Debt Collectors for Post Office Insurance

jadecinema

Hi,
I'm wondering if someone could offer me some advice.
From 20th February 2011 to 19th February 2012, I had building and contents insurance from the Post Office.
When it was up for renewal in 2012, I found a cheaper alternative on a comparison website. Possibly due to me getting my bus licence 10 days prior to the renewal being due, and still learning the job (after being unexpectedly unemployed for a few months), I forgot all about the renewal.
On the 19th February 2012 at around 5.02pm, I got insurance from legal and general via the comparison site and got an email confirmation. My post office insurance was due to expire at 11.59pm that night. Immediately after getting my new insurance, I called the post office to cancel my existing insurance I had with them but a pre recorded message informed me that their offices were now closed and to call back during business hours.
The following day, I called them back and told them wanted to cancel the insurance as I had gone with legal and general as they were cheaper. I explained I called the day before but they were closed. They mentioned a £30 cancellation fee but I said that had they been open the day before, it would have been cancelled prior to it being renewed. They accepted this.
Then in April of last year I got a letter stating that I still owed £30. I can't remember if it was from a debt collection agency or the post office themselves. Anyway, I explained the above to them and they said if I could email them a copy of my new insurance certificate showing when it was valid from (to show I had a new policy in place and therefore didn't need their insurance renewing), the £30 would be waived. I did what they asked on the 25th April 2012.
I thought that was it as I heard nothing back. Until last Saturday that is. A letter from debt collectors Tocatto / Lowell Portfolio arrived for me, stating that £30 was owing to the post office. I called them on Monday explaining all the above. The person I spoke to said to send them an email, forwarding the email confirmation I received from legal and general on the 19th February 2012 and that should be fine.
Another letter arrived today stating that I owe £30 so I called them again. This time, a snotty nose kid answered and I told him all of the above.
He started lecturing me that my insurance was automatically renewed on the 20th February 2012 and that I had the time leading up to that to cancel the policy, which I didn't do. I explained that if their offices were open on the Sunday, I would have cancelled it in time. He then proceeded to tell me that I could have cancelled it on the Saturday, Friday, Thursday or any other day before the Sunday and on a day that their offices were open. He said it was my fault for not cancelling it in time.
They are now threatening to send the bailiffs round or take me to court if I don't pay, and that I wouldn't have any legal argument should it go to court.
Any advice please?

Thanks

Carl

Townses

Sorry but I do think you owe the money. You didn't cancel in time, nit everywhere is open 24/7 and you should have allowed for this.

fatbelly

Lowell can't instruct bailiffs without a court order and won't be spending good money on starting a court claim on a £30 debt. But Lowell are quite well known for putting a mark on your credit file anyway.

Options are:

1. Pay it
2. Don't

sourcrates

Bailiffs and court action for £30, utter tosh, you probably realise you should have cancelled it earlier, but with work commitments you forgot, and who hasn't done this before, regrettably I don't think you will get anywere with them over this, if you want to keep your credit file clean pay it, if not, stuff em, nothing else will happen mate so don't panic.;)

Buzby

Agreed - but, have you checked what will happen to your current insurance when you get to the renewal, with it be a re-run? Always opt out of any auto renewal scheme at the point of sale or shortly after.

As for 'nothing happening' I disagree. Apart from the begging letters, IF you agreed that they could disclose your dealings with them and affect your ability to keep a clean credit file, many firms do this now - and if agreed to, there is nothing else you can do but bear it for the next 6 years.

harveybobbles

Ignore these goons.

jadecinema

Ive checked my Experian record for the past few months and about 2 months ago, I noticed two unrecorded searches by Lowell Portfolio.
There is NO mention on my credit report about this insurance.
I'd like to ignore them by me and my wife were thinking of getting a bigger mortgage next year to move to a bigger house. I'm scared that if Tocatto register something on my file, it will result in declined mortgage applications.

jadecinema

Buzby wrote: »

As for 'nothing happening' I disagree. Apart from the begging letters, IF you agreed that they could disclose your dealings with them and affect your ability to keep a clean credit file, many firms do this now - and if agreed to, there is nothing else you can do but bear it for the next 6 years.

I don't understand this. Who and how would I have agreed they can disclose my dealings with them?