HCF, Australia’s largest not-for-profit health fund appear to be an organisation who put their systems ahead of customer service, and are openly engaging in digital discrimination between partners, when it comes to new member signing up to use their online app.
This is an organisation that loves to brag about their discrimination policies, but after switching to HBF recently, I was told bluntly that if I wanted to use their app as a form of digital ID instead of having to use their card all the time, when visiting providers of health services, I would have to do so in my wife’s name with claims that “She organised the policy so the app has to be in her name.”.
This is despite the policy being for two people including myself and my wife, and despite the fact, that the first HCF debit, which they did appear to get right, came out of my bank account before I had even received details on my policy. 
A visit to their Chatswood support store in NSW was not a lot of help with their so-called consultant claiming, “Our systems don’t allow you to have a digital ID in your name, if your wife has been the one who organised the switch to HBF .”
When I pointed out that I wanted an app in my name, as I travel and for use if a medical emergency happens when I am away without my wife I was told bluntly “I cannot do anything about it. If you want an account in your name you will have to open a new account.”
After being billed by HCF and despite not being sent any information on the policy after switching to HBF I asked the HCF consultant to print out my new membership details.
He did, it read Antoinette, Welcome to HCF.
It then detailed the payments coming out of my account.
I also discovered that they had a mistake in my email address which was on the so called policy for my wife, her email address was missing.
“I will fix that” the consultant said.
Days later I am still waiting for an email from them.
Ironically when I did try and register in my wife’s name the extent of HCF’s shambolic digital backend and poor customer service was on full display.
After entering the policy number and my wife’s name, the so-called confirmation email was sent to my email address not my wife’s, the email address they had in their system was also wrong despite HCF managing to get my bank debit details right.
But it’s gets better when HCF did a security ID check the code was sent to my wife’s mobile number not mine.
In another case of blatant discrimination, the HCF welcome letter for my HCF services, read ‘Antoinette Welcome”.
My name was missing on the document except for a minor reference to the fact that the policy covered both my wife and me by name.
As for being able to spell it appears that HCF spell Square as ‘sqare’ which is why we have no emails, relating to the new service.
This should have automatically set off alarm bells that something was wrong as a bounced email message would have been generated especially as my email ends in 4squaremedia.com.
I also found out when visiting a HCF location to try and fix my problem, that their shambolic systems come first, and customer service goes out the door.
One also has to put with HCF staff, who appear to be clueless and unable to resolve issues even when you have given them the right email address and mobile number for the account, they still manage to screw up communications.
In the end I walked out unable to use a service I had paid for.
A visit to trust pilot revealed that the HCF Health Fund does not have a good ranking.
One visitor to the site wrote in October: HCF Australia are the worst health care provider in Australia today. Despite their advertising and consistent drumming into you that they care about people, they will consistently try to find cause to decline your cover any way they can”
After detailing their claim on Trust Pilot “They are expensive, and are not there for you when you need them. We’d previously been with NIB and AHM and had no issues, from the moment we switched to HCF it’s been a nightmare, from coverage to even getting our cards sent to us”.
