Direct debit taken without consent, home insurance

Tonks52

Hi,

This has happened to me now for the second year in a row with Legal and General home insurance.

I signed up with them in 2017 for home insurance for £27/month. When the contract came to an end in October 2018 then have charged me £150 and then £69 each month, presumably these charges are for the new tariff that they have put me in.

However, i've received no communication from them on this, they've just taken the money, at an increased rate without my permission.

I've called them today to log the complaint, and they have granted me a refund whch will come in 10 days. However, as this has now happened twice, is there anything i can do to take this further? And yes, i'm thinking purely from a compensation perspective.

PS: to give the refund they are essentially backdating my home insrance to last october, i think with my mortgage i need to have home insruance - so because of their mistake am i not now breaking the terms of my mortgage?

Dimps_123

Did you receive a terms of business document when you originally signed up with them as part of their new business pack? That document usually explains what will happen at renewal. (Sorry - little update - if you pay by direct debit it is usual in the insurance market to have auto renewal and is normally explained in the terms of business)


On the complaint, you need to allow L&G to investigate the complaint first, if you are not happy with the outcome you can then refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) - L&G have an obligation to provide you with their details in their complaint letter.


They shouldn't automatically backdate the cancellation/ refund - unless you specifically asked for that.


I can't comment on how this would affect your mortgage terms. If L&G have backdated the cancellation to renewal (lapsed the cover) you won't be able to find cover from October 2018. Any new quote will have to start now. Is it worth asking L&G to keep cover in place until you find an alternative?


Hope that helps

Quentin

Next time you are hit by a "mistake' over a direct debit you should consider making use of the direct debit guarantee.

One phone call to your bank to report their taking money incorrectly will result in your bank refunding you immediately and getting their outlay to you back off the insurer.

If you want compensation for having to wait 10 days then calculate your lost interest on the amount wrongly charged and add on how much you want for your inconvenience and ask for this as part of your complaint

Dimps_123

Just bear in mind, it might not be by mistake! Check the terms of business you received when you bought the policy.

agrinnall

Did you take out a policy with another provider in October? If not, and your mortgage requires you to be insured, why didn't you?

Tonks52

Thanks for the replies. I dont have the terms of business to hand, but on both occasions when reporting this (today) and a year ago, L&G have been very quick to label it as their mistake, and saying that it definitely shouldnt have happened. I cant remember the details from a year ago but it seemed to be a computer fault at the time.

Also, would this impact my premium with my next insurer? as one of their questions is 'how many years continuous insurance have you held' - presumably now i have a break in my 4 year chain....

Tonks52

because as far as i knew i was insured under my usual insurance.

Weighty1

Tonks52 wrote: »

because as far as i knew i was insured under my usual insurance.

So you kept the insurance with L&G running after the renewal but then complained several months later that they didn't ask permission to take payments?

I'm a bit confused :think: