Car Insurance Auto Renew

rs82uk

Hi I wasn't 100% sure when my car Insurance renewal was due I thought it was around the beginning of December, Anyway I was looking at my bank statements the other day and noticed that Admiral had taken out £750 without me telling them they could, so I finally managed to get through to their customer services team yesterday to be told that the premium that was more than last years, could not be altered as I was now out of my renewal period.
I asked about cancelling so I can move to someone who is over £100 cheaper and was told that the refund would take 5 days, well I can't wait 5 days with no insurance to so I have funds to get new insurance.
Any advice on this I have requested that a supervisor call me.

Quentin

I think you may find the cost of cancelling will wipe out most (or all) of the £100 savings you were hoping for.

Ask them when they ring to confirm exactly how much any refund will be if you cancel today before pursuing this!

rs82uk

Quentin wrote: »

I think you may find the cost of cancelling will wipe out most (or all) of the £100 savings you were hoping for.

Ask them when they ring to confirm exactly how much any refund will be if you cancel today before pursuing this!

Apparently the cancellation fee is £25 so yes not much of the saving would be left but part of me just wants to leave because im so angry at them renewing me without authorisation, its just sheer luck I happened to have the funds in the account I could easily have gone overdrawn

vaio

Yep, you could have gone overdrawn but had you not had auto renewal you could have been driving without insurance.

It's a useful safety net sometimes

Quentin

rs82uk wrote: »

Apparently the cancellation fee is £25 so yes not much of the saving would be left but part of me just wants to leave because im so angry at them renewing me without authorisation, its just sheer luck I happened to have the funds in the account I could easily have gone overdrawn

The cost of cancelling won't just be the £25.

Ask them to confirm to you how much they will refund of the original £750 you paid before making your decision.

dunstonh

If you had arranged insurance elsewhere then firms are often sympathetic and will reduce their charge or even remove it. However, you didnt have insurance elsewhere. So, they have saved you a potential prosecution and even steeper costs.

rs82uk

Quentin wrote: »

The cost of cancelling won't just be the £25.

Ask them to confirm to you how much they will refund of the original £750 you paid before making your decision.

They have concerned they wont charge me for the days of cover i have had.

rs65

Auto renewal has benefited you. You would have been uninsured otherwise and your car impounded plus 6 points on your licence.

dalesrider

rs82uk wrote: »

im so angry at them renewing me without authorisation

Did you read the letter/email they send with the renewall quote on it....

Always says.
"Unless you contact us, we will renew the policy on x date"
Or words to that effect.

DCFC79

You could always write when its due on a calender/diary, or make a note on google calender on your phone or on the pc.

McKneff

They have not done it without your authorisation, you gave them that when you originally took out the policy, read the terms and conditions.

And, as said before, you forgot when it was due, you could have been driving around with no insurance, got a fine and points.

Dont expect it to be just £25 either, there could be a admin charge as well as the cancellation fee, there will also be a charge for the cover you have received since it auto renewed. If they have said they will not charge you, you need it in writing.

All down to you, no one else.