Car Insurance charge to change DAY of birth

rebecca1

I am insured with Hastings Direct and called them today to tell them I would be taking the car across to France for 4 days next week.
Going through security questions they spotted that my day of birth was wrong stated 28th instead of 22nd and said that I would have to pay £35.00 amendment fee otherwise my insurance was invalid !!!

I said I was not happy to do this as I'm sure that it would not make any difference to my policy as they had the right year of my birth . They said that as it was filled in online it was my fault and demanded £35.00 payment otherwise they would cancel it. When I spoke to the Manager he said the information his staff had told me was correct. I said that it seemed to me to be a desperate way of making money and he said that he did not need my permission he could just take the payment from my credit card. I was horrified at their attitude - and their bullying tactics and this sounds VERY petty to me. It is a charge Hastings make (not underwriters).

I was tempted to cancel the policy but they said they would charge me £65 to cancel it - what a rip off :mad:...... I'm sure they are working on the assumption that I would just pay it as I leave for France shortly - def. does not encourage me to re-insure with them
Anyone know where I stand here? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks Rebecca

newfoundglory

If it was your mistake, then you may have to just pay up. However, i'd probably check some comparison sites and other non-quoted insurers - if you can get the insurance a lot cheaper elsewhere then it might be worth paying £65 to cancel and just switching immediately to another policy with another insurer.

Remember some insurers also offer cashback through cashback sites when you take out a policy as a new customer.

rebecca1

My problem with this is - does it really matter that they have the wrong DAY of birth???? How would that affect my insurance claim???
I just think that there angle is too make money for nothing!

I have had plenty of instances in the past with LOTS of companies that can't even spell my surname properly through sheer carelessness and incompetence, if I charged them for their mistakes I would be SO rich.

I have tried quotes again on other big search sites but their price seems competitive otherwise I would be off.
The cashback sites seem to be quoting higher premiums in the first place so by the time you get the cash back - it is no deal.

Sorry to bang on but at the moment I feel that alot of companies recently try to fleece you at every opportunity....
Do tell me if I have this wrong

Rebecca

magpiecottage

It may be worth complaining that it is disproportionate to charge this to correct a clerical error that had no effect on the risk you presented.

Do not expect them to agree other than grudgingly but it may be worth a try.

rebecca1

Magpiecottage - thanks for your comments.

Do you think I should ask that question to the Underwriters to see if Hastings are pulling a fast one ?

Rebecca

newfoundglory

Actually, come to think of it, since the Data Protection Act requires that companies correct factually incorrect information I would suggest that you write a letter demanding that they correct your day of birth and that if they fail to do so would be breaching the Act; therefore you would be "forced to report them to the ICO". Do not do this by phone. Send by registered post. I would suggest you address this letter directly to the data controller for hastings direct which you should be able to find on the data controllers register on the ICO website.

dunstonh

I would suggest that you write them a letter demanding that they correct your day of birth and that if they fail to do so you will report them to the ICO.

That doesnt prevent them charging for it though and if you dont pay (and they dont agree with any complaint) then they could cancel the policy.

I said that it seemed to me to be a desperate way of making money

admin charges for administration are in place to allow them not to be included in the premium. Its not desperate but common with many insurers. The FOS has ruled on complaints about admin charges in the past but their publications have shown them reject complaints up to £50 as an admin charge where it has been published in their T&C.

I have tried quotes again on other big search sites but their price seems competitive otherwise I would be off.

Now you know why. They strip the admin charges out of the premium and charge them explicitly instead when there is an admin task.

I was horrified at their attitude - and their bullying tactics and this sounds VERY petty to me. It is a charge Hastings make (not underwriters).

An online policy is designed to remove human interaction as much as possible. That is reflected in the price. A piece of manual administration costs money and that is what you are paying for.

I was tempted to cancel the policy but they said they would charge me £65 to cancel it - what a rip off ......

Its not a rip off as you will be paying the admin charge for cancellation and be liable for some premium due for time covered.

As mentioned higher up, you may be able to persuade them to not make the charge in this case. However, you do need to be aware that they are actually doing nothing wrong.

newfoundglory

dunstonh wrote: »

That doesnt prevent them charging for it though and if you dont pay (and they dont agree with any complaint) then they could cancel the policy.

Actually, I disagree with this. A nominal charge, maybe. Not £35. Under the fourth principle of the Data Protection Act, information must be accurate and up to date. By holding information which they know to be inaccurate, they are breaching the act, which is legal requirement. While they may be able to cancel the Policy, this would be a good legal basis for small claims action against Hastings for non-compliance. I suspect a letter to data controller will make them compliant. I suspect they won't risk an "in breach of the Act" decision by the ICO for failing to update inaccurate information.

corbyboy

newfoundglory wrote: »

Actually, I disagree with this. A nominal charge, maybe. Not £35. Under the fourth principle of the Data Protection Act, information must be accurate and up to date. By holding information which they know to be inaccurate, they are breaching the act, which is legal requirement. While they may be able to cancel the Policy, this would be a good legal basis for small claims action against Hastings for non-compliance. I suspect a letter to data controller will make them compliant. I suspect they won't risk an "in breach of the Act" decision by the ICO for failing to update inaccurate information.

But then presumably they would update the date of birth, cancel the policy and then pursue the OP for the £65 cancellation fee rather than the £35 ammendment fee.
They have already stated that they can take the fee from their credit card.

Loughton_Monkey

My observations: They are probably 'correct' in their charge, since it is a mistake caused by the policyholder and they have a right to charge an admin fee. However, their attitude and demeanour probably says a lot about the sort of company it is.

This could all probably have been avoided by simply not phoning them All policies these days give full cover in Europe and I have long since ceased telling my own company.

Although my own car insurer is 'top draw', not the cheapest, but has excellent service, I too have to put up with similar issues. In my case, I have a trailer which they are happy to insure at a charge. It gives full cover on the trailer while attached and detached (i.e. most of the time). Since we have two cars insured with them - both with tow bar - I wanted the trailer insured while attached to either vehicle. However, they insist on doing this by charging me the total premium twice. Once for each car! And I used to be a director of this company!!!!

DCFC79

rebecca1 wrote: »

I am insured with Hastings Direct and called them today to tell them I would be taking the car across to France for 4 days next week.
Going through security questions they spotted that my day of birth was wrong stated 28th instead of 22nd and said that I would have to pay £35.00 amendment fee otherwise my insurance was invalid !!!

I said I was not happy to do this as I'm sure that it would not make any difference to my policy as they had the right year of my birth . They said that as it was filled in online it was my fault and demanded £35.00 payment otherwise they would cancel it. When I spoke to the Manager he said the information his staff had told me was correct. I said that it seemed to me to be a desperate way of making money and he said that he did not need my permission he could just take the payment from my credit card. I was horrified at their attitude - and their bullying tactics and this sounds VERY petty to me. It is a charge Hastings make (not underwriters).

I was tempted to cancel the policy but they said they would charge me £65 to cancel it - what a rip off :mad:...... I'm sure they are working on the assumption that I would just pay it as I leave for France shortly - def. does not encourage me to re-insure with them
Anyone know where I stand here? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks Rebecca

they arent in it to take money off you, you could have checkled the details when you took the policy out