Charged £50 for changing address

lisyloo

In the long term they don't do themselves any favours making these charges, they just create a lot of ill will.

I think most people's memories are quite short.
E.g. imagine if the DL quote is £200 cheaper.
How many people will disregard that because of "ill will" over a £25 charge.

I'm not defending them, just saying that for the vast majority the annual premium is by far the overriding factor.

but when it comes to renewing I'll make sure I read the small print.

Tha's a good thing, but if you are offered a quote with £25 fees but it's £200 cheaper then what will you do?
Personally I think many people would take it, even if they know they might move. Simple economics.
I think people will have short memories if it means money in their pocket.

But I guess this is the sort of thing that the policiy makers have to mull over.
The arenot idiots, I am sure they must be aware of the "ill will" for a very small % of policy holders in return for extra business by providing lower premiums for many.

Personally I don't honestly see why I should pay for other people's house moves.
This is something that is largely a matter of choice (not always but mostly).

Biffer

dunstonh wrote: »

Did the fee include charges for re-rating the policy? Admin fees are normally round figures. The fact the figures are different and not round figures suggests that they are not admin charges but premium adjustments.

I think that's the reason they gave. I'm still in the same postcode area though, so the risk wouldn't have changed that much.

For this house move I've had to change address with more companies than ever before. If they'd have all charged me an admin fee, it would have cost me a small fortune, but as you say with insurance policies there's a bit more to it than just changing the address on their database.

lisyloo

If they'd have all charged me an admin fee, it would have cost me a small fortune

I think you also need to bear in mind that because this is now charged for seperately, you wouldn't have been charged with it in your initial premium.

If you don't move much or change cars much, you will actually benefit from this charging model (as you won't be subsidising other people's move).

Personally I think it's fair that those that cause the costs should pay as in moost cases it would be through choice. There will always be exceptions to this but that doesn't mean that other motorists shoul pay for it.

raskazz

Biffer wrote: »

I think that's the reason they gave. I'm still in the same postcode area though, so the risk wouldn't have changed that much.

With advances in technology many insurers now rate the risk of your area according to the full postcode (say AA9 9AA) rather than just the so called 'out code' (the AA9 part).

Even moving down the same street can dramatically affect the risk if you move postcode, if there has been a cluster of recent claims in that particular area.

_Glycerine_

The full post code is rated on with most insurers as raskazz says. This is the case with hastings direct at least who i work for.

And in the case of this thread, its obvious the charges were not admin alone, else the fees would be the same. And at least your admin charges are quite cheap, well much cheaper than hastings that is.

losgiganteskid

_Glycerine_ wrote: »

The full post code is rated on with most insurers as raskazz says. This is the case with hastings direct at least who i work for.

And in the case of this thread, its obvious the charges were not admin alone, else the fees would be the same. And at least your admin charges are quite cheap, well much cheaper than hastings that is.

Better give Hastings a miss then !! :rotfl:

lisyloo

Better give Hastings a miss then !!

Depends on your priorities.
Personally I think basing your choice solely on the admin charges is a bad idea.

I have seen though that Hastings Direct did cancel a number of policies recently.
There was a computer error and the prices were too low so they cancelled a lot of policies.
This is quite legal but not really good customer service.

With insurance its very often a trade-off between price, coverage, service, charges etc.
Most people go for the lowest price.

I think it's a good idea to check out the admin charges but a bad idea to base your decision on that factor alone (especially if you don't expect to move house or change your car).