Advice please - kwikfit car insurance renewed my policy without confirmation from me

Annikakaka

Hi all, I would like some advice on this please. Last year I insured my car with Kwikfit insurance at about £43 per month. When the renewal letter came, they quoted me for a renewal at £121 per month (my boyfriend who is a named driver on the policy had an accident in my car during the previous policy year).

I thought that was ridiculous and went elsewhere for about £55 per month. Because I have never had a renewal letter that didn't need me to confirm that I wanted to keep the policy, I didn't do anything with Kwikfit.

This morning I saw that they took £121 out of my account so I phoned up and they said because I didn't cancel, this meant that the policy was automatically renewed (at the much higher price). I have not received any policy documents, not even an email to tell me this was happening and they say that it said in the letter that I should get my new documents off the website. They have now cancelled the policy but the cancellation cost is £287 (which I haven't paid yet so this is now outstanding, meaning they won't issue me with the no-claims confirmation document I need for my new insurance policy!).

My questions is, is it really legal for them to send me a letter saying the policy with be renewed, and take my silence as consent for a much more expensive policy??? I could understand this if the cost was the same or less but can they do this when the cost rises so significantly from £43/month to over £120/month?

I feel completely conned.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks
Annika

Quentin

Annikakaka wrote: »

My questions is, is it really legal for them to send me a letter saying the policy with be renewed, and take my silence as consent for a much more expensive policy??? ......

Yes .

vaio

Yes if the terms and conditions of your old policy allow them to auto renew.

No if they don’t.

If the old policy doesn’t include auto-renew then I’m pretty sure they can’t introduce it in a letter as that would contravene the rules on inertia selling.

Time to get the old policy documents out and have a good read

Quentin

vaio wrote: »

Time to get the old policy documents out and have a good read

Too late for that!

The time to do that was at the time the OP took out the policy!

dunstonh

My questions is, is it really legal for them to send me a letter saying the policy with be renewed, and take my silence as consent for a much more expensive policy??? I could understand this if the cost was the same or less but can they do this when the cost rises so significantly from £43/month to over £120/month?

I feel completely conned.

Automatic renewal appears to be a tax on the stupid.

You acknowledge that you got the renewal letter. The renewal letter clearly states what to do next if you do or do not with to renew. You chose to follow the action required if you wish to renew (by not contacting them). Now you complain that they renewed it.

if you didnt want to renew it then why did you not follow the instructions in the renewal letter?

Annikakaka

Not sure there is quite such a need to make me feel even worse dunstonh. I did mention I was unfamiliar with autorenew policies and I don't think I'm alone there. I just think it's wrong for them to be able to do so when the price of the policy is almost 3 times what it was and this is what I was questioning.

lisyloo

I just think it's wrong for them to be able to do so when the price of the policy is almost 3 times what it was and this is what I was questioning.

Yes, they can do it.
Ask them for the cost of cancellation (make sure you make it clear you don't want to cancel, just want to know the costs).

Then shop aorund.
If it's 3 times the price, you may well find that you would be better off cancelling, although there will be a fee attached to this.

You are not alone in not being familiar with the policy, but if you did indeed receive a renewal letter then you should have read it.
Make sure you read your post in future before discarding it.
They tend to be quite clear about "WHAT you need to do NEXT" in me experience.

Incyder

Advice please - kwikfit car insurance renewed my policy without confirmation from me to cancel it.

Yes, lots of companies do that to make sure you stay legal when driving.

They can even get the money from your bank account if you have had a new debit card in the last year and they don't have the numbers of the new card. The bank will still pay them, the old card numbers are enough proof for the bank to pay.

This system may seem harsh but it prevents you being uninsured by accident.

lisyloo

This system may seem harsh but it prevents you being uninsured by accident.

I do wonderwhether those who don't read their letters about renewal would actually read letters telling them their insurance was expiring.
If they just ignore letters or don't read/understand them properly then surely they'd just go ahead and drive uninsured???

On one hand it seems harsh, but on the other hand a lot of people genuinely don't seem capable of arranging it themselves.I have tended to buy polcies that don't auto-renew and not had an issue with that.

vaio

Quentin wrote: »

Too late for that!

The time to do that was at the time the OP took out the policy!

I'd say if the old policy doesn't include auto renew then the insurance company can't include it by letter as what they would be changing the T & C of an existing contract without consent and my understanding of the inertia selling rules mean that isn't allowed, there must be active assent.

In reality, it is likely that the old policy did allow auto renew so the OP is stuck but always worth a check. It's also worth reading it so she can check the quoted cancellation charge is fair.

OP........

If your policy did allow auto renew then the general rule on cancellation costs is pro rata for time on cover plus an admin fee of up to £50. So assuming you were on cover for a month or less that’s £120 plus the admin fee so £170 and anything higher than that can be challenged by way of their complaints procedure and if still unhappy, via the FOS

mikey72

Just because it's in the t&c's doesn't mean it's legal, or illegal.
Could be decided either way.
It's worth getting an online quote for the same cover.
If it's substantially cheaper, complain to Kwik Fit. If they do not reduce your premium to the same amount, complain to the FOS that they are not treating the customer fairly, and you are being penalised compared to other customers.

As far as I am aware, it's not been tried yet, and there is no ruling on this, so as it costs nothing to you, it's about time that a policy was set on autorenew.

I'm sure there with be a long list on reasons forthcoming as to why you shouldn't, why it's fair you're paying 3 times last years premium, but get the quote first anyway and decide from there.

It was discussed here as well

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3009092

The other interesting point to consider, is from the insurers point of view, all they have to do is post the offer, and it is considered that you have recieved it. If you post back a refusal, they don't consider it valid unless they admit they have had it. So a slight bias not supported in law there as well.