Reason Global has successfully helped a client avoid a dubious claim of almost £100,000.

Aussie Man & Van, who move over 150 homes and offices each week, had a customer claim that £91,321 worth of valuable watches had gone missing, one alone worth £80,000, during a residential move that lasted around three and a half hours. Two removals workers from Aussie Man & Van were on the job to move boxes packed by the customer and a few items of furniture. During the move, the customer left the Aussie Man & Van employees alone with the goods for around two hours.

This was the first time such an allegation had been made against Aussie Man & Van leading them to suspect the circumstances. Amie Dillon, Support Services Director at Aussie Man & Van, insisted that she “never for one moment believed the customer” as she trusted her drivers implicitly, and was “completely thrown” by the allegation. After initial enquiries with the drivers and customer and referring to the firm’s terms and conditions, she was unsure how to investigate further.

Aussie Man & Van called Reason Global, the company’s insurance broker, who visited the same day. “Reason Global was fantastic and assigned people to the case straight away,” said Amie. Reason Global contacted its claims management company Cunningham Lindsey and also specialist loss adjuster Baker & Co. From then onwards, Aussie Man & Van had no more contact with the customer with the peace of mind that the case was being dealt with efficiently.

Baker & Co found that the customer had reported the missing items to the police and was issued a crime reference number, yet no further investigation was pursued. Furthermore, the customer claimed that the alleged missing watches were not actually owned by him but had been borrowed which meant he had no evidence of their value or, indeed, their very existence. Baker & Co advised the customer that he should have claimed for the goods under his own company policy and reminded him that under the terms of the agreement between Aussie Van & Man and the customer, owner-packed cartons were excluded unless they were included in a pre-agreed inventory.

Baker & Co concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support the claim and informed the customer. Reason Global quickly resolved the case. “We were particularly impressed by the speed and efficiency of Reason Global and that they kept us informed on the progress of the claim,” said Amie.

As a result of Reason Global’s efforts, the claim was not pursued any further and Aussie Man & Van avoided liability for £91,321 and a damaged insurance record. Amie said: “We are really pleased with Reason Global and can’t praise them highly enough.”