Problem with insurance cancellation

livinginhope

Not sure where to post this,but thought here would be best
DH had a motorbike insurance policy with Bennets insurance for 3 years,he sold the bike last month and had just under 4 months left to run on the insurance,when he phoned to cancel the insurance,they said there would be a £30 charge we had paid the full year up front and would not be getting a refund :mad: but still have to pay the £30? we told them we would not pay it and they could try all they like,we are not paying it.
I have contacted Equity Red Star,who are the actual insurance co,they told me in confidence that they have refunded Bennets for the term left to run and that it should be passed on to me,bennets deny this and have now instructed a debt collection agency to recover the debt.
I am adamant that we will not pay this £30,how far do you think this will go? do you think they are calling our bluff for £30?
I have told them we will pay the difference between the refund from Equity Red Star and the £30,but they aren't having any of it.
What is my next step?
Thanks,I might try posting this on the motoring board,but I think it has gone passed that and is now a debt matter :mad:

skint_spice

Sorry am I reading this right - they are getting extra money from the other company, you have already paid the full amount and they want more from you? they'll already be up on the deal! I'd go into the CAB with the insurance docs and see what they say. I take it you've had a look and there's nothing in the contract that states you have to pay extra?

livinginhope

Yep! you're reading it right unfortunately.They had my full years money up front,now had a refund from the insurance co and STILL want an extra £30 from us for cancelling the policy.
DH says we should just sit it out because if it went to court for a CCJ,he thinks it would be laughed out,I'm just worried.
I have read the documents and there is a sentence which unclearly states there is a £30 cancellation fee,but I would have thought it acceptable to pass the refund on to me and take it off the cancellation fee.
When I first spoke to Bennets I was called 'stupid and naive' and I shouldn't make assumptions that i would get a refund! I finished the call in floods of tears,then spoke to a lovely lady at Equity Red Star who thought this was all wrong and she couldn't believe what they are asking for,she told me in confidence about the refund,but wouldn't tell me the actual amount credited to Bennets.

livinginhope

Have recieved 6 phone calls this morning,3 from Bennetts and 3 from a company called C.A.R.S. (creditlink account solutions Ltd) does anyone know who this company are,and are they a seperate company to Bennetts or all part of the same?
They are very threatening for £30! surely all this telephoning and writing letters will cost more than £30?

hypno06

Oh LIH, sorry to read that you are having such problems. OH is with bennetts for his bike insurance so I will be looking out for problems in the future.

I don't really know what else to say other than to stay tight - they have had a refund from Equity Red Star, they are having a bit of a joke asking for a double whammy really.

Keep us updated and good luck x

spud30

Can you not tell them you have changed your mind, and wish the policy to run for the remainder of the term.

You will save the £30, and Bennetts will have to return their little bonus to the insurance company.

Let it be a lesson to all bikers anyway - avoid Bennetts.

livinginhope

spud30 wrote: »

Let it be a lesson to all bikers anyway - avoid Bennetts.

Thanks for the replies,we told them to not cancel the insurance then and leave it to term,but they said it was illegal to keep insurance when you have sold the bike,we seem to have reached stale mate.
I phoned consumer direct this afternoon,have to say they are not very helpful,I was told 'you agreed to the conditions,you now have to pay!' I said I didn't expect this added charge on top of no refund,but she just said 'read your policy' she said the charge was fair :eek: couldn't believe what I was hearing.
My next question is,DH says we should now pay it before more charges are added,but could we claim this back like an unfair bank charge? I would say this is more unfair than any bank charge.

Like spud says

AVOID BENNETTS INSURANCE

Now got that off my chest,feel a bit better
LIH

Burlesque_Babe

I can't remember all the details as I only half heard it, but on my local radio station a couple of days ago they were talking about a case where someone was in a similar position and the insurer was getting heavy.

It turns out that an insurance company can only charge their 'actual costs' to cancel a policy and this person got the charge waived.

the DJ quoted a law about penalties for car insurance cancellations but I didn't catch it.

I'm sure though if you called the station they might help.

It was wave105 FM. It was the Rip Off File on the morning show. Their website is http://www.wave105.com I used to deal with them a lot as I worked in PR, they are nice people. Might be worth a call to get the name of the law they mentioned and then use it against Bennetts.

mattmye

I'd have to agree regrading comments on Bennetts.

They just tried to increase my policy from £170 to £590 because I'm moving to London. I found a much cheaper quote from a London based insurer so cancelled Bennett's. Not only got hit with the £30 cancellation charge but got refunded only 25% of the policy - according to the call centre they dont refund according to the months you've used, they refund according to a 'business plan'.

Essentially I've paid £170 for a 12 month policy. Five and a half months into this I've ended up with a refund of about £20.

I fear this is completely lawful because it is detailed in the policy, however it feels about as scandalous as unfair bank charges. Is there any chance of a similar campaign?

steve700

livinginhope wrote: »

we told them to not cancel the insurance then and leave it to term,but they said it was illegal to keep insurance when you have sold the bikeLIH

Surely your other half can say that he's getting another bike soon and will need to transfer his remaining insurance across on to that.

It's not your fault if the insurance expires before he finds the right one


As for Bennetts - I like them.

They sponsor the British Superbikes and, from next year, World Superbikes so they are okay with me

rayday2

Yeah but livinginhope has just paid for a bloomin side panel on one of those bikes!

I really am not sure what you can do I am worried now we are just about to cancel a car insurance policy because we now have a company car hope they don't say the same!