Quinn Direct

1985dj

My partner recently moved in with me and called Quinn Direct to change her address on her Car insurance documents as it wouldn't let her do this online. Nor would it let her do a normal quote.

The lady on the other end said that it will be £149.43 just for the address change (admin fee is only £17). My girlfriend then asked about getting her ex boyfriend removed from the policy and have myself as a named driver instead. The lady said it would be £69.88 to remove the ex and she would get £35.88 back for adding me - Therefore the total she has to pay is £183.43, and has to be paid within 10 days. Not really having that sort of money at the moment, my girlfriend said they couldnt use the card that they had on record...but is glad she didn't pay straight away as we are now questioning this amount that they're asking. It just doesn't seem right. We've asked others and none of them paid anything near that amount for changing an address (although they might be with different companies)

My girlfriend would have cancelled the policy and started another elsewhere, but there is only 3 months left and would only get 10% back minus the admin fee and she would lose her NCB for this year.

We did a little research and found a link on here for Quinn going into Administration, which explains why their site is completely useless for us in the UK... but does that mean my girlfriend is uninsured? Can she refuse to pay that amount JUST for changing the address?

Is there anyone else that has been in this situation? If so, what did you do?

magpiecottage

The FSA has said that Quinn's policies remain valid - for now. If push came to shove, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme would pay 100% of a compulsory insurance claim (from a 3rd party) and 90% of any other claim (own damage, fire, theft etc.) that may be covered by the policy.

They are entitled to charge a revised premium based on the risk of the new address, though. That would normally be considered a commercial decision by an insurer.

1985dj

Today my girlfriend received the insurance documents which she will have to send back because some of the details are wrong, including the spelling of my name. There is a Payment Statement, and on there it only says "payment due date 15 april 2010" and "payment due -£35.88"
It also says "the minus sign denotes a refund due and will be processed within 14 days"

There is no mention of the other £149.43 for the address change or £69.88 for taking her ex off the policy....

So is it safe to say that she does not have to pay the fee that was mentioned over the phone? And just wait for this refund of £35.88?

Quote

Maybe you've only received the documents relating to adding you to the policy? The other documents might be on their way...

To be frank I'm not entirely sure what you want people to say to you here.

Speak to Quinn. Don't speak to Quinn. Surely all that matters is that you're properly covered, not whether or not you can "get away" with not paying the price you're being asked to pay.

1985dj

All the documents were together. They're not going to send 2 certificates, and 2 payment statements are they!

And i did ask if anyone had been through the same thing.... being charged a massive amount for changing the address??

My girlfriend didn't have to pay anything last time she changed the address, and our friends have never paid any extra when they've edited their policy either.
We just thought that with Quinn Direct going into administration (which we read on here) perhaps this was the reason their ridiculous charge was added.

... so what is wrong in asking if anyone else has been through the same thing?

Oscar_The_Grouch

1985dj, have a look at your 2nd post on this thread again. No one is having a go at you, but it does read as if you are saying "can I get away with not paying?". I know that's not what you meant, but it does go towards explaining the response by Quote.

I think your girlfriend needs to phone Quinn again and advise that she's only received notification of the refund. She should ask for a full breakdown of the costs and how they have been calculated and say that this is required before she will pay anything. Do remember, though, that they may still just try to debit the card they already have details for. There are other posts on here regarding that being done by several firms.

Based on the fact that you only have 3 months left of the policy, the premium charged does sound high. Quinn will be charging an admin fee for each change (because they are a chav insurer) so as you are making 3 changes (remove a person, add a person and change an address) that's £51. You could argue that this is unfair and sugges that unless they reduce it to 1 fee, you'll ask the Financial Ombudsman to adjudicate on the matter (Quinn have to pay a fee of £500 for every case reviewed by the FOS, you pay nothing).

The thing to remember is that you need the full breakdown of costs before you can challenge the amount.