Avoid these insurers like the plague....

digannio

The name... BISL, also known as Budget Insurance Services Limited, who arrange and administer car and home insurance policies under a variety of names. In my own case it was a house insurance policy for Bradford and Bingley. Do a trawl through the internet on them and you will see a catalogue of disgruntled customers who have fallen prey to their less than savoury tactics.

In my case the problem arose when I changed insurers after a year with BISL. Buried deep within their small print is the statement that "for your own protection we reserve the right to automatically renew this policy". In my case I had changed banks so they no longer had any access to my bank details and I allowed the policy to end and moved elsewhere for insurance.

I then received a letter saying they had renewed my policy (obviously without any authorisation and without them being able to claim payment for it). This was quickly followed by a letter demanding payment of £13.22 for this "extra time" on my cover that they had instigated. It was accompanied by a threat that it would be passed to debt collectors if it wasn't paid by a certain date. And that date was the day the letter arrived.

I phoned them saying I had no intention of paying for something I didn't want, didn't request and didn't authorise and they were quite surly and aggressive about the matter but said if I sent a photocopy of my new insurance policy they would consider the matter. I sent in the photocopy which showed I was covered by another policy for the extra period they were trying to claim for but within a matter of days a "final notice" arrived demanding the cash, again with threats of action if the cash wasn't paid by a certain date (again the date that the letter arrived).

I phoned them and they said I should ignore this threat as the photocopy I sent them of my new insurance policy had been accepted and the matter would go no further.

Their tactics smack of sharp practice, their customer service is appalling and their attitude stinks. It seems fairly obvious that automatic renewing of people's insurance in the small print has more to do with trying to grab a bit more cash from people than being for your "own protection." Lots have been caught in this net when they have switched to someone else and many hit by large cancellation fees as well.

Don't get stung... look elsewhere.

pimento

I'm with HSBC (BISL) and they don't auto renew.

dunstonh

Their tactics smack of sharp practice, their customer service is appalling and their attitude stinks. It seems fairly obvious that automatic renewing of people's insurance in the small print has more to do with trying to grab a bit more cash from people than being for your "own protection."

The renewal letter does not hide it in the small print. Its in normal print on the very short renewal letter in the section what to do next if you do and dont want to renew.

The only people that get caught out are those that dont read the letter and make an assumption.

AndersLimpar_2

Dunston speaks the truth!

In my experience almost all insurances auto renew....

digannio

Of course what Dunston skirts around in my case is that they had no way of renewing and getting the money to do so. They just went ahead without payment and then immediately sent a threat of debt collectors twice. If Dunston thinks that's a reasonable way for a company to conduct itself and deal with customers then he has a different view of customer service than I do.
Have a look through some of the customer reviews of BISL and it's clear they have a problem in their dealings. Not to mention the surly and agressive attitude.

dunstonh

Of course what Dunston skirts around in my case is that they had no way of renewing and getting the money to do so.

Cancelling the method of payment is not the same as cancelling the policy.

They just went ahead without payment and then immediately sent a threat of debt collectors twice. If Dunston thinks that's a reasonable way for a company to conduct itself and deal with customers then he has a different view of customer service than I do.

If you dont tell the company that you no longer wish to use their services and use a credit agreement to pay for the services then that response is to be expected.

Did you or did you not tell them that you were not going to renew as it requested you to do so in the renewal letter?

digannio

I didn't use a credit agreement to pay for any services. And this has been accepted by BISL. They have, in fact, now accepted that the action they have taken was not reasonable and that their claim against me was unjustified by backing down, withdrawing the bailiff threat and dropping the whole matter. In other words, they have accepted I got no services from them and it should not have been pursued in this way. Isn't that fairly simple to understand?

If you wish to chip in it might be a bit helpful if you actually read my post.

digannio

Yes, I'm also glad that they've now admitted they were bang out of order and have done a complete U-turn and recognised that I owe them nothing and they shouldn't have threatened me with bailiffs. I took out one year's insurance with them, paid in full at the start for that year and then moved on. They now accept that I have acted properly and their actions were wrong in the circumstances.

And, for the record, here's the great British public's overwhelming verdict on the appalling BISL. You will note, if you care to read some of them, that often cancelling by phone or letter is also no guarantee that you'll escape their attempts to squeeze more cash out of you....

http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews-all-66780.html

Jane2005

Unfortunately you didn't act properly, you should have called them when you received your renewal letter and told them NOT to renew your policy. It's simple, one phone call and it's sorted. You can never presume an insurance company will know you don't want to renew, how can they know unless you tell them?

By sending them a copy of your new insurance certificate BISL will refund back to you any time on cover.

Most companies will automatically renew, so, if you don't want to be in the same position this time next year, get on the phone to your new insurance company now and ask them to remove the automatic renewal, you will still receive a renewal invite from them but it means you will have to actually ring them if you want to renew.

digannio

"You can never presume an insurance company will know you don't want to renew, how can they know unless you tell them?"

Surely it must have been blatantly obvious when they were refused payment in their attempt to renew me. They were refused payment, couldn't get the funds to do so but went ahead anyway.

You also blatantly ignore the fact that they threatened me with debt collectors TWICE within days. And on the last occasion that was when they were already in possession of the other insurance policy I had taken out with another company. You also completely ignore the fact that customer reviews clearly indicate that there is a real problem with people being renewed automatically when they have already instructed to the contrary.

There are more than 100 reviews regarding BISL if you care to read. They are given a rating of less than 1 out of 5. There is a catalogue of problems including some that I have raised. It tells you everything you need to know about dealing with BISL and whether they handle customers in a fair and reasonable manner which is the point of my post.

dunstonh

Surely it must have been blatantly obvious when they were refused payment in their attempt to renew me. They were refused payment, couldn't get the funds to do so but went ahead anyway.

As they were quite right to do so within the law. You failed to cancel your contract.

You also completely ignore the fact that customer reviews clearly indicate that there is a real problem with people being renewed automatically when they have already instructed to the contrary.

Mostly written by people who are too lazy to read.