Be Wiser - BE WARNED!

Sirlaughalot

I followed the advice of MSE and went about trying to get the best value car insurance using various comparison sites. The MSE advice i followed was very clear and thorough and i thank all at MSE members for the help i received.
After a couple of hours of comparing i was left with Be Wiser as the best value for my car insurance. As the premium was high i decided to pay a deposit and the remainder by installments to a credit company called Close Premium Finance.
I was extremely pleased when i got my cover note and i posted a copy of my driving license to their offices as requested. Within a few days i got a letter back from BeWiser saying that they had awarded me a whooping 9 year no claims bonus and my premium had been reduced substantially and i was now in credit i was over the moon and canceled the d/d with Close Premium Finance and used the savings to service and replace some parts on my car.
A few weeks later i got a letter from BeWiser to say there had been a mistake and i would have to pay the original premium. Having complained to various reps of BeWiser i decided to cancel my policy and told the rep to cancel the d/d to Close finance.
A few days later i got a letter to say the policy had been canceled and Close Finance had been informed but Bewiser have charged me a cancellation fee of over £100 for what amounts to less than 5 weeks insurance cover and they have already taken my deposit of 25% of the premium.
To add insult to injury i have now found that Close Premium were not told the policy was canceled and have issued a default notice for funds that are not outstanding for a policy that should have been canceled!
After many phone calls to various agents of BeWiser i have been sent an email informing me that they intend to take legal action unless the cancellation fee is paid with in 10 days.
In over 30 years of driving i can without doubt say this is the worst example of customer service i have ever experienced. Not sure if i have any rights to complain but i think it may be best to pay the fee and avoid any court action then complain to some governing body.

My experience of BeWiser is far from a happy one BE WARNED!If you cancel your policy early you will pay a penalty.

jonesMUFCforever

A car insurance policy is a yearly contract - if you want to change this the company can charge a fee according to its terms and conditions which you agreed to when purchasing the policy.

I think the moral here is that you get what you pay for - I always google for companies before taking the plunge and buy from them.

Be_Wiser_Insurance_representative

Hello Sirlaughalot,

We’re really sorry you feel you’ve had a bad experience with Be Wiser Insurance. We’d like to take the opportunity to look into your concerns further. Could you please email [EMAIL="dawn/g@bewiser.co.uk"]dawn.g@bewiser.co.uk[/EMAIL]? She will be pleased to either correspond via email or alternatively arrange convenient time to contact you.

Thank you,
Be Wiser

Sirlaughalot

Be_Wiser_Insurance_representative wrote: »

Hello Sirlaughalot,

We’re really sorry you feel you’ve had a bad experience with Be Wiser Insurance. We’d like to take the opportunity to look into your concerns further. Could you please email [EMAIL="dawn/g@bewiser.co.uk"]dawn.g@bewiser.co.uk[/EMAIL]? She will be pleased to either correspond via email or alternatively arrange convenient time to contact you.

Thank you,
Be Wiser

[EMAIL="dawn/g@bewiser.co.uk"]Hi dawn.g@bewiser.co.uk[/EMAIL],

Thank you very much for your response and thanks for your offer to look into my case but after many hours of time consuming telephone conversations and numerous letter/emails with members of the BeWiser organization i feel totally exhausted and feel any further effort to resolve this matter with Be Wiser would be futile.

Instead having been given advice this morning by my local Citizens Advice Bureau i intend to pay the outstanding amount to BeWiser and refer the matter to the FOS in the hope that the Default Notice issued by Premium Credit as a result of BeWiser not informing them can be annulled.

I think my efforts in resolving this matter would be better served by highlighting my progress with the FOS to other MSE members. It may also show that while getting a competitive quote through a comparison site is very important it`s not the be all and end of the matter as i hope my experiences illustrate.

Once again thank you very much for reply.

Sirlaughalot

FlameCloud

Did you actually have 9 years or check before cancelling the direct debit?

The FSA do not handle individual consumer complaints.

Quentin

The CAB have mislead you regarding how to escalate this.

You first need to make a formal written complaintg to Bewiser.

Then if you are unhappy with their response you can escalate ti the FOS to adjudicate (not the fsa). There will be no charge to you for this.

Sirlaughalot

Quentin wrote: »

The CAB have mislead you regarding how to escalate this.

You first need to make a formal written complaintg to Bewiser.

Then if you are unhappy with their response you can escalate ti the FOS to adjudicate (not the fsa). There will be no charge to you for this.

Hi Quemtin,

The CAB have not mislead me i have already made a formal complaint to BeWiser and there response since that was to send a letter/email with the threat of legal action.

SL

Sirlaughalot

FlameCloud wrote: »

Did you actually have 9 years or check before cancelling the direct debit?

The FSA do not handle individual consumer complaints.

Hi FC,
Yes i had it in written form. The advice i have been given from the both BeWiser and CAB is that i can make a complaint through the FOS
While it would n`t surprise me one little bit if the info from the BeWiser rep was incorrect as that would be going to type but if the CAB advice was wrong then i would be dismayed:(

Quentin

Both cab and bewiser have misled you!

Your escalation should be to FOS.

Sirlaughalot

Quentin wrote: »

Both cab and bewiser have misled you!

Your escalation should be to FOS.

Sorry my mistake not BeWiser this time or CAB i should be quoting FOS got FSA on the brain lol

Financial Ombudsman Service
The Financial Ombudsman Service
South Quay Plaza
183 Marsh Wall
London E14 9SR

FSA/FOS keep confusing the two.:T

Sirlaughalot

I`m now at the stage where i would like to involve the financial ombudsman service with regards to my complaint with BeWiser. Have any MSE members pursued similar complaints and if so can you give me some idea of the process involved.

Thanks in advance

SL