Aviva-daylight robbery!!

rae23

Can someone please help?
I have just tried to cancel my car insurance with Aviva. I have set up insurance with someone else. I thought it ran out on the 27th Jan but when i phoned up they've told me it was the 20th and will now charge me £49 to leave!
Surely though i should have a cooling off period? They are saying that i don't as it's just continuing insurance but it isn't technically as it's a new year of car insurance.
I also have house and buildings with them so i will be looking to cancel all now, can they charge me for these also?
So do you get a cooling off period?

rs65

From your policy booklet:-


The principal policyholder has a statutory right to cancel this policy within 14 days from the day of purchase or renewal of the contract or the day on which the principal policyholder receives the policy or renewal documentation, whichever is the later.

If the principal policyholder wishes to cancel and the insurance cover has not yet commenced, the principal policyholder will be entitled to a full refund of the premium paid.

Alternatively, if the principal policyholder wishes to cancel and the insurance cover has already commenced, the principal policyholder will be entitled to a refund of the premium paid, less a proportionate deduction for the time we have provided cover. There will also be an additional charge of £38.00 (plus Insurance Premium Tax, where applicable) to cover the administrative cost of providing the policy

Quentin

Whether or not you get a cooling off period is irrelevant.

When you cancel a cancellation fee is triggered and you will have been charged for the cover since the policy started.

Check the policy wording on what happens on cancellation

If they have followed the policy conditions then little you can do unless you see the policy as unfair - in which case register a complaint and take it from their reply

InsideInsurance

cooling off periods give you a right to cancel, that doesnt mean its free to cancel during that period. After the cooling off period you have no statutory right to cancel though most insurers will allow cancellation of the major insurances like Home or Motor.

If you cancel any other policies rather than allowing them to lapse at the end of their term then it is likely they too will carry charges. If you look on here you will find posts of people saying their cancellation fees are £100+ in total so you have gotten off fairly lightly.

Certainly keep better track of when your insurance renews though! Were it not for autorenewal you'd have been committing a criminal offense by not having your vehicle insured

rae23

aI thought that you only got a cancellation fee if you cancelled in the middle of a policy, not when one had finished.
I had phoned up 2 weeks before to ask about a cheaper quote than what they had sent but they could only lower it by £13, hence me looking elsewhere.
I will have to learn not to be so naive in future!

dunstonh

Surely though i should have a cooling off period?

All it does is give you a right to cancel. You are still required to pay for the period cover was provided and an admin charge.

I also have house and buildings with them so i will be looking to cancel all now, can they charge me for these also?

Quite possibly, yes. It depends on your contract.

Aviva-daylight robbery!!

Not seeing any wrong doing by Aviva or daylight robbery here. You made a mistake. Indeed, they saved you from being pulled over and suffering a driving without insurance charge.
They are also doing nothing that most other insurers do as well. So, taking your business elsewhere is not going to prevent the same thing happening in future if you make the same mistake.

InsideInsurance

rae23 wrote: »

I thought it ran out on the 27th Jan but when i phoned up they've told me it was the 20th and will now charge me £49 to leave!

rae23 wrote: »

aI thought that you only got a cancellation fee if you cancelled in the middle of a policy, not when one had finished.
I had phoned up 2 weeks before to ask about a cheaper quote than what they had sent but they could only lower it by £13, hence me looking elsewhere.
I will have to learn not to be so naive in future!

There is no cancellation fee for allowing a policy to lapse but from what you said in your initial post that isnt what happened, you allowed it to renew because you got mixed up on your dates and thus have a cancellation fee to pay.

rae23

Well having learnt from this one, i clearly won't be making the same 'mistake' in future and must thank my lucky stars that Aviva were actually so wonderful in preventing me getting a 'driving without insurance' charge.
I've now learnt the hard way about auto renew which i didn't know about before but certainly do for the future!
Still think it's daylight robbery though for me telling them i want to end a contract 6 days into it!

Aretnap

Could have been worse. If they hadn't auto-renewed, you could have been driving without insurance for a week. Best to put the date in your diary for next year, and set up a reminder a couple of weeks before if you use Google Callander or equivalent.

dunstonh

Still think it's daylight robbery though for me telling them i want to end a contract 6 days into it!

Maybe your employer will end your contract 6 days after you next pay day.