Swinton Motorcycle Insurance Cashback - Scam!

Wywth

My motorcycle insurance is due for renewal soon and so I followed Martin's guide to try and obtain a good deal.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/cheap-motorbike-scooter-insurance

I was interested to see the offer by Swinton to provide £30 cashback, so took them up on their offer online.

The price I was quoted was £49.66 after cashback, meaning that when I went to pay for the policy, the price I would be initially charged was £79.66.

That's all ok. I was happy to jump through the hoops to request the £30 cashback they offered.

The terms were as follows:

*Cash Back Terms and Conditions
Offer valid for customers who obtained a quote and purchased a policy between 25/11/2009 and 31/12/2013 from swinton.co.uk or over the phone (using the promo code MBWTDR274).
We will send you an email, the day after you purchase your policy containing a unique 11 digit reference number and a telephone number to call in order to claim your cash back.
Please ensure you use the correct email address in the quote process to guarantee you receive your email.
Within 30 days of receiving your email you will need to call the telephone number displayed in the email and key in your 11 digit reference number. This service is available 24 hours a day.
A cheque in the name of the first named policy holder for £30.00 will be sent to the address of the policy holder after 90 days of the policy start date.
In order to be eligible for Cash Back, the policy must still be in force 90 days after the policy start date.
All appropriate payment due to us in respect of the relevant policy must be up to date and received by us, and any direct debit arrangements must be supported by a valid direct debit instruction.
If the Cash Back is sent and the policy cancelled within 12 months of inception Swinton has the right to deduct up to the full amount of Cash Back from any refund due.
This offer is not available to be used in conjunction with any other offer and this offer may be withdrawn at anytime.
For any queries regarding your cash back once you have bought the policy, please contact your local Swinton branch. Your branch contact details will be on your sales documentation or you can find their details at www.swinton.co.uk/branchfinder.

I received confirmation of my policy immediately be email and received another email on Saturday from Swinton.

However, neither email contained the 11 digit reference number I was expecting, nor the phone number to register for the cashback.

So I have just called Swinton.

They advised me that the full retail price for the policy I took out was £65.72. (I don't think they were supposed to have told me this!)

I asked therefore, why I was being charged £79.66 for my online application and could they please provide the cashback code I was promised.

They said the £79.66 was the 'upgraded price' and the one that would apply to an online application if I wanted the cashback.

I asked how I could get the £65.72 price. They said this was the full retail price for the policy, but they had provided me with an introductory discount meaning I would only pay £56.36. (I've no idea where this price came from or that this was the amount they were going to collect from my debit card)

However. no further cashback was available against this reduced price. If I wanted the cashback, I would need to cancel my application, and apply again online paying the 'upgraded price' of £79.66, or they could do it over the phone for £89.66.

This screams of a scam to me. :mad:

I would even have been happy to pay the full retail price of the policy if that means I could get the promised cashback, but I am not paying extra to get it back later in a supposed cashback.

Sorry, Swinton, but you have just lost my business.
If Swinton are being so dishonest when setting up a policy, I hate to think what may occur should I have the misfortune to have to make a claim on the policy later.

I have cancelled this application and requested a full refund. I will use Martin's guide to find a quote elsewhere and will alert Martin and the team to this blatant, dishonest practise he appears to be promoting through this site.

System

Swinton do make things deliberately complicated, and the prices quoted, and possible cash-backs, change by the minute.

I recently renewed our company van insurance and was duely promised the cash back if I registered the code etc. That seemed to work.
Then when I got the paperwork one of the names was wrong. When I rang to correct this they said there would be a £25 admin charge to change a detail, but they could cancel the policy and renew with another insurer.
She did this on the phone, and got a much cheaper quote.

Lots of muttered calculations and murmurings, as she worked out what cash-back they could give, and the end result was a cheaper quote, from the same company, with a larger cash-back, and the correct name this time.

They are barmy. They are supposed to be insurance brokers. Why don't they just find the cheapest quote, without this cash-back nonsense, tell you what it is, and then arrange it?

Arg

Then they wouldn't profit from trying to confuse people over prices.

glossyhair

I wouldn't touch Swinton with a bargepole. Honestly, I'd rather pay more than deal with them!!

System

Arg wrote: »

Then they wouldn't profit from trying to confuse people over prices.

I don't see how they can be making much profit from this confusion. Their revised quotation is for £4000 less than their first, and the cashback has increased by £200.
They have just sent the wrong paperwork, which they will now look into and correct. They do quite a lot of "looking into" in my experience.

emmell

I never got my email with the code number on, so I never got my cash back from Swinton..........won't be insuring with them again

ML.

Wywth

emmell wrote: »

I never got my email with the code number on, so I never got my cash back from Swinton..........won't be insuring with them again

ML.

They probably gave you the same online introductory discount too, so that's why they didn't send the cashback code.

The MSE article also suggests a 25% discount for online applications, but the discount doesn't seem like 25% to me ... more like 14%.
And the MSE article implies this is in addition to the cashback, not either/or.

(Also my bank account was debited with the £56.36 on Monday, the day I cancelled - no sign of the refund yet...:()


I spent the rest of Monday following all the other advice provided by Martin's article.

Interestingly I found exactly the same cover underwritten by the same people for less with aQuote using the topcashback comparison site. With the cashback from tcb, (only £22.50) it would still have been cheaper than Swinton with their cashback.

However, the cover offered by Swinton/aQuote did not cover the riding of other motorcycles (not owned by me nor hired to me under a hire purchase agreement).

For about a fiver extra, Bennetts (which doesn't seem to be mentioned in the MSE article) offer this extra cover which can be useful. Interestingly this was using the same underwriter as Swinton and aQuote (Zenith)

According to tcb, theres over £40 cashback available for motorcycle policies taken out with Bennetts via them!
Unfortunately, I'm already a customer with Bennetts, so I just renewed directly with them in the end.

Wywth

Just an update, I see my full refund from Swinton has today been credited back to my bank account

... and received in the post today is the policy/certificate of insurance from them :cool:

darci_2

Paid a year in advance for car insurance and told had to pay £50 cancellation charges was never told this nor given information would not go with them again they should have to tell you when taking out would not recommend DO not mind some charges and have asked them to justify CUstomer care left a lot to be desired said they would get back but have not but not surprised

forgotmyname

Never told this?

Its in the terms and conditions they sent you.

Did you read the policy schedule and all the paperwork/booklets that arrived with it?

Original Post is about cashback.. Not cancellation charges.

jt0517

I have just phoned Swinton to chase up my cashback cheque of 30 for taking out house insurance online, however as I got a discount for purchasing online this apparently makes the offer void (not sure where this info is online but can't see it myself - well hidden!). I did point out to the advisor (for want of a better word) that the main promotional point of sale online, that even today is prominent on their website, is the offer of cashback when buying online, but if they give customers discounts for buying online how can they ever get the cashback, he suggested that I should have called them for quotes and would then have been eligible but because I had self-insured I was not eligble!! Confused, because I am, I have sent a complaint (which the advisor said that I was well within my rights to do so, however in a tone of voice that to me said NO CHANCE LOVE!!) to the head office but don't hold up much hope. I suggest that you avoid Swinton in future - I certainly will be - or at least double check what the cash-back "offer" really means before buying insurance from them.