This has to be against some consumer la!

Blue_sky101

A Friend of mine took out monthly insurance with Cuvva after he bought his car last year. They asked him to provide the v5c but as he was waiting for it, they ran out of patience and  cancelled his policy but they said he still had to pay the full policy. At the time, he disputed this but they said it’s perfectly legal and they threatened him with debt collectors and ruining his credit file. He made a monthly payment plan with them which he is adhering to.

He now had to declare the cancellation on the subsequent insurance policy which has left him paying £250 pm instead of the £140 pm he would have paid with Cuvva.

He wanted to buy a car ( from 2010 Audi A5 Sport to 2011 Peugeot 207) but his current insurer quoted him £320 a month! If he cancels the policy, he’d have to pay them 6 months worth of premiums (even though the current policy only has 4 months left).

This can’t be right?

i accept the second insurer scenario may be plausible but am struggling to understand how Cuvva can justify making someone pay for premiums when the policy is cancelled as he did not receive his v5c in time from DVLA?

Any info/ advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

dunstonh

At the time, he disputed this but they said it’s perfectly legal and they threatened him with debt collectors and ruining his credit file. He made a monthly payment plan with them which he is adhering to.

Did he refer his complaint to the FOS?   

They asked him to provide the v5c but as he was waiting for it, they ran out of patience and  cancelled his policy but they said he still had to pay the full policy. 

How long did they give?  Its unclear from your wording.

He wanted to buy a car ( from 2010 Audi A5 Sport to 2011 Peugeot 207) but his current insurer quoted him £320 a month! If he cancels the policy, he’d have to pay them 6 months worth of premiums (even though the current policy only has 4 months left).
This can’t be right?

Cancellation terms are rarely exactly pro-rata.  Plus, if you pay  monthly, there is the cost of credit in there as well as the fact the monthly payments may not be in sync with the premium term.   If there are bolt ons, such as breakdown cover or others then these are usually non-refundable.

mattyprice4004

Cuvva can't be held responsible for the DVLA - if there's a delay with the V5 that isn't really their issue. 
Unfortunately the terms agreed to will have states what documents may have been needed and in what timescale - if they knew they might not be able to provide this, they shouldn't have taken out the policy. 

As for the cancellation, it sounds fair enough - the policy was cancelled by the insurer, and this needs to be declared indefinitely. 
I don't think it's particularly fair, but them's the rules. 

Blue_sky101

dunstonh said:

At the time, he disputed this but they said it’s perfectly legal and they threatened him with debt collectors and ruining his credit file. He made a monthly payment plan with them which he is adhering to.

Did he refer his complaint to the FOS?   

They asked him to provide the v5c but as he was waiting for it, they ran out of patience and  cancelled his policy but they said he still had to pay the full policy. 

How long did they give?  Its unclear from your wording.

He wanted to buy a car ( from 2010 Audi A5 Sport to 2011 Peugeot 207) but his current insurer quoted him £320 a month! If he cancels the policy, he’d have to pay them 6 months worth of premiums (even though the current policy only has 4 months left).
This can’t be right?

Cancellation terms are rarely exactly pro-rata.  Plus, if you pay  monthly, there is the cost of credit in there as well as the fact the monthly payments may not be in sync with the premium term.   If there are bolt ons, such as breakdown cover or others then these are usually non-refundable.

He didn’t complain to the ombudsman at the time but may be worth looking into at this stage if possible. Doesn’t seem fair to pay for a service he didn’t use. 

Cuvva gave him 2 weeks but V5C took 4 weeks. 

Blue_sky101

Thanks for your response.  He doesn’t remember if Cuvva had clarified they would have to cancel the policy if V5C was not received in a particular timeframe but it’s very frustrating that he’s now lumped in with people who have blatantly lied on their applications when he has to declare previous cancellation of insurance. 

Would be fairer for insurer to clarify reason for cancellation before making decision.

dunstonh

He didn’t complain to the ombudsman at the time but may be worth looking into at this stage if possible.

He has 6 months to go to the FOS.  After which, he is barred from using them.

Cuvva gave him 2 weeks but V5C took 4 weeks. 

I suspect the FOS will be more generous in their response on this given the way much of the civil service is on go slow.

Blue_sky101

The cancellation happened in November last year so too late to go to the FOS, and Cuvva get some free cash. So frustrating.

At least it’s a learning curve to go through FOS in future similar situations. Thank you for all responses.