AA Ripping me off.

liamvad

Hi,this is my first post,last year i bough AA home insurance,paid monthly by direct debit,when the direct debits were first set up,TWO appeared,so I rang them and asked why,they said the second one was for the FREE roadside recovery,I told them I did not want it,as I had breakdown cover,and I cancelled the direct debit,they wrote to me asking why,and I told them,I did not want it.

Anyway,this month my insurance comes to an end,I had a letter saying thank-you for renewing,bit i did not renew!!!!They also sent a letter saying that they were going to 'upgrade' my roadside recovery to Premium,at a cost of £86.o !!!!!!! to make sure they did not take any money from my bank account,i cancelled the direcrt debit,today i had a letter from them stating that they are going to put a 'default' on my credit account as i owe them £12:00 for not cancelling!!! as apparently it was on a 'continuous payment.like car insurance,I was NOT aware of this,this company uses underhand tactics to get your money,then threatens you if you dont pay,what a nice lot.Is there anything I can do,or is this legal for them to do this,they have even tried to set the direct debits up again without my permission,so I have to check every day to make sure they do not set them up without me knowing,I presume they are defaulting me for not giving notice or something for cancelling my home insurance,so,if you just cancel the direct debit,they default you,nice one AA...BEWARE.

dunstonh

to make sure they did not take any money from my bank account

Unfortunately, that just cancels the payment method. It doesnt tell them you dont want it.

i had a letter from them stating that they are going to put a 'default' on my credit account as i owe them £12:00 for not cancelling!!

Which is a consequence of you not telling them you dont want it.

,I was NOT aware of this,this company uses underhand tactics to get your money,then threatens you if you dont pay,what a nice lot.

It not underhand and they are taking the usual action for someone that hasnt paid.

is this legal for them to do this

Yes. If you pay for insurance under a credit agreement/loan and you cancel the direct debit, the debt is still there and you have effectively defaulted on the payments. Typically, telling you that they are going to add a default to yoru credit file is not the first step. It usually comes after they have made previous attempts to let you know but havent heard from you.

Your issue is that there appears to be some communication breakdown. So, phone them up and tell them that you cancelled and get them to log that. If you find you are you being fobbed off or the response is not what you want, then ask to be put through to their complaints department. Don't be melodramatic. Don't be rude or make silly allegations. This is a clerical issue and you want the person sorting it for you to be on your side.

liamvad

I completed the 12 month term,I cancelled the direct debit,emailed them to tell them why,they replied that the account was cancelled,then charge me £12:00 for the privilege,and send me a letter that they are going to default me for it,what a nice touch from the AA,I have replied,I have told them I will NOT pay that amount or any amount,and I do not care if they add a default to my file,what a nasty way to run a business,and treat people,I feel conned,it's just an easy way to make extra cash from customers,nasty.:mad:

dunstonh

and I do not care if they add a default to my file

You should do. That will make getting credit (including mortgages, mobile phone contracts etc) harder or not even possible.

what a nasty way to run a business,and treat people,

Not really. If someone owed you money and wasnt paying then you would look to take similar action.

,I feel conned,it's just an easy way to make extra cash from customers,nasty

No its not. It is a simple clerical error. However, it does sound like you have let it fester and that is never a good thing when you are dealing with contracts that fall under a credit agreement. Why don't you want to get it resolved? Is there more to this than you are telling us?

liamvad

I bought home insurance from them,to be paid by installments,12,all paid.
When first set up,another direct debit appeared(2) when i rang them and asked what this was for,they said it was for my FREE breakdown cover,so,i asked them,if it is FREE why have you set up a direct debit,for which I did NOT give permission??????,so i cancelled that direct debit.
I was NOT aware at any point that my years insurance would automatically renew,I just cancelled,and thought that was that,it was only when i had a letter from them saying that they were 'upgrading' my FREE roadside recovery to 'premium' at a cost of £86;00 that alarm bells started to ring,so i rang them and told them I did not want the insurance or breakdown cover.

Next thing is I get a letter saying 'thank-you' for renewing your home insurance,which I did not,so I presume this is someone at the AA getting commision for renewing my policy against my wishes?

I have a letter from them confirming my insurance cancelled,but,then they tried to set up BOTH direct debits AGAIN,and you say this is ok because its money I owe them?they are taking this money by trying to steal it,I gave NO permission for them to take it,its the old trick of the 'small print' catching people out to make more money,to me they are no different to fraudsters or conmen.

dunstonh

When first set up,another direct debit appeared(2) when i rang them and asked what this was for,they said it was for my FREE breakdown cover,so,i asked them,if it is FREE why have you set up a direct debit,for which I did NOT give permission??????,so i cancelled that direct debit.

It is free for a period. Not for life. The idea is that a certain percentage of people will continue with it beyond the free period.

Cancelling a direct debit does not cancel the contract. It just cancels the payment method. They will continue to bill you and you build up the liability until you get it resolved.

