Change of Address Fee - Rip Off - Views Please

dizzie

kingstreet wrote: »

I just think the pendulum has swung too far in terms of "caveat emptor." At one time it was loaded very much in favour of providers where stuff was hidden away in the small print on the back of page 417 and joe public had no chance.

Now, we seem to have hit the point where no-one wants to accept any responsibility for their actions. They get the same points made in a key facts document, in an illustration, in a policy schedule. It's emailed to them, posted to them, told to them over the phone but still they fail to grasp the importance of anything other than the monthly premium.

I don't agree that all the charges (or potential charges) are made prominent enough. The "easy read" sections on policies I've had over the years all show the premium, excesses in various circumstances and any endorsements very clearly....but as Lissyloo said...all the other stuff - autorenewals, cancellation fees or amendment fees are usually bundled up in reams and reams of dense reading either in a booklet or in "smallprint".

Besides, I still think in the admin costs for changing a car or moving address are a drop in the ocean compared to the costs associated with obtaining new business (which is of course funded through our premiums anyway). All you have to do is use a comparison website and the insurers descend on you like bees round a honeypot. Crikey, last time I had the same insurer ring me three times in one day begging to give me a quote (which I didn't want).... and at the third time of asking, my patience was worn a little thin!:mad:

lisyloo

autorenewals, cancellation fees or amendment fees are usually bundled up in reams and reams of dense reading either in a booklet or in "smallprint".

I think you are grossly exaggerating here.
There are usually section titles and if you know what you are looking for you can find it very quickly.

Give me the name of a random insurer (off the top of your head) and if you like we can both time how long it takes us to find the information. Let's do that as an exercise and see exactly how difficult it is. You name the insurer, I'll name the feature to look for.
I will of course use section titles etc. rather than reading the whole lot.

All you have to do is use a comparison website and the insurers descend on you like bees round a honeypot.

This is very simple to avoid. Don't give them your real phone number.

BTW - I was scuba diving in Egypt last year.
I was really cross to find I had to wait for a doctor and have a medical (only £10) because I had prescription medication.
I was very cross that I had not been told this. Because if I had, I might have got it done for free at my doctors and not wasted time hanging around on holiday.
I said "This is a major thing, loads of people have precsriptions it should be highlighted".
They said "Well it might be major to you, but it isn't to other people and we cannot highlight everything".
So I think you have to accept that what is important to you might not be important to others.
You need to accept that if there were KEY FACTS then they might not be the ones that you want.
As you say certain things are already higlighted, but not the ones you want, I think you have to accept that it isn't possible to highlight everything that everyone wants.
There would still need to be some reading on the part of the customer if they want to be familiar with their contract even if there were key facts.
and this would not solve the problem, becuase most people don't read it AT ALL.

dizzie

lisyloo wrote: »

I think you are being completely unrealistic and also unfair to insurers (for whom I do NOT work).
We do not insist on this for airlines or ANY other business.
What other business gives equal prominence to costs/fee/downsides.

.....

Being blunt/harsh - if you can't be bothered to read your contract then it's your problem/reposnsibility.
If you're not inclined or don't have the time then that's fine - use a broker.
It's not possible to spoon feed and highlight every factor that MIGHT be important to people.
All the information IS currently provided and it IS a conscious action to accept it.
Insurance/finance (where I do not work) is better than any other industry I can things of in terms of providing this information currently.
£26 is a very fair fee for an amendment.

Is this just not a case of people not wanting to take responsibility for their actions???

Do brokers mention all the pitfalls if you call them? DO they mention about autorenewal or tell you about ALL the charges that might be applied in respect of circumstances X, Y or Z? Not in my experience...

You still have to read all the stuff that is posted to you in order to find out every detail. Which, as pointed out, I do. But we presume that everyone is like us don't we? And it is that which I think is unfair. What about a 78 year old gentleman whose eyesight is failing due to cataracts, who has difficulty with reading all the bloomin' bumph they send out...who finds himself paying as much as half his premiums again if he moves home or changes his car because of "admin" costs?

...and actually, I don't like the marketing tactics of the airlines either. Someone I was talking to the other day said that on a recent trip, the airlines were checking everyone's hand baggage sizes at check in (they've also been known to do this at the boarding gate).Incidentally, all the cheap airlines have slightly different hand baggage sizes so what is allowed for one will not be allowed for another. Anyway, his bag did not fit in the gauge because the wheels stuck out by 1cm too far. So for the sake of two tiny plastic wheels, he had to check it in to the hold...Ker...Ching....airline made an extra £60 since they charged extra bag fee and also told him that this made his online check-in invalid and that he would have to pay for airport check in instead!

Oh for products and services with simple, straightforward and clear charging structures...

kingstreet

I'm just looking at my docs from last year.

On one page, page three, it clearly shows the premium breakdown, auto-renewal and how to opt out, cancellation charges and proportionate premium payments for short-term cover and details of other charges, such as alteration fees, direct debit rejection fee and duplicate document fees.

