Charged for canceling insurance

Couchwarrior

I have just canceled my car insurance after 9 months from the post office, the reason being i have become a taxi driver so had to change insurance companies
now i didn't expect a refund as it was only £250 and there is only 3 months left but then he said i would charge me £35 for canceling the policy ? Now i can understand that and he pointed me to the T&C's were it states they "may charge £35", if there was a refund , but there isnt so 9 months insurance is costing me more than 12 ?
I asked them why it says "may" and was told if there was certain circumstances then they would waive the fee , the fact i kept repeating to him that they have had 3 months that they didnt need to insure me is a bonus to them, and it never cost them anything but a phone call to cancel it he still wouldn't budge
I asked how he was going to get the £35 and was then told that they would apply for it from the card i used to pay for the insurance, i told them there was no credit on the card and it would be declined , he said he would reapply until it gets paid i then said i cant authorise that and he didnt care was going to still keep trying and then told me they would with hold my no claims bonus until its paid for
Then i rang Capital One and asked them if the post office could apply for money without my authorisation, when they used my card once 9 months ago, and guess what its perfectly ok I asked them to refuse the payment as it would probably be declined anyway , they said they cant do that and if it takes me over the limit I will be charged £12 what a joke
So what do i do now ? i should have just left the car insured for the last 3 months with 2 companies i know its no legal but jeez i feel like i've been ripped off by faceless companies once again

dunstonh

The provider is entitled to levy that charge for any mid term amendment. They also have an ongoing payment agreement with your card provider. So, everything appears in order.

Your best bet, as there isnt a refund due anyway, is to ring them back and say you wish to continue the insurance. This will avoid the charge and you just dont renew it when that comes round. There is no charge for cancelling at the end of the contract.

Couchwarrior

dunstonh wrote: »

The provider is entitled to levy that charge for any mid term amendment. They also have an ongoing payment agreement with your card provider. So, everything appears in order.

Your best bet, as there isnt a refund due anyway, is to ring them back and say you wish to continue the insurance. This will avoid the charge and you just dont renew it when that comes round. There is no charge for cancelling at the end of the contract.

trouble is its not legal to have 2 insurances on one car and i need taxi insurance to start this week so i had to cancel , i understand they are entitled to charge the £35 but i would have thought it would have been waivered if no refund was due, as its not like they are losing any business, the thing is when he canceled it he put in the code in for "got cheaper insurance elsewhere" which is wrong and apparently different codes decide on whether the charge applies or not

mattaious

Im in kind off the same boat myself,

Im insured with budget and my renault clio decided to blow up at the weekend(cambelt snapped) anyways the cars not worth it so decided to leave it and cancel insurance, And as ive only just moved to them (within 1 month) they wan to charge me £210! with charges for this that and other.

HOW CAN THIS BE JUSITIFIED.
I dont think it can,
Same story as the banks charges i beleive, there a rule upon themselves.

So i have a choice,.
Pay £210 to scrap a car worth £50
Or carry on paying and insure with them again. (losing ncb and extending for another year and not continuing the old policy dates)

GGGRRR

wisewoman

Hi Couchwarrior
The same thing happened to us...see my posting July 2nd with three helpful replies. Very annoying...but, hey, we'll get over it. Enjoy the taxi-ing.

wisewoman

It's the feeling of being completely over a barrel that really makes me mad.

olly300

wisewoman wrote: »

It's the feeling of being completely over a barrel that really makes me mad.

Complain to them in writing and see if that makes them waive the cost.

You need to follow the company's formal complaints procedure which will be in your policy document and threaten to take them to the finiancial ombudsman.

BTW also make sure you mention the fact that you are losing out £xxx equivalent to 3 months insurance because you have changed career.

bob_a_builder

I was just about to ask the same/similar question

No1 son off to uni (we hope) this sept, so only need 1 - 2 months of insurance, got a reasonable renewal quote, but asked about a shorter term - they are not interested.
Only option seem to be to cancel, and yes there "will be a £40 charge, and a charge for the time your policy has been active"

Given the general cost of insurance for young drivers, the £40 charge doesn't seem to bad, but are they likely to refund pro-rata month for month ?
They will of course have your money at this point !

If pro Rata then why not just offer the shorter term in the 1st place + a charge for the short term

Anyone else canceled and been stung for more than the published charge

FlameCloud

Couchwarrior wrote: »

trouble is its not legal to have 2 insurances on one car and i need taxi insurance to start this week so i had to cancel , i

Says who? And what crime exactly would it be?

It is only fraudulent if you neglect to tell the insurers come claim time.

dunstonh

AFAIA, it is not illegal to have dual insurance. It is unlawful to make two claims but you wouldnt be doing that would you.

Couchwarrior

FlameCloud wrote: »

Says who? And what crime exactly would it be?

It is only fraudulent if you neglect to tell the insurers come claim time.

its what the insurance companies lead you to believe , but i still need to cancel anyway as i have to carry over my 7 years no claims