Swinton Rip off Nightmare

raze1000

Hi

I just agreed to go with swinton for my house insurance buildings and contents which has proved to be a big mistake.

They took out an £18 deposit on the next day i spoke to them on the phone even though its not due to start until 6th feb 2012

They signed me up for 2 other policies which are free for free months which i didn't really want.

After 5 days of reading through the policy i decided to cancel.
All my documents were being dealt with in a branch not at all local to me. So i rang them instead of going in.

The girl told me that she could cancel it there no problem and just to cancel my direct debits for the other 2 policies (life insurance and home emergency) and they would automatically cancel.
I asked if there would be any charge and she said not as i hadn't signed and sent back the direct debit mandate. I asked about the deposit and she said that would be refunded too.

I cancelled all 3 dd mandates and also rang swinton to cancel the other 2 policies which took 2 hours to get through but eventually they said they have done it.

Today I got a letter telling me that my direct debit had been cancelled and they couldnt take payment and i needed to contact them.

I rang and spoke to another girl who said that there was a £50 cancellation charge.
Can this be right ? I mean the insurance wasn't due to start until 6th feb and I rang after only 5 days to cancel.

I have to ring back on Monday as the girl i dealt with wasn't in.
They also said they would check the recorded phone call to check they had informed me about a charge.

To be honest the initial call was very long and the girl just whizzed through a lot of stuff so i don't remember if i was told or not.

That said the girl in the shop said that i wouldn't be charged and the Deposit would also be refunded to my account.

Any advise on what I can do as I can't afford to lose £68.

Ray

sallyanne4

I had a similar experience with one call car insurance who wanted to charge me £50 for cancelling a policy within 2 hours of setting it up and that wasn't due to start for a month they called it a "set up fee", I had also paid a deposit, I showed off and threatened them with trading standards who I had spoken to and they duly refunded every thing:T

InsideInsurance

Check your policybook; some insurers/ brokers charge from day of purchase, some charge from the day of inception.

Ultimately the call should be recorded so it will come down to what was said.

If there are particular things you want to know about a policy it is certainly worth clarifying those BEFORE buying than buying and then deciding if you want it or not

ihateyes

Swindlers are gangsters.....

the free policy is great as majority never cancel, infact most people dont even realise they have it.

raze1000

Well here's the latest.

I got 2 letters confirming cancellation of the extra 2 policies I didn't want.

Spoke to the girl at the branch and she said she had cancelled the main policy and the £18 deposit would be back in my account in a few days and to ignore the letter.

Just checked my account and I have got a payment of £8 back into my account.

Got a letter today saying they had credited back £8 after deducting a £10 admin charge.

I can stand to lose £10 knowing that I won't be stuck with Swinton anymore. Will never use them again.

Going to get insured through LLoyds TSB again today as the quote is now better and also cashback after 2 months, Uk call centre, no interest on monthly payments, no hassle with cancelling.

I suppose persistance pays off.

coolerking10

Hi There,:mad:

This is a first time post so i hope i follow the rules OK....need to get this off my chest and may be help others in the process..

I have had both Bike and House insurance with Swinton, the house insurance seems to be trouble free but the bike is another matter!

In no particular order...rant starting now!!

1, I really don't like their practice of taking money from my bank account to act as a deposit on the next years insurance, i am old enough to decide when to renew without being told.
The added stress of having to make sure that they refund the deposit when you don't renew is not required. Call me two/three weeks before the end of the current insurance period, offer a good renewal quote and i will sign up again...

2, The renewal quote, they reward loyalty by charging double the amount of the same quote online...offered by Swinton that is... so to recap...same policy t&c's same insurer and twice the price... what a great reward!!!

3, Having just found out that you have been charged double and you call up 3 weeks before the policy is due to start and tell them that you don't wish to continue and please cancel the policy, you are told that there is £50 cancellation fee!!! even before the policy has started....

4, When you elect to buy your insurance upfront in cash and not on monthly credit terms the policy miraculously is more expensive (even though they charge a interest charge for the credit??)

5, All of the Free for 3 months add on policies that you need to remember to cancel and you never actually wanted in the first place.

sorry for the rant...... its safe to say that i will never ever use Swinton again....i will willingly pay a higher premium to give my business to a better more transparent insurance company....that incidentally so far has proved better value as well.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.....think twice before you buy insurance!

On the plus side both insurance policies have now ended!!!! i'm free!!:j

weejonnie

Do Swinton assess your demands and needs before recommending that you take out the additional policies? if not then they should. TBH from what I read on this and other insurance bloggs Swinton seem to regard themselves as above the FCA and their handbook.

(Many correspondents advise 'see a local broker (not Swinton)' not without reason)

guido342

I wanted to cancel the contents cover on my property - the policy was £62.49 and had 7 months left to run - they wanted £50 cancellation fee - that's outrageous, it can't take more than a couple of minutes for them to cancel it.
Naturally I told them to forget it, I didn't want to cancel it, I'd let it run until it expired.
They hung up rather abruptly.
I will NEVER deal with Swindleton again.
Grrrr :mad:
guido342

McKneff

guido342 wrote: »

I wanted to cancel the contents cover on my property - the policy was £62.49 and had 7 months left to run - they wanted £50 cancellation fee - that's outrageous, it can't take more than a couple of minutes for them to cancel it.
Naturally I told them to forget it, I didn't want to cancel it, I'd let it run until it expired.
They hung up rather abruptly.
I will NEVER deal with Swindleton again.
Grrrr :mad:
guido342

This post is over 15 months old, where did you dig it up from.....
Apart from that, you would have signed and agreed at the time to all the terms and conditions which will have included one about £50 cancellation fee. It's not Swintons fault that you didn't read the terms and conditions. All insurance companies have a cancellation fee.

The cancellation fee is not for just a couple of minutes input on a computer, it covers a multitude of company costs, Insurance, wages, telephones, NI, rent, rates, etc etc.

dunstonh

they wanted £50 cancellation fee - that's outrageous

So, why did you buy a policy that had that charge if you think it is outrageous?

it can't take more than a couple of minutes for them to cancel it.

What about the cost of the computer systems that allow it to be done quickly, staffing, electricity, rates etc It isnt about time.

I will NEVER deal with Swindleton again.

And what about all the other companies that have similar charges?

Perhaps in future you should do your research more carefully. Perhaps picking more expensive companies that factor administration costs into the premium for all to pay each and every year instead of charging it explicitly to those that create the work.

vaio

As you know fees like this need to be in the T&C and be fair (in the FOS sense)

I suppose Guido thinks it's outrageous because as Swinton can sell, deal with proposal, set up policy, send documentation, deal with renewal and pay any claims for a whole year for £67 and still make a profit on the deal then charging £50 for cancelling must be way more than actual cost.

I'm inclined to say he does have a point