I am being overcharged by Churchill car insurance for cancelling

Larkin

I recently cancelled my car insurance from Churchill as I found a cheaper quote elsewhere when I phoned to cancel I was told about the cancellation fee of £26.50 and because I had paid my last instalment by direct debit and that payments are taken up front Churchill insurance owe me about £11

Today I received a letter that says I have an outstanding balance of £60 :mad:

I haven't phoned Churchill yet as I am not very good on the phone and tend to get angry and this never helps, I just want to know if they have made a mistake what recourse can I take if I disagree with them.

Is there an organisation that helps people sort out things like this?

Many thanks in advance

Larkin

Quentin

Ask then to itemise it - ( but assuming you cancelled mid term, then it could be you were also involved in early settlement fees for the credit deal, which had to be paid along with any outstanding premium/non refundable extras (if any) etc)

System

If you cancel a motor insurance policy before it's normal end date, then many policies have a cancellation fee, check your Terms & Conditions which you agreed to when you took out the policy.

However, if you simply want to allow the policy to lapse on it's normal end date, then that is not a cancellation and the fee should not be payable.

So, the question is : "Have you cancelled before the normal end date" ?

If yes, check the T&Cs to confirm that the cancellation fee was shown.

vusys1

they cancel pro rata and a 26.50 admin fee.

If you cancel after those 14 days have passed, we will return
any premium less a charge for the number of days for which
cover has been given and an administration fee as shown in
your schedule.

when you cancelled the policy was the dd payment due to be taken or already taken?

Larkin

When I cancelled the DD payment was due to be taken 2 days after.

I am cancelling mid term 5 months into the 1 year, it's not the cancellation fee I am querying its the fact they have sent me a bill for the next months instalment even though I paid last months

System

As Quentin has already said in post #2 ask them to itemise the charge.

It is possible that you have something extra like e.g. "Legal Protection"

Extras are often payable in full (for the 12 month term), so the unexpected charge may be to pay for an extra.

talulah25

Larkin wrote: »

When I cancelled the DD payment was due to be taken 2 days after.

I am cancelling mid term 5 months into the 1 year, it's not the cancellation fee I am querying its the fact they have sent me a bill for the next months instalment even though I paid last months

When you take a normal 12 month motor policy thats exactly what you get, 12 months cover. If you pay by DD you are only spreading the cost, not paying on a month to month basis. When you cancel you will not only be liable to pay the admin fee, you will also have time on risk charge, as well as a clawback of any discounts/cashback given at inception. Given the fact that you cancelled the policy 2 days before a DD was due it should have been obvious that you would have to pay at least part of that instalment as well as the other charges!

You are not being over-charged, you are being charged. This is why I always tell people to look into exactly how much it will cost to cancel as its only then you know whether your 'cheaper quote' is actually cheaper.

McKneff

Why were you looking for new quotes when you were less than half way through your insurance year.

hcb42

sounds like it is simply the scheduling of DD to me

Larkin

McKneff wrote: »

Why were you looking for new quotes when you were less than half way through your insurance year.

Old insurance from Churchill cost £632 per year new policy is £195 per year the same cover fully comp, windscreen cover etc in fact with less excess, so in under 3 monthly instalments to Churchill now I have a full years cover.

The reason I am annoyed at Churchill is they gave me incorrect information when I phoned to cancel they told me I do not owe them any money they owe me £11 and then I get a bill for £60 I'm sure anyone who received this would feel the exact same way. I will be paying what I owe to Churchill because I understand a 12 month policy is exactly that but the fact I was given wrong information and having been charged such an exorbitant amount of money by churchill for my car inurance over the past 4 years is making it hard to swallow

talulah25

Larkin wrote: »

Old insurance from Churchill cost £632 per year new policy exactly the same fully comp, windscreen cover etc in fact less excess is £195 per year so in under 3 monthly instalments to Churchill now I have a full years cover.

The reason I am annoyed at Churchill is they gave me incorrect information when I phoned to cancel they told me I do not owe them any money they owe me £11 and then I get a bill for £60 I'm sure anyone who received this would feel the exact same way. I will be paying what I owe to Churchill because I understand a 12 year policy is exactly that but the fact I was given wrong information and having been charged such an exorbitant amount of money for my car inurance over 2 years is making it hard to swallow

Sorry Larkin, having re-read your original post I do understand why you are annoyed but Churchill's system probably showing an outstanding balance assuming the DD went ahead. I know ours does as we cannot cancel within 3 days of the DD being due. Would the amount of your monthly DD added to the admin fee equal a figure close to £60? If so theres your answer. If not it may just be a case of human error, did you take the name of the person you spoke to? The calls probably been recorded so your best bet is to give them a ring and ask for the call to be pulled. They MAY as a gesture of goodwill write off any balance owed but I doubt you will get an £11 credit.