Halifax Motor insurance Cancellation Fees?

Kev27

Hi my sister has just cancelled her motor insurance with Halifax as they put their insurance price up over £150 because she moved a few roads up from her old house, (their excuse was that more car crime had been reported up that side, although it is actually a nicer area!!) anyway she has now found a better deal with Vauxhall.
When she called Halifax yesterday to cancel her insurance, the woman who worked for halifax had a terrible attitude, she charged £27.50 cancellation fee which came straight out of my sisters Visa Card and then told my sister to give her new address to her to which she then said that any outstanding bills will be sent out! my sis pays her insurance monthly through her visa card and apparantley her insurance renewal has just this month started again with Halifax, So im just wondering what type of outstanding bills will they be sending out now and will they be charging her anymore for Cancelling her insurance? she has been with Halifax for 9 years if this helps answer my question? cheers Kev

whatmichaelsays

Your insurance is a 12 month contract, not a "monthly" premium. They just allow her to pay it monthly through a credit agreement. You need to read carefully on what the terms of your contract are with regard to cancellations. Most insurers will expect you to pay up to the next complete month, others might demand the remainder of the full 12 months. From the sounds of it, Halifax will allow you to cancel now with just an early-exit fee being charged

However, if you have legal protection cover, breakdown cover or any other additional service included in your insurance, this will most likely be provided by a third party who will also expect the balance of the 12 month contract to be paid in full.

Kev27

Thanks for taking time to reply Whatmichaelsays, luckily she was not tied to any third party Covers, so what makes you think that Halifax have just allowed my sis to cancel without any hassle? i mean why did the woman ask her for her new address in case they need to send any outstanding bills to her? would she not of known there an then on the phone and told her if she had to pay anymore towards it? Ive seen something about admin fees since writing the question..do you think these will apply to my sister? sorry for being a pest. thanks for replying anyway. Kev

whatmichaelsays

Kev27 wrote: »

Thanks for taking time to reply Whatmichaelsays, luckily she was not tied to any third party Covers, so what makes you think that Halifax have just allowed my sis to cancel without any hassle? i mean why did the woman ask her for her new address in case they need to send any outstanding bills to her? would she not of known there an then on the phone and told her if she had to pay anymore towards it? Ive seen something about admin fees since writing the question..do you think these will apply to my sister? sorry for being a pest. thanks for replying anyway. Kev

The outstanding bills are likely to be for any "extras" that she bought in conjunction with the policy.

From the sounds of it, the £27 cancellation fee is the "end of the matter" as far as the insurance aspect is concerned (in other words, if you had a "insurance only" policy, paid up front, you'd here nothing else from them).

It won't be the end of the issue however for any legal protection cover, finance (monthly payment plan) or breakdown cover that was sold alongside the policy. These are all likely to be handled by third parties who will expect your sister to honour the 12 month agreement that she entered into. Halifax have likely paid these third parties for 12 months (money that they won't get back) and so they'll want to recoup the outstanding balances from your sister.

You do need to check the cancellation terms of your policy and the seperate cancellation terms of any products that were sold alongside your policy to see what you may or may not owe. It may be that there is nothing outstanding at all but that they have simply taken your new address "just in case" they need to pursue for any additional costs.

dacouch

The outstanding items could be if they receive a claim in from a third party which they have to pay, in these circumstances your sister would be liable for the entire years premium.

"Nicer" area often have more claims especially now days with car thieves breaking into houses to steal car keys as they tend to target executive cars which are normally found in nicer areas

Kev27

Thanks so much whatmichaelsays and Dacouch, i shall pass your info onto my sis. Best wishes Kev