no insurance refund made me overdrawn

chris_h16

Hi
My wife took out insurance online with esure, then when we phoned up about my insurance we changed to multicar style policy, but they had to cancel the wife's first policy and refund the upfront payment, but also take a new payment for the new policy over the phone. They said 3 working days for the refund. The 3 days have passed and still no refund and we have now gone overdrawn due to not have enough money in the bank.
I'm sure I've read before in these cases when the company hasn't stuck to their guidelines that they liable to pay the bank charges we've incurred as a direct result of them not refunding the first payment.
Advice please.

visidigi

They have up to 30 days to refund. You chose to cancel the first policy to take advantage of a multicar discount, I'm afraid they aren't liable for your fees.

McKneff

They 'said' doesn't cut it. Read the terms and conditions.
It's what is on paper that counts.

You should have been more vigilant watching your bank balance.
Sorry, its not what you want to hear but they aren't to blame

chris_h16

They quick to take the money from my account, but not to refund. They said 3 working days. They are holding two lots of money and I'm due 1 back. I've heard stories where people have got bank fees back when companies fail to comply.

Slowhand

They don't 'have' your money it is in the 'banking system' between both of the parties.

yangptangkipperbang

chris_h16 wrote: »

I've heard stories where people have got bank fees back when companies fail to comply.

You asked for advice - you got it. None of it seemed to be the advice you wanted to hear - if that is so, just believe the "stories" you have heard and try and get the fees back. Good luck......you'll need it !

sunflower_2

sorry - but if i was told my refund would take upto 3 working days - i would expect it to be available in my account by the 3rd working day.

say the OP had £1000 in this bank account, £500 for insurance and £500 for bills which are due to leave by DD in 4 days.

he pays £500 for insurance, then calls and gets a better offer of £400 but has to pay this upfront and is assured the other £500 will be refunded within 3 working days.

so, the OP has no problem taking out the new policy and using the money set aside for his bills, as he knows it will be back in his account in time.

had the insurance company told him it could take upto 30 days for the refund, i very much doubt he would have agreed to take out the discounted policy. OR he would have arranged to get his account credited intime for his DDs.

i think OP is entitled to any bank charges form the insurance company - if only as a gesture of goodwill.

:A

unholyangel

sunflower wrote: »

sorry - but if i was told my refund would take upto 3 working days - i would expect it to be available in my account by the 3rd working day.

say the OP had £1000 in this bank account, £500 for insurance and £500 for bills which are due to leave by DD in 4 days.

he pays £500 for insurance, then calls and gets a better offer of £400 but has to pay this upfront and is assured the other £500 will be refunded within 3 working days.

so, the OP has no problem taking out the new policy and using the money set aside for his bills, as he knows it will be back in his account in time.

had the insurance company told him it could take upto 30 days for the refund, i very much doubt he would have agreed to take out the discounted policy. OR he would have arranged to get his account credited intime for his DDs.

i think OP is entitled to any bank charges form the insurance company - if only as a gesture of goodwill.

:A

And how do you prove they said "the money will definitely be in your account in 3 working days" and that the OP wouldnt have taken out the policy if the money wasnt going to be refunded in 3 days? Very few people actually record calls on their own end.

Even if they said "it will take up to 3 working days to process your refund" doesnt mean it would be in his account within those 3 days, just that they would process it on their end within that time.

Did op try to mitigate his losses by cancelling the DD or possibly borrowing money or explaining the situation to the bank and asking for a temporary overdraft?

Its rarely as simply as yes/no.

ThumbRemote

unholyangel wrote: »

And how do you prove they said "the money will definitely be in your account in 3 working days" and that the OP wouldnt have taken out the policy if the money wasnt going to be refunded in 3 days? Very few people actually record calls on their own end.

Even if they said "it will take up to 3 working days to process your refund" doesnt mean it would be in his account within those 3 days, just that they would process it on their end within that time.

Did op try to mitigate his losses by cancelling the DD or possibly borrowing money or explaining the situation to the bank and asking for a temporary overdraft?

Its rarely as simply as yes/no.

If they were told on the phone when arranging the new insurance that a refund would be issued in 3 working days, I would consider that a part of the contract formed.

I'm sure they will have kept a recording of the call; ask them for a copy of it.

McKneff wrote: »

They 'said' doesn't cut it. Read the terms and conditions.
It's what is on paper that counts.

You don't think contracts can be formed verbally?

pinkshoes

What day did you speak to them on the phone? (How many working days has it actually been?).

Did they say that they would definitely refund within 3 working days, or was this an estimate?

Legall, they have 30 days to refund, so unless you have it in writing saying 3 days, then not much you can do.

Personally I would never take the risk if I NEEDED the money in 3 days time!

unholyangel

ThumbRemote wrote: »

If they were told on the phone when arranging the new insurance that a refund would be issued in 3 working days, I would consider that a part of the contract formed.

I'm sure they will have kept a recording of the call; ask them for a copy of it.

But being issued and being in the OP's bank account is 2 different things. If they issued the refund by cheque.....it would be issued after 3 working days but OP would have to wait on it being sent and then wait on it clearing. Lets at least find out exactly what was said and if policy documentation makes any reference to refund method before telling the OP he may be entitled to something he isnt.

And in my experience, companies conveniently never seem to record calls which will put them at fault. Its definitely worth asking but I wouldnt put all my eggs into that one basket. I've had it happen several times (companies going back on their word) - to the extent that yes, I do record my calls when discussing contractual details/obligations. Some may call me paranoid, personally I prefer to think of it as "learned my lesson".