Small print,how can Insurance companies renew premiums without authority!

loracan1

I've not been in a position to have to cancel an ongoing policy for several years now - had to this time. What I did find irritating was that on cancelling they said they might be able to get something cheaper.

dzug1

Yes but.

The contract was not OP's contract, but someone else's that s/he had paid for.

So the question is was there a contract with OP to take the money?

I don't know the answer BTW. I suspect yes, but it's arguable.

lisyloo

Yes, there is a contract with the OP.
It's called a continuous card authority (not an insurance policy).

darich

ajgoodun wrote: »

Twice now, I have come across Insurance companies automatically renewing policies and take the payment from the card used to pay 1 year earlier, even when that card is not owned by the insured.
The first was Bennetts motorbike insurance, which claimed it was totally legal and in the small print. The next was Budget and not only did they automatically renew the policy and taking the money, to get to the cancellation department takes a lifetime on a premium rate line.
Comments please

Read this thread
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2637721

Auto renewal can save you this hassle

Triffle_2

lisyloo wrote: »

Probably a good idea to make yourself aware in future then !!

Sorry but you really have come to the wrong place if you wanted sympathy.
You have to take responsibility when you hand over your authorisation.

So, we have to take responsibility when we hand over our authorisation.... what about taking responsibiity to renew our insurance ourselves?

How did we cope with having to renew our own insurance before auto-renewal was graciously provided by the insurance companies? Anyone know the statistics for percentage of 'forgotten' insurance prior to, and after the new practice?

raskazz

ajgoodun wrote: »

to get to the cancellation department takes a lifetime on a premium rate line.
Comments please

http://www.bennetts.co.uk/Contact-Us/ wrote:

We cannot accept any cancellations or changes to your policy via email. Please ring 0844 412 2171 and speak with an advisor.

That is not a premium rate number.

dunstonh

How did we cope with having to renew our own insurance before auto-renewal was graciously provided by the insurance companies? Anyone know the statistics for percentage of 'forgotten' insurance prior to, and after the new practice?

Over 3/4 of policyholders renew with the same insurer each year. The vast majority benefit from auto-renewal. It's a cost saver and that is reflected in the premiums.

The only ones that do not benefit are those that do not read their renewal notice and assume it will not auto renew.

Triffle_2

dunstonh wrote: »

Over 3/4 of policyholders renew with the same insurer each year. The vast majority benefit from auto-renewal. It's a cost saver and that is reflected in the premiums.

The only ones that do not benefit are those that do not read their renewal notice and assume it will not auto renew.

Well, I must be one in a million then, because each year my renewal quote is higher and I phone round and get a cheaper quote elsewhere and therefore renew elsewhere.

This website tends to encourage people to save money by shopping around. There's a good reason for that.

Just out of interest, where did you get your 3/4 of policyholders statistics? I find that hard to believe considering the success of all the comparison sites.

lwc86

In june our home insurance was up and a few weeks before I received a letter from quote line direct with the renewal quote. I phoned then to say we would not be renewing thro them as we had a better quote.I was told the new policy was cancelled .i also cancelled the direct debit with my bank
A few weeks later and i noticed a new payment go out our account,i phoned the bank and found out it was quote line direct.
Quoteline direct said that there was a note in the system that i had phoned to cancel but who ever had taken my call had not unticked the box for automatic renewal, so the system automatically set up a new direct debit & took out a payment.Took over a month to get the money back and lots of phone calls to customer service that didnt have a clue what i was going on about.:mad:

mikey72

Complain, and you have no success, complain to the ombudsman. Even if you get no joy, they will suffer cost and aggravation, if there are enough complaints maybe they will change the policy eventually.