an "exclusion notice" amended to my policy to exclude any treatment that my dog may need concerning his eyes, funnily this was amended to be dated a month before my dog had to have his operation. Very sneaky and underhanded - I have the paperwork to prove this and hope that it will be used as evidence somehow.

My vet has written to them personally to confirm that this was not a previous condition and that it was a very important procedure, the dog could have lost his sight. But I have still not heard from them, every time I speak to them they say I need to look in the post and that they are reviewing the claim "as we speak". LIES all LIES!!!

I searched on the internet and found that I am not alone in being treated this way, there are a lot of people with the same problems, some people waiting months or years for a settlement, only for it to be a fraction of the original claim citing whatever they can come up with next. Ex employees of E&L have said that they have a "buffer team" to simply decline all claims as they come in, this alone, causes concern.

On facebook there is a group of people that are not happy with them, and the group for current employees have pictures of drunks and men in their underwear, this company really must be run by a bunch of alcoholics. It's not surprising that they have pictures like that of their employees for everyone to see.

There has to be some way to expose this firm for such blatant abuse of bent legal terminology and the flippant disregard for their customers.

Please help, I am very frustrated and cannot believe this is allowed to happen.

Wayne Casten