A dog bit me on holiday but Staysure won’t pay up

A DOG bit my hand while I was travelling in France to visit my son.

The medical bill for my treatment was £3,845 and I made a claim for this amount on my Staysure travel insurance policy. Three months later the claim has not been settled.

I have always travelled with the security that I have my insurance policy as backup to pay for unforeseen expenses. But I have totally lost confidence in that being the case. I hope you can help me end this saga.

S. L. B., St Helier, Jersey.

You were quietly enjoying some refreshments in a cafe, when suddenly a French bulldog launched itself across the terrace towards your table.

You instinctively put your hand down towards it — which you now regret — as it proceeded to sink its teeth into your fingers.

You went to Rennes university Hospital in Brittany, where your wound was dressed and you were prescribed antibiotics.

But, as you continued your journey by car, the wound got worse. By the time you reached your son’s property in the South of France, some days later, your hand had swollen to twice its normal size.

You went to the local doctor who immediately referred you to a hand surgeon at a nearby clinic.

The surgeon needed to give you an emergency operation within the hour. But before they started, the clinic asked for an advance payment equivalent to £3,845, which you paid. The next day, after recovering from general anaesthetic, you contacted Staysure to start your claim.

You had to stay at your son’s place for a couple of weeks while you recovered but did not claim any accommodation costs, which you might well have been entitled to.

You sent Staysure 40 pages of original receipts with a letter of explanation. But despite hounding the insurer for weeks, your medical bills have not been met.

Policyholders buy travel insurance for the peace of mind of knowing that a legitimate claim will be met promptly, so I decided it was time to bring the insurer to heel.

After my intervention, Staysure went off to investigate and a few days later came back full of apologies and agreed to settle immediately for £3,845.

A spokesman says: ‘We are very sorry this customer experienced delays with his claim. Having now reviewed the case, it did take longer to process than normal and didn’t meet the high level of service our customers expect.

‘However, our team have been in direct contact with the customer to finalise the paperwork and we’re pleased to report that the claim has now been settled.’

For the delays, Staysure has also offered you £100 as a gesture of goodwill.

EARLIER this year I searched on Google for advice about a minor health matter relating to a medicated cream.

I landed on the website Ask-a-Doctor and paid £5 for advice using my credit card. I was happy to pay this amount. However, shortly afterwards it deducted an extra £38 and then a month later, another £38.

Neither sum was agreed, and I have been unable to make contact as I can’t find a phone number.

I have now changed my credit card, hoping this will end the matter. But I want my £76 returned.

G. M., Glasgow.

I HAD a house guest at the weekend who joked that he always refers to ‘Dr Google’ before consulting a human medic about any health condition.

He’s not the only one. Millions of us turn to the internet in search of generic information, including what’s causing our ailments and how we might treat them. With GP appointments increasingly hard to come by, it can be just what the doctor ordered, certainly for minor complaints and if treated with caution.

The Ask-a-Doctor site you landed on, which is run by u.S. firm JustAnswer, does offer access to qualified — and verified — UK-based doctors for an opinion. But at a price. It also has a huge pool of other experts, from plumbers and lawyers to vets and financial advisers.

Anyone who visits the site needs to be wary, as it typically offers a low trial price of a few pounds to hook them in. This only lasts one week, after which they are billed a much higher monthly subscription fee. This continues until they cancel the subscription. It’s not the first time I’ve had a complaint about this trap.

Last year, a reader came to me after paying £5 to ask a question about state benefits and, like you, he cancelled his card as he feared the later payments were fraudulent. He wasn’t being scammed, but the use of low introductory rates followed by a monthly subscription is a common tactic to watch out for.

I put my own question to JustAnswer — whether it could kindly return your £76?

The company admits that people sometimes overlook or miss the terms of agreement with the service, but insisted that it wasn’t its intention to mislead. As it wants customers to be happy, it prescribed you a full refund.

The internet is a valuable tool for researching health conditions and getting support, according to the Patients Association, a charity that supports the rights and interests of patients and their families. But it warns that individuals should show any information they find to their own doctor for a qualified opinion.

The charity’s website offers useful tips on how to find trustworthy health advice online at patients-association.org.uk

■ WRITE to Sally Hamilton at Sally Sorts It, Money Mail, Scottish Daily Mail, 20 Waterloo Street, Glasgow G2 6DB or email sally@dailymail.co.uk — include phone number, address and a note addressed to the offending organisation giving them permission to talk to Sally Hamilton. Please do not send original documents as we cannot take responsibility for them. No legal responsibility can be accepted by the Daily Mail for answers given.