Rip off

gregors23

Having filled in all of the question correctly on the motorcycle insurance section and without lying I was directed to a payment site. i duly paid . Upon confirming the policy details several more questions were asked over the phone. I was then told that the policy could not be fulfilled and a service charge or 55 pounds would apply because MSE charges 75 pounds but they only pass on 55. The policy was only 107 pounds so I lost more than half of my money through being honest. Non of these questions were asked on the online forms.These computer calls must be very expensive! I honestly believed that this site was to protect us from this kind of shady dealing. I feel totally ripped off and will never use this site again and advise all of my friends against this too. One suggestion maybe payment should be made AFTER ALL OF THE QUESTIONS ARE ASKED!!! Plus I could not find a section for complaints

dunstonh

I was then told that the policy could not be fulfilled and a service charge or 55 pounds would apply because MSE charges 75 pounds but they only pass on 55.

MSE doesnt retail anything.

I honestly believed that this site was to protect us from this kind of shady dealing. I feel totally ripped off and will never use this site again and advise all of my friends against this too.

Have you got the right site?

InsideInsurance

If we ignore the MSE comment.

Sounds like the OP has bought through an bike policy via an aggregator and the broker/ insurer is charging fees for correcting "errors".

£75 is just a marketing fee. Given PPC advertising for insurance can go above £10 per click its very easy to see how the marketing charges get so high.

If they chose to share some of that back with the buyer like Quidco thats fine, very few of these companies actually give 100% back as they are a business with costs and a need to make a profit.


Whenever you buy via an aggregator you MUST check the questions/ answers after hitting the broker/ insurers site as they dont always translate correctly and there can be additional ones.

As to be charged £55 to cancel the policy, you need to read the terms of the agreement you have with them that will stipulate any cancellation fees. Generally what direct marketing costs have been paid are irrelevant but will have been factored into the fee on an "by average" basis.

Had the policy actually started yet?

gregors23

I used money saving expert and was directed to Performance Direct.
They told me that MSE carged a fee.

gregors23

The policy had not started and I filled in all of the questions truthfully. I then paid the full amount online. I was then requested that they need to be contacted by phone to enable the policy to be initiated. it was then that extra questions were asked. THEY SHOULD NOT TAKE ANY MONEY UNTIL THEY KNOW THE FULL DETAILS. I would take your money and not give the goods or services. It seems like a nice little earner to take more than 50% of the money for nothing!

gregors23

I was directed to Performance Direct after filling in the MSE questionaire. I filled in all of the details truthfully and then paid online. you cannot miss any questions as the forms will not continue. I was then told that i would have to contact them to initiate the policy, at that point I was asked further questions and then told that the policy could not go ahead and that a service charge was to be applied. This is a terrible way of conducting business The policy was to start 21/7. I would not offer a services to anyone and then charge them without giving the service because i didnt ask the right questions

InsideInsurance

What they pay for their marketing leads is not directly relevant to you, indirectly it is as it informs the cancellation fee but that is done on an average basis so lets put that bit aside.

What page had the link you clicked on?

Was the initial quote done on Performance Directs website or on an aggregator like Confused.com or MoneySupermarket?

If on their page, prior to giving payment details did it have any indication of additional info needed to "initiate" the policy?

What does the documents say about cancellation fees prior to inception?

Ultimately register a complaint with them that they sold the policy without collecting all the information and therefore it is unfair to apply cancellation fees when they finally get round to collecting the additional information that it turns out to be uninsurable. No need to mention about marketing fees etc

gregors23

I Used MONEY SAVING EXPERT TO SAVE MONEY AND IT COST ME. If I went into a broker he would not charge me for not giving me a policy!

InsideInsurance

gregors23 wrote: »

I Used MONEY SAVING EXPERT TO SAVE MONEY AND IT COST ME. If I went into a broker he would not charge me for not giving me a policy!

If "you went to a broker" then that broker too will have paid marketing costs, be that having a shop on the high street, advertising in the yellow pages or online then there is PPC, aggregator etc

Evidently some of these marketing costs its easy to associate to a single customer and others are more holistic and so you charge a proportion of the annual spend to each customer.

ALL OF THIS IS A RED HERRING THOUGH. They are bound by their policy terms and the rules of the regulator etc. Unless they use different terms by distribution channel then the differing marketing costs are also irrelevant.

My last personal lines client charges everyone £50 to cancel, its irrespective of how they got to them or what marketing had been paid as it was an average thats paid.

gregors23

I have just been through the whole process again up to payment and i cant see any warnings about initiating the policy with a call!

GingerBob_3

A few years ago my son had a similar experience with a bunch of scammers called "Insure Your Motor":

http://www.insureyourmotor.com/

(Do not, under any circumstances, use this company)

He got a quote accepted via Confused.com or something similar, paid by credit card and then after the payment had been processed a window popped up saying he had to ring the company (tomorrow, since it was after 8 pm) to complete the transaction because the policy was "being referred". On phoning, he had to answer a load more questions then the said they couldn't (or wouldn't) insure him. It was a devil of a job to get the money refunded to the credit card.

The sort of thing referred to by the OP is theft, pure and simple. If you or I did it we'd be up at court, but these scammers seem to get away with it. Don't let up until you've got every last penny, and more, back off these criminals.