Protect Your Bubble

A question about : Protect Your Bubble

Just a heads up and word of caution to those who are in search of gadget cover. There have been many adverts on the tube and on TV by protectyourbubble.com guaranteeing a 48hr replacement of your gadget.
If anyone is thinking about taking out gadget insurance please let my experience as well as googling their company name warn you not to. They are the worst company that I have come in contact with.
A little bit of background, my iPhone 4 was insured 8 months ago with Barclaycard which has subsequently transferred their responsibilities to protect your bubble. When my phone was stolen recently I contacted my mobile provider to stop the phone and the police to alert them of the incident. After 3 weeks of fill in this form, provide that detail and a 3 way call arranged between myself and the mobile provider as well as protect your bubble they finally agreed to replace my phone. When I paid the Ј50 excess and 6 months extra insurance fee they said your gadget will be with you soon. The next day I call up their customer services to enquire about the status of the order and delivery of the replacement phone I get a gentleman who tells me it's a complete lie that the website advertises 48hr replacement and it is absolutely impossible. I call back the next day and get a completely different answer a lady who says it will take them 5-7 days to order and deliver the replacement. I ask her regarding the 48hr advertisement on all their websites and TV advertisements and she says it's just marketing speak and doesn't bare any relation to real life. That's not what I thought when I took out the insurance.
Anyways so eventually after an eternity, they send me a replacement phone in a unmarked box and excitedly I put in my sim card and the phone says it cannot complete activation because it is locked to a different network. So I call up my mobile service provider and they tell me that the phone they sent me was locked to vodaphone, despite the fact that they have promised a unlocked phone and that they called up 3 mobile in order to confirm that my phone has indeed been blocked and that I have not made any calls form that number after reporting it stolen.
So much time has passed without having a phone despite diligently paying the insurance cover and excess, if you are looking for a insurance company to provide gadget insurance please look else where and don't waste your time with the UK's worst provider protectyourbubble.com

Dr. Xiao Wen Hu

Best answers:

