Unauthorised payment taken by insurance company

abrittan

Hi there,

I'd like to seek some opinions from the forum regarding my car insurance.

I recently renewed my car insurance policy, staying with my insurance company for the third year. I renewed on the 12th July and the agreed renewal price was taken on the 15th July from my credit card.

Having checked my credit card statement today, the insurer has taken an additional charge of over £820. This charge was not authorised by myself.

I rang the insurer today to query this, and was initially advised that I had been charged extra as I had not told them about a claim from March 2010. I did not have any claims in March 2010 so I queried this and the customer service adviser then said that she had make a mistake. She then told me that the charge was made because I had not advised them about 2 claims on my policy (which I have made so are legitimate). These claims were made in August 2008 and May 2011.

When I renewed my policy I did this over the phone - the insurer also price matched an internet quotation from their own site as this had been significantly cheaper than the first renewal quote offered. The insurer is now saying I did not advise them about my 2 claims at renewal.

I have a couple of issues with this;

a) Both claims were made on the policy being renewed with the insurer - so the insurer did know about both claims, so therefore their additional charge cannot be right

b) They took payment from my credit card without authorisation

Where do I stand on these points? I categorically remember discussing my claims when I renewed, I'm 100% on that. I've asked them to review the recordings of the phone conversation at renewal.

The insurer is currently looking into it and are going to get back to me. If they have made a charge without authorisation what can I do?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts

huckster

They can't charge you extra for something they already had on their records. The renewal premium you agreed to would have been calculated taking into account the 2 claims and if it wasn't that is their problem and not yours.

Give them a couple of days to organise a refund and if they don't speak to the credit card company. I would think that if you faxed the credit card company a copy of the renewal you agreed to, they would see that the amount collected was incorrect and send it back to the Insurance company.

abrittan

Thanks. The renewal documentation I received also showed that I lost my no claims bonus for the renewal - which I expected due to the claim in May of this year, which I thnk is further proof. How can they say they were not aware of their own claims?!?!

huckster

abrittan wrote: »

Thanks. The renewal documentation I received also showed that I lost my no claims bonus for the renewal - which I expected due to the claim in May of this year, which I thnk is further proof. How can they say they were not aware of their own claims?!?!

They are digging a hole for themselves with the FSA. Insurers are required to have effective systems in place to ensure that risks and accounts are handled correctly. If their systems cannot calculate premiums correctly taking into account claims, how can they show the FSA that they solvent.

InsideInsurance

I suspect the issue is that you did not actually renew with them but cancelled the existing policy and bought a new policy at the new customer internet price.

This really is irrelevant however as ultimately you did tell them about them, and presumably had put them into the internet quote you were getting them to price match with so it is simply time to get the thing resolved.

As to unauthorised charges, you will almost without doubt have given your insurers continuous payment authority on your card so that they can do auto renewals as well as charging you for any additional premiums - some insurers you cannot pay by card without giving them CPA

abrittan

InsideInsurance wrote: »

I suspect the issue is that you did not actually renew with them but cancelled the existing policy and bought a new policy at the new customer internet price.

I had thought about that, but my policy number is the same. I think a new policy would have resulted in a new policy number.

abrittan

Just an update on this issue. On Saturday a Customer Services Manager from the insurer rang me to discuss the issue. They initially tried to say that at renewal I hadn't advised them about my claim in 2008. I produced my documentation to prove that this claim was on my policy. They then tried to say I hadn't advised them about my claim in 2011. I rebutted this - the claim occurred on the policy that was being renewed, plus they reduced my no claims, and increased my premium so therefore they were fully aware of all my claims.

They finally conceded that they had made an error in charging me an additional premium. They have agreed to refund the charge made with 5 days, and to send me a letter advising that they have removed the incorrect claims from my policy.

What is disappointing is that it has taken them over 2 weeks to 'investigate' and come back with the same response as when I initially called. It has also taken 10 phone calls from myself chasing this up! It also concerns me that this large insurance group seems unable to manage their own administration.