Insurance scam?

pandora205

I think someone may have tried to scam me re. buildings and contents insurance. Two days ago I had a call ostensibly from Lloydstsb (my current insurer) asking if I'd like to transfer to an improved policy for less money. After the person on the phone had checked my details (she gave them to me) and current amount (ditto), she offered a policy a few pounds per month less. I asked her to send details through the post and said I was interested.

Today I have received a letter in a hand written envelope. This is in quite immature writing but is addressed to me. It contains a letter headed from a company (again hand written!) called Deal Direct with an address in Bournemouth. Letter states:

To Whom It May Concern:

Please cancel my Home Insurance policy, identified by the reference: (blank)
The policy is in the name of Pandora205 (handwritten) and my address.

Could you please send any refund by cheque to the address at the top of the letter.

I do not wish to be contacted about this product, or any other products provided by your company in the future.

Yours sincerely,

unsigned.

There is also a Lloyds TSB complements slip (or at least a scanned one) with a handwritten note to say: In order to cancel your existing Home Insurance policy, please sign the enclosed letter. I have enclosed a pre-paid addressed envelope for you to send it to the relavent (spelling mistake!) department. Karen Kingston

There is a SAE for Deal Direct in Bournemouth.

I wlll be contacting my insurers tomorrow to let them know about this. Anyone else come across this person/organisation? I couldn't find anything on the net.

pandora205

Maybe this is genuine after all. I've done a search on the address of Deal Direct (80 Holdenhurst Road Bournemouth) and it's come up with this weblink:
http://www.lloydstsbinsurance.co.uk/ProductsClassic/Common/Info/infoM.asp

Half way down the page under buildings and contents insurance is the address. Surely this scrappy handwritten letter and address can't be from Lloyds TSB?

pandora205

Any why would I need to have money sent by cheque to a third party when I pay by direct debit?

dogbot

It may well be printed type rather than actual handwriting - HSBC for example use such writing on some envelopes for security - they send you a credit card and it looks like a personal letter.

Maybe it is a scam, maybe not, but probably it is a misguided marketing ploy or if it really is a handwritten note by someone in a sales call centre then a frankly terrible idea on their part!

Personaly, I would avoid all this like the plague, and certainly never take up a quote from someone cold calling you. If they are doing that and genuine then their expense base is high and so will be charging you those costs.

If you cancel your current insurance mid term, you will loose the time of no claims you have built up so far during that term, will probably have to pay a cancellation fee and won't get a completely proportionate refund because of all the up-front costs involved in the policy. Wait untill the month or so before your renewal, and shop arround as best you can using the comparison websites, DL and Aviva. Make sure your sums insured are up to date and adequate for your needs.

pandora205

Well it turns out that this is genuine surprisingly. I've been into LloydsTSB bank today and they've checked my account. Sure enough their own insurers have set up details of the planned insurance. They are apparently a different division from the LloydsTSB that offers my current insurance, which is related to my mortgage with C&G. The only strange thing is the Deal Direct bit, which the assistant decided was an error? Anyway, I'm waiting to see if a policy document comes through in the next few days as I'm not going ahead with this without all the details. The strange letter was to cancel my previous insurance and ask for a refund, which as I pay monthly by direct debit wouldn't be much, and I can do that myself.

I'm still a bit confused by it and amazed at the level of literacy (handwriting, spelling and photocopying) of one of their staff! I am however, quite relieved that someone else didn't have my details (direct debit amount, branch of bank, my name and address).

dacouch

This would ring alarm bells with me and knowing how some telesales staff will do anything to get a sale I would strongly recommend you check they have quoted to provide all of the cover you want and pay particular attention to the size of the excess and any security discount. Someone like this is likely to remove parts of the cover or increase the excess to get the business.

Personally I would recommend you ignore their quote and then wait until your renewal is due and then have a proper look where you can take your time and find the best price AND cover for you. This will also avoid any mid term cancellation charge your current Insurer may levy (Which no doubt the Lloyd's TSB employee has not warned you about)

pandora205

That was mentioned but doesn't apply as it's two arms of the same company but I will double check this. I only asked them to send me details, so waiting to see what they are before I decide. The help desk at local branch told me it was all legit though obviously hasn't seen the details.