Admiral multicar - help please

greenbee1

I am new to this so here goes.
we took out a multicar policy with Admiral in October my daughter who is 21 was the first on the policy , my other daughter 18 was added in february and i was to be added in july !. Between them they have messed up the direct debit hence one monthly payment has been missed ( they tried to take it on 2 occasions and it was refused). I recieved an email ( as i had organised the policy ) 2 days ago to say the march payment had not been made so the policy would be cancelled unless we paid the whole amount of £831.96 - copy of email
We previously wrote to you to explain that your bank/building society could - copy of email
not pay your monthly payment and asked you to contact us.

To avoid cancellation of the above numbered policy, we need you to pay the
outstanding balance of £ 831.96 by 14/04/11. Please arrange your payment
within the next 7 days.

If you have provided new payment details, there is no need to contact us.

If we do not receive payment by 14/04/11, we will cancel the policy.
According to condition 4 of the 'Our guide to your cover' booklet this is you
FORMAL 7 DAYS NOTICE OF CANCELLATION OF THE POLICY.

The Road Traffic Act says we must tell you the following. It is an offence
under the Road Traffic Act to leave, use or allow a car to be used on the
Public Highway without insurance. Once motor insurance cover has expired,
there is a risk of prosecution under this act unless alternative insurance
arrangements have been made.

I immediately called them to try and rectify this and pay the missing instalment as this was the first I knew of this.They were having none of it and told me the policy would be cancelled under their terms and conditions - see below -

Under the terms of this agreement, section 5 and section 6 states the following:
“5. You will be in default under the Agreement:
(a) If any Direct Debits are refused by the Bank/Building Society within any policy term.
Or

• 1. Should you fail to maintain an instruction to pay Direct Debits and such a failure is not corrected as requested, within the permitted time.

6. The whole outstanding balance on the account will become immediately due and payable:
(a) Upon notice by us that you are in Default under the Agreement.

• • (b) Your bankruptcy.
    (c) On closure of the Account by either you or us by giving seven days written notice to the other.”

Obviously we are not in the position or have the money to pay this balance of £800 + . How do we stand - is there anything we can do. They are going to cancel the policy no matter what and this will incur further charges. I really cannot understand them they are going to lose the business of 3 policies for a missing payment of £104 . Any help greatly appreciated

sharpy2010

Try ringing back and speaking to another phone jockey. Some of them can get really above themselves, hence the refusal of help the first time.

greenbee1

Hi
I Have tried that and emailed the complaints dept . They will not move. I really am at a loss. Thank you anyway.

mikey72

What went wrong with the monthly payment, why was it refused twice?

societys_child

mikey72 wrote: »

What went wrong with the monthly payment, why was it refused twice?

Yeah, I was going to ask if "messed up" was euphemism for no money in the account.

greenbee, between the 3 of you is there no way you can find the money? They are just applying the T&Cs and although you may feel hard done by, they will have this problem with non payers continually, hence the harsh T&Cs. keep pestering them, maybe you'll get a helpful CS eventually, or maybe it's strict company policy and they really can't change it.

greenbee1

yes , " messed up" - no money in the account;) 21 and 18 and useless with finances which is why when we set up the policy I asked if the money could come from my account but the answer was no as it had to come out of the policyholders account. The only way they will reinstate it is if it is a " bank error".

mikey72

greenbee1 wrote: »

yes , " messed up" - no money in the account;) 21 and 18 and useless with finances which is why when we set up the policy I asked if the money could come from my account but the answer was no as it had to come out of the policyholders account. The only way they will reinstate it is if it is a " bank error".

That makes it difficult.
One is bad, two defaulting is worse.
If you can't sort it out, at least two of you, probably all three will have to declare you have had a policy cancelled. That will push the costs up beyond affordable.
Really you need to pay within the 7 days, even with a credit card if you can, then make them pay the interest back. Or take a loan to pay off the card.

greenbee1

this just seems so harsh and ridiculous for one missed direct debit, so does this mean they will not get insured elsewhere ? because the policy will be cancelled by them ?

mikey72

Every quote always has the question "have you every had a policy cancelled"
If you say yes, you won't get a quote. It's usually a specialist broker then, and a higher premium.
I wouldn't like to say how you stand, as your policy hasn't started, but your name is on it, so as to whether or not you can have your policy cancelled before it actually starts I couldn't say.
So it may not be just "them"
You could well have to declare it as well, as you have agreed to be insured on the multicar policy, and the policy has been set up with your agreement.

And to be fair to Admiral, it's not just one direct debit. You said they both missed one.
It could be the start of many from their point of view, and they could end up chasing all three of you each month.

bouncydog1

I don't understand why you think it is harsh for one missed direct debit. The payment was due, the Company tried to take it twice and couldn't because there was no money in the account.

A contract was signed with them to pay and your daughter's haven't honoured their side of the contract.

There isn't a lot you can do, other than find the whole outstanding balance, otherwise this will have to be declared as a cancelled policy for non-payment.

I really would try to find the money, because it isn't simply a case of not being able to get insurance elsewhere - it will go down on the credit report of whoever was making the payment, so not only will future insurance be significantly more expensive, but I also suspect that it will be very hard to find credit terms, meaning that the whole premium will have to be paid up front. In the event of non-payment of the balance the insurers may also decide to pursue for the balance through legal action.

greenbee1

OMG this is horrendous . Does anyone have anyone have any good news ? Just to clarify the account has been running ok since october , the premiums for all 3 policies come out of one account. I would happily keep the policy if they would reinstate the monthly payment.