Admiral Insurance - Leg to stand on..?

Davegent

I recently have fallen foul of Admirals automatic insurance renewal system, where they are trying to charge me for insurance I didnt ask for, and due to the fact that I cancelled the card they would have taken the policy fee from.

Now I know 'legally' , insurance companies are allowed to do this, even tho I have cancelled the card, if it is written in their terms and conditions, small print etc but when I actually went to their site and read the T&C's this is what I found..

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At renewal
In order to offer you continuous cover on your policy, EUI Limited will arrange for your policy to be automatically renewed. You should be aware that we can only guarantee automatic renewal when:

You have made us aware of any changes to your policy details
The credit/ debit card details have not changed
The credit/ debit card holder has given their explicit consent to his or her card being charged at renewal.

Unless we hear to the contrary, EUI Limited is entitled to assume at renewal that your details have not changed and you have the consent of the card holder.

If you wish to make changes to your policy then, unless you inform us otherwise, EUI Limited will charge the payment details (card or bank account) held on record for any additional amount due.

You may inform us of any changes or opt out of automatic renewal at any time by contacting our Customer Service department.

We may also contact you with a reminder that your insurance is due for renewal.

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Now correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the first part state that they will not automatically renew the policy if they do not have EXPLICIT(and I understand 'explicit' meaning they have to ask me, and get a definitive answer) consent from the policy holder, and like wise, the will also not automatically renew if the card/bank details have changed? Looks fairly simple English to me...

So, working as a checklist, did they ask my explicit consent? NO, next point, then did they check the bank details and take any money, YES and then NO (as the details have changed and it failed), so thus why has the insurance policy automatically renewed? They basically did the opposite of what they said in their own T&C's

Then the second bit is a complete contradiction of the first, and it not even grammatically correct, 'EUI Limited is entitled to assume at renewal that your details have not changed and you have the consent of the card holder'... Don't they mean 'we' instead of 'you'?

So ultimately, if they are chasing for this money, and sending out threatening debt collection letters, which ultimately if you never paid would have to go to court, wouldnt this just be laughed off as the info in their own T&C's is contradictory, misleading and grammatically not make any sense?

Anyone else been in the same boat (excuse the pun)

dacouch

When they say "You" have the consent of the card holder they mean as in if you used your friends card to pay for it when you took the cover out.

I do agree with you that some of the terms do contradict themseleves.

I'm surprised they say they may also contact you to advise you our policy is due for renewal as insurance is an "Annual Contract" so they need to write to you to advise advise you of any variations in the contract etc. The FSA recommends they send a renewal invitation out 3 weeks before renewal and you must send a renewal notice out.

Did you arrange alternative cover with another company, if so send them proof of the other insurance and they should waive their charges.

Have a look at the thread "Automatic Renewals" as there are numerous posts on their on this subject and an interesting post near the end that argues that it could be deemed an unfair contract that you will find helpful

Davegent

No, sold the car and thus didnt worry, think about it, and I do remember reading what I wrote above in their booklet about the 'explicit' consent so I thought no more of it, as I wouldnt give it.

I see what you mean about the 'you' bit, but even If 'I' have the consent of the cardholder, this doesn't mean they have until they have 'explicitly' asked for it. See what I mean

Cheers. Ill check out that thread.

dacouch

If you sold the car send them proof you had sold the car eg receipt / log book so they can see you did not need the cover and if the dates match up they will leave you alone