Can car be Impounded if direct debit failed on car insurance??

DUTR

bigjl wrote: »

Reread my post, I stated that a lot of things have changed under New Labour, which they have, Insurance companies used to give leeway to people with financial problems to do with payment, and give a bit of time to sort it.
With things like insurance do you think the Insurance companies could change things without laws being altered etc, unlikely, after all loads of things to with motoring have changed over the last few years.

As an Example
You can now give PCNs using CCTV, or a council traffic warden used to have to have written the ticket and out it on the windscren for it to be valid, if they didn't put it on and you didn't physically prevent them from doing so then the ticket wasn't valid, this was changed by the government, hence why the first thing a warden does is take photographs, that is the only proof needed to enforce a PCN.

As far as siezing a car for no insurance at the side of the road, that was something only brought into force recently, I am sure it was the government that ammended the law to allow it, otherwise why have the police not being doing this for years.

They have been doing it for years, my mate who is an officer would stop those with heavily tinted windows , if they were illegal, and either make them remove the film or he would get the car impounded.
I know when my insurance is due for renewal, and I make provision to a) renew b) make sure the car is not driven until such time (a) is possible.

sassy_one

OP, the Direct Debit Gurantee might come in handy in this case.

I would contact your bank and request the reasons as to why the payment to the insurer had failed, and if it was there fault to write to them, with proof of the current costs incurred and request they repay these direct to the Police and courts.

However, the bank may only offer to wavier the failed DD fee, in which case, you have no claim against them to to fair

masterlumps

Helstar75 wrote: »

Hello

Advise need and apologize sent if this is posted in wrong place.
SEnt a rant coming up!!!

I have a question that one of you maybe able to advise on.
A relative of mine was pulled over in her car by police and told she had no insurance aparently policeman checked on computer and it said that whilst the last month was paid for end of July. The August Direct debit had failed and so she basically wasnt insuraned she had no idea that the payment had not gone through. They inpounded the car imediately and was told that she should also have 6 points on her licence and go to court and pay £150 fee. Then upto £200 to get the car back. To me that is discusting. It is not as though she hasnt had insurance before! she had no idea that payment had failed and the insurance company was closed untill Monday!!!.

Surley there is something not right? Please advise if this is normal thing that can happen.
Luckly her kids werent in the car at the time as she had to make her own way home and has problems walking as well.
No wonder this country is in such as mess they dont catch the real criminals and have earnt a nice potential £350 !!

Thanks for reading my rant I am I the only one that thinks this is crazy???:mad:

so we should all cancel our policies and it would be ok because we have had insurance 'before'

im sure what you have been told isnt the whole truth, in fact if you miss a dd you would be about 2 months down the line before they actually cancelled the policy

oh and by the way, having no insurance is an offence, a very costly ones for good honest people, i do believe that the police SHOULD be catching people out for it, perhaps they could do it in their spare time, after they have caught the 'real' criminals

mountainofdebt

Even if the insurance company hadn't written saying that the DD had failed, wouldn't the bank have written saying that there was going to be a charge becuase of the DD failing?

Oneday77

The Police and Insurers are not responsible for how someone manages their bank accounts. Even when I was up to my neck in money issues I knew if a DD didn't come out either by error or no cash in the account. I got a letter from the bank with a charge or I suddenly had an extra £xx.xx for the DD that didn't come out.
Un-insured drivers are rife on the roads and really need to be clamped down on. More often than not people who don't keep their car legal have other things to hide. Not that I am saying the OPs friend did. Also any crashes they have effecty all drivers as the insurance companies have to cover the claims one way or another without getting the premium from the uninsured, bumping ours up

sassy_one

Simple resolve, if you can't keep up with monthly payments, pay the year up front, that way you have nothing to worry about like failed DD's

Helstar75

masterlumps wrote: »

so we should all cancel our policies and it would be ok because we have had insurance 'before'

im sure what you have been told isnt the whole truth, in fact if you miss a dd you would be about 2 months down the line before they actually cancelled the policy

oh and by the way, having no insurance is an offence, a very costly ones for good honest people, i do believe that the police SHOULD be catching people out for it, perhaps they could do it in their spare time, after they have caught the 'real' criminals

Firstly she is a good honest person acutally.
And of course it is an offence to drive without insurance and yes police should catch people for driving without a licence.
But there are certain insurance companies that do this to people often and if it is proved that this happens they should be stoped to prevent it happening to other people it is obvioulys in everyones interest apart to drive with vaild insurance.

