Hastings have cancelled my policy..help

yozzer2006

Hi all, a bit of advice would be appreciated. Firstly, the policy belongs to my sister but she doesn't have the internet so I got it on her behalf. The policy was taken out over 2 months ago but Hastings contacted her today and told her they were cancelling the policy because the price they quoted was too low!! After 2 months!!!!!! They have told her she has 7 days to find another insurer and that they have the right to cancel her policy at any time as long as the 7 days notice is given. They say this is in their terms and conditions.

They have also told her they will charge her for the period they have covered her for and will repay the balance of the premium. I have had a quick look on the net and the best premium I can get on Confused is about £100 more. Can they just terminate a policy like that after 2 months. I think it is really unfair.

I would appreciate any help.

Regards

TonyH

touch

Insurers have the right to cancel the policy giving written notice just as you also have the right to cancel. However normally insurers policy is only to :jcancel if they have a valid reason to do so. I would be amazed that it would be price alone because they will usually honour even an incorrect price.

Without knowing the circumstances you have only one option which is to write a letter of complaint. If they do not give you a satisfactory answer then write to the financial ombudsmen (details will be in the policy) note any correspondence should be in the Policyholders name

raskazz

Unfortunately, they can. Check the cancellation conditions on the policy, it's pretty standard that they have the right to cancel the policy by sending 7 days notice to the policyholder's last known address.

It's not the first time they have done this. I suspect that it is not an isolated case otherwise they would have let it run. And the fact that it is two months down the line also means that it was probably only picked up after an audit.

IMO, the most severe aspect of the cancellation will be that the policyholder will be 2 months toward reaching an extra year NCD - which will not now be earned.

vikingaero

I would definitely write a letter of complaint and ask for a deadlock letter if they consider the matter to be final. Then as Touch says make a complaint to the FOS even if they consider it to be covered in their T&Cs.

hebergummi

hastings have also cancelled my policy and say it is down to a computer mistake! Also they only found it this week and it has been wrong since november time. I rang there customer complaints who where useless and could not help in any way! I am writing a letter to there complaints department and then later to the ombudsman. I am asking them for a full refund and compensation, maybe wishful thinking!?!

raskazz

hebergummi wrote: »

hastings have also cancelled my policy and say it is down to a computer mistake! Also they only found it this week and it has been wrong since november time. I rang there customer complaints who where useless and could not help in any way! I am writing a letter to there complaints department and then later to the ombudsman. I am asking them for a full refund and compensation, maybe wishful thinking!?!

Push them for as much as you can get; however they will definitely not give a full refund - as you have been insured since the policy was incepted until the cancellation.

eggyineggsile

Hi All

There is another forum with this same subject you might find usefull and a little more informative. there are 3500 policies being cancelled in total and mine is one of them, mine has been running since mid April. Apparently this is only affecting people who took out the insurance online and it is to do with the postcode where you live, the other forum is Moneysupermarket.com and the heading is Re: Hasting Direct car insurance underwritten by Highway.

There is information on there on who to complain from and also a reply to a mail I sent to the Financial Ombudsman Service, I have also contacted Hastings Direct customer service and BBC's Watchdod as I am sure they would do a story on this

Eggy

lisyloo

In my opinion it is definitely worth going to the ombudsman.
I believe it costs the company money when you do so (£350 rings a bell although that may be now out of date).
Given this amount then the company may well be prepared to do something "on a good will basis" (being cycnical it means t's cheaper for them to pay you off than go to the ombudsman).

So I'd say push them as hard as you can.

It may not be illegal but it's poor practice to not stick to a contract IMO.

raskazz

lisyloo wrote: »

It may not be illegal but it's poor practice to not stick to a contract IMO.

They have stuck to the contract though as the cancellation condition is contained in the contract!

Still clearly a massive !!!!-up though. I used to work for them and I have to say that from my experience with them I am not surprised in the least that they have made such a mess of this.

JohnN_3

if anyone's interested I've set up a facebook group for people who have been affected to discuss what's happening with their action.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=4574698157

MarkyMarkD

I would argue that the cancellation terms are unfair because they are asymmetric - i.e. the customer gets charged a cancellation fee if they cancel early, but they are offering nothing in compensation.

I believe that a legal claim under the Unfair Terms in Comsumer Contracts Regulations would stick on these grounds.

And that the FOS should support a claim on the same grounds.

The argument to use isn't that "they shouldn't cancel part way through" - both parties have a right under the contract to do so. But instead the claim is that the terms under which cancellation is permitted should be exactly the same for both parties, and that Hastings should pay the cancellation fee as well as a pro-rata refund of unused premium.