Administration charges

brispencer

When I changed my car I asked for a re-quote from my insurer who couldn't come close to other companies. When I changed they then tried to charge me an Admin charge of £35. This is something I wasn't aware of but it was pointed out to me that it was in the small print at the back of the documentation. However, I know that there is very little work involved in closing an account ( few keystrokes on PC) so I asked them to justify the fee and offered £5. We had a few letters but in the end they admitted that the fee wasn't based on any "reality" so I refused to pay. Saving £35 minus a few letters.
These fees are made up to make a bit more profit, they are unjsutified and unrealistic.
Not only did the company lose this policy but also my wife's car insurance and our house insurance for this attempt to rip me off.

knowledgeman

brispencer wrote: »

When I changed my car I asked for a re-quote from my insurer who couldn't come close to other companies. When I changed they then tried to charge me an Admin charge of £35. This is something I wasn't aware of but it was pointed out to me that it was in the small print at the back of the documentation. However, I know that there is very little work involved in closing an account ( few keystrokes on PC) so I asked them to justify the fee and offered £5. We had a few letters but in the end they admitted that the fee wasn't based on any "reality" so I refused to pay. Saving £35 minus a few letters.
These fees are made up to make a bit more profit, they are unjsutified and unrealistic.
Not only did the company lose this policy but also my wife's car insurance and our house insurance for this attempt to rip me off.

Im sure they are gutted

As for this topic how many times are we going to have it? if you cant read its your own fault

Insurers are stripping out non essential areas from premiums and if you make a change your going to be asked to absorb this cost

Its not their fault you didnt read and frankly I think its a good system as those who dont make any changes etc get their insurance cheaper

The fact is if your not reading your insurance documents thats your own tough fault

noh

brispencer wrote: »

When I changed my car I asked for a re-quote from my insurer who couldn't come close to other companies. When I changed they then tried to charge me an Admin charge of £35. This is something I wasn't aware of but it was pointed out to me that it was in the small print at the back of the documentation. However, I know that there is very little work involved in closing an account ( few keystrokes on PC) so I asked them to justify the fee and offered £5. We had a few letters but in the end they admitted that the fee wasn't based on any "reality" so I refused to pay. Saving £35 minus a few letters.
These fees are made up to make a bit more profit, they are unjsutified and unrealistic.
Not only did the company lose this policy but also my wife's car insurance and our house insurance for this attempt to rip me off.

The admin fees are there because the insurance industry has moved towards a more transparent pricing structure. The fees are detailed in the T+Cs you agree to they are not a ripoff. This pricing structure is common across the whole industry have you bothered to check the T+Cs of your new policies?

Nigel

C_Ronaldo

Its not a rip off, its detailed in the documents, if you buy a new car half way through your policy you pay the admin fee, you cant really moan if its stated in the t&c's

raskazz

This issue has been done to death recently:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=550332

C_Ronaldo

Its simple you just read the t&c's

iceicebaby

This topic seems to appear weekly now!

As all the above have said and if you do a search on this forum you will see replies to other such threads.

The admin fee is not a rip off, its stated in the t&c of your insurance. It is not as simple as just doing a few keystrokes. If you do a search on other threads about this topic you will find some of what the charge does cover. Don't forget insurance is a highly regulated industry, even a simple change has to be compliant with these regulations.

Would you rather that everyone pays say £50 a year extra on their policies to cover such admin costs which I am sure you would still say is unfair if you dont make any amendments in a policy year. Therefore, the people who make changes are charged accordingly.

Changing insurers from that one to another isnt really going to benefit you really as most isurers now charge for administration for changed made. All you have done is lost the part of the years no cliams bonus you had gained since the last renewal as no claims bonuses are only gained for complete years.