car insurance cancellation charge

beurling

hi there.

my friend recentlly sold her car...she phoned up her car insurance to cancel, it was Admiral, and was told she'd need to pay a £135 cancellation fee.

She has already finished paying for the year..did not expect a refund but this is surely exorbitant???

How can they possibly justify charging this much for cancellation?? as she cant afford it what on earth does she do??

many thanks,

Buzz

worried_jim

Easy- since she has paid for the policy don't do anything. £135 saved.

Quentin

beurling wrote: »

as she cant afford it what on earth does she do??

She needs to ask them to itemise this charge. Then if she wants to dispute any (or all of it) she should do so.

But if it is correct, and she can't afford to pay it, then she should explain this to them and see if they can help - maybe by arranging for her to pay it on the drip.

McKneff

worried_jim wrote: »

Easy- since she has paid for the policy don't do anything. £135 saved.

Its a cancellation charge, she can't just not pay it.

See Quentin's advice. Thats the only way to go.

Learn a lesson, if you want to sell a car, sell it when the insurnace is just about due.

mazza111

I think by that comment, don't do anything, don't cancel it. Cheaper to keep it insured than to cancel it?

beurling

as usual it would seem that the insurance companies have us by the dogs danglies...


its about time somebody withh a bit of power got a handle on this industry and did a better job of keeping it in check

dunstonh

was told she'd need to pay a £135 cancellation fee.

No she wasnt. There are no insurers making a £135 cancellation charge. Chances are there is a small cancellation charge, some premium owed and if she had non-refundable add-ons, she would have to pay those up.

as usual it would seem that the insurance companies have us by the dogs danglies...

They publish their terms. It just needs people to read their paperwork.

beurling

she fully paid her insurance..it was 12mths paid over ten...

gonna call them up tomorrow and sort the mess out

McKneff

Why are you ringing them and not her.

They probably won't talk to you anyway without her permission.

Be sure of your facts first though, there may be (as Dunstonh said) add ons like AA or RAC which she would have to pay for as they have to be paid for. The cancellation charge is never this much.

Heavier

My OH has had a similar problem with Swinton Insurance. He took out insurance on a moped which he had bought for his son and planned to give him for his birthday. He was being honest as under the new law you need to insure vehicles owned by you. He gave the bike to his son who has taken out his own insurance now and when he contacted Swinton to cancel the insurance they said he need to pay £77 for cancelling!! The insurance was initially only £70.

He said he would just leave it to run out then as it was cheaper to do this only to be told that this is illegal as a vehicle cannot be insured twice by different companies. I have spoken to a work colleague who used to work in insurance who confirms this is true.

So if he doesnt cancel and payup the fee his sons insurance could be void if he needs to make a claim.

What a rip off. We intend to complain to FSA as this is totally unfair and penalises the people trying to be honest :mad:

dunstonh

What a rip off. We intend to complain to FSA as this is totally unfair and penalises the people trying to be honest

The FSA do not handle consumer complaints and will just forward your letter on to Swinton.

Tell your husband to read the documentation next time. For all Swinton's faults, they do clearly state their cancellation terms.