As page one is an introductory letter and page two details the cover I've bought it seems page three is a reasonable place. The print is the same, with bold headings for the "ups" and the "downs" so I'd say this insurer has done everything it can to ensure I get a full picture of costs and benefits.

It was emailed to me for checking about twenty minutes after I completed the purchase, online.

dizzie

lisyloo wrote: »

....You name the insurer, I'll name the feature to look for.
I will of course use section titles etc. rather than reading the whole lot.
...

Thank you - as pointed out, I don't need you to do this for me, I'm quite switched on and know what to look for, but perhaps you could offer your services to more vulnerable people...like the 78 year old gentleman whose eyesight is failing due to cataracts. I'm sure he'd be very grateful.

...This is very simple to avoid. Don't give them your real phone number.

... Fantastic - lets encourage everyone to tell lies - marvelous idea....I don't get the hassle of a phone call, but poor Mrs Smith down the road cannot understand why she has been phoned three times in one day by a car insurer who insists on calling her Mrs Jones and wants to cover a Ford Focus she doesn't own

BTW - I was scuba diving in Egypt last year.
I was really cross to find I had to wait for a doctor and have a medical (only £10) because I had prescription medication.
I was very cross that I had not been told this. Because if I had, I might have got it done for free at my doctors and not wasted time hanging around on holiday.

...if I'm reading this correctly you went scuba diving, and before the dive, they wanted to make sure that there were no health reasons that would make this unsafe for you....is that correct? Isn't that sensible?

But clearly, diving school staff aren't medically qualified so they had to get a doctor to give you clearance to dive (to ensure your safety and protect the diving school from any negligence)? Sounds reasonable to me...

...and you were cross because you had to wait for a doctor to come? Did you expect that the diving school pay doc to sit around in the background?

...and you were charged £10 for a highly qualified professional to attend and give you a medical....wow that's cheap compared to the fees some insurers are charging for low-skilled telesales staff to spend two minutes updating details on an insurance policy! I think you got a bargain there Lissyloo

dizzie

kingstreet wrote: »

I'm just looking at my docs from last year.

On one page, page three, it clearly shows the premium breakdown, auto-renewal and how to opt out, cancellation charges and proportionate premium payments for short-term cover and details of other charges, such as alteration fees, direct debit rejection fee and duplicate document fees.

As page one is an introductory letter and page two details the cover I've bought it seems page three is a reasonable place. The print is the same, with bold headings for the "ups" and the "downs" so I'd say this insurer has done everything it can to ensure I get a full picture of costs and benefits.

It was emailed to me for checking about twenty minutes after I completed the purchase, online.

Well that's an example of a good insurer then, but I doubt that they are all as clear as this. My last insurer certainly didn't display those facts so clearly. Sure they were in the documentation, but were made far less prominent than that

spitfire13

do you have long left on the policies? if not then change address on renewal or with new insurer when time comes! i personally think charging to change address is ridiculous and its an excuse to charge, i own a business and wouldn't charge for this as i would be thankful for the custom, no charges for such things equals a little bit of loyalty!!!!

dunstonh

i personally think charging to change address is ridiculous and its an excuse to charge, i own a business and wouldn't charge for this as i would be thankful for the custom, no charges for such things equals a little bit of loyalty!!!!

You dont say your business but if you had reduced your costs of the initial business to not pay for the any future costs would you not consider charging then? Does your business get extra earnings potential from changing address and therefore you dont charge because it could lead to other income?

It also needs to be said that the FSA themselves do not like cross subsidy of charges. They are forcing its removal in a number of areas in the coming years.

I don't charge for changes of address currently. However, post 2013, I will not be charging servicing clients (they pay for servicing) but I will be charging non-servicing clients if they want me to sort the change of address for them. Just as the FSA wants it to be.

dizzie

dunstonh wrote: »

It also needs to be said that the FSA themselves do not like cross subsidy of charges. They are forcing its removal in a number of areas in the coming years.

Surely one cannot get rid of cross-subsidy altogether in the financial services industry (or in most other industries for that matter).

Lissyloo was going on about overheads like fire training and lighting and heating and premises costs etc, but these are not directly proportional to the amount of business conducted. Take our local bank for instance. They'll employ a minimum amount of staff and have a lot of fixed overheads and one day, they might have 40 customers and the next 100 customers. However, within such limits, the overheads will stay at the same level.

And if you think about it, take two people each with a current account at the same bank. Say one person pays in a monthly salary, has only three direct debits and never has a need to contact or go into their bank. However, the second person may have 30 direct debits and may always be going into their branch or telephoning staff to check/query things. They don't get charged more for requiring more customer service time do they? So a cross-subsidy is surely always going to exist?

dunstonh

Surely one cannot get rid of cross-subsidy altogether in the financial services industry (or in most other industries for that matter).

You would think not. Plus, it cannot be desirable in many areas as it complicates things. It can also introduce VAT to some of the costs which would not be present before. Therefore the consumer ends up paying more.