Aviva rip off.

waileywoowoo

We had motor insurance with Aviva for many years and paid by monthly DD.
Late last year I finally got round to comparing and found I could save over half my current premium going elsewhere.
I wrote to Aviva and said I was cancelling the policy and then cancelled the DD with my bank (though we kept the van insurance with them).

We now have a letter stating that they're charging us a cancelled premium of £115.57 for the period 04 January 2011 to 25 february 2011. They also state that if payment is not recieved and a valid DD exists then payment will be taken from my account (though the policy is my OH name) . They claim the money will be taken 1 February 2011 even though this letter is dated 08 March 2011.

I'm looking for advice as to whether they can legally charge these extortionate amounts?
They're claiming almost half a years premium off us for one month penalty.
Also as we have a DD set up with them for the Van insurance are they able to take the money from that DD even though it's a completely different policy?

Just wondering how we can progress with this?

dacouch

Sounds like an automatic letter that they send when they have a DD bounce or DD is cancelled, give them a ring as they may not have processed your cancellation instructions.

They will probably have some type of cancellation charge though

alistair.long

firstly you can goto your bank and tell them to stop the direct debit. If you were not aware of a direct debit they can correct it for you according to the direct debit agreement.
Then you can contact the company to justify the amount.

waileywoowoo

alistair.long wrote: »

firstly you can goto your bank and tell them to stop the direct debit. If you were not aware of a direct debit they can correct it for you according to the direct debit agreement.
Then you can contact the company to justify the amount.

Any suggestions as to how to word such a letter?

I have cancelled the DD for the insurance in question but we do still have a different DD set up with them for our van insurance, which we can't cancel until we change the van insurance. I'm hoping that they can't take this penalty money from the van DD.

I have emailed them and told them that I do not give them permission to take any money from my account, that I dispute the amount the claiming and that I am seeking advice and will contact them in due course.

Just don't know quite what to say to them.

kingstreet

If you spend any time on here, you'll see loads of cases of cancellation which is met with high charges.

What you pay is set out in the terms & conditions attached to your policy, which should have been sent to you at renewal. Most insurers have a sliding scale which shows how much you have to pay in the event of early cancellation.

My own insurer, for example, wants 100% of the premium for the year if I cancel after seven months, or later. I read and understood this and knew what I was getting into.

Check your T&Cs for your info.

lisyloo

I would ask them for a breakdown of the amount.
It's quicker over the phone if you have access to a telephone.

I read their policy and I believe it says they should pro-rata it e.g. you pay 52/365ths for 52 days cover.
Plus £38 admin fee (plus tax if applicable).

You need the breakdown before we can say if it's right.
Did you use a broker.
Perhaps there is some commission or a fee for the finance (paying monthly) that you have used.
Until we see the breakdown we simply can't say.

Suffice to say in future it would be a good idea to check the cost of cancellation before doing so.

alexio1982

id like to say that Aviva in my opinion are a massive rip off. They charged me £222 a months car insurance for two cars even with 5yrs no claims. Not surprising they are not on price comparison websites. Please avoid as you will regret it.

keith1950

id like to say that Aviva in my opinion are a massive rip off. They charged me £222 a months car insurance for two cars even with 5yrs no claims. Not surprising they are not on price comparison websites. Please avoid as you will regret it.

Hi I have always found AVIVA expensive however this year year was pleasantly surprised at their multicar quote..........................

Two cars, one a 2.2dci 4x4 and the other a 1.3 petrol runabout for a total annual price of £320 and then a further £80 off via cashback so in all a net annual price of £240 for two cars !

mikey72

kingstreet wrote: »

If you spend any time on here, you'll see loads of cases of cancellation which is met with high charges.

What you pay is set out in the terms & conditions attached to your policy, which should have been sent to you at renewal. Most insurers have a sliding scale which shows how much you have to pay in the event of early cancellation.

My own insurer, for example, wants 100% of the premium for the year if I cancel after seven months, or later. I read and understood this and knew what I was getting into.

Check your T&Cs for your info.

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/54/insurance.htm

If you're happy to pay fair enough, but for the rest of us, they're probably not fair t&c's, so should be challenged.

[Deleted User]

waileywoowoo wrote: »

We had motor insurance with Aviva for many years and paid by monthly DD.
Late last year I finally got round to comparing and found I could save over half my current premium going elsewhere.
I wrote to Aviva and said I was cancelling the policy and then cancelled the DD with my bank (though we kept the van insurance with them).

We now have a letter stating that they're charging us a cancelled premium of £115.57 for the period 04 January 2011 to 25 february 2011. They also state that if payment is not recieved and a valid DD exists then payment will be taken from my account (though the policy is my OH name) . They claim the money will be taken 1 February 2011 even though this letter is dated 08 March 2011.

I'm looking for advice as to whether they can legally charge these extortionate amounts?
They're claiming almost half a years premium off us for one month penalty.
Also as we have a DD set up with them for the Van insurance are they able to take the money from that DD even though it's a completely different policy?

Just wondering how we can progress with this?

Hi waileywoowoo,

I'm sorry to see your post. If you want to send me some details I will take a look at your account to see why this has happened.

If you could please email me at [EMAIL="rachel.walker@aviva.co.uk"]rachel.walker@aviva.co.uk[/EMAIL] with the following information:

• Your full name
• Date of birth
• Postal address
• Policy reference number

Once I have received this I can investigate for you.

Kind regards

Rachel

shelly

Aviva_company_representative wrote: »

Hi waileywoowoo,

I'm sorry to see your post. If you want to send me some details I will take a look at your account to see why this has happened.

If you could please email me at [EMAIL="rachel.walker@aviva.co.uk"]rachel.walker@aviva.co.uk[/EMAIL] with the following information:

• Your full name
• Date of birth
• Postal address
• Policy reference number

Once I have received this I can investigate for you.

Kind regards

Rachel

Don't be surprised if OP doesn't get back to you. This thread is 1 year old and OP hasn't posted on the site in a few months.