swiftcover.com car insurance???

mrandmrsh_2

hi anyone that can help....my hubby had a years insurance with swiftcover.com... we let it lapse,,,but did not cancel!!! we did however cancel the dd at the bank..obviously! got another company to insure the car this year..then recieved an email from swiftcover saying we had cancelled the dd,so we need to ring and make a payment.if however it said..we want to cancel the insurance then we must make a payment of £62.03 !!!!???? for tax etc.....what!???? we are fuming...have emailed them and told them we did not cancel the insurance..we have had a year with them and it is no longer running so therefore how can we cancel when there is nothing toooo cancel!! we paid for a year..theyve had a years money.and that we will seek a solicitor if they keep asking for money!! the amount is nearly half of a years insurance money!!for goodness sake!! am waiting nearly 2 days already for their reply...not happy and do not want to give them money!what to do!! it was all online,and we have deleted the online paperwork we had so can check small print...but where do we stand???cant afford to pay them as just paid another company for a years insurance...worried.x

Quentin

They do automatically renew unless you tell them otherwise, and cancelling the dd just stops them getting paid, and doesn't stop them renewing.

They have this on their website regarding renewal:

You won't receive a reminder in the post but we will send you emails to let you know when this is coming up. If the renewal date passes, we'll automatically renew your policy for you. So you'll always be covered if your circumstances haven't changed.

If you don't want to renew, contact us before your policy expires

However you go about sorting this, don't waste money on a solicitor (who will charge you more than you owe!)

Just_Some_Guy

Cancelling the direct debit is not the same as cancelling the policy, and insurance policies automatically renew these days. It would have been in the small print.

When you bought the policy originally you would have agreed that you'd tell them if you didn't want to renew which makes their case stronger. If you got reminder emails from them which said something like "we will automatically renew your policy unless you tell us otherwise" then you're in even more of a bind - it is assumed that you read your post and email.

I have no idea how evil SwiftCover are. They might accept that it was a mistake and drop the matter, they might waive the cancellation fee if you pay for the time on-risk, or they might stick to their guns. Going down the formal complaints route could persuade them to drop it in the hope of making you go away or it might strengthen their resolve because they think they're in the right.

I agree with Quentin, getting lawyers involved would be throwing good money after bad.

mikey72

Quentin wrote: »

They do automatically renew unless you tell them otherwise, and cancelling the dd just stops them getting paid, and doesn't stop them renewing.

They have this on their website regarding renewal:



However you go about sorting this, don't waste money on a solicitor (who will charge you more than you owe!)

If they say that, it doesn't comply to FSA guidelines, so there is probably a good case for a complaint to the FOS, who should be able to help.

adamc260

mikey72 wrote: »

If they say that, it doesn't comply to FSA guidelines, so there is probably a good case for a complaint to the FOS, who should be able to help.

Cancelling a DD never cancels the policy... it's the same with any insurer who works on an auto renew basis.

mikey72

adamc260 wrote: »

Cancelling a DD never cancels the policy... it's the same with any insurer who works on an auto renew basis.

True, but they are obliged to provide renewal information at least 2 weeks in advance, and an email doesn't normally count. If they admit they never send any letters, it's a fair complaint.

adamc260

The OP as far as I can see doesn't mention if they received the renewal or not they just said they got an email because the payment did not go through (They are after all an online Insurer). It will also be in their policy T&C's when they set it up it will be on a continuous renewal basis unless notified.

chris-j

mikey72 wrote: »

True, but they are obliged to provide renewal information at least 2 weeks in advance, and an email doesn't normally count. If they admit they never send any letters, it's a fair complaint.

And they do. Swift cover make it clear they are online only and communication is electronic, that's why they are often cheaper. Don't see why its reasonable for customer to take advantage of this when they take out policy and know the score about how they work, but when it comes to notifying them that they dont want to renew they just ignore this.
Ignorance might be bliss, but this strikes me as stupidity on part of OP - pay up and pay attention in future.