car insurance voided and no refund !!

fedup321

not new to this site but new to posting.

cut a long one short...

recently purchased a car from a aquaintance.

as soon as i could. i got the car insured with privilage through an online form.

all fair and well until 8 weeks later when i. recieved letters saying prove no claims bonnus so i did, subsequently recieved letters saying contact us regarding NCB so i did.

instead of talking about NcB they put me through to policy validation who rudely proclaimed the car was not registered in my name and i had said i was the owner and keeper?

i said i had no idea and thought the paperwork was changed and i would look into it, on asking if i had a reciept i said yes.

same day i called back and explained the seller had failed to notify the dvla, thus i will now rectify the issue by the proper DVLA procedure.
i also sent my reciept dated before my insurance start date proving i brought the car.

i recieved a call later in the week sayiung the reciept was not valid as it was hand written?! i proclaimed the named seller and address of the seller were correct and therefore the reciept should prove i own the vehicle, as most private car sellers give a hand written reciept !! i also said as soon as my v5 document arrived i would send them a copy for thier peace of mind.

7 days later i recieved a letter saying the policy had been voided due to purposeful non disclosure and i obtained gain from this disclosure issue?!!

subsequently on the same day i also recieved my v5 meaning the dvla had changed the ownership of the car to me?

now privilage claim they are keeping my full 2000 pounds insurance premium for 2 months insurance and refuse to budge claiming its my fault, i have thanked them for bringing it to my attention and have stated that i have done all i can to rectify the paperwork and have a reciept along with the seller agreeing to given a written statement to directly say that yes he has sold the car to me !!

simply a issue with v5 paperwork not being sent off when i thought it was but i can prove from the previous registered keeper that it was mine.

contacted the FOS, who say i definately have an argument. but how can privelage keep the full premium?! at the least cancel the agreement and keep the money they are entitled to?

i was even told it was my own fault for paying in full !!

has anyone experinced similar issues?

anyone have a template lettter i could send to privelage?

thank you guys.

dunstonh

contacted the FOS, who say i definately have an argument. but how can privelage keep the full premium?! at the least cancel the agreement and keep the money they are entitled to?

The FOS rules on non-disclosure do not require the insurer to issue a refund where it is seen as intentional non-disclosure. So, it appears to be that they are relying on.

It is unusual for insurers to take such a hard line unless they feel they have sufficient evidence that it was intentional as it is quite a hard thing to prove. It could also be a bloody minded employee taking a hard line. However, if may be worth you looking at what happened to see why they may have the view that you did this with the intention to commit fraud.

anyone have a template lettter i could send to privelage?

It is unlikely a template letter would match your complaint. Plus, template letters in general suffer a lower success rate than personalised letters. Usually because they end up including things which can be proven to be wrong and remove any credibility you have which works against you in areas of judgement calls.

You should put in a complaint in your own words. Much as you have here. Provide copies of supporting evidence.

Quentin

You have 2 issues to settle here. (The cancellation as well as the forfeit premium)

The most important one being that unless you get this reversed you have a cancelled policy on your record which means you have to disclose this for evermore to insurers (even of you are a named driver rather than a policyholder).,

This will make insurance expensive and difficult to get except through specialist companies dealing with "difficult" to cover clients. (Most online companies refuse to quote thise with a cancelled policy in their history)

So concentrate your complaint on getting the cancellation reversed (if successful you will have use of the premium).

(Ask what the advantage is they are accusing you of gaining)

eddddy

Just out of interest - how would the insurer know that the OP was not the registered keeper?

Do they routinely check with DVLA when new policies are taken out, or perhaps do random checks?

ChumpusRex

You absolutely have to get this sorted urgently.

Not only are you down £2000, but your name, address and car details will now be an database of "known insurance fraudsters". You will now have to declare that you have had a policy voided for suspected fraud, and if you don't, then you will have that policy voided for fraud as well - and then your name goes on the database with 2 counts of suspected fraud.

fedup321

dunstonh wrote: »

The FOS rules on non-disclosure do not require the insurer to issue a refund where it is seen as intentional non-disclosure. So, it appears to be that they are relying on.

It is unusual for insurers to take such a hard line unless they feel they have sufficient evidence that it was intentional as it is quite a hard thing to prove. It could also be a bloody minded employee taking a hard line. However, if may be worth you looking at what happened to see why they may have the view that you did this with the intention to commit fraud.



