Car insured or not /

spacey2012

Another point is data protection.
the insurance company are only allowed to divulge the information required by law to establish if insurance is held on such vehicle.
Which it was.
for a telephone operator to start opening personal files and discussing someone contractual arrangements with someone else, negotiating that contract with someone else and amending it, well I would think they have some serious data protection issues at that company.
The information they are required to give out by law, is strict, anything else is data protected.
Plenty of good solid case law exists as to why insurance can not be cancelled at roadside.
The problem will be fronting out the magistrates who are a law on to themselves, usually in such cases, it has to go to appeal court, where it will be heard for the best part of 30 seconds.
Holding on to that certificate is critical.

profnick

I understand that the Admiral underwriters are considering whether or not to reverse the original decision. Lets hope do, especially since the car has just sailed through its MOT! I'll keep you posted.
Nick

dacouch

They don't really have much choice.

How senior was the person you spoke to?

profnick

I haven't spoken to anyone directly. They seem to have done this off their own bat. I did however email a letter through their complaints procedure and another through their email customer care line. When my son rang the customer care phone today he was told that they were discussing it and would get back. We'll need to chivvy them tomorrow as there's only 3 days left before we have to accept the penalty or plead not guilty.

studley

hope this got sorted favourably, let us know

dacouch

As I mentioned before, keep a record and receipts of all expenses you incur and any inconvenience eg could not meet girlfriend etc.

When they realise their mistake and correct it with the Police, do not be afraid to request suitable compensation for the costs incurred and a reasonable amount for inconvenience.

By correcting their mistake, Admiral are not doing you a favour, they're meeting their legal obligations. You will be entitled to reasonable compensation and by hitting them in their (Deep) pockets it will reduce the risk of them making the same mistake in the future.

Feel free to refer them to this thread.

profnick

Result!
After almost 2 days of being told by Customer Services that "an underwriter will phone you", I phoned Admiral's Complaints Department and spoke to a very efficient, sympathetic and bright lady who assured me that she would sort it out immediately. She gave me her name and direct line number and said that she would be my only contact and I didn't need to deal with anyone else. She promised to ring me back within 30 minutes. 10 minutes later she rang back to confirm that they had got it wrong and she emailed a letter of indemnity for the police to confirm that the policy was in effect at the time. Now that's what I call service.
The police however, don't seem to be used to dealing with customers who have unequivocal proof of their innocence; "there doesn't seem to be a box on the form for that"; but that's another story.........

profnick

Oh please excuse me, I did mean to add a big thanks to everyone who responded to my post. You've been a huge help.
Nick

spacey2012

Good news, but as I could pull up at least 30 case law points to state why they can not cancel insurance at roadside nor negotiate it contractually with a third party, they had little choice.
You had them very firmly by the Knackers.

dacouch

profnick wrote: »

Result!
After almost 2 days of being told by Customer Services that "an underwriter will phone you", I phoned Admiral's Complaints Department and spoke to a very efficient, sympathetic and bright lady who assured me that she would sort it out immediately. She gave me her name and direct line number and said that she would be my only contact and I didn't need to deal with anyone else. She promised to ring me back within 30 minutes. 10 minutes later she rang back to confirm that they had got it wrong and she emailed a letter of indemnity for the police to confirm that the policy was in effect at the time. Now that's what I call service.
The police however, don't seem to be used to dealing with customers who have unequivocal proof of their innocence; "there doesn't seem to be a box on the form for that"; but that's another story.........

A Letter of Indemnity is in effect a covernote as it's a letter from the Insurer confirming they would have covered you at the time you were stopped. They're not that unusual.

As I mentioned, do not be afraid to request compensation for costs you have incurred, you should also be able to claim compensation for distress, I would suggest £200.

The lady you spoke to is dealing with the complaint in exactly the way staff should be trained eg taking responsibility and sorting things out.

I nice thank you letter to her would not go amiss as she will see the fruits of her action and her superiors will add it to her file which helps her when her appraisal is done.