I was NOT aware at any point that my years insurance would automatically renew,I just cancelled,and thought that was that,it was only when i had a letter from them saying that they were 'upgrading' my FREE roadside recovery to 'premium' at a cost of £86;00 that alarm bells started to ring,so i rang them and told them I did not want the insurance or breakdown cover.

In the renewal letter, they must state clearly what happens next and what to do if you do not wish to renew the policy. It is not hidden in any small print. It should be in the main cover letter. The FOS expect that and past complaints have encouraged companies to do this.

Next thing is I get a letter saying 'thank-you' for renewing your home insurance,which I did not,so I presume this is someone at the AA getting commision for renewing my policy against my wishes?

Did they know your wishes?

they are taking this money by trying to steal it,I gave NO permission for them to take it,its the old trick of the 'small print' catching people out to make more money,to me they are no different to fraudsters or conmen.

It is not in the small print. It would have been in standard print on the cover letter containing the renewal. If you didnt contact them to tell them not to renew then they would automatically renew. I am no fan of auto renewal but to be fair, they would have told you in the letter. However, even if t auto-renewed, you could still contact them afterwards when you got the "thank you for renewing" letter and they will usually resolve it then.

They would have also issued "you have cancelled the direct debit letters and we havent been able to collect your payment letters. For it to have got to the threat of legal action means it must have gone through a number of stages and letters sent first.

You are calling them fraudsters or conmen but it isnt entirely clear what you have done to attempt to get this resolved. They were open yesterday. They are open today. They are open nearly every day. So, what have they said when you raised this with them?

kingstreet

Did your original policy documentation, at the inception of the cover, mention the auto renewal?

On what date did your home insurance renew?

On what date did you notify them you did not wish to renew?

Normally, if you notify them you do not wish to renew before the renewal date, there is nothing to pay, as the policy simply ends on the expiry date.

Were you charged £12 because your request not to renew was after the renewal date, making it a cancellation fee instead?

The_AA_Company_Representative

liamvad wrote: »

Hi,this is my first post,last year i bough AA home insurance,paid monthly by direct debit,when the direct debits were first set up,TWO appeared,so I rang them and asked why,they said the second one was for the FREE roadside recovery,I told them I did not want it,as I had breakdown cover,and I cancelled the direct debit,they wrote to me asking why,and I told them,I did not want it.

Anyway,this month my insurance comes to an end,I had a letter saying thank-you for renewing,bit i did not renew!!!!They also sent a letter saying that they were going to 'upgrade' my roadside recovery to Premium,at a cost of £86.o !!!!!!! to make sure they did not take any money from my bank account,i cancelled the direcrt debit,today i had a letter from them stating that they are going to put a 'default' on my credit account as i owe them £12:00 for not cancelling!!! as apparently it was on a 'continuous payment.like car insurance,I was NOT aware of this,this company uses underhand tactics to get your money,then threatens you if you dont pay,what a nice lot.Is there anything I can do,or is this legal for them to do this,they have even tried to set the direct debits up again without my permission,so I have to check every day to make sure they do not set them up without me knowing,I presume they are defaulting me for not giving notice or something for cancelling my home insurance,so,if you just cancel the direct debit,they default you,nice one AA...BEWARE.

Hello Liamvad, we'd like to address this for you. Please can you email the details to [EMAIL="chat@theaa.com"]chat@theaa.com[/EMAIL] including your full name, address and any policy numbers that will help with our investigation with Reference FOR59453. Regards, The AA

liamvad

Hi AA rep,
I received this e-mail yesterday....

[FONT=&quot]Thank you for your email.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I have looked at your account and I can see that we received notification from your bank that you had cancelled your mandate, before we received notification from our Home insurance department that you had cancelled the renewal, therefore the fee was applied and the letter issued as we believed the account still to be live.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]We have since received the confirmation from the insurance department that your policy has been cancelled from the renewal date and therefore I can confirm that the £12.00 fee has been removed from your account and this is now cleared.[/FONT]

No apology for the stress they put me through,it should not have gone this far,how are they allowed to set up direct debits without my permission?Having cancelled 2 they set up?

mills705

When you buy an aa policy they like to give you free trials of products. So with home insurance you can get roadside free for the year provided it is on an automatic renewal basis.
Did you arrange this policy online or over the phone?
On the phone they will have offered you it at the end of the call and online then it will be a tick box.
Sounds like you didn't read through documentation of policies tbh and are blaming a company for following their procedures which are approved by the fca

M0ney

I see why you were annoyed but while reading your posts I picture someone who is a right drama queen and is looking for attention. I had a similar problem with another company, free life insurance or something like that for 6 months, I saw £4 come off on the 7th + 8th month which I had forgotten about by then called up, found out what I was getting charged for, thought DOH! OK can I cancel. In the end I was £8 out of pocket because I had never intended to pay for out. Lesson learned, noone died, I hadn't been caused any undue stress and I moved on without trying to drag the company in question through the dirt.