Car Insurance Dispute

chad_123

Just in need of some advice, being harassed by a DCA over car insurance, they are now saying they will take this to court if I don't settle. They have been adding late payment fees on, I'm sure this is illegal?

Here's the situation:>

I had a car insurance policy and was paying by installments. NO credit agreement was received or signed for and no other paperwork apart from a poor photocopy of the certificate. I got pulled up by the police as the insurer failed to update their system after 2 weeks of the start date even though I'd paid 2 months premium in advance. They did not complete the paper work and I did not receive this in full even after 2 requests.

I sold my car and wrote to the the insurer via email requesting that they cancel my policy. I didn't hear anything for about a week and I emailed them again, but still no reply. I attempted to call them and I was consistently on hold. Then out of the blue about 4 weeks after selling the car, they rang me admitting they had only noticed my email. Funnily enough this was on the day the next installment was due ! I was not amused as my insurance was valid whilst the new owners were using the vehicle.

Anyway, I'll get to the point, they said they could not backdate the cancellation from the first time I contacted them and issued a hefty cancellation based on the amount of cover left and the cancellation date which in effect they have chose themselves by not acknowledging my email for 4 weeks. I now have a DCA sending letters.

• Firstly, who would I complain to about the insurance company?

• Do I send a CCA request letter to the DCA? I'm not sure if this applies to insurance policies paid by installments.

Thanks for reading this, as you can see I've had nothing but trouble and incompetence from this insurer.

k3lvc

For clarity if you'd signed no credit agreement how were you to pay the installments ? Cash via a broker or had you set up (or agreed to set up) a DD ?

Tixy

How did you buy your policy? online, by phone or in person at a brokers?

How much are they claiming in cancellation fees? Is this in accordance with their documented policy?
How much less would these fees be if they had cancelled on the day you first wrote to them? What does the policy say about cancelling? does it say you can email or that you have to write or what?

Did they take the extra installment out of your bank (and not repay it) - have they deducted this from the cancellation fees to come up with the amount they say is owed?

I think I would work out what the cancellation fee should have been if they had done it on the correct date, then deduct the last installment (if they kept it) and then offer to pay them whatever that balance is.

Regarding the CCA - most insurance paid in installments is done via a credit agreement, others are just done by the insurance provider themselves accepting payment in installments.

chad_123

k3lvc wrote: »

For clarity if you'd signed no credit agreement how were you to pay the installments ? Cash via a broker or had you set up (or agreed to set up) a DD ?

A DD was set up and they sent a credit agreement for me to sign, stating the amount of interest and terms. I didn't sign it or post it, they just took the installments via direct debit. I paid about #170 for a #400 policy for just under 3 months cover with 1st_quote.

chad_123

Tixy wrote: »

How did you buy your policy? online, by phone or in person at a brokers?

How much are they claiming in cancellation fees? Is this in accordance with their documented policy?
How much less would these fees be if they had cancelled on the day you first wrote to them? What does the policy say about cancelling? does it say you can email or that you have to write or what?

Did they take the extra installment out of your bank (and not repay it) - have they deducted this from the cancellation fees to come up with the amount they say is owed?

I think I would work out what the cancellation fee should have been if they had done it on the correct date, then deduct the last installment (if they kept it) and then offer to pay them whatever that balance is.

Regarding the CCA - most insurance paid in installments is done via a credit agreement, others are just done by the insurance provider themselves accepting payment in installments.

They want around 100 pounds, I didn't have any documents, they didn't send any!

It may have said cancel in writing, when they called me they said they hadn't noticed my original email (convenient for them) and they had a backlog of emails to get through but it took over month for them to call me. She asked me do I want it cancelling from that date i said no, i want it cancelled from when first i contacted them.

I canceled the direct debit when I first contacted them to cancel.

I know some people would just pay up but i lost my job in April, so simply can't afford to.

Tixy

chad_123 wrote: »

They want around 100 pounds, I didn't have any documents, they didn't send any!

How did you take out the policy?
What did they send you if not a policy document? just a certificate and a credit agreement? Did you chase them for the policy document?

Have they provided you with a breakdown of the fees they are charging? Do you know it would have been less if they had cancelled it when you asked them to?

elsiepac

Hi there

Some of your posts seem to condradict each other?

NO credit agreement was received or signed for and no other paperwork apart from a poor photocopy of the certificate.

They did not complete the paper work and I did not receive this in full even after 2 requests.

A DD was set up and they sent a credit agreement for me to sign, stating the amount of interest and terms. I didn't sign it or post it, they just took the installments via direct debit.

I didn't have any documents, they didn't send any!

It may have said cancel in writing

Could you perhaps clarify exactly what documents you have received and what you think you are missing?

They do sound like a nightmare though... :mad:

Thanks, LC

gordikin

chad_123

Post a copy of your problem in the Insurance Board...there's a few insurance guys there who will let you know where you stand.

chad_123

I was wrong the letter is from capita_insurance not a DCA? Have 1st Quote been taken over? Their website doesn't appear to be working.


I took the policy out online. I have a covering letter and an insurance certificate. They sent me this email asking what I'd received, I did reply twice and still only have a certificate and a covering letter from them. A credit agreement was sent out by finance company for the value of the policy. I don't know what the charges are for and I do believe these would be less if they'd canceled from when I'd asked.



Dear M,
We thank you for choosing 1stQuote for your insurance.
As a valued customer we have provided you with documentation that validates your insurance.
You should have received the following

1. Statement of Insurance - a record of all the information you have provided us which forms the basis of your contract.
2. Certificate, Schedule and Policy Booklet - together these documents detail the terms and conditions of your insurance contract
3. Supporting Documentation - for any optional extras that you have purchased
4. Our Terms of Business - this details our charges and conditions
5. (if applicable) Instalment Schedule - detailing the payment dates and amounts

Have you received all of your insurance documents?

Tixy

The cancellation charges are shown as part of the T&C you tick when you buy online.

As you say the site isn't working now but their parent company actually charge less if you cancel later, they do it based on the quarter - see this link http://www.masterquote.co.uk/insurance/insurance-faqs.html question - How much will it cost to change my policy details? Of course 1stquote might not have had the same stucture.

I would ask for a breakdown of the charges and negotiate what you will need to pay. You will certainly need to pay something as you do with all insurance cancellations, but if they've tried to charge for something like the bounced DD hopefully you should be able to prove you don't need to pay this part.

chad_123

I sent them a letter of complaint stating the account was in dispute with 1st choice because of the reasons I stated earlier. I have asked them to revise their charges and that if I am not happy with their response I will complain to the FOS.

I have read another thread on here and it says the maximum cancellation fee for insurance policies has been agreed at £50 by the FOS?