anyone know anything about car insurance cancelling ?

[Gem & Leland]

ok , i renewed the corolla insurance on the 21st june 08 , kept with same company as didnt have money for deposite elsewhere , so premium was 629.98

i sold her on friday 4th july , theyve cancelled the policy as of monday the 7th ( they had to wait for it in writing couldnt cancel over phone)

i paid my first payment on 2nd july of 64.14


they now want another £128.06 that means for 16days they want 192.20 :cry


all he kept saying was something about the returned premium from amber ( credit company) didnt pay off the balance or something and the sums were correct due to charges etc ! i just cant see the maths and its totoally upsetting me as i havent got it :cry

 

[Sherlock]

Have you read the small print in the policy? Its usually in there what the terms are if you cancel mid policy. Also do you pay interest on your policy payments? How much is that extra over the year?

Mine have an admin fee of something like £13 to cancel my policy. IIRC they reimburse me if I've already had a DD taken out for the coming month and have not used it all.

It sounds to me like that they have a penalty if you cancel during the policy.

I'm puzzled by the whole deposit thing. My policy is simply 10 months payment covers me for the year. DD each month for the same amount. No large lump sum to start. But then I only pay £200 or so with hubby on the thing also.

I'd call them back and ask them to explain it step by step and to explain what the returned premium and balance thing are exactly. And what the cost of their charges are exactly for cancelling the policy etc. And if they are still claiming the present month (July) and also an extra month or some such as penalty.

Sorry I can't help more.

BTW who are you with insurance wise also? I might go have a read of their policy and see if I can make head or tail of it for you.

 

[mrs_metal]

I work for an insurance company, I work on the IT of the motor system so have an idea of how our cancellations work and I just cannot see where their figures are coming from!

Here's how I'd work it out

annual premium £629.98
remove Insurance Premium Tax of 5% makes it approximatly £600 per annum (we always do our calculations without the tax)
So £600 divided by 365 days means a daily premium of £1.6438
So for 16 days cover the actual charge should be £26 (rounded down)
£26 + 5 % insurance tax is £27.30.

The company I work for have different charges depending on the product but the most common charge is one months premium so the charge in your case would be £1.6438 x 30 = £31.64, rounded up to £32 + 5% tax = £33.60

So total payment due would be £27.30 + £33.60 = £60.90 and as you've already paid £64.14 we'd owe you a refund of £3.24

(hope all that makes sense)

It looks absolutely disgusting the charges they are trying to impose on you. I'd write a letter of complaint asking them to provide a breakdown of all the figures with a full explanation and a copy of their terms showing where they can charge you £100 + for cancelling within the first month. Also advise them if you don't receive a satisfactory explanation within 14 days you'll be complaining to the FSA(might be worth complaining to them anyway) and you should get a quick response. If their response doesn't make sense and full of jargon then that's not on complain to the FSA, they shouldn't assume you work in the field and understand it all!

I wouldn't pay a penny to them until you've got a proper explanation, I've got a feeling every time a company is reported to the FSA they get levied a charge by them so it's better for them to sort out your complaint.

http://www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk/gu ... laint.html

Not every insurance company wants a deposit, next time you need insurance check out some of the comparison sites like money supermarket or go compare of somethin, I'm sure you'd get a better deal somewhere else with no deposit.

Sorry the reply's so long! Good luck, hope it gets sorted out

 

[HideiLu]

I used to be a supervisor at a large car insurance company and was going to say the same as above.

Defo ask for something detailed in writing.

There is often some amount to pay when paying by DD, but that does seem very high.

 

[Gem & Leland]

thank girls , just seems such a waste of money , i mean the car was forsale for so long i had to reinsure , i wasnt to know it would sell so soon after , but that £200 or even just the 128 could do so much more then pay for something i aint using / use or what ever !

 

[Hazel]

I tried cancelling my insurance with Diamond after 6 months but wanted £45 admin fee .

 

[kellysomer]

I have worked for several insurance companies (currently Aviva / Barclays Finer) and am aware of the differences in cancellation charges on a mid term cancellation, when you take out a new policy you need to read the small print, some companies charge a %age of the annual premium if you cancel within so many days. Some of these are nothing short of a complete con.

What i have noticed is that you tried to cancel your policy on day 14. They didnt actually cancel until day 17. Please give them a call and ask them if the policy has a cooling off period. This is a 14 day period that all insurers must offer which gives you the time to read and absorb the policy terms and conditions, if this applied to your renewal then you are entitled to cancel the policy up to day 14 at no cost if you are not happy with the policy. I would argue this point and say that although it was actually cancelled on day 17 that you asked on day 14. Dont mention selling the car and just say you didnt like the policy. Say that if you they dont cancel part of the charges as a gesture of goodwill then you will go to the FSA and ultimatly the Insurance Ombudsman.

The charges that they have described do not make any sense to me, they seem comepletely inproportionate.

Have you perhaps had a car written off during the policy? You mentioned that the credit companys amount didnt tie up, if the balance of any car loan outstanding is more than the amount that the insurer paid out for a total loss claim then they will be trying to recover that amount. However that should be listed as a separate bill and not part of your renewal package.

Good luck, a little bit of threatening an insurance company goes a long way, i should know i deal with complaints and solving problems!! I always give them the money back hehe...

 

[Jen79]

When I cancelled my policy (10 weeks into it) I got a tiny refund of the annual premium I had paid. They charged an admin fee to give me my proof of no claims, a cancellation fee, and worst of all they said that as I only had the policy for a few weeks then the premium was higher as I had only had a 'short term' policy which incurred higher rates. And I mean like nearly double. I rang them up but apparently it was all above board. The *******s. I wonder if this is why they are saying you owe them quite a bit? It would have been a higher short term premium? But you def have a 14 day period in which to cancel so I think they are trying to pull a fast one. I would speak to the ombudsman as someone suggested.

 

[bunnymom1980]

I always just cancel my direct debit and no company has ever asked me for any more money

 

[Minime]

hope you get it sorted hun!

I just cancelled my renewal with Marks & spencer, It was due 3rd july and i rang them on 30th june to say i wasnt renewing. On monday i got a letter with new insurance policy in Rang them and they even have it on their system i cancelled not only that but they've taken nearly £300 from my OH's credit card as he paid my insurance last year!!!!
I went mental on them as they were not authorised, even their own system shows its cancelled. They then refused to put my OHs money back until I'd returned their documents!!! I went even more mental and hung up before I got really angry. OH then rang them and they promised to put money back (they still havent) then today wrote to me to confirm cancellation as of 7th july! i posted that back to the general insurance manager highlighting all the above!

friggin IDIOTS

 

[Gem & Leland]

got it changed so instead of paying for a short term policy , theyve done it pro rota , only had to pay and extra £18 , so still ment it was like £80 for what 17days but much better then £200 !!!!! wish i coulda not paid anything but there werent having the cancelled on day 14 without it being in writing on day 14 oh well !

 

[mrs_metal]

Glad you got it sorted