Change of address - ridiculous charge in Gladiator

Justine.k

Hello, I'm about to move to a new flat next month, and I phoned Gladiator to tell them about change of my address.
At the same time I told them I don't want to renew my car insurance with them as I already have arranged a new one with a different company. My insurance with Gladiator ends on 12th May.
So I phone Gladiator customer service, and they told me they'll transfer me to renewal team. Then I told lady in the renewal team that I want to change my address, and she told me it's going to cost £900!!!!! So I told her I don't want to change it anymore and that I don't want to renew my policy and want to make sure that my policy ends in May. Then I decided to phone them once again to speak to someone else, and again in customer service they told me they can't change my address and that I need to contact a renewal team. So they transferred me to the renewal team where another person told me again that it's going to cost £900!! Once again my insurance ends in a month! Moreover I'm moving next door basically! The postcode is almost the same!! The second guy I spoke to was really rude and when I told him that I don't want to change my address anymore because I'll be staying in current flat till May he started to shout at me that if I move I MUST change my address!
In fact I'll be in current flat till May but what I'm afraid of is that documents from Gladiator won't come by the time I leave the flat... I don't know what to do. Please help.

AdrianC

Don't get stressed about what MIGHT happen.

When are you actually moving? If it's within a few days of the end of the policy, I really wouldn't sweat it.
If they do try to hit you with an excessive charge, then firstly go through their own complaints policy.
If that gets nowhere, then http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumer/complaints.htm

Justine.k

I'm moving at the beginning of May ... So there's no chance I'll collect documents because they'll come around 15th May. I contacted my new insurance team, the one that starts on the 12th May and they told me there's NO CHARGE because it's actually the same postcode! It's like next door to me. I don't understand what Gladiator is doing... Maybe I should just ignore those documents... just phone them to make sure my police ends on 12th and leave the documents... I don't know.

BeenThroughItAll

Justine.k wrote: »

I'm moving at the beginning of May ... So there's no chance I'll collect documents because they'll come around 15th May. I contacted my new insurance team, the one that starts on the 12th May and they told me there's NO CHARGE because it's actually the same postcode! It's like next door to me. I don't understand what Gladiator is doing... Maybe I should just ignore those documents... just phone them to make sure my police ends on 12th and leave the documents... I don't know.

Why don't you just get your mail redirected by Royal Mail? Problem solved.

AdrianC

BeenThroughItAll wrote: »

Why don't you just get your mail redirected by Royal Mail? Problem solved.

I thought that was too obvious...

But whatever you do DO NOT JUST IGNORE any documents. That's a nice way to suddenly find you fail a credit check in the future due to a CCJ that you "didn't know about".

Justine.k

Okay, thanks. I redirected my mail so hopefully I'll get all documents to my new address. Does it make a difference if I move to a new flat a week before my policy with Gladiator ends without changing my address with them? Basically it's just a week and I don't want to pa £900 for a week of staying under new address! Especially that my car will be left in exactly same place as it is now.

Joe_Horner

Justine.k wrote: »

Does it make a difference if I move to a new flat a week before my policy with Gladiator ends without changing my address with them? Basically it's just a week and I don't want to pa £900 for a week of staying under new address! Especially that my car will be left in exactly same place as it is now.

Technically yes, in practice no it won't matter.

Even if you were unlucky enough to have an accident during that week, I can't see any way that they'd be able to justify refusing a claim on a move to the same (or equivalent risk) post code within a week of the move, during which the ombudsman or any court would be happy to accept that you had more pressing things on your mind.

Failing to notify a change that doesn't alter the risk isn't allowed to affect claims. That said, it might be worth running a couple of dummy quotes through Gladiator using your current and new addresses just to see if there's any significant difference in premium between the two.

Justine.k

It's very unlikely that I'll have an accident... I go on holiday then, that's why I plan to move a bit earlier, before I go on my holiday. Gladiator is ridiculous... The second company that my insurance starts with in May didn't charge me at all...

arcon5

£900.....
Extra?
Or is that the revised premium so amount payable less?
Please say the latter?

Justine.k

£900 extra. My policy ends next month, so it's basically £900 extra that they want me to pay for this month because of change of address

Justine.k

Or actually not a month but a week or even less... I'm still staying under old address and won't move to new one till mid may.