Can they do this?!?!

MeandtheLilUn

Hi everyone,

I was hoping some might be able to help...

I checked my mail on Tuesday to find I had a letter from a debt collection agency saying I owe my old insurer £319!!

I cancelled my old insurance premium when I got rid of my car in November last year. When I called to cancel I explained that I won't be needing insurance anymore as I did not have a car! They said this was fine and they put me through to their cancellations department. I was on hold for an hour and half before I hung up, this happened 4 or five times, so I cancelled my direct debit, after telling them that I was going to do so. I never actually got through to the cancellations department. Eventually I received a letter saying they had tried to take the DD and were unable to do so and as a result, if I did not re-instatethe DD they would cancel my insurance (which is what I wanted anyway!) I called them to explain AGAIN and they said that was fine.

A few weeks later I bought another car, and got insured through The AA as this was less than half the price Express had quoted me!! Now I have this letter stating I owe them £300+ I have contacted the agency who have sent me the letter asking what it is about, and also, why I haven't received any of the 'previous correspondence' they claim to have attempted (the nice woman on the other end of the phone quoted 3 letters, numerous telephone calls - all to a number I have never had! and 0 emails - all were claimed in the 1 letter I have received!) She apologised for the incorrect wording on the letter, and asked if I wanted to set up a payment plan... NO! I told her I would speak to the insurance company to find out what is going on and I can't get in touch with them... being transferred and put on hold repeatedly, and not 1 answer!!!

According to the person I spoke to at the agency I had agreed to pay a full years premium, and that is what they are asking for - I have no knowledge of this, and why should I? I had no car, so I'm not going to pay insurance on it!!

Can anyone help me out please? I'm at my wits end!!!

TIA,

Me

Quentin

Cancelling your direct debit merely stopped them getting paid, it didn't mean your policy was cancelled. The phone calls you subsequently had about this won't have been logged.

Don't use the phone any more to resolve this.

You need to put your reasons for disputing the bill you have now received in writing.

Tackle this now, otherwise this will just escalate and you will end up with more problems eg. court judgement against you, credit blacklist, bailiffs.

lindelou

hi meandthelilun,

SORRY TO HEAR OF YOUR TROUBLE. MY ADVICE IS USE E-MAIL TO CORRESPOND IF YOU CAN.TRY TO CONTACT THE INSURANCE COMPANY DIRECT TO EXPLAIN THAT YOU NO LONGER OWN THE CAR. IF ALL ELSE FAILS TRY THE INSURANCE OMBUDSMAN OR POSSIBLY CITIZENS ADVICE AS YOU NEED BACKUP HERE. BUT I AGREE WITH QUENTIN, DO NOT CALL THEM ON THE PHONE I FIND IT CAUSES TOO MUCH STRESS. GOOD LUCK

dunstonh

They can do it because as Quentin says, cancelling a direct debit doesnt cancel the contract. However, as soon as you make them aware of the events leading up to it, they should cease it.

DCodd

Hopefully you still have the letter stating that they would cancel your insurance if you did not re-instate the DD?

I had this with a life insurance but once I showed them the letter stating the same as yours did they agreed it had been a statement of their intent and cancelled the debt.

cogito

I cancelled my old insurance premium when I got rid of my car in November last year

The car is the subject matter of the policy. If you haven't got one, you can't insure it and the insurers can't charge a premium. There may be some admin charges due but that's all. Assuming you can prove that you no longer had the car, that should satisfy the insurers.

MeandtheLilUn

Thanks everyone, you've been a great help.

I do still have all the correspondence from them, I am a bit of a hoarder, I have EVERYTHING even the first insurance policy I got with them (4 years ago)!

I understand that cancelling the DD had not cancelled my insurance, and I explained that I was going to do this because they had failed to put me through to cancellations on 5 seperate occasions, some of those were after I had cancelled the DD. I still have the letter stating that they will cancel the insurance, and another letter stating that the insurance is cancelled, and they were going to send me a proof of no claims (which I didn't receive).

I will find all the information out and write them a letter tonight, and include copies of the letters that I received.

Would it be wise to send a copy of the letter to the collection agency? As I doubt they'll keep them informed, and I don't want this going any further.

Again, Thank you!!

Quentin

The debt may have arisen because although they have cancelled the policy, there was still money owing to them (eg cancellation charges/unpaid interest on the instalment plan etc) which they have been unable to collect.

Ask them to give you a detailed invoice of how the alleged debt is made up.

And it will do no harm to send a copy to the debt collectors.

missm29

When i didn't renew our insurance with norwich union this year, i cancelled the direct debit after the last payment, but they seem to automatically renew it after a year and now think i owe them, when i phone to confirm i don't want to renew i get passed around and put on hold. i have sent a letter, and received another reminder from them, the letters could have crossed. Just keeping an eye on my direct debits before they re-instate them. They should be able to automatically renew after 1 yr.

MeandtheLilUn

I have now written them a letter asking them for a breakdown of the debts they say I owe them. I'm also sending a copy to the collection agency. I have written that I am not going to pay them anything until I see the cost as justified, which to me it isn't as I no longer had the vehicle they were covering (it got scrapped!!).

I'm not sure how I can argue with them though, I don't want to pay them as I 1, can't afford it, and 2, I don't see how I owe them. Yet my credit rating really can't cope with any serious bad debts etc against it!!

MeandtheLilUn

Hi everyone,

Hoping you can help again...

Since my last post I wrote to Express Insurance and Close Premium Finance, querying the so-called debt of £319.17 that I have been requested to pay by C.A.R.S. collection agency. I also explained to C.A.R.S. that I wasn't going to pay a penny until I knew why I was expected to pay. And told them it would be appreciated if they would withold any further action until everything was sorted. They said this would be fine (unfortunately, this was all done over the phone!)

I have had no response what-so-ever from anyone and now I have received a letter from Coutlink (UK) Ltd stating that C.A.R.S. have passed on the case and if I don't pay up they're going to be taking legal action and are threatening with CCJ's and bailliffs.

What am I meant to do now?? I can't afford the £319, and I still don't see why I should have to pay an insurance premium for a car I no longer own!

I'm at a loss, and I really can't be dealing with things like CCJ's and bailliffs.

Help please?? Thank you.

Me & the Lil Un