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Uncancelled Direct Debit - can i claim a refund for money paid in error?
bumpy167
Posts: 10 Forumite
Hi - sorry about this, a bit of a saga. If anyone has any comments I would be interested to hear them.
During an attempt to rationalise my expenditure this week I have discovered that I have been paying 2 direct debits to my Life Assurance provider for 2 seperate policies.
6 yrs ago I took out a mortgage which required a Life Assurance policy to be taken out at the same time. The mortgage and the Life Assurance were organised by the same broker.
I re-mortgaged 2yrs later (with the same broker) and took the chance to update my Life Assurance as I had had a change in circumstances. The broker completed all the documentation for me and a direct debit was set up to pay the new monthly amount.
I have just discovered that I have been paying both the initial direct debit and the new direct debit amounts since then. I called the provider to ask for the orginal DD to be cancelled and for the money that I have paid over the last 3 yrs to be refunded. Their response has been that they have no instruction recorded on their system as evidence that I called them to cancel the policy and therefore they will not refund any money.
I have spoken to my broker and he has said that when my circumstances changed we were issued with a brand new policy by the insurer. Therefore he said that he would have advised me to cancel the original direct debit in case the insurer did not pick up on the fact that they had 2 policies live for the same individual. I do not remember this conversation and made the assumption that the provider would have had all the necessary details from the broker. His advice to me has been to pursue the provider to see what they will agree to but that I am not entitled to receive any refund.
I have registered a complaint with the provider and am waiting for them to confirm receipt of this in writing. I am pretty livid to be honest as I assumed that the provider would have had internal controls to replace one policy with another. I also feel blindingly stupid!
Has anyone else had a similar experience? Were you able to get any of the money back that you had mistakenly paid? Any tips on how best to approach this would be warmly welcomed.
During an attempt to rationalise my expenditure this week I have discovered that I have been paying 2 direct debits to my Life Assurance provider for 2 seperate policies.
6 yrs ago I took out a mortgage which required a Life Assurance policy to be taken out at the same time. The mortgage and the Life Assurance were organised by the same broker.
I re-mortgaged 2yrs later (with the same broker) and took the chance to update my Life Assurance as I had had a change in circumstances. The broker completed all the documentation for me and a direct debit was set up to pay the new monthly amount.
I have just discovered that I have been paying both the initial direct debit and the new direct debit amounts since then. I called the provider to ask for the orginal DD to be cancelled and for the money that I have paid over the last 3 yrs to be refunded. Their response has been that they have no instruction recorded on their system as evidence that I called them to cancel the policy and therefore they will not refund any money.
I have spoken to my broker and he has said that when my circumstances changed we were issued with a brand new policy by the insurer. Therefore he said that he would have advised me to cancel the original direct debit in case the insurer did not pick up on the fact that they had 2 policies live for the same individual. I do not remember this conversation and made the assumption that the provider would have had all the necessary details from the broker. His advice to me has been to pursue the provider to see what they will agree to but that I am not entitled to receive any refund.
I have registered a complaint with the provider and am waiting for them to confirm receipt of this in writing. I am pretty livid to be honest as I assumed that the provider would have had internal controls to replace one policy with another. I also feel blindingly stupid!
Has anyone else had a similar experience? Were you able to get any of the money back that you had mistakenly paid? Any tips on how best to approach this would be warmly welcomed.
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Comments
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We did a similar thing with NU. We got new life cover with them when we remortgaged, but the old policy continued running, and we didn't notice for 2 years. When I did, I contacted them, they said we should have cancelled the DD, but that as we couldn't have two policies running on the same mortgage, they just paid us back the £350 or so that we'd overpaid.
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The fact both policies are with the same company should help them see that it was a duplication, I would have thought your broker could be able to sort this out for you on your behalf as its what you pay him for0
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you can have as many life assurances as you like. Had it been a different company, it would have been near impossible to get the money back. However, as its the same company you have good grounds.
If that fails, then you can discuss this with the adviser you used in setting up the plans as they should have given you advice on this front (although they too are unable to cancel the policy- it still needs you to do it).I am pretty livid to be honest as I assumed that the provider would have had internal controls to replace one policy with another. I also feel blindingly stupid!
Why would they? They dont know if you wanted to keep it or even if they were linked. It is the job of your adviser, not the provider to do this.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.0 -
Has anyone else had a similar experience? Were you able to get any of the money back that you had mistakenly paid? .
I have mistakenly paid lots of money to various people but if it has been my decision to do this I usually accept its my fault - not theres...Hi, we’ve had to remove your signature. If you’re not sure why please read the forum rules or email the forum team if you’re still unsure - MSE ForumTeam0 -
Thank you very much to those of you who have posted helpful comments.0
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we has a similar incident but when we investigate fully ours was with barclays, when they checked everything out they discovered that we had told them that we did not require the insurance but that they has ignored our request and set it up any way, we got all our money back plus compensation but as i do not know how your error went not sure this will be the case for you0
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we has a similar incident but when we investigate fully ours was with barclays, when they checked everything out they discovered that we had told them that we did not require the insurance but that they has ignored our request and set it up any way, we got all our money back plus compensation but as i do not know how your error went not sure this will be the case for you
I had that scenario with a bank a few years back and I put in a complaint and the client got all their premiums back plus interest. However, that is a different thing to what the OP is talking about.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.0 -
The trouble is that the insurance company will not think it necessarily odd that there were two policies. Lots of people get additional policies for life cover for varying reasons and often with the same provider. If they have had no formal instruction from you to cancel the policy, then why would they think anything untoward?
I have to say too - shame on you for not looking at your bank statements for a whole 6 years! :eek: Goodness knows what else has been going on without you realising. This is a classic example of why simple finance should be taught to kids at school. Naivity like this can, and does cost thousands.
I hope that you will learn from this - get yourself an internet banking log-in and start using it weekly. Start by checking your direct debit and standing order lists!"One day I realised that when you are lying in your grave, it's no good saying, "I was too shy, too frightened."
Because by then you've blown your chances. That's it."0 -
mrcow - thanks for the patronising comments. Did you not read in my original post that I feel blindingly stupid? All I was looking for was a bit of advice from the posters here as to whether they thought I had a claim, I was not aware that I would be laying myself open to others to pass judgement on my mistakes. Oops, another bit of naivety on my part.
One lesson that I have certainly learned is to not post here unless I already know (or profess to know) all the answers.0 -
mrcow - thanks for the patronising comments. Did you not read in my original post that I feel blindingly stupid?
You call it patronising - I call it common sense.
Rather than getting your pants in a twist about what I've written, take it on board and learn from it.
The advice is standard as per the other thread you've posted on.
Raise a formal complaint with your broker. (It is not the insurance company's problem or fault for reasons stated - they were not the ones advising or dealing directly with you).
If you have no joy, try the ombudsman. Personally I think you'll be peeing in the wind for your money but give it a go.
And don't take your frustrations out on me - it's not me who flushed your money down the toilet.
Do yourself a favour and take my advice - get yourself on online banking - today - and go through EVERYTHING. And then make it a habit to check it weekly. Also consider getting at least 12 months of back bank statements to see what else you've been wasting your money on. And get a copy of your credit report whilst your at it to make sure there is nothing else on there that you had no idea you were paying for."One day I realised that when you are lying in your grave, it's no good saying, "I was too shy, too frightened."
Because by then you've blown your chances. That's it."0
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