THIS is the moment a heartbroken mum pleads with Martin Lewis after revealing her money struggles following the tragic death of her son.
Viewer Rita called to speak with the Money Saving Expert – detailing the difficult few months which meant she couldn’t go on holiday.
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The mum explained that she had been unable to go on holiday following the sudden and tragic loss of her son.
She went on to tell Martin that when trying to claim back for the holiday through her travel insurance provider she was struggling to get them to pay out.
Holly and Phil immediately shared their condolences, as did Martin Lewis, who said: “First thing to say is, I am so sorry for your loss.
“What a terrible situation to be in.”
He continued to say that although the holiday “is trivial” in comparison to the loss of her son, the insurance company did owe her that money and added, “That is what you get travel insurance for”.
The Money Saving Expert said: “I don’t know whether your son was planning to come away with you, I doubt it so he probably wasn’t covered under the travel insurance but you should be getting a refund for your holiday costs.
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“If you’re not getting a refund for that holiday you need to understand why.
He then went on to urge Rita to “make a formal complaint”.
Martin continued to share his advice and said: “The thing that people don’t realise with travel insurance is because it is a financial product, it is fully regulated by the FCA and that means you have the right to take it to the financial ombudsman if they do not resolve in the way that you need.”
Sympathising with the mum, he added: “This is the last thing you need right now.”
Viewers of the show also showed support for Rita on social media.
One viewer on Twitter said: “As if the poor woman hasn’t enough to deal with.”
Another wrote: “That Insurance company is a disgrace.
“They need better policies for dealing with bereaved people!”
Another added: “Talk talk lost my mum’s death cert, I had to send a second and they are trying to collect money off my late mum.”
What are your rights when it comes to travel insurance?
If you think you are covered and think your insurance company is not acting fairly you can make a complaint.
- The first thing to do is put your complaint in writing and tell your insurer how you would like things resolved.
- If you are not happy with the response, you can make a formal complaint using the company’s internal complaints procedure.
- It is worth noting that all insurers are covered by the rules of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and must deal with complaints in a certain way.
- You should allow your insurer up to 8 weeks to reply to your complaint.
- If they don’t come back to you or if you still don’t agree with their response, you can ask for a letter of deadlock.
- This confirms that you and your insurer have been unable to reach an agreement.
- You can then take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) and they will look into your complaint free of charge and make a decision.
- If you don’t agree with the decision and want to take your complaint further, you can take your insurer to court.
