Being Charged cancellation fee on car insurance

monkeykler

Hi There

I have just cancelled my car insurance, I asked the customer service rep to cancel my insurance the day it was paid up until (which was today the 18th) I also asked the rep "will I need to pay anything else, like a cancellation fee?" The answer was "No, nothing else to pay, its free to cancel" today i've recieved a letter from I think their underwriters telling me I owe them £47.21, when I rang up they said it was a cancellation fee, Are they able to do this? after telling me I have paid up and won't have any more to pay and then after cancelling asking for this payment?

Thanks in advance

InsideInsurance

Lodge a complaint and get them to listen to the original call you made to cancel the policy

monkeykler

Thanks I will give that a go

monkeykler

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Lodge a complaint and get them to listen to the original call you made to cancel the policy

I rang them, argued for a while, the supervisor then listened to the conversation, he admited that the person i spoke to replied "no" when I asked "is there any other payments I need to pay" etc...

He said it was a "human error" and said that they still want the money...

Should I pay this?

I see it like buying a pint of milk and then being hounded afterwards by the shop for more money because they input the wrong amount into the til when I bought it

any advice welcome

Thanks in advance

Quentin

If you are cancelling prior to the end of your policy year, then expect a cancellation fee - read up on your policy what happens if you cancel mid term.

monkeykler

Quentin wrote: »

If you are cancelling prior to the end of your policy year, then expect a cancellation fee - read up on your policy what happens if you cancel mid term.

Sorry my fault, when i rang back today, they said it wasn't actually a cancellation fee, they're now saying it's an outstanding balance from May....even though I asked them twice if there was any other payments needed on the account

sorry should have included that...

Quentin

In that case, assuming it's true (you did have an o/s balance), then you do owe it, irrespective of the agent's "human error".

Ask them to send a statement showing how this balance is outstanding, and take it from their reply.

monkeykler

Quentin wrote: »

In that case, assuming it's true (you did have an o/s balance), then you do owe it, irrespective of the agent's "human error".

Ask them to send a statement showing how this balance is outstanding, and take it from their reply.

Ok will do, just a bit annoyed that i spoke to two different people who both said that i'd paid up until the 18th then get stung with a letter!

Thanks!

Quentin

You'll see loads of similar complaints about poor cs agents (esp in the insurance field!)

If you keep on complaining about the poor service (and can get it escalated to a manager) they might waive it or make a "gesture" - even if it's just to "shut you up", so maybe worth pursuing!

fleckyfan

These cancellation charges really are far too big! I had a ford transit which I've just replaced for a transporter, Volkswagon are doing me a good deal on the Insurance, so I need to cancel a policy which is brokered by Commercial Vehicle Direct.
The policy was £1425 for the year, I paid £225 deposit and 2 monthly payments of £139 for the two months cover I had.
CVD now say I owe them a further £243 to cancel the policy. Thats £746 for 2 months cover, over half the original premium!!
I'm quite aware these charges were probably in the companies small print, but surely they are too steep! Anyone know if there is anything I can do. I have 2 further polices with CVD obviously when these expire I have no intention of using them again.

mikey72

fleckyfan wrote: »

These cancellation charges really are far too big! I had a ford transit which I've just replaced for a transporter, Volkswagon are doing me a good deal on the Insurance, so I need to cancel a policy which is brokered by Commercial Vehicle Direct.
The policy was £1425 for the year, I paid £225 deposit and 2 monthly payments of £139 for the two months cover I had.
CVD now say I owe them a further £243 to cancel the policy. Thats £746 for 2 months cover, over half the original premium!!
I'm quite aware these charges were probably in the companies small print, but surely they are too steep! Anyone know if there is anything I can do. I have 2 further polices with CVD obviously when these expire I have no intention of using them again.

Complain in writing, and if you get nowhere, raise the complaint with the FOS

As to the cancellation the FOS state a pro rata refund, and a fee of up to £50.

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/54/insurance.htm