Churchill Insurance rip-off cancellation charge.

Scratch

I signed online for home insurance and when I got the docs there was a £28 charge if you cancelled:eek:

I phoned up and cancelled, I hope I get all my money back else there will be hell.


They should change the dog in their ads to a rotweiler!!

mikey72

Why?



.

stugib

Scratch wrote: »

I signed online for home insurance and when I got the docs there was a £28 charge if you cancelled:eek:

I phoned up and cancelled, I hope I get all my money back else there will be hell.

So rather then there be chance of paying it sometime in the next year you decided definitely to pay it now?

Scratch

mikey72 wrote: »

Why?



.

BEcause it is a disgrace they try and charge £28 to cancel, made worse by the fact it is a hidden charge, and of course it needs to be cos nobody would buy it.

Scratch

stugib wrote: »

So rather then there be chance of paying it sometime in the next year you decided definitely to pay it now?

Sorry I don't understand you comment, can you me clearer?

(Spell it out for me).

stugib

Scratch wrote: »

Sorry I don't understand you comment, can you me clearer?

(Spell it out for me).

I don't understand why you'd cancel now knowing there's a fee.

If you'd let the policy run its term you'd pay nothing.

Presumably you were happy with the price you paid, so is there a good chance you'd have cancelled it mid-term for some reason? If not then I don't see the logic in cancelling it now.

p.s. you should have read the policy terms to see about cancellation fees before buying.

mikey72

It's actually quite well laid out for an internet policy.
It's not hidden. I wouln't agree to £28 though.

FAQ's

"Do I get a refund if I cancel my home policy?
When you buy your policy

If you cancel your policy before it is due to start we will return any premium you have paid in full.
If you cancel your policy within 14 days of the day it is due to start or of the day on which you receive your documents (whichever is later) we will return any premium you have paid less an administration fee of up to £26.50 (inclusive of Insurance Premium Tax where applicable), providing you have not made any claims during that time.
If you cancel your policy after that 14/21 day period we will return any unused premium less an administration fee of up to £26.50 (inclusive of Insurance Premium Tax where applicable), providing you have not made a claim during the current period of insurance."


http://www.churchill.com/general/site_help/home_faq.htm#41

dunstonh

BEcause it is a disgrace they try and charge £28 to cancel, made worse by the fact it is a hidden charge, and of course it needs to be cos nobody would buy it.

Its not hidden. Its clear as day on their website. What you mean is you didnt read it.

You have brought this fee on yourself through lack of reading and research. Not only that, you are only incurring the charge because you are cancelling and you appear to be cancelling only because there is a cancellation charge. Not much logic there.

They should change the dog in their ads to a rotweiler!!

Maybe they should add a risk warning to their adverts. Our product is not suitable for those that cannot read. Of course, if you cant read the risk warning then it wouldnt matter what it said

KathysBoy

Scratch wrote: »

BEcause it is a disgrace they try and charge £28 to cancel, made worse by the fact it is a hidden charge, and of course it needs to be cos nobody would buy it.

Let us know when you find an insurance company that doesn't charge an admin fee when you cancel. It's pretty standard industry practice for home and car insurance. This is what happens when a mature market becomes price driven, the headline price is reduced as far as possible, but anything out of the norm costs. They drive the price down by automating as far as possible, but a cancellation requires manual (i.e a person) intervention, hence the charge.

If you don't cancel there's no charge, and I'm not sure why you would take out insurance with the intention of cancelling anyway.

Scratch

mikey72 wrote: »

It's actually quite well laid out for an internet policy.
It's not hidden. I wouln't agree to £28 though.

FAQ's

"Do I get a refund if I cancel my home policy?
When you buy your policy

If you cancel your policy before it is due to start we will return any premium you have paid in full.
If you cancel your policy within 14 days of the day it is due to start or of the day on which you receive your documents (whichever is later) we will return any premium you have paid less an administration fee of up to £26.50 (inclusive of Insurance Premium Tax where applicable), providing you have not made any claims during that time.
If you cancel your policy after that 14/21 day period we will return any unused premium less an administration fee of up to £26.50 (inclusive of Insurance Premium Tax where applicable), providing you have not made a claim during the current period of insurance."


http://www.churchill.com/general/site_help/home_faq.htm#41

It is not laid out well at all, I had a reasonable look at the site before I signed up and I did not se it.

If you cancel your policy within 14 days of receiving your documents, or of the start date of the policy (whichever occurs later), we will refund all of the premium you have paid less the administration fee of £26.50 (including Insurance Premium Tax where applicable), providing that you have not made any claim during that time.


That is what is says on the site and it is confusing because it is written as if you are getting a full refund unless you read it carefully.


Furthermore on the documents which they sent me, and I have them right in front of me, it says:

Fees

For cancelling in the first year £55

That is only £4 less than the cost of the cover £59.


So you are in fact wrong, and it is even worse than I expected.

Bottom line is I will never buy any insurance from Churchill because my experience leads me to believe they are little more than crooks.

I am absolutely disgusted by the whole thing and anyone who tries to defend them has no credibility IMO. Go defend Pol Pot instead.

stugib

Scratch wrote: »

we will refund all of the premium you have paid less the administration fee of £26.50

That is what is says on the site and it is confusing because it is written as if you are getting a full refund unless you read it carefully.

Only if you stop reading at 'paid' or don't understand what 'less' means.

Still don't understand why you thought cancelling now was a good idea.