Refund for cancelled bike insurance

econdsey

Hi all.

I bought a scooter earlier this year & had to get insurance for it. I decided to go with eBikes as their premium was the lowest for fully comp.

A week later, I decided that I didn't like being out on the scooter at all (the stress of it was causing me to become ill) & so I took it back to the dealer, who charged me over £400 to take it!

I cancelled the bike insurance well within their 14 day cooling off period & was told that I would receive a refund of £107 within the next 14 days. (Bear in mind that the premium cost almost £200! Robbery!)

14 days came & went, still no sign of my cheque. I emailed eBikes to ask what was going on.. Their reply was that they would send me the refund within 30 days as their computer systems had gone down, so all refunds had to be processed manually. I was told that the 30 day limit was in accordance accordance with the Financial Services Authority Conduct of Business rule 7.2.6 - which stated that all refunds must be received by the consumer within 30 days of the insurance company receiving the certificate of motor insurance.

Well, their 30 days are up as of yesterday. I had a feeling that there would be some sort of a problem, so I emailed them on the 29/11 to enquire as to where my refund was, only to be sent this reply:

Please accept our sincere apologies for the delay in issuing any refund due for the cancellation of your policy.

Due to a technical fault, all refunds are currently being manually calculated by our Product Support Team.

I have forwarded your information to them and requested that any refund due be calculated and issued as a matter of urgency.

Now I've no idea why this has only just been sent to their Product Support Team to be processed, but this means an even longer delay - and the whole time I am racking up interest on my credit card bill because that was how I paid for it!

Is there anyone that I can contact to report this to? It seems ridiculous that I now have another wait on my hands while they process my refund & god only knows how long that will take them!

I can't even call them for some real answers because their phone number is £1 A MINUTE!!!

This is an absolute joke & any advice/support would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

dunstonh

(Bear in mind that the premium cost almost £200! Robbery!)

Dealer charges you £400 and no comment. Insurer charges you under £100 and that's robbery?

This is an absolute joke & any advice/support would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

If you dont like it then put in a formal complaint. That will speed it up.

econdsey

There wasn't much that I could do about the dealer, I got the scooter on finance & so when I wanted to return it, I had two options.. Either give the scooter to the finance people & pay almost £800 or see if the dealer would take it back - which they would.. For £400 as it, apparently, had decreased in value by that amount in a week.

I have complained several times to them via email, but nothing seems to be done about it.. They just thank me for my continued patience. They won't even tell me the progress of the refund.

dunstonh

Venting and complaining are two different things. If you mark the complaint as "formal complaint" they have to treat it under the FSA regulated complaints process rather than deal with your emails as a vent or show of displeasure.

econdsey

I wasn't aware of the difference, well.. I wasn't aware that I would have to use the words "formal complaint".

Do you have any tips on writing an effective formal complaint? I'm not awfully good at writing (as you may have noticed?), I just don't want to sound like an idiot.

dunstonh

There isnt a difference formally. However, firms may not interpret your complaint as a complaint. They may interpret it to be displeasure, concern or venting. If everyone that showed a hint of displeasure was put through the official complaints process, things would grind to a halt. To avoid any confusion you should state that it is a formal complaint.

There is no tip needed. What you have written on your posts here are fine (although avoid the rip off style comments as you want the person handling your complaint to feel for you. If you irritate them they may rule differently).

passatrider

Please accept our sincere apologies for the delay in issuing any refund due for the cancellation of your policy.

Due to a technical fault, all refunds are currently being manually calculated by our Product Support Team.

I'm with Ecar Insurance, part of the same group, and this sounds oh so familiar I'm afraid. If you search for 'Ecar complaints' in Google you will see what I mean.

I cancelled my renewal recently before the policy started and am now waiting for a full refund as stated in their terms and conditions. I sent back the documents by Special delivery and am waiting for the 'oh, we never recieved them' claim. They will then say that they can charge me a £75 cancellation fee as I did not comply with there terms and conditions.

If you do not receive your refund by day 40 then I would put in a formal complaint as suggested and say that you will contact the Financial Ombudsman if they do not comply with your request.

econdsey

I just wanted to update you all & say a big thank you for the advice I emailed their complaints department & told them the problem & then added that if they didn't send me the money by the 15th December, I would contact the FSA & financial ombudsman service. I received an email that afternoon apologising for the delays and the money would be in my account within 3-5 days - & it was! I have the money now.

Thank you all for your advice, I don't think I would have contacted them without it