Car Insurance cancelled due to financial difficulty, now they're hunting for money

DanWilliams81

Hello. 

I am having a torrid time with 1st Central Insurance. Back on November 2nd 2020 I called the company to request my insurance policy be cancelled, after suffering financial hardship due to the Coronavirus pandemic. My latest policy payment due on the 28th of October had been late by a few days, but once I called them and paid it, I explained the cancellation was due to falling into difficulty and the uncertainty of being able to afford anymore payments from the 28th of November 2020.

Their agent was extremely kind and understanding, and after a few moments away from the call, he informed me that as a gesture of good will due to the circumstances, he would waive the £50 cancellation fee. He explained that I may still have to pay a £30 late payment fee, but he would seek advice from Credit Control on whether this was possible, and would contact me again once he received further details. He also advised me once this had been completed to cancel the direct debit at this point to prevent anymore payments being requested and refused which would cost me more in fees. He literally told me on the line, the policy is now cancelled. 

A short time later I contacted the company again because I had not received a call back regarding the late payment fee being waived, and I spoke to a gentleman named Stefan, who confirmed what I had explained to him as the previous agent had placed all of the details on my policy file on their database. He confirmed that the policy was indeed cancelled as of November 2nd 2020, the cancellation fee had been waived but could not understand why 1st Central Insurance had tried to take the £30 direct debt so soon and multiple times. 
On the 18th of November 2020, I received notice that 1st Direct Insurance had cancelled my policy. 
Bearing in mind my policy was still paid to the end of November, it was noted on my policy file as already cancelled and ignoring what was stored on my file, they chose to cancel the policy themselves. 

Then they sent me a request to pay £196.31. 

I called them again to demand what was going on, and when their agent, bemused at what this was for and the contradiction to what was on my file, she went away to speak to her manager. Minutes later, the line went dead. I called again, spoke to another agent, once again the same thing happened. 
Then I was contacted by a company called CreditlInk Account Recovery Services (C.A.R.S) who conveniently run their business from the same address as 1st Central Direct; they started sending me emails, text messages and letters requesting this sum of money. I sent them all the evidence I had to prove what I had done to ensure I was in the right, and at no time did 1st Central Insurance investigate this. That was when I knew beyond all doubt they were trying to extort money from me and unconscionably placING me into further financial hardship. I wasn't going to tolerate this unscrupulous behaviour, so I fought back. 

I spent 13 months trying to extract information through C.A.R.S to disclose how this alleged debt was allocated. I accumilated all the lies they were trying to use to validate his alleged debt and circumvent their own agents recorded phone calls with me and what they had placed on file, contradicting the reasons for this alleged debt. At no time did 1st Central Insurance ever attempt to escalate this case further, and after an age and constant back and forth emails which I have archived for my case, 1st Central Insurance sent this rundown:

• Cost of 144 days of cover = £320.33
• Interest for paying monthly = £103.48
• Arrangement fee = £50
• Personal accident cover = £30
• Hire car cover = £35
• Excess protect = £47.50
• Default fees (for any late payments) = £30
• Cancellation fee = £50
• Total £666.31
• Instalments paid = £470

What they did, was to add up what was left on my policy, include the cancellation fee and late payment fee; then substract what I had paid thus far and come up with the amount of £196.31. 
Because I was not letting go of this and was constantly highlighting the Insurance company's contradictions and false allegations, they offered a 'deal', to remove the £50 cancellation fee and 50% of the late payment fee. Totalling £65. I reiterated that the cancellation fee on the rundown they had issued was for £30, so the total was in fact £80, and then reminded them that on my 1st Central Inusrance policy file, it states these were already waived. Thus leaving a remainder of £116.31. 
This was more than enough substance to confirm they were acknowledging that the cancellation and late payment fee was redacted by their agent on my file file, which they have never admitted they still hold on their database. Now, having them in check, I made my final move! 

So, the last email I sent C.A.R.S on November 30th 2021, was demanding to know how this £116.31 was allocated. I asked clear and succinctly, 'can you tell me what this charge is actually for?'  