Oh and she didnt cancel her policy BTW! that wasnt what ny OP was about if she had of cancelled it then there would not be an issue !!!
what I ment as 'before' is that the insurance should have still been running IMO as the payment had gone through last month. I didnt mean 6 months ago or anything.

sassy_one

Helstar75 wrote: »

Firstly she is a good honest person acutally.
And of course it is an offence to drive without insurance and yes police should catch people for driving without a licence.
But there are certain insurance companies that do this to people often and if it is proved that this happens they should be stoped to prevent it happening to other people it is obvioulys in everyones interest apart to drive with vaild insurance.

Oh and she didnt cancel her policy BTW! that wasnt what ny OP was about if she had of cancelled it then there would not be an issue !!!
what I ment as 'before' is that the insurance should have still been running IMO as the payment had gone through last month. I didnt mean 6 months ago or anything.

Sorry about the cold welcome you have received here, some people go out of there way to try and cause as much trouble as possible.


Regards the insurance, as I stated before I would go to the bank or contact them, as you may be covered by the Direct Debit Guarantee - However that depends on the circumstances.

It does seem a little OTT but after all, the government are clamping down on motorists so each person who isn't fully by the book will have it thrown at them, even if it is not their fault.

I don't know the full circumstances, but I would advise your friend to contact your local CAB and also there bank to try and gain further advice regards this matter.

bigjl

What would the direct debit guarantee have to do with a payment missed due to insufficient funds, I thought it was more to do with the wrong amount being debited.

Surely the Insurance company are the only people that can give any information as to what has happened to the person whose insurance is cancelled, all the bank can do is give a statement, which may enlighten the driver to why the DD failed.

Did a google search

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=+1]banking - direct debit guarantee[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Direct debits are now a major part of daily life, with many people using them each month to pay their household bills. The direct debit guarantee is a powerful safeguard for customers. So it’s important that firms make sure their staff understand its provisions.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Unfortunately, many do not. Here are some of the things firms have told customers (incorrectly) when problems have arisen:[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]‘We don’t operate the direct debit guarantee.’[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]‘You’ll have to contact the originating company for a refund.’[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]‘We need a month’s notice to cancel a direct debit.’[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]‘The guarantee doesn’t apply – because you haven’t suffered a loss.’[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]If you pay by standing order, it is up to your bank to send the payment. If you pay by direct debit, it is up to the payee’s bank to call for the payment, but you will rightly look to your own bank/building society to ensure the smooth running of any direct debits. Mistakes and errors are covered by the direct debit guarantee.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]The direct debit guarantee applies to all banks and building societies taking part in the direct debit scheme. It says that:
[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]If there is a change in the amount to be paid or the payment date, the person receiving the payment (the originator) must notify the customer in advance. [/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]If the originator or the bank/building society makes an error, the customer is guaranteed a full and immediate refund of the amount paid.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Customers can cancel a direct debit at any time by writing to their bank or building society. [/SIZE][/FONT]

gordikin

sassy-one wrote: »

Sorry about the cold welcome you have received here, some people go out of there way to try and cause as much trouble as possible.


Regards the insurance, as I stated before I would go to the bank or contact them, as you may be covered by the Direct Debit Guarantee - However that depends on the circumstances.

It does seem a little OTT but after all, the government are clamping down on motorists so each person who isn't fully by the book will have it thrown at them, even if it is not their fault.

I don't know the full circumstances, but I would advise your friend to contact your local CAB and also there bank to try and gain further advice regards this matter.

You clearly don't have clue what the DDG is about....so stop posting hope where there is none. If you think I'm wrong...correct me? Everyone has an individual responsibility to make sure they are 'road legal'... it's not anyone's else's job...end of story.