Am I being unreasonable (o2 Insurance)?

ianwild

Hi Guys, trying to keep this very brief, I'd really appreciate peoples view about whether the below is fair or not...

- I've had two o2 iPhone contracts in my name (one is for Caroline my other half) since the iPhone was first launched.

- I upgraded both 3G iPhones to iPhone 4s in an O2 Shop back in September 2010.

- In the shop, the salesman talked me into a more expense insurance package (£15 from £7.50 a month per phone) as the cheaper premium wouldn't cover the new iPhones.

- A few days afterwards I called O2 to cancel these policies as I found cheaper insurance from my bank.

- My O2 contracts have just expired and on reviewing the bills / tariffs on-line I spotted that the insurance was cancelled correctly on my phone, but on Caroline's I'm still being charged £7.50 for the original insurance premium.

O2s line is basically tough - you should have noticed and called us sooner. Bearing in mind this is £135 worth of premium that wouldn't have covered the new phone that o2 had supplied, I think that's harsh.

On the other hand it's very lax of me not to have spotted this. I do check my o2 account on-line as my bills can get pretty high, but never logged into Caroline's and just let the same amount get taken each month without questioning it.

O2 will lose me as a customer over this, but otherwise I'm not sure there's anything else I can do. I'd really like to know if people think I should swallow it and be more careful next time, or put up a fight here to try and get at least some of my money back?

Many thanks,

Ian

Buzby

As you suggest, the onus was on you. On the basis that you never claimed, there's a chance they may make a goodwill offer, but cannot be forced, and it may depend on how generous they're feeling on the day - write, don't phone - and don't be demanding - the more helpless you appear may generate the desired response!

visidigi

ianwild wrote: »

- My O2 contracts have just expired and on reviewing the bills / tariffs on-line I spotted that the insurance was cancelled correctly on my phone, but on Caroline's I'm still being charged £7.50 for the original insurance premium.

O2s line is basically tough - you should have noticed and called us sooner. Bearing in mind this is £135 worth of premium that wouldn't have covered the new phone that o2 had supplied, I think that's harsh.

On the other hand it's very lax of me not to have spotted this. I do check my o2 account on-line as my bills can get pretty high, but never logged into Caroline's and just let the same amount get taken each month without questioning it.

O2 will lose me as a customer over this, but otherwise I'm not sure there's anything else I can do. I'd really like to know if people think I should swallow it and be more careful next time, or put up a fight here to try and get at least some of my money back?

Many thanks,

Ian

unfortunately you're going to need to swallow the cost, you can politely ask, but given the reaction to that so far I expect there won't be much change - mainly because Insurance is down to you to cancel and its the way all insurance policies work...

mattyprice4004

As above, it's your place to check they're cancelled not theirs.

ianwild

Thanks chaps, really appreciate the opinions. I'll put it down to my own slackness and move on. This is the problem with choosing on-line billing and then never checking...

Still very unfair of them to have a system that lets them charge an insurance premium for a handset they know isn't covered imho.

Ian

Quentin

Write to them, pointing out you did cancel both policies because you had taken another policy with your bank. Ask them to send you a transcript of the conversation and why they only acted on part of your instructions.

Include a copy of your alternative insurance details and ask them to refund the premium which they had wrongly continued to take. (They clearly got your instructions as they did stop one policy!)

If they ignore this, then escalate this through their complaints procedure.