Appalled and Angry

[Deleted User]

I have recently moved house and when i informed my car insurance of this I was charged £15.00 for them to amend my details.

I couldn't believe my ears ............ £15.00 just to change my details on their database and re-issue my docs????

Apparently so...... I did choose them through Insuresupermarket.com so be careful when buying policies, as I 've never had this before.

I read the small print and it does say a chage of £15 will be incurred to any changes to the policy, I understood this to be changes in the CAR, i.e. parking on drive to garage or increase in miles or adding another driver. Certainly nothing as simple as informing them of your change in addres.

Considering my car is off the road, untaxed and not going to be used till the insurance expires..........I wish I'd never bothered.

Thinking about it when I changed my car from fully comp to third party, they never charged me £15 to do this then.

Is there anything I can do?

I think probably not as if I complain they will throw that clause right back in my face.

Grrrrr..........very cross!

Dave_G_5

It's quite common to be charged an admin charge I'm afraid. They could have also increased your premium if they thought you had moved to a higher risk area too!

[Deleted User]

No the area i have moved to is a nicer one and the garage is attached to the house not in a block but they don't seem interested in that.

I still think i might write a letter see if that gets me anywhere.

Do all compannies do this or just the cheaper ones do you know?

Dave_G_5

For the area, the only thing they are interested in is your postcode. They look it up on a database and it tells them how high a risk that area is.

The admin fee is quite common with most companies I think, but sometimes they don't bother charging you for it. If you changed your car to a cheaper to insure model, you would get a refund for part of your policy, but they might take an admin fee first and not tell you. I've been with my company for a few years now, and have been charged an admin fee in the past, but recently called to chenge my vehicle and was told that there would be no charge. It might just depend on who you speak to on the phone!

[Deleted User]

It's a scam as far I'm concerned. Why does it cost FIFTEEN pounds to amend a record? Something which could be done in just a coupe of minutes.

I had the exact same problem with getting double glazing warranty transferred to me as the new householder last year after moving.

As I only had 6 months left on it I simply did not bother.

cc25

Recently, my daughter wanted to borrow my car for the weekend. I phoned my insurer (Tesco) to arrange cover for 2 days. They wanted £6 for 2 days cover, £15 admin fee to add my daughter on to the insurance certificate, and, wait for it, another £15 to remove her name 2 days later! A total of £36! My daughter didn't want the car that much!

I didn't stick with Tesco's at renewal time - I wasn't impressed with their 'take it or leave it' attitude to customers. I hope I'm right in thinking not every insurance company behaves like this.

Vic_980

I'm with Zurich and recently changed my car. Didn't get charged anything to do this. If I did then I would have complained.

My advice is ring them up, and ask for the fee to be refunded as you think it's excessive for the issue of another policy. If they refuse, then say that you be looking around for another insurer immediately. Then if you still don't get the money back then make sure you take your business elsewhere.

The only way to hurt these companies is by not doing business with them.

mr_accountant

Vic_980 wrote:

I'm with Zurich and recently changed my car. Didn't get charged anything to do this. If I did then I would have complained.

My advice is ring them up, and ask for the fee to be refunded as you think it's excessive for the issue of another policy. If they refuse, then say that you be looking around for another insurer immediately. Then if you still don't get the money back then make sure you take your business elsewhere.

The only way to hurt these companies is by not doing business with them.

ditto! zurich are very professional, although i have yet to make a claim!

lin473

This happened to me when I moved last year.
My son had his details amended by his insurer the day before and they gave him a small REFUND presumably because we have moved to a low risk area.
I challenged the admin charge and told them about my son's insurance company's refund and they waived the charge. :j

[Deleted User]

Thanks to all who replied. I am going to write a letter that way i can't be fobbed off.

edda

My current car insurance is with Touchline and I didn't realise they now have a mid-term charge imposed (never having been subject to it previously). The documents say this may be made at their discretion, but I had no choice to pay it when I changed my car.

FYI, they can charge £20 for a change - plus 17% of any reclaimed commission for reductions. :eek:

Needless to say, I won't be renewing with them next year. I shall also be asking about mid-term charges when getting quotations.