Adrian Flux Setup fee

Darren_Lee

I recently used a comparison website for my motorbike insurance. The best deal was offered by Adrian Flux. I took out the policy and paid in full via my credit card.
The day after completing the online transaction I was sent an email to phone Adrian flux to confirm all of my details. I explained that my motorbike is not kept at the house address but in a secure lockup approx 2 miles away. They told me this would be an extra £50.00 so i told them I do not wish to take out the policy.
I was then informed that to cancel the policy that didn't start for another 2 weeks and was not yet setup hence the phone call would cost me £25.00

Is this correct and legal? I could be wrong but I though with any purchase you have a cooling off period. and for them to charge me £25.00 for in effect doing nothing seems rather harsh.

Does anyone know if I could take this further and redeem the setup fee imposed by Adrian flux for a policy that never started?

Thank you in advance for any help.

mattyprice4004

You don't have a cooling off period with all transactions - if you walked into a shop, bought something, and went back with it 5 minutes later because you didn't like it you'd have no rights to a refund.

Distance selling is a little different, however I reckon they'd argue that the underwriters had already charged for preparing the policy, hence their charge.

Did you not tell them where it was kept in the quote?

Darren_Lee

Thank you Matty,

As I applied for the policy online there was no option to add a comment that the bike was stored in a lockup away from my home address.

whatmichaelsays

It's likely that the comparison site, or Adrian Flux, have a statement on what assumptions they make. All insurance providers make a number of assumptions to make their quote systems simple. These can be quite broad (ie, "we assume that you have no criminal convictions") but can be quite specific (ie, "we assume that the bike will be locked securely at the address of the proposer")

If such an assumption exists, and was clear, you will have little arguement.

InsideInsurance

They do have a cooling off period but people forget what a cooling off period means.

It means you CAN cancel it, not that you can cancel it for free. Insurers and brokers are entitled to charge reasonable fees for cancellations at any time that should be proportional to their average cost for cancellation.

Most places do allow cancellation for free prior to inception but most charge £50 or more plus time on cover for cancellations during the cooling off period but whilst on cover.

Ultimately if you arent happy then log a complaint and follow that process. Always check all the details on the insurers/ brokers site including all assumptions PRIOR to buying is by far the best way to avoid problems!

bris

£25 is reasonable and perfectly legal, for some reason they are allowed to charge for admin.

On a side note I am very surprised you weren't asked where you keep the bike overnight, it is one of the main questions. Every insurer will penalise you for your choice of storage location.

unholyangel

The key here is what the terms said.

If there was no mention at all of the bike being kept away from the home address, then effectively their terms have the effect of binding the consumer while not being binding on the supplier - which would upset the balance and likely be unfair.

Plus of course, consumers cannot be bound by terms they had no knowledge of at the time (again if it wasnt included originally).

kindnessmagic

Hi Darren, almost exactly the same thing happened to me. I used a well known comparison website. I provided all the information that I could using their website. A few days later I received a telephone call from someone at Adrian Flux. The operative questioned my employment status, where I lived and where the vehicle was kept and then said that the policy would have to be cancelled. In my case I was not offered the choice of different cover. I have since been charged an underwriter's fee of £20 plus a 'reduced' set up fee of £22.50. So £42.50 in total for absolutely nothing. It seems sharp practice to me. I am considering passing it on to the financial conduct authority. If something like this is allowed then it means that comparison websites could end up being a very costly way of getting cover.

InsideInsurance

kindnessmagic wrote: »

I am considering passing it on to the financial conduct authority.

The FCA does not deal with consumer complaints, you must first complain to the firm in question and if you arent happy with their response or you dont receive a response within 8 weeks then you can take the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) for adjudication.