Part stupidity and part swindling Swintons... help

sickasachip13

Hi there,
Before I start I fully accept I've been a bit slow on the uptake on this.

October 2015 we moved house and I moved our contents insurance from our old address (address #1) to our new address (#2). This meant the contents policy had only 6 weeks to run until renewal and I received a letter enclosing my policy documents at that time.

October 2015, one Swinton's DD leaves account. Same in Nov 2015.

Contents insurance renews at end of Nov 2015. Unbeknownst to me, Swintons renewed not only for address #2 where I continue to live but also decided to renew for address #1 (even though I had transferred/transported the policy to address #2 when we moved). December 2015, two Swintons DDs start leaving our account per month, both with same reference number. Stupidly I thought it was a car insurance payment and didn't clock it all year...

Fast forward to this year, I notice two DDs going out to Swintons in Dec. I know that it's not car insurance as we changed company. It turns out that they've renewed for both addresses (again). I phoned Swinton's yesterday to be told that, basically, there's nothing they can do and suggested it's because I'm recorded as a Mrs for one address and a Ms at the other, and this is the reason they didn't pick it up...they also said I should have checked the documents, but these, for address #1 obviously went to address #1 and have not been passed on.

I had a very long discussion about this and they refused to return any payments, in fact, I had to pay them another month's installment to get the insurance for address #1 to stop. They did 'kindly' waive the cancellation fee as a gesture of goodwill.

Now I accept that I should have picked up this error of theirs earlier but are they correct, that this is actually my fault and they have no obligation at all? Thanks for any thoughts and advice.

Shakin_Steve

I don't think you'll get a definitive answer to your question on here, unless someone has suffered a similar situation. But I'm fairly sure it's worth taking up with the ombudsman. If the occupier of address #1 has insurance, then the property would be covered twice, which should be picked up on.

dacouch

Shakin_Steve wrote: »

I don't think you'll get a definitive answer to your question on here, unless someone has suffered a similar situation. But I'm fairly sure it's worth taking up with the ombudsman. If the occupier of address #1 has insurance, then the property would be covered twice, which should be picked up on.

Quite the opposite...

Swintons are not popular on MSE (Or any other forum I know of) so posters will fall over themselves to help the OP

Quentin

Shakin_Steve wrote: »

But I'm fairly sure it's worth taking up with the ombudsman......

You need to complain to Swinton first and get their reply (or allow them 8 weeks to do so) before you can get the FOS involved.


Try a non aggressive complaint to their complaints department pointing out their admin mistake that has been made and ask for a refund of the premiums collected for your old address and take it from their reply

loskie

what does the "direct debit" guarantee cover?

dacouch

Swinton's have made a mistake through no fault of your own, I can tell you from profesional experience that rectifying it on their part eg retrieving the money etc is not easy, however that is their problem not yours.

You have two options.

a) As the payments are made via direct debit, you could simply speak to your bank and make a claim under the Direct Debit Guarantee that is offered under all DDM payments. Basically your bank would need to immediately refund the incorrect payments and then chase Swinton (Or more likely a third party finance provider).

This method is normally very easy but you may find your bank are not keen as both policies were collected under the same reference.

b) Make an "Official Complaint", Swinton's are duty bound to properly investigate the matter and report back to you within 8 weeks.

The shop and frontline call centre staff will often try and fob you off in your situation, but the complaint team have more authority to rectify mistakes and will also be aware of the admin and costs it will cause them if they don't rectify their mistake and you go to the Ombudsman.

When making a complaint, it's best to keep the letter as concise as possible, avoid rambling or too much emotion and identify your ideal result.

If in the unlikely event they do not resolve the issue after making an Official Complaint you can then go to the Ombudsman which unfortunately is a slow process.

When dealing with Swinton's, bear in mind the Ombudsman when he sides in your favour would expect Swinton's to put you in the same financial position you would have been had they not made the mistake. The FOS might also award a smallish amount of compensation for the inconvenience eg £50.

c) Hit social media eg twitter or facebook, many Insurers and Brokers are very active on social media to try and keep their reputation. The staff on social media can often move mountains.

Why are you insured through Swinton's, it's asking for trouble, do yourself a favour and find a decent company at renewal

Quentin

A good source for advice on dealing with bailiffs:


http://bailiffadviceonline.co.uk/

dunstonh

what does the "direct debit" guarantee cover?

Failure to comply with direct debit rules. However, that is not the case here. Swinton will be able to show that the direct debit was collected correctly and the bank will take the money back from the account.

The DD scheme is not about getting money back on valid contracts with correct mandates set up with the correct amount paid.

The complaint route is the one to use.

sickasachip13

Hi there,
Thank you all for your useful advice. Particularly to Dacouch - I will follow these steps and will write to them as advised. I'll let you know how I get on.
Ta
SAAC13