Insurance "Admin" Rip-off!

stevepa

As a result of a change in my circumstances I have just telephoned my insurance company to inform them as it will affect the price of my premium i.e. it will go up and, on top of costing me an extra £4:00 per month I was told that there was a one off "administration" charge of £10:00.

I could hear the girl in the background and I estimate that the £10 administration charge was essentially to cover approximately 15 keystrokes and to send out a letter confiming the changes to my policy!

It occurs to me that this is akin to the bank's illegal overcharging of £35:00 for a letter to be sent out to inform it's customers that they are overdrawn.

Perhaps Martin could make these charges his next crusade as I feel they are acting just as illegally and/or as unfairly as the banks.

Does anyone else on this site feel the same way?

lisyloo

No I don't.
You have got off very lightly with your charge.
I'll be back with an explanation in a mo, once I find it.

You have to pay a share of the following and other firms charge a lot more.
It's not the insurance companies fault that your circumstances have changed.
It's not your fault either but it's your responsibility to cover the costs for it.

Sorry if that's not what you want to hear, but it's my honest opinion.
Admin charges are quite legal so you don't have a leg to stand on legally.
You could try a complaint to get a "goodwill gesture" and sometimes this works but often companies pay because it's cheaper than arguing so that doesn't mean you're always justified if you win.
I'm sure my list isn't perfect, it's just meant to demonstrate the costs involved to a business in hiring people.

staff time
their pension
their tax & NI
time off e.g. sick, holidays
their training
their manager
their desk & chair
hardware
software
rent
electricity
employers NI
employers liability insurance
paper, stamps, ink & printers
costs of storage of paper, stamps, ink & printers
costs or ordering paper, stamps, ink & printers
share of costs of daily royal mail collection
their share of payroll costs
their share of office cleaning costs
their share of kitchen equipment costs
their share of health & safety costs e.g. provision of fire extinguishers
their share of training for fire marshals and first aiders
their share of hygiene provsision e.g. paper towels, loo roll, sanitary disposal
admin costs for processing your payment
fees e.g. visa for your payment
time off for company meetings
time off for fire drills
share of business rates
etc.

stugib

We really need a sticky FAQ

dunstonh

I am guessing that steve doesnt work or if he does, he doesnt get paid and therefore assumes that everyone else shouldnt be paid either.

agaveworm

Many moons ago, I used to work for Swinton (typical high street broker) and we were situated next door to a post office.

Very often, PHs would come in (having been to tax their car and forgotten their cert) and ask for a covernote because they have lost their certs (or can't be @rsed to go home for it more like). When told "£10 admin fee please!", they suddenly remembered where they must have mislaid it and trotted off home to retrieve it....bless 'em.