RAC Insurance - NEVER EVER AGAIN

MrsBaird

on the 26th April i took out car insurance through the RAC to start as of the 28th April - i have been a breakdown customer of theirs for years and thought they were a reputable company so was happy to take out their car insurance.
I had a bump in July 2010 whilst insured with Auto Direct The accident was not my fault and never affected either my excess or NCB and the underwriters received their money back from the other drivers insurance company.I renewed my insurance last year with Auto DIrect and no mention of the accident appeared in my policy details. I declared this non-fault accident on my application to RAC and thought no more of it.
On the 30th April my policy documents arrived - i checked them and they were all fine.
Today -1st May - i received a letter from the RAC dated the 28th April advising me that i had not declared the accident and if i did not reply to them in writing with documents from my previous insurers (AUTO DIRECT) stating that the accident was not my fault they would be increasing my policy by £100 and taking this amount from my bank account immediately - they gave me until the 29th April to get this paperwork to them - yes that's right they have given me a negative 2 days to not only respond in writing but also get paperwork from previous insurers. Sure enough i checked my bank account and £100 was taken from my account on the 29th April.
Understandably i was a little annoyed - I called the underwriters who dealt with the claim on my accident and as far as they were concerned the claim is closed, it was never me at fault and they have received all monies owing to them from the other drivers insurance company, i called Auto Direct who were a little more evasive and apparently are refreshing their system.
Soooo i called RAC to try to explain the situation and get my £100 back - uhhmm - not as easy as you would think, i spoke to an advisor who was not really a lot of help and offered me £5 compensation (doesn't even cover the cost of the phone calls!) but not my £100, so i asked to speak to his manager, who after basically calling me a liar and accusing me of lying on my application for insurance, i actually bought the insurance over the phone with one of their salespeople and my initial policy documents had the accident listed on it as not my fault! eventually offered me £20 compensation, but still not the extra £100 they have taken from my account with no warning. She didnt seem to think that sending a letter dated the 28th April requesting a written response by the 29th April which only arrives on 1st May was an issue.
Since then i have received written confirmation from the underwriters that the accident was no fault on my part - which i then faxed to RAC only to receive a letter informing me that they have updated my policy and that there amount i have piad (including the extra £100) would not change, called them and tried to get a reason for the increase in charge, btu got precisely nowhere, they insist they are right for charging me an extra fee and again tried to blame me for filling in the form incorrectly, again explained that i bought the insurance on the phonen nad my initial policy documents had the accident on as not my fault.
I gave in after an hour and 15 minutes and am now not sure what to do to get my money back?
ANY IDEAS APPRECIATED!!

opinions4u

Complain in writing.

Escalate to the Financial Ombudsman.