• Not great customer service.
  The 48 hour replacement they advertise, may not apply to your Barclaycard cover if the cover you took with Barclaycard did not promise this and when PYB took over the cover they did not promise this.
  If you have any documents relating to when you took out cover / the transfer, have a look to see if their make this promise and if so any terms and conditions they may use as a get out.
  If it was not promised in the cover you took out / when they took it over then the 48 hour replacement would not apply to your cover.
  Obviously if it did then it's grounds for a complaint to the Insurer and a note to the ASA would be in order.
  The other issue eg sending a locked phone is not good and would be grounds for a complaint, realistically any compensation you receive will not be massive perhaps between Ј50 and Ј100. However a complaint does get recorded and a selection are viewed by the FSA along with the amount of complaints they receive. You would also create them so work which may give you some satisfaction.
  To make a complaint, send them a recorded delivery letter with the heading "Official Complaint". Keep the letter concise and to the point, they are obliged to thoroughly investigate the matter and report back to you.
• Thanks for letting me know, the original plan I took out also promised 48hr replacement and the replacement phone will be unusable until unlocked or replaced again which will take some more time. I'm just gutted that I only researched protectyourbubble review now instead of when I picked it as their customer service is absolute sh** and are as helpful as a bunch of kualas. Saying things like we don't know when we will order the replacement, we don't know when you will receive it, we don't know how this process works but if you be patient I'm sure something will happen. It's this "computer says no" culture that's so common in these customer service departments that makes people really irate.
  I think I will do as you say and send them an official letter of complain then after giving them a chance perhaps contact the ombudsman.
• I've not seen a stand alone mobile phone policy that I would bother with, they're over priced and contain restrictions in cover I would not accept.
  Try reporting them to the ASA which will cause them lots of grief, bad publicity and they may have to withdraw the 48 hour claim.
  After you've done your Official Complaint you can then go to the Ombudsman who is very sympathetic to consumers although they work at continental drift speeds
• As always it's usually too late when you google a company on the internet to check what others think.
  Most people take time out of their lives to write bad reviews of a company, but generally don't bother when it comes to creating a good review. So if you can't really find much information about a company, they are either new or are generally running a good practice. On the otherhand, if there are hundreds of entries on twitter, forums and generally other webpages begging you not to use a particular company it is usually a good idea to heed their advice.
  I wish I had searched for protectyourbubble.com before I took my policies out, which include iPhones and the promised 'replacement within 48 hours' if approved lost or stolen.
  I have a policy with perhaps 10 devices on it. iPads, laptops, iPhones etc, which I have paid for around 2 years and never had to claim.
  I had one of the iPhones on the policy stolen 10 days or so ago and within the required 24 hours, informed the police, the mobile network and the insurance company.
  After going through conference calls with the network, answering the same questions on 3 separate occasions (whilst they try to catch you out on the details of the claim) I have my claim rejected because I've had a warranty replacement iPhone direct from the apple store. I'm now in the appeals process which I have been informed is likely to take between 14-30 days.
  I understand the need to filter out those that do claim fraudulently, but for those of us with genuine claims, their claim process is the most difficult, unfriendly interaction with unknowledgable staff I have ever come across and I've dealt a lot with the likes of BT & Sky.
  If you read the small print, any claim requires the policy to be paid off in full plus the excess charge.
  If after googling protectyourbubble.com and reading the poor reviews, you still decide to take a policy out, make sure you calculate these costs as the low monthly fee suddenly becomes a lot less worth it.
  I will now be looking elsewhere for a reputable and recommended gadget insurer and will check google before I commit.
• Ive had to policies with PMB for 2 years with no claims, my daugher drop and smashed my iPod and when I called to claim they said they wouldnt cover it because it was more than 12 months old, shame they carried on taking my Ј10 a month for 24 months for the same registered device! Money completely wasted!
• Sent my iphone 5 for screen to be repaired two weeks ago, came back with dents still in the metal ridges. Sent back to them, received back yesterday...I now have no sound so have to send back to them!
  Was fooled by the cheap monthly payments!
  My advice...don't bother with them
• Hi all
  Sorry to reopen but just thought u share my experience so far.
  I got pyb after I purchased my new iPhone 5 in January as apparently they were the best in Britain. I got my phone pick pocketed abt 2 weak ago. I right away began the process of submitting my claim but then stumbled upon all the horrible reviews and was ddownright depressed that I was going to have issues trying to sort this claim. I have a feeling they have gotten their act together bc so far I've had no issues, the customer service guys have been running me through everything whenever I call and it just got approved the same evening I submitted it. It nay be bc I put that I was pregnant which I am Anakin desperate need of my phone but they've approved it quickly. Now I'm just waiting for my phone wwhich apparently should arrive within 48 hrs unless they need to order stock. Lets see if they pull through bc if they do then all the complaints and feedback may have gotten them in shape!
  Regards
  Fatima
• Apparently, what they've said on the phone is, that they'll match the age of the phone, so for example mine was 2 months old, they will try and source one that is exactly the same age (or close it)...let's see...
  I should receive it today if they keep up their "within 48 hours" thing, but i've seen a little side note that says it could take longer if the supplier is out of stock and blah blah....
• If you can, extend your Home and Contents insurance to cover items away from the Home, I did this with Aviva for my 2 iPhones for less than Ј30 / year.
• WORST INSURANCE PROVIDER EVER!
  I took out cover on my iPhone 5 nine months ago after buying it brand new from an independent retailer. I emailed PYB the receipt of purchase and they swiftly insured me. Yesterday my iPhone was stolen and after calling PYB they told me that because I bought my iPhone from an independant shop rather than apple/O2 they would not replace my fone, despite the fact they knew where I bought it from when I first took out the policy.
