van insurance cancellation charge?

choptop80

hi all, new to the forum and could do with some advise if possible.

i have had van insurance with a company for just over a year(went through a broker). anyway, a month into going into the 2nd year of insurance, the broker contacted me and asked for me to sign some documents and forward a copy of my licence. i was sent the documents via email and was told to send it all back via email as i only had 5 days left to return everything or my policy would be cancelled. i filled everything in and sent it back the next day. a week goes by and i receive a letter from the broker telling me my policy is now cancelled and i will be charged £216. i rang them, confused more than anything because i knew i sent the email back. on speaking to the broker, they said they never received the email and the charge will stand. absolutely fuming now, i told them i did send the info back to them and i wont be paying the charge. the broker basically said, its tough luck, we never got the documents back so you will have to pay. further on into the conversation, they later tell me that if a document is over 10mb then they wont receive it!!!! i asked them how the hell am i supposed to know that without being told and that my email didnt return anything back to me and that i have proof on my laptop that i sent the documents within the time given. the broker then offered to drop the charge to £175 but again i refused to pay as i still feel i have been punished unfairly. i did my part and sent back what they wanted, how was i to know they didnt receive it?!
its now been left as me refusing to pay and the broker sending me letters asking for the £175 or have action taken against me. i just want to know if i have a case as i told them i definately wont pay and they would have to take me to court as i have proof i sent the documents. what sort of action should i take next or is this just going to be a case of little old me against a company and i have no chance of winning? thanks in advance for any advise

rs65

choptop80 wrote: »

i have proof on my laptop that i sent the documents within the time given

How many mb is the email you sent?

choptop80

i just returned all the forms they mailed me plus a copy of my driving licence. it came to 11mb in total so 1 mb to much according to the broker

jonesMUFCforever

Why not contact the insurer direct to see what the problem is - then tell the broker to take one!

choptop80

i tried that. the insurance company said there was nothing they could do because its not them that has the issue, its the broker(company)

spacey2012

I would worry more about not having any insurance if your pulled.
Documents can not be served by e.mail, you should have used a recorded postal service.
I would find some insurance quickly and send them a deadlock letter and ramp it up to a FSA claim.
Make it very clear your patience has expired and that is the next step.

Buzby

I was required to do this, and I sent 7 pages of PDF, it had a file size of 285k. Why yours was 11Mb amazes me - but I would never expect to send an email with more than 2Mb and expect it to be successfully delivered. Use a service like DropBox and send a link to it - they can download it themselves!

choptop80

the broker sent me 5 different sheets that i needed to sign/fill in, plus wanting a copy of my licence. all i did was print them out/scan them and send back as asked. i'm not going to lie but i have basic computer skills so i didnt have a clue that 11mb may not send. even so, all i did was send back what they sent me.

as for not being insured, i havent used my van for over a month as i have been on leave, i go back to work next week though so i am just going to have to get insured again by another company.

i just want to know if there is any real possibility that the broker can take this further if i dont pay ie; baliffs etc etc??

choptop80

i also forgot to mention that usually if an email doesnt send i get an email back telling me it hasnt sent because the file is to big or whatever other reason. i didnt get anything back so as far as i was concerned it was sent. like i said, i have the email in my sent box as proof

sithemadmonkey

One golden rule for insurance - NEVER trust email! Insurance companies' email systems are usually woefully inadequate, and are nowhere near robust enough for issues as important as preventing cancellation of a legally-required policy.

As said above, raise it as a formal complaint with the broker - they will have to respond within 8 weeks or you can take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service (which will most likely cost the broker dearly). They also shouldn't chase for the debt whilst the amount is in formal dispute. Point out that you did everything that was asked of you, and make sure you keep copies of the sent email as proof.

In answer to whether the broker can take the debt further, the simple answer is yes if you don't dispute it. As far as they are concerned, it is money you owe, and therefore should be paid. They have every right to appoint a debt collector who will most likely incur additional fees. Make sure you raise the complaint and follow it through, otherwise they will come a-chasing for the money.

jonesMUFCforever

choptop80 wrote: »

i tried that. the insurance company said there was nothing they could do because its not them that has the issue, its the broker(company)

But surely it is the insurance company that you are insured with not the broker - something is not right here.