Change of Address Fee - Rip Off - Views Please

[Deleted User]

Hi All,

I don't post often unless something really hacks me off and this has REALLY hacked me off and I'm interested in other people’s thoughts.

I am moving home and my car insurance (E-S and D/L) are going to try and charge myself and my partner £26.00 each (my partners policy is with a different company) for them to update our addresses on the policy.

It's in the T&C's etc, but I think this is an unreasonable/excessive charge for a small administrative change to the policy.

I plan to pay the fee, then complaint through the companies complaints procedure and if this fails take it to the ombudsman - if I get no joy at least I will have ensured that I will have utilised as much admin time of the insurance company as I can dealing with my complaint!

Anyone have any views or experience of challenging a similar issue?

Cheers, Rugbys.

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No experience. I've never had to pay an additional premium for changing address. Is it just the admin fee or is there any increased risk in the area you're moving to?

dunstonh

It's in the T&C's etc, but I think this is an unreasonable/excessive charge for a small administrative change to the policy

Who is going to pay the staff whose time you are using up if you are not going to?

bouncydog1

Agree with dunston - would you expect to do something for nothing?

What exactly does it say in the policy about fees - there may well be an element of additional premium in the fee charged.

You should have read the policy documentation before you purchased it so you could have made an informed decision as to whether you would be prepared to accept a charge for making any changes.

We see a lot of these issues on here - people want the cheapest premium they can get but don't wan't to pay anything for changes - you can't always blame insurers - they have salaries and overheads to pay in the same way that any business does. You basically get what you pay for.

[Deleted User]

Thanks for the replies so far.

To clarify this is an administrative charge not anything to do with increased risk due to the new area it is only for them to process my change of address.

No - I don't expect anything for nothing, and I am quite happy to pay a reasonable charge for the person at the insurance company to answer my call, speak to me for no more than 5 minutes and print out and post a letter confirming the change, but I cannot see how they can justify that this costs £26.00.

I think this is similar to the unfair bank charges issues - does it really cost the bank £35.00 etc to send you a letter saying you are overdrawn? M, I think we know the answer to that one and this is bordering on the same!

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rugbyscottie wrote: »

I plan to pay the fee, then complaint through the companies complaints procedure and if this fails take it to the ombudsman - if I get no joy at least I will have ensured that I will have utilised as much admin time of the insurance company as I can dealing with my complaint!

Don't forget to factor in the amount of time you'll [STRIKE]waste[/STRIKE] spend doing this.

vusys1

Administration fee (for Amendment) £15 + IPT = £15.75 (wef 4/1/11 £15 + IPT at 6% = £15.90) Direct Line

dunstonh

No - I don't expect anything for nothing, and I am quite happy to pay a reasonable charge for the person at the insurance company to answer my call, speak to me for no more than 5 minutes and print out and post a letter confirming the change, but I cannot see how they can justify that this costs £26.00.

The FOS have accepted fees up to £50 for this. The fees quoted and Direct Line's fees in particular are way below this. Hopefully, the FOS would treat it as a vexatious complaint.

Justification is quite easy when you consider the costs involved. They also have to average the typical service call which can range from a few minutes to over half an hour.

If you don't want admin fees in future then use an insurer that has no admin charges (but increases the annual premium for everyone to pay for it).

Bunter_2

rugbyscottie wrote: »

Hi All,

I don't post often unless something really hacks me off and this has REALLY hacked me off and I'm interested in other people’s thoughts.

I am moving home and my car insurance (E-S and D/L) are going to try and charge myself and my partner £26.00 each (my partners policy is with a different company) for them to update our addresses on the policy.

It's in the T&C's etc, but I think this is an unreasonable/excessive charge for a small administrative change to the policy.

I plan to pay the fee, then complaint through the companies complaints procedure and if this fails take it to the ombudsman - if I get no joy at least I will have ensured that I will have utilised as much admin time of the insurance company as I can dealing with my complaint!

Anyone have any views or experience of challenging a similar issue?

Cheers, Rugbys.

When this happens for the first time you get mad. Then people explain the work involved and you start to live with the idea. Your only consolation here is that it is the same for most people.
I had to pay £20 for a change of address, a couple of years ago. (and I only moved from one flat to another within the same building).

This topic has been raised here many times. When you change address they do have to re-assess the risk as you may have moved to a different area.

The irony is that even if you move to what you believe to be a lower risk area your insurance can still go up.

My brother just got rid of his car and bought a replacement, exactly same year and model. He was hit with the admin fee too. I am afraid this is the norm now.

lisyloo

I am quite happy to pay a reasonable charge for the person at the insurance company to answer my call, speak to me for no more than 5 minutes and print out and post a letter confirming the change, but I cannot see how they can justify that this costs £26.00.

Involved in this transaction is (a share of)

Rent, electricity, furniture, buildings insurance.
Hardware, software, backups process, security process, phones, printers, consumables (paper, ink), postage, phone costs.
Fire extinguishers, toilets, kitchen, emplyoers liability insurance, cleaners, cleaning materials
Training, pensions, sick pay.

This is not an exhaustive list.
I understand it's only 5 minutes work but there are MANY processes beyond the front line change e.g. fire marshal training, first aider training, backups of your data, security of your data.

I understand your point of view but I think when you take all that into account then £26 is quite reasonable.

I think this is similar to the unfair bank charges issues

Legally speaking it isn't.
It's not a punitive charge.
It's a fee for work done.

I plan to pay the fee, then complaint through the companies complaints procedure and if this fails take it to the ombudsman - if I get no joy at least I will have ensured that I will have utilised as much admin time of the insurance company as I can dealing with my complaint!

I udnerstand your logic and your frustration and your technique might work.
But if it does cost hundreds then ultimately you and other customers will end up paying for that.
You might actually have them over a barrell but do you think that's morally right?

You would also have been provided this information when you took the policy (although it coudl have been in a large policy booklet).

dunstonh

I think this is similar to the unfair bank charges issues

And the banks won.

does it really cost the bank £35.00 etc to send you a letter saying you are overdrawn?

Historically the cost was a lot more to the bank. When I was in banking, my branch used to employ around 45 staff. Half of them had involvement in dealing with bad accounts or items unpaid decisions and processing etc. Even back then the actual process to return a direct debit was a 30 second input on computer. However, the staff involvement up to that point was significant. With more computerisation and centralisation (which has been detrimental to service) that same branch has dropped from 45 staff to 11. The cost for bouncing items has largely remained the same over the last 25 years. So, in real terms, the cost has gone down. Sure banks could have lowered the cost more but they didnt.

I think we know the answer to that one and this is bordering on the same!

For every front line person at an insurer there are around 4 staff there to support them. The back office bits you dont see.