Holiday insurance automatically added.

rumpelstiltskin_2

In January I booked a holiday (for October) with Welcome cottages.

When the confirmation came through they advised that if I did not notify them within 14 days of an alternative insurance policy they would automatically add their own to my invoice.

Needles to say I did not read the policy throuroughly and only after a recent communication did I notice this clause. (too late to do anything about it). I rang them to advise that I already had a annual travel policy and that I did not need theirs. They told me that it was too late to do anything about it and I would have to pay the premium.

They also said that they had rang my wife and told her to tell me to contact them if I wanted to make any ammendments. (She didn't tell me)

Can anyone advise if I am lumbere with this or can I get out of it?

Ta

Rumpelstiltskin

oysterman

Your lumbered. Hope this helps.

RibAd

lesson learnt for future is the best thing to note - and to advise that when you're purchasing that you already have insurance and make sure you have the relevant details to hand! (ie pol no, emerg no and providers/underwriters)

PBA

This seems totally wrong to me, but I've just looked this up on the Financial Services Authority website, and they don't regulate travel insurance when it's sold by the same person selling you the holiday. This is surely exactly the sort of dodgy dealing they should be regulating!

I'd imagine you can still get out of the insurance if you kick up a bit of a fuss. I just started a dummy booking through their website, and there is a section headed insurance (I didn't get to it as it's after the page where you have to put in contact details). Assuming you'd told them at this stage that you had no need for insurance, it's then kind of hard for them to argue that you hadn't opted out.

Assuming you don't get any joy complaining to Welcome Cottages, you could try the boss of their parent company:

Stephen P Holmes
Chairman & CEO
Wyndham Worldwide Corporation
Seven Sylvan Way
Parsippany, NJ, 07054
USA

(I don't normally suggest the "complain to the Chief Exec" approach, as most of the time they don't care. But in this case it looks like Welcome Cottages is acting like a bunch of schiesters, but owned by a massive American hotel chain, so he may actually be interested to know the dodgy stuff they're up to).

rumpelstiltskin_2

Thanks all for your comments.

I will just have to pay more attention next time.