Included with that request, I reiterated section 11.7 and all of its sub-sections relating to cancelling a policy from 1st Central Insurance to confirm where that charge of £116.31 falls, which is as follows: 

Section 11.7 of 1st Central Insurance’s contract states:

11.7 Cancelling your policy
If your policy is cancelled, we will return any premium, including the deposit paid, for this policy less:

• a charge for the number of days the insurer has provided cover for;
•  any fees as shown in the Important customer information section;
• any other credit card or credit finance charges;
• any amount you may owe us under any other insurance contract you may have with us. If any of the following apply, you may not receive any refund and you may still have to pay us the balance of the full yearly premium. This applies in all circumstances no matter what payment method you use.
• You have made a claim in the policy year or a claim has been made against your policy.
• You have been involved in an incident which might give rise to a claim under the policy

• The instalment payments are not up to date. You may be charged a proportionate amount to bring your

payments up to date, together with our administration fee.

• Fraud, deception or not telling us information as referred to in 10.2 above and 10.11 below.

Please note

• If you have bought any extra cover to run with your policy, you should see the policy wording for any

refund due when you cancel.

• Any refund or payment due to you will be credited to the last card used or we may pay it towards

another card if you ask and we agree.

• Cancelling any Direct Debit Instruction with your bank does not cancel your policy, unless it is your

first payment due for your renewal. You must tell us you want to cancel.

• The Certificate of Motor Insurance will be our property and you must give it back to us within seven

days of the cancellation date.

 
11.7a If you cancel your policy
You have the right to cancel your policy at any time, just call the number below.
0333 043 2066
 
11.7b If we cancel your policy
There are some circumstances where the insurer may authorise us to cancel your insurance on their behalf.
These include:

• if you fail to keep payments on any instalment plan up to date;
• if you make a change to your policy which would mean that the insurer is no longer able to insure

you;

• you fail to respond to reasonable requests for information by your insurer or an agent acting on behalf

of the insurer;

• if you fail to comply with the policy terms and conditions
• if you do not tell us information as outlined in section 10.2, or
• If you threatened or been abusive toward us.

 
In these circumstances we will send you seven days’ written notice. This applies in all circumstances, no
matter how you have paid. For details on cancellation for fraud and misrepresentation see paragraph 10.11.
All notices will be sent to either the email or postal address last known to us. 

----------------------------

I requested C.A.R.S to request an answer from 1st Central Insurance to provide allocation for the £116.31, but also to what part of section 11.7 does that sum of money refer to. Then I said, once they can confirm this and account for this sum according to their tersm and conditions, I am willing to pay for the alleged debt. Because they simply just substracted what I've paid already from what was remaining on the policy with fees, which does not in any way relate to a single process listed in these terms and conditions. 

Two weeks after that email with no response to that request, 1st Central Insurance closed the account with C.A.R.S without notifiying me, and moved the account over to a Company called CRS Credit Recovery Services, who are now hunting for the money instead with more harassing texts, calls and emails. 

This to me appears to be evasive action to avoid check-mate. What can I do from here to make sure this new agency CRS, who are ironically confined to telephone only contact and online payment process to avoid written and email correpsondence, to back off? Because at this stage I am more than willing to takethis into a Court Room, because If i can force 1st Central Insurance to release what's stored on my file, they won't have a leg to stand on. I contact Citizens Advice last year and they confirmed that what they've done sounds fishy and gave me instructions to follow. But all I have had from them is deviations and evasiveness. I have already made up a letter to send to CRS demanding they respond within a 14 day preiod with the above request to prove this debt, before I begin legal proceedings. 

Where do I stand? Do I have enough to take this to Court and sue? The mental and emotion strain this has placed on me since November 2020 has been enough to make me question the worst. I don't use mental health as another cliched excuse for leverage, It has done immense damage to my health and despite my original attempt to prevent myself falling into worsening financial strain and do the right and honourable thing, they have tried to punish me and push me further over the edge until I submit. I am fighting for the principles behind this. 

Thanks in advance for any advice and help you may be able to offer. 

Dan

dunstonh

Sorry, I havent read all of your post as its very long.  However, I am going to comment on what I have read.