It is unlikely a template letter would match your complaint. Plus, template letters in general suffer a lower success rate than personalised letters. Usually because they end up including things which can be proven to be wrong and remove any credibility you have which works against you in areas of judgement calls.

You should put in a complaint in your own words. Much as you have here. Provide copies of supporting evidence.

appriciate the help, yes i believe the employees are rudely judgmental. as they spoke to me like i owed them money rather than helping alieviate the problem, the initial woman even said "look we void the policy and keep your premium" i was fuming obviously and then she said oh well thats the worst case. so looks as if they had made up thier mind before hand, they also advised me to send proof of payment to the previous owner, surely a reciept is this? i dont need to send off pictures of my hard earned cash being passed over?!

fedup321

eddddy wrote: »

Just out of interest - how would the insurer know that the OP was not the registered keeper?

Do they routinely check with DVLA when new policies are taken out, or perhaps do random checks?

funny this, after a chat in the gym... a mate of mine has been insured for 2 years.. and when he brought the car from auction he never changed his details to be the registered keeper, he also doesnt have a v5 at home.... so seems like privelage looks to void policys after cool off period just to rob the public in any way possible !

fedup321

ChumpusRex wrote: »

You absolutely have to get this sorted urgently.

Not only are you down £2000, but your name, address and car details will now be an database of "known insurance fraudsters". You will now have to declare that you have had a policy voided for suspected fraud, and if you don't, then you will have that policy voided for fraud as well - and then your name goes on the database with 2 counts of suspected fraud.

Having dealt with privilege validation before, I fully agree that they are the rudest and most unhelpful people I've ever dealt with. I have never lost my temper with anyone before, but I lost it with them due to their utter rudeness and refusal to listen, and their continued assertion that I was to blame for their mistake (a mistake I had documentary proof of).

Write a letter (and keep proof of posting, or send recorded) to the details given on their website for complaints. Head the letter COMPLAINT.

Set out your complaint clearly and point by point. I've had a go at writing one for you. Obviously, make sure it is absolutely correct from your perspective (remember, they will check their phone tapes, letters, e-mails, etc.)

Make sure you attach everything possible. If possible, get the seller to write a letter apologising for the delay in sending off the V5C. If you have the names of people you spoke to on the phone, make sure you put them in, along with times/dates. (Check the call logs on your mobile or your phone bill for the times/dates).

Don't write long rambling sentences. Keep things short and simple. 1 key point in each numbered paragraph.

thank u very much, i expected no replies to this thread mate. how did ur sitcho pan out?

yeah the staff made me very very angry, im normally a calm guy, but it actualy upset me, the missus was also very worried due too how shocked and upset i was. the team seemed to all be mates and pass the phone around and claim to know better than me.

im just shocked companies are getting away with this, i mean if i was in the wrong, why have i subsequently increased an owner on my log book thus lowering the value of my car to fix a problem for an insurer?!!! surely i would have more financial gain by not increasing an owner to my car !

Quentin

fedup321 wrote: »

funny this, after a chat in the gym... a mate of mine has been insured for 2 years.. and when he brought the car from auction he never changed his details to be the registered keeper, he also doesnt have a v5 at home.... so seems like privelage looks to void policys after cool off period just to rob the public in any way possible !

Your mate would have found he had wasted his money on insurance had he needed to claim (or a claim made against him) during the two years.

As you have found out falsely declaring you are the RK gives them grounds to cancel the policy and reject a claim. In your mate's case the false declaration would come to light in the event of a claim.

Think bankruptcy should a third party claim or be injured - the insurer would pay out any third party claim then sue the policyholder to reimburse them their outlay!

fedup321

Quentin wrote: »

Your mate would have found he had wasted his money on insurance had he needed to claim (or a claim made against him) during the two years.

As you have found out falsely declaring you are the RK gives them grounds to cancel the policy and reject a claim. In your mate's case the false declaration would come to light in the event of a claim.

Think bankruptcy should a third party claim or be injured - the insurer would pay out any third party claim then sue the policyholder to reimburse them their outlay!

the thing is i didny falsely decalre. i decalred to the best of my ability and this this would be considered reckless or carelessness not deciet. to my knowledge this can be dealt with a pro rata refund and cancelation ora whole premium refund and a void marker. i am hoping for the first option.

Alter_ego

fedup321 wrote: »

to my knowledge this can be dealt with a pro rata refund and cancelation ora whole premium refund and a void marker. i am hoping for the first option.

Don't hope for any kind of cancellation. As said earlier you will always have to declare it. TRY TO REVERSE THE CANCELLATION>