swinton swindlers

wrximpreza01

i took van insurance out with swinton
in this i paid my deposit using my debit card giving my consent
then after that it was to be direct debit

i sold my van a couple of weeks later and naturally cancelled my insurance policy as i did not own or drive the van any longer.
i did this by means of written confirmation and cancelled the direct debit with my bank on-line,then today swinton has taking £160.17 from my account using my debit card!!!!!!

i contacted swinton only to be told they did not receive my letter of cancellation and they where well within there rights to deduct any outstanding from my card

this cant be right or legal i did not give at any time my consent to further funds being removed using my debit card details

can anyone help

its going to be there word against mine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

talulah25

Taken from T&Cs on Swinton website:

Payments by Direct Debit

Most annual policies can be paid for by Direct Debit via our own Credit Agreement. For full details of the terms and conditions, interest and other charges, please ask. When we have sent or given you the Credit Agreement and you fail to return it, duly signed, within 14 days then you must pay us an administration fee of £24.00 to cover the costs and expenses we may incur as a result. We will apply this fee to your account and collect it by increasing your monthly payments in the first year of the agreement by an equal proportion of the fee. This agreement will set out your direct debit payments.
Where we hold credit or debit card details you have paid with, you irrevocably authorise us to charge such card any sum due under this agreement which you fail to make on the due date. You will be notified in writing prior to any collection. We will not collect from this card should you notify us of any outstanding claim you have made against us. Availability is subject to status. A deposit is required. Quotations given on request.

dunstonh

this cant be right or legal i did not give at any time my consent to further funds being removed using my debit card details

It is legal.

However, it is fairly easily resolved. Whilst you have no evidence you did what you said, you should have evidence that you sold the vehicle. So, you tell them that you notified them and give your evidence that you sold the vehicle and that they should refund the premium taken as there is no longer any insurable interest and if they refuse they should consider it a complaint against them and if they do not agree to refund that you will refer the complaint to the FOS.

The FOS will charge them £500 if you refer the complaint to them. So, on a case like this where you probably do owe them some money (so you wont get all the £160 back as there will be an cancellation charge of around £50 and some premium to pay relatively pro-rata), it will be cheaper for them to refund the difference and not argue about it.

talulah25

dunstonh wrote: »

It is legal.

However, it is fairly easily resolved. Whilst you have no evidence you did what you said, you should have evidence that you sold the vehicle. So, you tell them that you notified them and give your evidence that you sold the vehicle and that they should refund the premium taken as there is no longer any insurable interest and if they refuse they should consider it a complaint against them and if they do not agree to refund that you will refer the complaint to the FOS.

The FOS will charge them £500 if you refer the complaint to them. So, on a case like this where you probably do owe them some money (so you wont get all the £160 back as there will be an cancellation charge of around £50 and some premium to pay relatively pro-rata), it will be cheaper for them to refund the difference and not argue about it.

Agreed, its the lesser of two evils for Swinton to refund minus cancellation charges etc rather than face an FOS charge and still have to end up paying you money back

wrximpreza01

thanks guys laziness on my behalf in not reading the small print but if i knew that before i paid the deposit i wouldnt have paid or taking a policy with them!!!!!

mikey72

talulah25 wrote: »

Taken from T&Cs on Swinton website:

Payments by Direct Debit

Most annual policies can be paid for by Direct Debit via our own Credit Agreement. For full details of the terms and conditions, interest and other charges, please ask. When we have sent or given you the Credit Agreement and you fail to return it, duly signed, within 14 days then you must pay us an administration fee of £24.00 to cover the costs and expenses we may incur as a result. We will apply this fee to your account and collect it by increasing your monthly payments in the first year of the agreement by an equal proportion of the fee. This agreement will set out your direct debit payments.
Where we hold credit or debit card details you have paid with, you irrevocably authorise us to charge such card any sum due under this agreement which you fail to make on the due date. You will be notified in writing prior to any collection. We will not collect from this card should you notify us of any outstanding claim you have made against us. Availability is subject to status. A deposit is required. Quotations given on request.

All well and good, but I can't see the op mentioning Swinton actually doing this.
T&C's work both ways.
If they had notified the op, he could have confirmed the cancellation. If they didn't they had no right to take it.

talulah25

mikey72 wrote: »

All well and good, but I can't see the op mentioning Swinton actually doing this.
T&C's work both ways.
If they had notified the op, he could have confirmed the cancellation. If they didn't they had no right to take it.

Letter probably in the post as we speak, it doesnt mention the normal '7 days prior' that you have with a DD so my guess would be as long as they produce the letter before the payment is taken (say yesterday) that would count as notification. Not very ethical I know but from prior experience it seems to be quite common, they dont accept responsibility for the fact you havent actually recieved the letter yet.

mikey72

talulah25 wrote: »

Letter probably in the post as we speak, it doesnt mention the normal '7 days prior' that you have with a DD so my guess would be as long as they produce the letter before the payment is taken (say yesterday) that would count as notification. Not very ethical I know but from prior experience it seems to be quite common, they dont accept responsibility for the fact you havent actually recieved the letter yet.

No it wouldn't.

For it to count, it would be expected to have been posted in a reasonable time for the customer to recieve it, and take action if required.
Trying to play on the words wouldn't be accepted by the FOS, who would have to decide on what was fair after the complaint.

And if they want to play the "you haven't received it but we sent it" card for the notification, that works very well for the cancellation.