When you buy car insurance, it is an annual policy and you pay a single premium. However, if you decide to pay monthly, it is done under a credit agreement.  i.e. a loan.    So, the insurer gets their money up front and you are paying the lender.   However, if you cancel the policy, the premium cancellation terms will not be in line with the amount you have paid so far.  Especially in the earlier part of the policy year.

Some of the things you bought are non-refundable. i.e. you have to pay the full amount.  And it seems to be those that have pushed your shortfall up.  

Where do I stand? Do I have enough to take this to Court and sue? 

Sue them for what?    They don't actually appear to be doing anything wrong.   You can't just sue a company willy nilly.   You have to have good reason.   

DanWilliams81

Dunstonh, why reply to me if you're not going to read my post from top to bottom? This isn't Social Media! You've skipped over the most important areas to the last paragraph, and then responded with 10% of knowledge about what this is about to tell me they have done nothing wrong. That's illogical and rather flippant. 

If it is as you've stated, then this would have been disclosed by the Insurance Company long before they evaded my request in Novemver 2021 for information as to what that sum of money was allocated to. If it was for those added premiums, then surely it would be very easy for them to provide clear summary of what the sum of £196.31 is for. 
But it has not been disclosed now for 13 months despite me asking them to provide answers, they have lied about my cancellation of the policy from Nov 2. 2020 and tried to enforce their own cancellation of it on Nov 18. 2020 to make these fees etc. apply, and the remainder is just a sum of money randomly subtracted from the whole to arrive at an amount that does not in any way meet a single one of the stipulations in their T&C's. 

The new agency are trying to chase for this money citing that it is for a Direct Debit Default which led to the cancellation of your policy...which is completely false!
Because 1. No further direct debits were being taken as the policy was cancelled and 2. the direct debit was removed on the 2nd of November as per the instruction by their agent.
The only time they tried to put a Direct Debit through was days after my call to their agent who waived the fees; they tried to take the £30 late payment fee, not just once but 4 or 5 times within a few days.  At first I thought the £196.31 was an accumilation of multiple bounced direct debit attempts but the total did not add up to that amount. When I spoke to Stefan on the second call, he reaffirmed that the details on my file clearly showed that these fees had been cancelled.
Now they are trying to bypass that yet again, and instead use the false cancellation on the 18th as leverage to accuse me of defaulting on a direct debit to extract this money. 
My account file has full details that I cancelled my policy and their agents waived the fees, so how can they cancel a policy that has already been cancelled? The whole basis of this rests on how they have bypassed their own records to go rogue and extract almost £200 on false premise! Yet you say they are doing nothing wrong? 

If this was as you say, then it would be for owed policy premiums and it would clearly state that, wouldn't it?.....and because I had paid for the policy for November upto the 28th and thus, no more payments were due. So their use of Defaulted Direct Debit is another falsification of the truth to get this money, hook or crook. 

That is why I asked Where do I stand? Do I have enough to take this to Court and sue?

elsien

My suggestion would be to remove all the non relevant information from your first post and bullet point the rest.

You will get more useful answers that way than if people have to trawl through War and Peace. 

With regards to the information stored about you, have you considered a subject access request? 

csgohan4

I agree with Dunstoh, your post is too long. Ultimately it's a pay monthly policy and if you cancel your liable for the whole amount, unless it is stated in your T+C you can get some back pro rata. However you have clearly show they will charge fees in your quote T+C 

The only potential light for you is the original call and  the calls are usually recorded and if they gave you incorrect info you may have some grounds for reduced fees or comp. 

It is natural for insurers to move the debt to debt recovery, your not paying it. Nothing wrong with that

What are your grounds for suing?

As with all insurers, if your not happy, submit  a complaint and then file one with the ombudsman if your not happy after 8 week. Bare in mind you will be racking up late payments fees further

A word of note, Dunstoh and other posters on here are providing advice of their own accord and time. If your going to bite back at posters your not going to help yourself here and others may not post as has happened with prev posters like yourself.

If you want free and specific advice, suggest Citizens advice bureau which I can see you have done, but bare in mind they only have your side of the story which is why they feel it's fishy