Insurer charging over £700 for cancellation

saiyen2002

I purchased car insurance from a company and got an email saying that the my insurance will not be active until a member of that insurance team contacts me. A week went by, where no one did, I failed to get in touch with them on numerous occasions over phone and email.

The money from my account was already taken, so i decided get in touch with my bank asking them to refund me the money. Which they did and i purchased insurance from another company.

A couple of days later, the initial insurance company made contact. I told them I wish to cancel the policy, they agreed, so long as I pay a cancellation fee, which was calculated for the number of days I have been insured.

I told them that the email I received from them said My insurance would not be active until someone from the team contacted me. Since no one did contact me, my insurance wasn't active, so I shouldn't have to pay anything. This point was something they didn't want to acknowledge. Even though I have the original email as proof of this.

I have not heard from them for several months, and now they made contact, saying I owe them over £700 cancellation fee, unless I pay, they will send it over to a debt collection agency.

Is there anything that I can do to prevent this from escalating? Did I do something wrong?

tacpot12

Check the company website to see if they have a formal complaint process and follow this, if they don't, complain to the company in writing. If they write back and say that they are still going to pursue you for this money, complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Keep the original email safe.

SonOf

it is clear to see that the company made mistakes but so did you (recalling the payment without contacting the company, for example, leaves the contract in force but unpaid).

However, you should make a formal complaint to the company explaining the events that occurred and believe they are incorrect in charging you the premium. (I have assumed it is premium as no company charges £700 for cancellation).

They should not start proceedings whilst a complaint is ongoing and you have the right of access to the FOS if they reject the complaint. If you still have the evidence (the email in particular) then include a copy of that in your complaint.

glider3560

How is the £700 broken down? Is some of it premium, others cancellation fee?

What was the original premium?

What's the name of the company (so we can look at their T&Cs)?

saiyen2002

Thanks for your response. I will try to find out if there if a official channel for me to complain to the company. They are not a well known insurance company, found them via a comparison website.

@sonOf. I made several attempts to contact them. Over the phone and over email. After failing to get in touch with them for a week, that is when I spoke the bank to recall the payment.

Do you still think this is a mistake on my part? Are there any guidelines on how long a person must wait, failing to contact the company, before I should ask my bank to intervene?

saiyen2002

@glider3560, the company is rcib.co.uk

here is exact paragraph from the email that I believe is relevant.

Once this has been completed, cover will commence from the time and date we agree with you and your insurance documents and welcome pack will be emailed to you. If you require paper copies then please let us know. Please make sure that you thoroughly read and check all of the documentation we send to you as soon as possible to enable any mistakes to be quickly rectified. There is no cover in force until you have spoken with our team.

WillowTheWhisper

I've reported RCBI to the FCA for unfair terms.  I cant believe these cowboys are still in business.
https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/unfair-contracts

DCFC79

WillowTheWhisper said:

I've reported RCBI to the FCA for unfair terms.  I cant believe these cowboys are still in business.
https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/unfair-contracts

Its a thread thats over a year old.

dunstonh

WillowTheWhisper said:

I've reported RCBI to the FCA for unfair terms.  I cant believe these cowboys are still in business.
https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/unfair-contracts

The FCA do not handle consumer complaints.  They will just forward your message onto RCBI to deal with.

WillowTheWhisper

DCFC79 said:

WillowTheWhisper said:

I've reported RCBI to the FCA for unfair terms.  I cant believe these cowboys are still in business.
https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/unfair-contracts

Its a thread thats over a year old.

And the scams are still going on today.  

WillowTheWhisper

dunstonh said:

WillowTheWhisper said:

I've reported RCBI to the FCA for unfair terms.  I cant believe these cowboys are still in business.
https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/unfair-contracts

The FCA do not handle consumer complaints.  They will just forward your message onto RCBI to deal with.

dunstonh said:

WillowTheWhisper said:

I've reported RCBI to the FCA for unfair terms.  I cant believe these cowboys are still in business.
https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/unfair-contracts

The FCA do not handle consumer complaints.  They will just forward your message onto RCBI to deal with.

dunstonh said:

WillowTheWhisper said:

I've reported RCBI to the FCA for unfair terms.  I cant believe these cowboys are still in business.
https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/unfair-contracts

The FCA do not handle consumer complaints.  They will just forward your message onto RCBI to deal with.

@dunstonh - correct.  Which is why I reported them for unfair terms, which the FCA do investigate.