Insurance giant Churchill has told a pet owner it won't cover his bulldog - despite the breed being the firm's mascot.
Call centre workers said 'Oh no, no, no' to Timothy Taylor when he tried to get his six-year-old Monty covered.
Mr Taylor, 55, of Rothley, Leicestershire, said: 'It’s ironic that Churchill’s mascot is an old bulldog that says 'Ohhh yes'.
Churchill Insurance has its famous 'nodding dog' for a mascot and logo but won't insure six-year-old Monty'Bulldogs usually live to about 12 and Monty has just been given a clean bill of health by the vet, so he’s a pretty safe bet for insurance.
'In the end I got a very good deal elsewhere,' he told The Sun.
Churchill said it does insure bulldogs, but rejected Monty because he is over the maximum age for new policies.
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Churchill Insurance began in 1989 as a direct car insurance provider.
Home insurance was added to the insurer's product range in 1990.
The company grew over the next few years and in October 1993 signed a three year deal to sponsor the World Indoor Bowls Championship.
Since then it has added breakdown cover, travel insurance and pet insurance to its product range.
It won Best Online Pet Insurance Provider in the Your Money Awards in 2009 and 2010.
The bulldog was adopted as the mascot in 1994, and the nodding dog was was introduced to its advertising two years later.
Down the years celebrities including Rolf Harris and Roy Walker have appeared alongside Churchill in the televison adverts.
It is reminiscent of the embarassment faced by car insurer Swiftcover after it emerged that it refused to insure musicians - despite using Iggy Pop in its adverts.
The company used the veteran rocker to front its £25million advertising campaign, in which the 61-year-old boasted: 'I got it Swiftcovered. I got insurance on my insurance. Do it. Get a life. Get Swiftcovered.'
But it emerged in 2009 that musicians who applied for cover were told their occupation made them ineligible. They made a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority.
Part-time music producer Felix Wright, 36, of Maidstone, Kent, made a complaint after being turned down for cover on his BMW.
He said: 'When I asked what Iggy Pop did for a living if I was being rejected as a musician, they said they did not know his personal life and he was not one of their policy holders.'
At the time a Swiftcover spokesman said musicians were excluded because they and their passengers might have high claims for loss of future earnings if they are injured.
The insurer esure has also faced accusations of misleading the public. Its advertisements were fronted by film director Michael Winner but it refused not insure film directors.
Timothy Taylor said: 'Bulldogs usually live to about 12 and Monty has just been given a clean bill of health by the vet.'
