Home Protect Home Insurance - Hidden conditions and charges

slimmillipede

Last week I need to renew our Home Insurance, my wife and I both work from home and our house is Grade II listed so I had pretty specific requirements.

I searched online for Home Insurance to cover our requirements, starting from MSE and found Home Protect through several comparison websites. I filled in all the pages on the form carefully as I knew our requirements were quite specific, I read every item on every page to make sure I was comparing like for like with our current insurer.

When I got to the end the quote was very competitive so I paid for it by credit card immediately, I got a confirmation email with various attachments but decided that I would read the printed copies when they arrived rather than reading it all on my computer. So far no printed copy has arrived (8 days later) so I decided to read the documents on my computer anyway. The first document I opened was the "Additional Terms & Conditions" which gave me a major shock when I read.

[FONT=&quot]Loss or damage arising from unauthorised entry to the Property is excluded unless the following minimum protections are fitted:

External Doors: where appropriate
(a) 5 Lever Mortice Deadlocks to British Standard 3621,
(b) mortice security bolts or other key-operated locks to British Standard 3621 in addition to the existing locks or
(c) multi-point locking systems.

Patio Doors: In addition to a central locking device, key operated bolts to top and bottom opening sections.

Windows: Key-operated security locks or manufacturer-fitted multi-point locking systems to all ground floor and other accessible windows.[/FONT]

I hadn't seen anything to this effect when filling in the form online, it basically means I have no protection against theft which is completely unacceptable. I had been very careful when filling in the form to make sure that I stated that we do not have window locks and that our patio door (though quite secure) has a lock arrangement which isn't one of the standard ones.

I immediately rang up the customer service number to sort this out. The lady who answered the phone told me that I must have agreed to this when filling in the forms on the website, I hadn't seen this at all, there is no way I would have signed up for the cover on that basis.

I have now gone back through the entire signup process to see how I could have missed this important bit of information, I couldn't see it anywhere at first but then I noticed the little green link at the bottom of page 7, clicking on this opened a little window and scrolling to the bottom of this showed me the text above. I had completely missed this when filling in the form originally in spite of my careful reading.

I was very annoyed about this but at least I could just cancel the insurance and go back to our old insurer, but then the lady on the phone added insult to injury by informing me of a £50 cancellation charge! This is just robbery! Again this is an important condition which I should have been properly informed of before they accepted my money.

I have emailed Home Protect's customer service attaching screen prints of every page in the sign up process in the hope that they will be decent about it. Hopefully they will respond before I have to take it to the Ombudsman, FSA, ASA, Trading Standards or whoever else will listen.

In any case I think the Distance Selling Regulations may apply so I have a 7 working day cooling off period. I hope so.

If you are looking for Home Insurance I think Home Protect are best avoided, there is a reason for their bargain price.

FlameCloud

What is your specific reason for the complaint? That you failed to read a document that was on a link on the screen? And that you then confirmed that you had read the document when you clearly hadnt?

DSRs wont apply and £50 is within the realms that the FOS will accept to cancel.

rs65

You might not like this reply but ….

Most policies have minimum security requirements such as these. And as you say, they are there in the quote process.

Most brokers/insurers have charges and £50 isn’t excessive. From their FAQ’s –
What can I do if I change my mind?
You're free to cancel your insurance within 14 days of receiving your policy documentation and we'll refund your entire premium (less an administration fee of £50), unless you've already made a claim.

I don’t think Distance Selling Regs apply to insurance.

slimmillipede

I am mostly angry at myself for being taken in, I spent hours researching insurance and still didn't spot the small print hidden away.

This is where I tell them that I don't have locks on my windows;


And this is where they tell me that I won't be fully covered unless I fit window locks;


Obvious isn't it?

slimmillipede

Well after a bit of communication with Home Protect I have managed to get the result I wanted.

My complaint ended up with their compliance manager who has agreed to refund the cancellation fee.

They will also be reviewing their website to see if they can make the requirements clearer.

A good result in the end.