Insurance companies renewing without consent

sugarbabe84

I've had a policy with egg for the last year and this expired on the 8th of March. My insurance is really expensive and I don't need a car at the moment so I haven't got a new policy yet.

Egg tried to renew the policy without my consent, I'm absolutely fuming! I got a letter saying they tried to take money from my bank account (I pay it in a lump sum) and it wasn't authorised. I didn't know insurance companies could just renew policies just like that. In the past I haven't renewed my insurance policies straight away and the company hasn't renewed it or tried to take money without my authorisation.

It's only by chance I remembered to phone Egg just now and the girl on the other side tried to tell me that I've missed 14 day grace period to cancel the policy. I argued with her for ages telling her that I'm on the 13th day of this so called grace period and in the end she decided to make out as if she was doing me a favour by cancelling my policy because 'I am supposedly legally bound to it'. I couldn't be bothered arguing with her any more and told her to just send me my no claims bonus certificate. She then asked me to send back the new insurance certificate they issued (I didn't even know it was valid). I should have told her to send me a stamp and envelope so that I can send it back. If they decide to harass me for it I think I'll ask for stationery to send it back as I never asked for my insurance to be renewed.

FlameCloud

It will have been on an auto renewal- the docs you will have recieved to tell you the policy was coming to an end will have told you that it would auto renew. Who is insuring the car in the mean time?

Some like it, some dont, but you almost certainly agreed to it when taking out the policy.

dunstonh

Egg tried to renew the policy without my consent, I'm absolutely fuming

So, are you saying that when you got the renewal letter, you phoned them up to tell them you didnt want to renew and they still did it anyway?

I didn't know insurance companies could just renew policies just like that.

Yes they can if its in their t&c and clearly stated on the renewal letter.

sugarbabe84

FlameCloud wrote: »

It will have been on an auto renewal- the docs you will have recieved to tell you the policy was coming to an end will have told you that it would auto renew. Who is insuring the car in the mean time?

Some like it, some dont, but you almost certainly agreed to it when taking out the policy.

Haha, yeah I should have read the small print thoroughly then I wouldn't have smoke coming out of my ears lol.

I don't need a car at the moment so it's locked away in the garage

sugarbabe84

dunstonh wrote: »

So, are you saying that when you got the renewal letter, you phoned them up to tell them you didnt want to renew and they still did it anyway?



Yes they can if its in their t&c and clearly stated on the renewal letter.

Let me just clarify, I've been away travelling for the last 3 months, I'm fortunate to have come back to all my letters this last weekend. I didn't phone them up as I had not yet seen the letter, I'm just surprised they could still go ahead and renew.

I didn't know they did that, in the past I was with HSBC and an RBS one and neither of them renewed the policy automatically.

kingstreet

Automatic renewal should have been covered in last year's renewal, or when you took out the policy if you've only been with them for one year.

It's normal for them to ask you to return the certificate of insurance if you do decide to cancel.

Did you get the renewal information in good time for the renewal? Did it tell you what to do if you wanted to cancel?

FlameCloud

sugarbabe84 wrote: »

Haha, yeah I should have read the small print thoroughly then I wouldn't have smoke coming out of my ears lol.

I don't need a car at the moment so it's locked away in the garage

If you havent SORN'd it, they may have stopped you falling foul of new laws about laid up cars.