  I guess it's my own fault for not saving my correspondence with them when I first took out the policy, they say they won't get a transcript of the conversation when I first took the policy out. Now I just don't know what to do, I'm going to try taking legal action and contacting trading standards but what a nightmare! I doubt ill ever see the replacement fone I was promised, please take my advice and do not be mugged by protect your bubble the way I have!
• Use at your peril.
  If you insure your phone with this company be prepared to jump through hoops. My mobile provider is Virgin, because they use the cell sites of Everything Everywhere rather than their own network they cannot provide the basic information Protect your bubble need to even assess your claim. If you're a Virgin customer don't waste your money!
• We'll I took out a policy a little while before Christmas and, when the phone (Galaxy S3) gave up and 3 wouldn't cover it, I began my struggle with Protect Your Bubble. It took them from late December until May to process my claim - during which time I was asked for my proof of purchase more times than I can count. Every time they asked for it I contacted Three who gave me the same document and assured me it was what Protect were asking for, and every time Protect said no, it doesn't prove that you own the phone - no claim. I think that the main problem was because the phone was in my mothers name. With the amount of times they spoke to both me and my mum, you would think they'd understand that the phone was mine and process the claim, but after searching online for reviews and doing more research into the company, I figured out that they just don't want to pay out, and will do all they can to avoid doing so, and they still said no.
  But after speaking to both myself, my mother, and Three in one conversation Protect Your Bubble finally (five months later) decided to give the claim the Okay, and after a little while my S3 was replaced... But not with a new phone, as I was assured it would be. No, Protect have me what was clearly a very damaged and refurbished phone. I realised after a week that it was riddled with faults, and has only gotten worse over time.
  The ordeal was so stressful that, combined with the promise of a free upgrade from my Phones4U salesman friend, I didn't bother to contact them again about it until some months later when the phone got even worse. Now it won't charge, it's never been able to multitask as well as my original, the camera seems damaged, and the phone has been telling me that I have two new messages since June - messages which I read a while ago. With the new charging issue I will be contacting them tomorrow. Thankfully, my mums friend was an insurance broker for a long time, so we know what to do and who to contact to get something done about this pitiful excuse for a company.
  Jonathon Tweedale
• Stay away from this company . My sister has an insurance for her new mobile samsung galexy S4 , She had a claim when her screen cracked ,company rejected her claim after waiting almost a month(despite their offer to replace your phone in 48 hours) there was no explanation given in writing . What all they advertise in their website is just to attract people . simple advice is stay away . if you have no claim ,its fine or its good to waste your money .
• They have no problem until you have a claim , if you buy a new phone from ebay or any local shop . your claim is invlaid , they wont say all these when you take a policy . such a crap and fraud company . I dont know , how these companies can stills survive by fooling customers like this
  QUOTE=MissKOwen;62306527]WORST INSURANCE PROVIDER EVER!
  I took out cover on my iPhone 5 nine months ago after buying it brand new from an independent retailer. I emailed PYB the receipt of purchase and they swiftly insured me. Yesterday my iPhone was stolen and after calling PYB they told me that because I bought my iPhone from an independant shop rather than apple/O2 they would not replace my fone, despite the fact they knew where I bought it from when I first took out the policy.
  I guess it's my own fault for not saving my correspondence with them when I first took out the policy, they say they won't get a transcript of the conversation when I first took the policy out. Now I just don't know what to do, I'm going to try taking legal action and contacting trading standards but what a nightmare! I doubt ill ever see the replacement fone I was promised, please take my advice and do not be mugged by protect your bubble the way I have![/QUOTE]
• Just thought i'd add my two cents.
  I took out insurance with 'protect your bubble' two months ago.
  Broke my phone on Saturday two weeks ago (14/9/13) emailed 'protect your bubble' the next day (sunday 15/9/13). they replied two days later saying that they needed proof of purchase, the last date of registration of the IMEI etc etc.
  So I emailed three(network provider '3') asking for the above detailed, I literally copied and pasted the exact info that they wanted. Three emailed back the next day in PDF headed format...as requested. I forwarded the email straight away.
  After a couple of days, 'PYB' (protect your bubble) responded via an automated email asking for the same information again.
  I re-emailed PYB the same details whilst being polite and courteous that they had already received the details but re-emailed it all again anyway.
  two days later......the same email!
  re-emailed the same details again....... the same automated email again!!
  anyway, whilst all this is going on, I forgot that I had mobile insurance built into my premium bank account (NatWest) , so I made a claim today (30/9/13) at 8am, it was accepted 5 mins later and I have a new phone coming tomorrow.
  They didn't need any of these details and if they do need them, the customer support lady said they will contact three and get them themselves.
  I feel that PYB were purposely obstructing my claim to get me to drop it..... and I will, but not without making an official complaint, which I am about to do......
  keep well away
  Just to clarify, I am not committing insurance fraud, I was already covered under my gold select account, which my wife had registered a month ago.
• I have protectyourbubble insurance and luckily (after reading this thread) I have never had to claim.
  Oh no! I hope I can cancel in this case. I have had it for a year..
• I insured my son's iPod for 16 months and when he dropped it down the toilet I tried to make a claim. At this point they told me that if I didn't have a till receipt they would not be able to repair or replace it. A credit card statement showing the date and amount paid was not sufficient.
  A total waste of time and money and their email response was patronising in the vein of "produce the receipt and we'll be happy to help" knowing full well from my email that I didn't have the original till receipt and couldn't get a copy of it from the retailer. Will never use them again.