Insurance company threat

I purchased motorcycle insurance using swinton, pay monthly using direct debit.

After 7 days i decided to cancel the policy as various terms agreed on the phone were different to the one i received on my insurance documents. Different cancelation fees and terms regarding where the bike can be kept and total excess cost ect... ect...

I canceled the direct debit and informed them by post 7 days after the start of the insurance that i wanted to cancel.

They sent me a letter a week after canceling asking for me to return the insurance certificate, which i did straight away.

1 month down the line i have received a letter threatening a dept collection agency has been contacted to recover £138.00 + Minimum £25.00 admin fee.

The insurance cost £17.00 per month for 12 months.

where do they get £138.00 from? for 7 days insurance?

I am sure there is a reasonable fee they have to charge if you cancel your insurance in less than 14 days?

Anyway....

My friend has just told me that he was with swinton 2 years ago and he canceled after 6 months and did not get charged a fee. BUT they decided to leave it 18 months and then charge him £600 without warning? Supposedly the remaining 6 months still had to be payed for, but why leave it 18 month and not even inform him?

I canceled my visa bank card as i beleive they (swinton) will try and fraudulently try and recover the money.

My experience with a few insurance companies recently has been a nightmare.

I have a current policy on a bike which i dont own that i cant cancel as knowbody will ever pick up the phone, its express insurance. must have spent 6 hours in total on hold and they just dont want to know. Just gonna let it run out as it is due to end at the end of this month.

can anyone tell me what i now need to do with swinton? I really cant be arsed with all the hassel.

[Richie]

I'd quote them back these details...

Your right to cancel your insurance and your 'cooling off' period
You have the following rights to cancel any insurance you buy through us:
You have a cancellation right which is set out in the policy document.
You are also entitled to a 'cooling off' period, which ends 14 days after you receive your policy documents.
If your insurance is a travel insurance policy lasting less than one month, you do not have a 'cooling off' period. Any other cancellation rights will be shown in the policy document.ion rights will be shown in the policy document.
What you will be charged if you cancel your insurance
1) Within the 'cooling off' period
If you cancel your insurance, before the end of the 'cooling off' period, you will be charged by the insurer for the service they have provided up to the point of cancellation. We will also make a cancellation charge of £50. Our New Policy Inception or Policy Renewal service charge and any credit card handling charge made for arranging your insurance will not be refunded.
If we have given you a discount off your premium at inception this will be deducted on a pro rata basis from any refund due to you on cancellation. In addition any cashback received will be deducted from any refund due. Where a cancellation or other transaction results in a premium refund being due to you, that refund will be reduced by any service charge and any other sums you owe in respect of the policy.

taken from their website..


so as I read it £50... to cancel your policy.

I had this with car insurance a few years ago, it got to a point where i threatened them with the ombudsman and/or court action cos i had paid in full and wanted my money back.
They shat themselves in the end and didnt even charge me an admin fee.
An admin fee is the only thing payable plus however many days you had insurance.
Ie Cost of policy/ 360 x 14 days (or 7 or whatever)

yep, and they also charge 25 quid for changing details

Frankly I'd argue that as the insurance cover wasn't as described to you that you shouldn't have to pay anything. Threaten them with the FOS if they won't back down; a complaint going to the FOS costs the insurance company somewhere in the region of £500 in case fees, regardless of whether or not the complaint is upheld by the FOS.

[TamSV]

You're entitled to the cooling off period but if the quote was different to the final policy then they should really waive the charges.

Write them a short, courteous, letter setting out what happened and pointing out the differences between their quote and their policy. Make it clear that this is a complaint and suggest a resolution - i.e. no charge.

Written complaints get better attention cause they go to someone senior. If you do it over the phone the staff sometimes don't properly recognise it as a complaint and you end up getting the runaround.

I have to do this for clients on a regular basis, unfortunately.

if you cancel within the cooling off period then they cannot charge you anything at all. distance selling laws don't allow for admin fees for canceled contracts.

[squirrel_hunter]

Originally Posted by Davadvice

if you cancel within the cooling off period then they cannot charge you anything at all. distance selling laws don't allow for admin fees for canceled contracts.

Having recently read the Distance Selling Rules as part of my job I didn't recognize this a being covered by DSR.

In the case of services, the cooling-off period normally ends seven working days after the day the order was made - or after written confirmation is received.

One might think that this is insurance covered. But not quite...

However, there are some exceptions to the right to cancel. Consumers can't cancel if the contract is for:

• services that begin, by agreement, before the end of the cooling-off period

[TamSV]

Distance selling regs don't apply to financial services. Insurance has a 14 day cooling off period which applies even if the policy is taken out face-to-face.
However, if you take up this right the supplier is entitled to charge a reasonable fee plus a pro-rata premium for the time you were on cover.