Insurance Company Sold Me Policy Under A Lie

Joosh

Hey guys.
I have had a massive problem with my insurance company and need to know where i stand.

From start to finish:
Insurance Company: Provident through insureyourmotor.
Premium: £1300
Term: 6 Months Special Package

I took out an insurance premium with these guys after searching all over the place, I was age 17 so insurance companies like churchill and direct line, although cheaper could not let me pay by installments as the policyholder. Instead I found insureyourmotor who would let me pay by installments (direct debit) at 17.

They suggested a policy that I take out for 6 months, and after that 6 month term I get 1 years NCB on top of my renewal which then goes on and leaves me with 2 years no claims after only 18 months of driving. I liked this alot and agreed to pay a bit extra for this accelerated NCB option. It cost me £1300 for the initial 6 months.

The reason I paid this much is because usually 1 years NCB drops the premium alot anyway, so I expected one around £900 to come at my renewal as I did alot of checks before hand of what it would be like with 1 years NCB and they were all around that.

Anyway, almost 6 months later I get a letter from them with my renewal quote (due 1st August). It stated £2170 on it, and also stated 0 Years NCB.
I was confused and so called them back, they apologised, said there was a note on the system saying it was an incorrect quote and said they would send me another immediately.

A few days later I get another letter, one problem. The quote was identical in every way. I called them and the person on the end of the line said it was a perfectly correct quote although it did indeed seem high. I asked why it said 0 NCB and they said "Sir, you have no NCB". I explained the policy I took out with them, and they said "No sir, You get the equivalent discount of 1 years NCB, not an actual 1 Years NCB". I felt ripped off at this point and this is when I started to search into the matter further since it seems I was misinformed when I took the policy out. Every one that I spoke to about thise though did agree that I do get the 2 years NCB at the end of he 18 months. I spoke to multiple different people to confirm stuff.
One person I did speak to admitted that this situation had happened before.

I said to the person "So you are telling me I was lied to when I bought this policy, and then have been hit with a massive renewal quote?", "Yes sir" he replied.

After hours of being on the phone and being cut off/left on hold for hours. It turns out that the quote is correct even with the equivalent of 1 years NCB. I took a while to think about what to do as I was obviously stuck in a bad situation here. I called them back later and discussed it all further, and tried even more to try and get the renewal quote down.

Eventually I brought up my policy details again (the 2 years NCB after 18 months etc) and I got a "Sorry sir that Is incorrect, I have a message on the system here". I asked what he was talking about, he said "You go with us for 6 months, gain the equivalent of 1 years NCB for your renewal after 6 months and then you get the years NCB for that when you leave after the 18 months". I said "I was told I was going to get 2 years NCB after the 18 months". "Sorry sir you were told wrong".

This is rediculous, what I have actually puchased from this insurance company is nothing like what I was told I was buying originally.

I was told: 6 months gets me 1 years NCB. Then after a further 12 months I come out with 2 years NCB.

What I have now found out I get is: 6 months gets me the equivalent discount of 1 years NCB, leads me to a £2200 renewal quote after already paying £1300 for the previous 6 months, and then after the total 18 months come out with only 1 years NCB.

I made one last call to them and requested them to track every call that has been made regarding my policy, and for them to send the ones that have been recorded to my address on disk. That actual call I also asked for it to be sent to me in written form as evidence. It is the same call that I found out that my 2 years NCB is actually only 1.

I have spend countless hours on the phone to this insurance company and have now found that I have been sold a policy under one very large lie.
I spoke to the person on the phone about maybe tracking a refund for this false policy and they said it would be extremely unlikely as my car has been insured for the 6 months. I said "but it was sold to me through a lie, i have not got what i originally paid for", his response was "yes sir but we still would have paid out for a claim if you had made one". My response to that was "Yes but in the event I did make a claim and found out about this lie afterwards I would return all money I claimed in order for this to be settled the right way".

He then told me he would get hold of me within 48 hours to do with my conversation evidence and recordings.
Initially when I took outthis policy I didnt actually get anything on paper regarding the 6 months special deal stuff.... I asked him why today and he said "we are not obligated to because we discussed it on the phone".

What we discussed on the phone is not what I got, does that mean the only contract they made with me concerning that was the verbal one on the phone and therefore means they have broken it?

Where do I stand here please? I have just left college and really really cant afford to lose £1300 only to gain no NCB or anything from it....

Thankyou!

mattymoo

Can only suggest you look at the documentation under "complaints procedure" and follow that. Put everything in writing and escalate the matter. This will force them to review your file at higher level and make a decision.

If you disagree with the outcome you can then take the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Joosh

Thanks. Have you ever seen/heard of anything like this?

Any idea on whether insurance companies ever refund anything?

mattymoo

I do know the bonus accelerator schemes have conditions attached that mean the NCD earned is not portable.

For instance, on one I know of, if you left after 30 months you might expect 3 years NCD on the scheme but they will only give you 2 calander years as your confirmed NCD. It's just a marketing ploy in much the same way as protected NCD for life - only valid while you stay with that company.

raskazz

mattymoo is right. Fundamentally, even if they had given you '1 year NCD' after 6 months, it would not have been transferable anyway as no other insurer would have accepted it - simply because you had not been driving claim-free for 1 year. So in monetary terms you are not really any worse off. IMO the best you can hope for is some sort of minor payment as a goodwill gesture if your complaint is upheld.

Joosh

Yes but what I was told was completely different and I checked my T&C's and theres nothing like that on there....