Automatic Car Insurance Renewal

wishifoundthisyearsago

Wonder if anyone can help?

My car insurance ran out in June (same time as my MOT and tax) it was an old car and to cut a long story short, I have decided to scrap the car and get the bus for a bit.

My insurance was from Hastings and I made sure I cancelled my direct debit (as I always do when they end) But I have discovered today that they have taken £79.28 out of my account for an initial payment by creating a brand new direct debit. Upon phoning them I was told they automatically renew the car insurance - when I queried this I was told it is in the small print.

I have receive no correspondence whatsoever either telling me the insurance was coming to an end and that they would be automatically renewing it, no correspondence that I have taken out new car insurance, the cost of it, the fact that they were taking money out of my bank account or even a new certificate of insurance (which I didn’t want – but would have least given me clue that they were renewing it)

And after phoning them they are telling me I need proof from the DVLA that I am no longer the registered keeper before I can get my money back. Actually I have not got round to actually scrapping the car yet (job for the weekend) so it looks like this money is going to be out of my pocket for a couple of weeks – which I simply can not afford. To be fair they have cancelled the actually policy, they just wont give me my money back.

Is this legal?? As in creating a new direct debit without my permission, taking money from my account and not even informing me at any point (just to reiterate I have received zero correspondence from them since I took out the policy over a year ago). And I fail to see why I need to prove who now owns the car before I can get MY money back – this is just going to incur a delay and I really need that money! I really don’t see why I need to prove to Hastings who now owns the vehicle when all I had with them was an insurance policy – surely the main point is that I do not want the policy.

Any thoughts/advice would be appreciated

lisyloo

Is this legal??

Yes, is it and was probably agreed by you in the paperwork you were sent.

You should have had a renewal notice, but it's possible it was lost in the post.
Have you changed address at all since you took out the policy?
If it's lost in the post then it's just bad luck

And I fail to see why I need to prove who now owns the car before I can get MY money back

I would count yourself lucky they are offering you a refund and not applying cancellation charges. That's what they normally do.

surely the main point is that I do not want the policy

A lot of policies are on auto-renew these days (stops people forgetting and going un-insured).
If you don't want it you have to tell them.

wishifoundthisyearsago

No, I didn’t receive any renewal notice – I assume I would have received this before they actually took the money from my account so it would have been good to have got it. Nope I still live at the same address as when I originally took the policy out. Like I said I cancelled the direct debit, but they have created a new one under a different company name (surely this is illegal – previous the DD was Hastings Insurance, now it is Hastings Direct)

Fair enough I cant argue since it was in the small print – but I have not had this from my previous insurer. I think it is crazy to allow auto renewal like this, so effectively when I agreed the original policy, I effectively agreed it for the rest of my lifetime or until I decided to cancel it!? My understanding is I purchased a one year car insurance policy. If I was not so eagled eyed with what comes and goes from my account conceivably this direct debit could be running for years!

I’m really angry at this because my rent payment leaves my account tomorrow, now there is not enough money in my account to cover this so not only will I not be able to meet my rent (luckily my uncle is my landlord so it is not such a big issue as it could potentially be) but Im going to get charged by my bank as well, all coz one letter got lost in the post and some little bit of small print which im sure must be challengeable under some European law.

Thank you fro your help anyway

tbourner

Why didn't you phone them to cancel the insurance when you cancelled the direct debit? They'd have told you when it was due to renew if you didn't know and you could have either cancelled then and paid the fee or asked them not to renew it.

lisyloo

You wouldn't think it was crazy if you got knocked down and had life changing injuries and the driver just FORGOT to renew.
Then you'd say why didn't the insurer follow it up?

It's not my decision but if I had a choice I think I'd rather have you facing a bank charge than someone facing life changing injuries without any insurance being in place.

It's unfortunate you have to learn the hardway, but cancelling a direct debit does not stop a contract, it only means you haven't paid.
Whenever you stop a "recurring" charge (which is set up like that because it's recurring) then you have to cancel the contract, you can't just decide to stop paying it.

wishifoundthisyearsago

Oh well I guess I have learned the hard way.
Personally I think people should take personal responsbility and be aware of when there car insurance runs out but thats just me.
Thanks for your help

lisyloo

Personally I think people should take personal responsbility and be aware of when there car insurance runs out but thats just me.

Well I agree with you two but I have two arguments

1) Whatever we think it isn't up to us, it's up to the insurance businesses how they provide their services.
If they tell you about it then it's up to you to read the paperwork.
Personally we go for companies that don't use auto-renewal.

2) If you did get knocked over and had life changing injuries that possibly needed an adapteed bungalow for the rest of you life, then it woulnd't help you that the driver SHOULD have got his/her insurance.
We operate in the real world and as unpalatable as it is, many people would forget if they had the chance.
When you think about the condeuqneces then being casual is unpalatable, but busy people often don't stop and think of the consequences of not being well organised.

But anyway you are getting lucky in one sense.
They aren't forcing you to pay cancellation charges.
They have agreed to refund albeit not as quickly as you would like.

foggytown

lisyloo wrote: »

Yes, is it and was probably agreed by you in the paperwork you were sent.

Not necessarily. I related before that I am aware of at least two insurers who tried to play the auto-renewal card when that provision wasn't even in the expiring policies.

A lot of policies are on auto-renew these days (stops people forgetting and going un-insured).

Oh, DO be real! That's a wheezy marketing ploy by the "caring, sharing" insurance industry but they hope it masks their other intention: for the insurer to retain as much business as possible - whether the policyholders want to insure with them or not.

If you don't want it you have to tell them.

And that's just the situation mass-marketers love - rely on the inertia and ignorance of their customers.

To anyone who reads this: always, ALWAYS opt OUT of any auto-renewal feature and pay by DD which is easier to cancel than credit cards.

Quentin

lisyloo wrote: »

.........If you did get knocked over and had life changing injuries that possibly needed an adapteed bungalow for the rest of you life, then it woulnd't help you that the driver SHOULD have got his/her insurance.......

You seem to be implying that if we get knocked over by an uninsured motorist we won't be compensated for our injuries.

This is not so.

All policyholders pay in to the MIB uninsured driver scheme (via their insurer) for just this scenario.

Unnecessary scaremongering over.

foggytown

lisyloo wrote: »

You wouldn't think it was crazy if you got knocked down and had life changing injuries and the driver just FORGOT to renew. Then you'd say why didn't the insurer follow it up?

It's not my decision but if I had a choice I think I'd rather have you facing a bank charge than someone facing life changing injuries without any insurance being in place.

That may be one of the most specious arguments I have ever heard trying to justify a highly questionable practice!

It's unfortunate you have to learn the hard way, but cancelling a direct debit does not stop a contract, it only means you haven't paid.
Whenever you stop a "recurring" charge (which is set up like that because it's recurring) then you have to cancel the contract, you can't just decide to stop paying it.

Yes, you can. It's one of the few primary ways the public has to fight back against the predatory practices of some industries.

lisyloo

Not necessarily. I related before that I am aware of at least two insurers who tried to play the auto-renewal card when that provision wasn't even in the expiring policies.

Hi Foggytown,

This is why I used the word "probably" as you will see.
I don't have access to the policy and neither does anyone else so we can't say for sure.
In most cases people have not seen it, but I agree there is a small chance it wasn't there.
But don't forget they have agreed to refund.

To anyone who reads this: always, ALWAYS opt OUT of any auto-renewal feature and pay by DD which is easier to cancel than credit cards.

I agree with you.
As I have said I put my business with companies that don't use auto renew (without opting out).
Why don't people give these companies their business if they support that business model??