Insurance Cancellation

EnidColeslaw

Hi there,

First time post, and I can hardly type because I'm so annoyed! I took out car insurance with a company called One Call, and my insurance was up for renewal in May this year. As I had just moved house, I telephoned One Call to give them a change of address, and they advised me that my premium would then increase by nearly £200. I told them that I did not wish to renew my insurance, and that I would not like to go ahead with the policy, which they were fine with. I then followed it up with a letter to ensure they received written notice.

Fast forward to December, and I received an email and a text message in the same day to say that a cancellation letter had been sent to me about my insurance being cancelled, which I was confused about. I contacted One Call to ask why I had received this, and wondered if it was a mistake. They then tell me this:

"Thank you for waiting, I can see your policy was cancelled back on the 12/05/2017, unfortunately since this date we have been made aware of an account update which has resulted a change in the cost of cancellation increase. Due to this there is an outstanding balance of £42.48 that needs to be paid and this will get taking on the last working day of the month"

When I asked why this has taken 7 months to ask for a cancellation fee, they said this was because:
"as above the cancellation has just been re worked out on the 22/12/2017 as we have received confirmation from the finance provider that money is owed am afraid"

They refused to answer my questions:
a) Why was I not told about a cancellation fee
b) Why was I not written to
c) Why has it taken 7 months to contact me

I'm so angry. I know it is only £40 odd pound, but I know I did everything to ensure I followed the correct procedure to cancel my policy.

Can anyone give me any advice on what I can do?

dunstonh

Can anyone give me any advice on what I can do?

You have got away with not paying a valid charge for 7 months. So, you are not worse off because of this.

The fact they were slow does not absolve you from needing to pay it. If it was the other way around and they owed you money (as typically happens when people pay annually) you wouldnt expect them not to refund just because it took them a long time to spot it.

At the end of the day, you can complain about and they may waive it in this instance as the amount is small. However, they do have every right to make charges in accordance with the contract terms you agreed when you bought it.

EnidColeslaw

Thanks for getting back to me - much appreciated. Just so I'm clear - the fact that I never agreed to renew the policy means that they can still charge me?

dunstonh

EnidColeslaw wrote: »

Thanks for getting back to me - much appreciated. Just so I'm clear - the fact that I never agreed to renew the policy means that they can still charge me?

I read your initial post as you cancelling it. If you retained it until renewal and told them in advance that you were not renewing, then that is not a cancellation. Not renewing should have no charge.

The wording in italics suggests cancelled rather than not renewed. Have you checked the dates?

societys_child

"as above the cancellation has just been re worked out on the 22/12/2017 as we have received confirmation from the finance provider that money is owed am afraid"

Sounds like you had a loan to pay your premium (over 12 months?)

the fact that I never agreed to renew the policy means that they can still charge me?

If you had a loan, it has to be re-paid.