I suffered a cardiac arrest at work but my insurer won’t give me my £50,000 payout – SALLY ORDERS SO

I suffered a cardiac arrest at work in February. Fortunately, the paramedics restarted my heart with CPR and a defibrillator. I was in a coma for two days and in an intensive care unit for six days. I spent three weeks in the hospital and had an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (a type of pacemaker) inserted into my chest.

I will have to take medication for the rest of my life and reduce my workload. I went to claim on the LV = critical illness policy which I have been paying for since 2011, but was told cardiac arrest was not covered and I would not receive the £50,000 payout I was expecting. This is so unfair. Please help.

Then

Sally Hamilton responds: I am very sorry to read about your health incident, which was quite horrible. But to then be told he was ineligible to receive a payment from the protection insurance he had had for 13 years was out of the ordinary. You were, rightly, furious, an emotion best avoided for someone recovering from a cardiac event.

Many modern critical illness policies cover cardiac arrest, but older plans, like yours, exclude it primarily because the chances of survival used to be slim. Improvements in health care mean that more people are likely to get ahead.

On the contrary, heart attack is included in plans old and new, since the prospects for survival have always been better, even if a person’s health suffers as a result.

Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart stops pumping, usually caused by an irregular heart rhythm. In a heart attack, the organ continues to pump, but a blockage prevents blood from flowing properly and can lead to the death of the heart muscle.

Critical illness plans are designed to cushion the financial blow for families by paying a lump sum to policyholders diagnosed with serious illnesses that may affect their ability to continue working at full capacity.

You are 63 years old and used to work full-time as a manager in a mobile cabinetmaking company. But after five months off work, he has only been able to return part-time to an office position at one site.

You have drastically reduced your income, so you could use the £50,000 lump sum from your policy to help you and your wife. He has paid approximately £11,000 over 13 years for LV= cover.

LV= introduced cardiac arrest into your plans two years after you signed up for your plan. I contacted LV=, who confirmed the exclusion from their policy, but said they would reconsider the claim if the doctors could provide more information that might allow them to comply with their conditions.

You arranged for detailed reports to be sent to LV=. His cardiologist provided the insurer with the results of an MRI that showed that a heart attack had preceded his cardiac arrest.

I am pleased to inform you that LV= has accepted the assessment and has now sent you the £50,000 due, plus £900 interest. He told me that the relief was difficult to describe and that his financial worries would ease for the foreseeable future.

Critical illness cover ends once a successful claim is made and the lump sum is paid. When I visited him last week, I was happy to learn that although he struggles with fatigue, he is making progress in his health. I hope you continue to improve.

The lesson from this case is not to simply accept an insurer’s initial denial and demand a thorough evaluation of a claim.

A spokesperson for LV= says: “After receiving further medical evidence and writing directly to his cardiologist, we were able to pay his heart attack claim.”

I booked tickets to a Take That festival with three friends. We originally opted for four-day tickets to the event in Malta at £279 each. We then heard through fan forums that Ticketmaster was allowing people to exchange them for more expensive two-day VIP tickets that gave them access to special areas and bars, so we contacted customer service and they told us that all we had to do was buy the VIP tickets for £. 325 each using the same accounts we used to purchase the original tickets, they would then refund us.

My friend made it clear that four of us were involved, but Ticketmaster said we needed to complete the exchanges separately. Half of our group was successful but my application was rejected. I am out of money and very upset.

SH, Sutton, Surrey.

Sally Hamilton responds: Your battle with Ticketmaster threatened to take the “shine” off the enjoyment of your trip to see your beloved band in Malta.

You paid for VIP admission, but did not receive VIP treatment when you tried to obtain refunds for your original tickets, despite having followed everything they asked of you to the letter.

There were three conditions to guarantee a refund: new tickets had to be for the same place as the original reservation: mark; they had to have a higher price than the originals: tick; and new tickets cannot be resale tickets: tick. Despite meeting all three, he was told the only way he would see his money was if the event was canceled or if he could sell them on Ticketmaster’s resale platform.

There was an option to upgrade your tickets to VIP status for £150, which although was more than the replacements you bought, would have been less than the bill you ended up with.

It’s about time Ticketmaster faced the music. When I pointed out the problem, the agency responded quickly. He thanked me for telling him about your case and promised to refund £279 each to you and your friend.

This week you confirmed that the refund was “Back for good” in your account.

You told me the experience had been “absolutely fantastic” and although you described the VIP tickets as a modest upgrade, they allowed you to get closer to the stage without queuing all day and gave you access to separate bathrooms – a huge plus in my opinion.

Straight to the point

I am an expat living in France, but my bank account was closed ten months ago due to Brexit rule changes. My £15,000 is still in a holding account. I have sent the required documents. Where is my money?

FAITH, France.

The bank says you received six months’ notice of the closure of your account and sent you monthly letters requesting information to release the money, which you say you did not receive. You have already received your funds.

My daughter rented a car from Europcar and drove through Dartford Crossing three times. I paid the fare using the registration number on the Europcar key fob, but a letter was missing. They have fined us two crossings plus Europcar’s administrative expenses. A fine was reduced to £2.50 because it was my first non-payment, but the second one increased because Europcar did not inform us in time.

KE, via email.

National Highways says it will refund payments made on the incorrect number plate and has reduced the outstanding fine to £2.50. Europcar apologizes and has canceled your fares, refunding you £80.

We booked a stay in Largs, Scotland for July through Booking.com. Four days before the scheduled date, the owners said we couldn’t stay and had told Booking.com months before. Booking.com said that if we could book alternative accommodation they would refund the difference in price. Three months later we still have no refund.

BD, Halifax.

Booking.com apologizes for the delay in receiving your refund, which you already have.

I flew from Gatwick to Mauritius but my luggage didn’t show up for ten days so I spent £75 on essentials until it showed up. The online compensation form is not submitted.

GP, Dorset.

He has been offered compensation of £143, which he is not happy with.