Car insurance problem with First Central

marcy990

I was working in the UAE for 5 months and returned in February.  In January I had to renew my car insurance from there.  I had to get a friend to pay for the annual subscription whilst I was out there as I was having trouble with my card. Cover started 17th January.  on 17th of February I received an email asking for more documentation, proof of Id, passport, dvla check security code, front and back pictures of my license.  I could not change my address details on my online portal til I provided these documents.  I received an email stating that I never advised them of the 3 penalty points incurred (which I had initially when taking out the cover) and they were going to charge me £68 pounds.  I went onto my portal yesterday ad was horrified to see that id got 6 points on my details in 2018 instead of just the 3 WTH?  I went to change my address and as I have already moved, put the date in of moving.  they locked me out of my portal not allowing me to do anything else saying that more charges were incurred and I must pay up.  Im stuck in limbo until tomorrow.  These insurers truly are scum.  I told them of my change of address when I sent my v60 documents.  they never actioned it which means that I've probably not been covered when driving around.  If it is 1 month cooling off period to cancel my insurance, then they began their shenanigans exactly one month after taking out the policy.  Never again with these people in Haywards Heath!! I just don't know what to do now.

chrisw

It's hard to get the gist of what you're saying but I can't see that the insurance company are 'scum'. You have 6 points on your licence which you haven't told them about so they're charging you an extra premium and not allowing you to make changes until you've paid up. 

If the difference is £68 I would say you've got off very lightly, had they cancelled you would have had to declare it and pay increased premiums for ever.

AdrianC

Step 1 - check exactly what points you've got from when.
https://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence

V60? Do you mean V62, the DVLA form to apply for a replacement for a lost V5C logbook? That wouldn't go to your insurer.

photome

chrisw said:

It's hard to get the gist of what you're saying but I can't see that the insurance company are 'scum'. You have 6 points on your licence which you haven't told them about so they're charging you an extra premium and not allowing you to make changes until you've paid up. 

If the difference is £68 I would say you've got off very lightly, had they cancelled you would have had to declare it and pay increased premiums for ever.

Post is difficult to understand but it reads to me as the OP has 3 points but the insurer thinks he has 6

Car_54

photome said:

chrisw said:

It's hard to get the gist of what you're saying but I can't see that the insurance company are 'scum'. You have 6 points on your licence which you haven't told them about so they're charging you an extra premium and not allowing you to make changes until you've paid up. 

If the difference is £68 I would say you've got off very lightly, had they cancelled you would have had to declare it and pay increased premiums for ever.

Post is difficult to understand but it reads to me as the OP has 3 points but the insurer thinks he has 6

Agreed it's diffilult. I read it that the OP has 6 points but thought he had 3!

Biggus_Dickus

photome said:

chrisw said:

It's hard to get the gist of what you're saying but I can't see that the insurance company are 'scum'. You have 6 points on your licence which you haven't told them about so they're charging you an extra premium and not allowing you to make changes until you've paid up. 

If the difference is £68 I would say you've got off very lightly, had they cancelled you would have had to declare it and pay increased premiums for ever.

Post is difficult to understand but it reads to me as the OP has 3 points but the insurer thinks he has 6

The OP believed/assumed/guessed/hoped they had 3-points and declared them on the original insurance proposal;...the insurance company have since discovered it’s actually 6-points.

Therein lies at least part of the problem,...which appears to be easily??? resolved if the OP pays an additional £68,...which in itself appears quite a reasonable charge given the circumstances, imho.

The other stuff about change of address/portal/I.D./dvla code/V60 etc is too confusing for my feeble grey-matter I’m afraid.😫

 

 

 

AdrianC

The check code allows other people to view your licence status via https://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence

It shouldn't be needed by any reputable insurer, who would just require the driver number. And, of course, nobody would have an issue with providing that to their insurer at quote stage (notwithstanding the request for front/back of licence)... If this is a renewal, didn't they have that from last year?

If the "V60" really is the V62 to DVLA to replace a lost V5C, then I suspect the OP assumed DVLA would notify the insurer of the change of address. They won't, of course - because a change of keepership postal address may not be a change of address where the car is actually kept. Same reason as they don't change licence details automatically with V5Cs, and vice-versa.