Cooling off period

johnphilipleach

Hi , I recently allowed my car insurance to " auto renew " ( my fault completely , I forgot ) . On the day of renewal I saw the notification email and was horrified , £945. had been charged onto my credit card that morning .
The same level of cover was available from the RAC for £220. So I thought don't panic I can still cancel during the cooling off period .
So I contacted the company ( 1st Central ) via their web chat and was told that this was a " live policy " and was subject to a £50. cancellation charge even though it had only been in effect for 12 hours . I asked about a cooling off period and was met with the same response .
Due to the amount I had to agree to the charge in order to get £895. refunded . I am now insured with the RAC.
Is this legal , Thanks John

user1977

Yes. The right to cancel doesn't mean it's going to be for free. And they had provided you with cover, albeit for a very short period. 

dunstonh

Is this legal ,

Yes. It is a myth that the cancellation rights period is free.  They can charge you their published cancellation/administration fee and pro-rata premium for the days on cover.