OK, now i'm mad. Well, maybe mad isn't the right word. Frustrated, that's the word - frustrated by the total nonsense policies and procedures that you have to follow to get anything done in this city.
So, i have noticed that my windscreen is cracked on the passenger side. The crack is around 30cms long and appears to go right to the edge of the glass so it'll be a replacement rather than a repair. I called up my insurer, RSA, and they said that as i have the top insurance policy, they would take care of the total cost of the job. Great. I then asked what the next steps were, and this is what they said. Bare in mind that a cracked windscreen is potentially dangerous and i don't want to drive around with it in case it gets much worse.
First, even though the damage was caused by a stone, rather than in an accident, i have to call the police to get a report. Seriously. The police. Do the police have nothing better to do than inspect minor windscreen damage? Are they not better employed patroling the streets or taking care of the awful driving standards in Dubai? So, the police, with nothing better to do, have to come to Global Village (or i have to go to them) and write a report. Then, i have to send the original report to RSA. Not a fax, or a scan, which would enable me to go and get the work done. No no, i have to wait for them to receive the report, and then they will advise me of who i can use for the repair. WHY? Surely they have a list of approved windscreen companies - they could just tell me now and let me get on with it. Or does the company they recommend depend on the type/cost/nature of damage? It's a simple windscreen, not an F1 engine.
So how long does this all take - a couple of days? In any other civilised part of the world with potentially dangerous damage like this, i could get the work done, pay for itself and then get reimbursed the costs. Nice and easy, nice and simple. Not here. Oh, no. It just wouldn't be Dubai unless you had to fill in a load of forms and go through 101 hoops.
Do i have to go through all this simply because it's an insurance claim? I mean, if i just took the car to a windscreen shop, are they going to require a police report as well?
As if we don't all have enough to do in life...
So, i have noticed that my windscreen is cracked on the passenger side. The crack is around 30cms long and appears to go right to the edge of the glass so it'll be a replacement rather than a repair. I called up my insurer, RSA, and they said that as i have the top insurance policy, they would take care of the total cost of the job. Great. I then asked what the next steps were, and this is what they said. Bare in mind that a cracked windscreen is potentially dangerous and i don't want to drive around with it in case it gets much worse.
First, even though the damage was caused by a stone, rather than in an accident, i have to call the police to get a report. Seriously. The police. Do the police have nothing better to do than inspect minor windscreen damage? Are they not better employed patroling the streets or taking care of the awful driving standards in Dubai? So, the police, with nothing better to do, have to come to Global Village (or i have to go to them) and write a report. Then, i have to send the original report to RSA. Not a fax, or a scan, which would enable me to go and get the work done. No no, i have to wait for them to receive the report, and then they will advise me of who i can use for the repair. WHY? Surely they have a list of approved windscreen companies - they could just tell me now and let me get on with it. Or does the company they recommend depend on the type/cost/nature of damage? It's a simple windscreen, not an F1 engine.
So how long does this all take - a couple of days? In any other civilised part of the world with potentially dangerous damage like this, i could get the work done, pay for itself and then get reimbursed the costs. Nice and easy, nice and simple. Not here. Oh, no. It just wouldn't be Dubai unless you had to fill in a load of forms and go through 101 hoops.
Do i have to go through all this simply because it's an insurance claim? I mean, if i just took the car to a windscreen shop, are they going to require a police report as well?
As if we don't all have enough to do in life...
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