MCE CAR INSURANCE

Joe99

Hi guys,

I am just wondering if anyone here is with MCE for their car insurance? I passed my driving test 4 weeks ago and these were the cheapest option to start me off and they make me legal to be on the road, which I only have third party insurance.

However my first monthly payment is due today but I don’t get paid until the 9th, I did phone MCE and went on live chat and they said they give you a 14 day payment extension in the event of a failed payment followed by a £30.00 late payment fee, I am happy to pay the £30.00 late payment fee for the payment being 7 days late.

Now will this be true? I’ve heard mixed reviews about MCE about them not being any good (as I say they are my cheapest option right now and they make me fully legal to be on the road)

I am scared that they will cancel my policy if the first payment attempt fails, and if cancelled without informing me, I would be none the wiser and I would then therefore be driving on the roads uninsured which I do not want, this is a 6 penalty point instant ban in your first 2 years of driving!

They also collect my monthly payment via CPA (continuous payment authority) they don’t do direct debits, so they will charge my long debit card number.

They apparently say they can attempt 7 days after the late payment and if that fails then they attempt once more 7 days later which is your 14 day extension and if that fails then they cancel your policy after that 14 days is up.

Anyone here with MCE or was with MCE who can share their experiences with them in regards to late payments?

I just don’t want it to be cancelled because I have said I get paid in 7 days and I am happy to pay the £30.00 late payment fee!

Thanks guys

Fighter1986

Well they've said that's their policy so that's what you can hold them to.

Did they not give you details of the payment schedule when you took out the policy? Surely you knew you weren't going to have sufficient funds for this payment when you took out the policy?

Don't want to make you feel bad, but moving forwards you need to be exercising more diligence and ensuring you aren't committing yourself to payments you know you can't afford on time. 

Car_54

Joe99 said:

I am scared that they will cancel my policy if the first payment attempt fails, and if cancelled without informing me, I would be none the wiser and I would then therefore be driving on the roads uninsured which I do not want, this is a 6 penalty point instant ban in your first 2 years of driving!

It's not an "instant" ban: it would take several weeks (or months) to take effect.

However, that would be the least of your problems. You would have to declare the cancellation to all future insurers, which would make for hugely increased premiums. If indeed you could find insurance at all as a new driver with 6 points and a cancellation.

You need to avoid a cancellation at all costs. If it becomes inevitable, you need to cancel first!

Ectophile

They aren't allowed to cancel a policy without informing you.  They must write to you before cancelling it.  But as Car_54 says, you do not want the policy cancelled.

Cars are expensive things to run.  A tank of fuel is now over £30.  There's servicing, MOTs and fixing things that wear out or go wrong.

Car_54

Ectophile said:

They aren't allowed to cancel a policy without informing you.  They must write to you before cancelling it.  But as Car_54 says, you do not want the policy cancelled.

Cars are expensive things to run.  A tank of fuel is now over £30.  There's servicing, MOTs and fixing things that wear out or go wrong.

Well over. Mine is over £80, and that's not a particularly big car.

Sandtree

Ectophile said:

Cars are expensive things to run.  A tank of fuel is now over £30.  

£30 is not much more than 20L these days, thats more motorbike tank than car!

Joe99

Hello guys, 

Thanks for all your replies.

They attempted to take payment today but this obviously failed and they have emailed me saying it has failed and a £30.00 late payment charge has been applied and I must make full payment by 16th December, which is 14 days from today. I can make full payment on 9th December which isn’t a problem.

I wouldn’t want my policy to be cancelled because then you’d have to make a new policy which means your first payment includes that big deposit for new drivers! I’d much rather pay the £30.00 late payment charge than another big deposit.

Also for the record it’s a Peugeot 207 diesel 1.6L and £70 fills the tank! Cars are expensive but so worth it at the same time :-)

Thanks everyone

Jenni_D

What are you going to do next month? And the following month? etc. etc. Have you budgeted now to cope with the subsequent monthly direct debits? Could you not have borrowed money off a parent/relative/friend to avoid the first missed payment? Have you asked the insurer if it is possible to move the DD date to later in the month?

As mentioned above in the thread, you really need to sit down and plan your finances.

jimjames

Joe99 said:

I wouldn’t want my policy to be cancelled because then you’d have to make a new policy which means your first payment includes that big deposit for new drivers! 

That's the least of your worries. If you have a policy cancellation on your insurance record that will affect you every year going forward, unlike claims it doesn't drop off after 5 years and will limit your policy options.