Charges for cancelling car insurance

tulatu2

I recently bought car insurance after visiting a compare web site. when my policy arrived they had my year of birth wrong when I challenged this I was told it was my fault i must have filled it in wrongly and that the price would double with the correct birthdate. I therefore cancelled within the 14 day cooling off period. I am now being charged 75 pounds for their admin charges. I know I would not have entered my own birthdate incorrectly and feel I am being ripped off. Can they do this? i can't afford these charges.

dunstonh

When you buy online, you are bypassing a broker who would take liability for making sure things are set up correctly. When you input the details, this is the data that is used to provide the illustrations. So, whilst I suppose an error is possible by the insurance company it is highly likely that it is not their fault but yours. Cancellation charges are allowed by the insurance companies and the FOS have generally ruled in favour of the fee when its been upto £50. So, £75 seems a bit high unless that £75 is made up of cost of insurance for the period covered and a cancellation fee.

You can ask the insurer to provide a copy of the data input into the quote system. Although as the whole thing is basically electronic all the way through (with a few exceptions) the error is statistically likely to be your fault, not theirs. Asking for a copy of the data input would confirm that.

a11waysindebt

I've challenged this before for a £20.00 charge and had it refunded, this was a charge for having insurance for 10 minutes.My fault as the insurance had gone up from the previous year.

If the insurance details are wrong you are not insured.Not all these websites however much they are advertised are cheap when you compare what you want and what they offer.

Just to add did the company phone you back after the quote.

lisyloo

Can you ask them how the £75 breaks down?
If it's purely a cancellation fee I think you could challenge it.
But does this include an amount for a few days insurance.
You really need to provide the breakdown of the charge.

If it's only a cancellation charge then I would suggest making a complaint through their formal complaints procedure (look at their website for this).
Point out what dunstonh has said about the FOS rulings and threaten them with the ombudsman.
This will cost them about £350 so my guess is that they will reduce the fee "as a goodwill gesture". This means they don't want to accept being wrong so will make it appear they are being nice, when really they know it will cost more if you go via the ombudsman.
Note that you need to fully exhaust their complaints procedure before you go to the ombudsman and this could take a couple of months.

DCFC79

But if the oP has cancelled within 14 days then does the fee still apply

a11waysindebt

DCFC79 wrote: »

But if the oP has cancelled within 14 days then does the fee still apply

I believe it does.

dacouch

a11waysindebt wrote: »

I've challenged this before for a £20.00 charge and had it refunded, this was a charge for having insurance for 10 minutes.My fault as the insurance had gone up from the previous year.

If the insurance details are wrong you are not insured.Not all these websites however much they are advertised are cheap when you compare what you want and what they offer.

Just to add did the company phone you back after the quote.

The client would have been covered as shown by the fact the Insurers advised him there was extra to pay. If a claim had happened he would rightly have expected the Insurers to deal with the claim (After paying the extra premium)

a11waysindebt

dacouch wrote: »

The client would have been covered as shown by the fact the Insurers advised him there was extra to pay. If a claim had happened he would rightly have expected the Insurers to deal with the claim (After paying the extra premium)

In those circumstances yes,But mine was different and totally uncalled for.

These companies normally bombard you with phone calls offering cheaper quotes.In the op case this is where the fault on age might have happened,thats if the company called them back.

You also need to cautious about loans being offered over monthly debit payment plans.

rudekid48

You don't say how long ago it was that you took out the cover. If it was in the last 30 days then you will still be able to recall your original quote details on the comparison site that you used. This way you will be able to see for certain (and prove) if it was indeed your mistake or if there has been a technical issue. Whilst your Insurer would not have to stand by the original quote if there was a technical error, it should give you enough to get the charge waived.

tulatu2

Thanks everybody for your replies, firstly it is now over a month ago that the details were filled in on the comparison site so don't think I can get them back. The insurance company said that what was on the policy they sent me was what was put into the internet they said they would get their IT dept to check it but then said that this couldn't be done and fault was definately mine. i received a breakdown of the charges last Saturday after asking twice, on Monday I received a collections letter, adding 25 pounds to the cost when they had not sent the information I requested.
Breakdown of charges is as follows: Outstanding balance = 179.57 insurer refund 177.33 Direct debit interest rrefund 18.91 discount recovery 41.35 cancellation charge 50.00 total charge 74.68
To say I am baffled is an understatement. As was said above if anything had happened I would not have been insured.

tulatu2

PS> it was when other companies rang that I checked details they had for my daughters birth date, the two companies I asked had the correct date so how could Swinton say it was wrong when they received the same information from the compare site?????