Insurance mixup and credit admin fee?

vigman
vigman Posts: 1,377
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edited 1 February 2018 at 3:37PM in Insurance & life assurance
My daughter thought her current contents insurance was ending and so went on Compare the Market and chose a Homeprotect policy and issued DD instructions

She then found out that her original policy was continuing to take premiums and had rolled over to a new year so she thought she would stick with them

Today she had a letter from Premium Credit saying that if she does not return a signed credit agreement (referring to HomeProtect) by Feb 5th she will be charged a £10 admin fee?

If she cancels the unwanted HomeDirect policy and its DDs does she have to pay Premium Credit £10?

Update: HomeProtect have charged £50 to cancel the policy! Can PC also charge a £10 fee?

The policy was only worth c £125 so the charges seem incredibly steep a few days out of the cooling off period.

TIA

Vigman
Any information given in my posts or replies is intended to be of interest and/or help to members of the forum. I cannot guarantee that this is accurate or up to date.

Comments

  • Quentin
    Quentin Posts: 40,405 Forumite
    Why doesn't she avoid the £10 and just send them the form??
  • vigman
    vigman Posts: 1,377
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    Quentin wrote: »
    Why doesn't she avoid the £10 and just send them the form??

    Because she doesn't want a credit agreement with Premium Credit which was to pay for the now cancelled Home Protect policy?

    Am I missing something here please?
    Any information given in my posts or replies is intended to be of interest and/or help to members of the forum. I cannot guarantee that this is accurate or up to date.
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 116,040
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    If you use a loan to pay for your insurance then this is normal.
    The policy was only worth c £125 so the charges seem incredibly steep a few days out of the cooling off period.

    That is the problem with fixed charges. People prefer them until they apply to them and its only a small premium policy. The charges are the same whether its £125 a year or £1250.
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
  • Quentin
    Quentin Posts: 40,405 Forumite
    vigman wrote: »
    Because she doesn't want a credit agreement with Premium Credit which was to pay for the now cancelled Home Protect policy?

    Am I missing something here please?
    She presumably wanted to pay by instalments


    Thus a credit agreement was necessary - hence the form


    You are worried about paying the fee for not signing and returning the form - so send back the form (you are cancelling it anyway aren't you??)


    Then they cannot invoke the £10 for failing to return the form
  • vigman
    vigman Posts: 1,377
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    edited 5 February 2018 at 4:47PM
    Quentin wrote: »
    She presumably wanted to pay by instalments


    Thus a credit agreement was necessary - hence the form


    You are worried about paying the fee for not signing and returning the form - so send back the form (you are cancelling it anyway aren't you??)


    Then they cannot invoke the £10 for failing to return the form

    The credit company specified the £10 fee would be for not returning the SIGNED forms and I assumed it was better not to sign a credit agreement for something already cancelled with the service provider?

    Also why should choosing to pay by DD cause a creation of a loan? I have many DDs but as far as I know none of these involved getting a loan?

    TIA

    Vigman
    Any information given in my posts or replies is intended to be of interest and/or help to members of the forum. I cannot guarantee that this is accurate or up to date.
  • Quentin
    Quentin Posts: 40,405 Forumite
    vigman wrote: »

    Also why should choosing to pay by DD cause a creation of a loan? I have many DDs but as far as I know none of these involved getting a loan?

    TIA

    Vigman
    It's not the method of payment (ie paying by DD hasn't caused the loan) - it's paying on the drip (she bought a 12 month policy but wanted to pay by instalments instead of a one off lump sum)
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 116,040
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    Also why should choosing to pay by DD cause a creation of a loan?

    The insurance is an annual policy. If you dont pay annually, you are borrowing the money to pay the premium in instalments. The interest rate charged is sub-prime levels.
    I have many DDs but as far as I know none of these involved getting a loan?
    If you had a loan, you would pay that by direct debit. The method of payment isnt the trigger here. It is the fact she borrowed to pay the premium. So, insurer was paid the lump sum by Premium Credit when she took out the loan with Premium Credit. The direct pays Premium Credit back.
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
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