Car Insurance cancellation

55ryan

Spivo46 said:

Alderbank said:

Spivo46 said:

cymruchris said:

Spivo46 said:

"Broker Expert" who trade under 4 other different names. i took out insurance online. documents were not delivered electronically, so i got worried. chased them 3 times the next morning and they just blamed the insurance company (Zenith). so i cancelled the policy 8 hours after taking it out. They told me that i would need to pay £75, so the full £501 would not be refunded. absolute shambles. i need to ensure they do not get away with this. any thoughts please?

You called them 3 times in the morning - and only had the policy 8 hours? So if they opened at 9am,and you called them at 930, 1000 and 1030 - then cancelled (I'm making up the times) the earliest you took the policy out was at 230am earlier in the night when the office was closed and they were all asleep?? And then cancelled when you didn't receive the paperwork instantly?

The clue is in the name - they're a broker - they work as an 'in-between' - so sometimes things aren't instant as they might be if you bought from an insurance company direct. You send them your details - they quote based on algorithms and software no doubt linked into the insurer - then they wait for the documentation to send on to you. Yes in some cases these days that might happen instantly - but only giving 8 hours seems very, very impatient. In your chasing - did you ask 'Am I covered?' - as if they'd said yes, then you could have given it a little longer.

I wouldn't have said from what you've described it being a 'shambles'. If after a week you'd not received things - then I might be inclined to call it a shambles - but we all have different thresholds on what might be perceived as 'reasonable'.

Would you drive car on the road with no written proof that it is insured? I bought the insurance, was told it was covered and 8 hours later they are telling me the insurer is still running checks????

What does 'was told it was covered' mean, presumably at 2:30 in the morning?

Their website says

We will need to contact you to validate all the information that you have entered online, complete additional verification processes and to release your documents. We will aim to contact you within 1 working day. If you have not heard from us within that period please contact the office directly.

Fees & Charges: 
Our professional charges for cancellation within first 14 days or before the policy starts: £75 (Validation administration charge may also apply)

It is people like you that supporting the behaviours of this type business that allow bad practice to continue rip people off. Read their reviews.

There is no bad practice. If they are that bad generally, it is a shame you didn't read their reviews first.  As others have said though, there is nothing to see here. Your immediate expectations and for it to be done and dusted in 8 hours is unreasonable. You can argue your case with them, who know a 'goodwill;' gesture ie  refund only might be made but the processes won't be changed by this or any other company.  

LunaLater

Spivo46 said:

dunstonh said:

 i need to ensure they do not get away with this. any thoughts please?

Get away with what?

They are allowed to charge an administration fee during the cancellation rights period.  They publish the fee information.   So, if you cancel the policy and they charge the amount they said they would, then what exactly are they getting away with?

They did not deliver the goods! So i cancelled. Have you ever taken out a Car insurance policy, paid over 500 quid for it and not received any evidence that you are covered and it exists? Give your head a shake.

The “goods” was your car being insured, not the forms being sent to you. No-one’s going to agree that they had failed to fulfil the contract after eight hours, so the charge they have levied seems OK.

LunaLater

Spivo46 said:

dunstonh said:

 i need to ensure they do not get away with this. any thoughts please?

Get away with what?

They are allowed to charge an administration fee during the cancellation rights period.  They publish the fee information.   So, if you cancel the policy and they charge the amount they said they would, then what exactly are they getting away with?

They did not deliver the goods! So i cancelled. Have you ever taken out a Car insurance policy, paid over 500 quid for it and not received any evidence that you are covered and it exists? Give your head a shake.

Of course. For a lot of years you had to wait for a letter to be delivered in the post, which could take several days. There’s no requirement on them to send it to you within eight hours.

You chose to cancel, despite being insured, so are being charged a fee.

LunaLater

Spivo46 said:

dunstonh said:

They did not deliver the goods!

There are no goods to deliver.  Its insurance.

As you wrote it, you applied via the broker.  The broker inputs the info and the provider supplies the documentation.  You gave them 8 hours before cancelling but chased it 3 times in that 8 hour period.

Have you ever taken out a Car insurance policy, paid over 500 quid for it and not received any evidence that you are covered and it exists? Give your head a shake.

8 hours.....    Have you considered that you are actually being unreasonable in your expectations?

i don't believe the car was insured and after reading many reviews in those 8 hours i believe my perception of them was justified. Would you drive a car on the road with no written confirmation the was actually covered??

What you believe is not the determining factor here, you don’t get to insist a company based their policies on the musings of a customer.

You are being ridiculous here, and unreasonable, and really need to stop it, insure your car, and move on.

Spivo46

LunaLater said:

Spivo46 said:

dunstonh said:

They did not deliver the goods!

There are no goods to deliver.  Its insurance.

As you wrote it, you applied via the broker.  The broker inputs the info and the provider supplies the documentation.  You gave them 8 hours before cancelling but chased it 3 times in that 8 hour period.

Have you ever taken out a Car insurance policy, paid over 500 quid for it and not received any evidence that you are covered and it exists? Give your head a shake.

8 hours.....    Have you considered that you are actually being unreasonable in your expectations?

i don't believe the car was insured and after reading many reviews in those 8 hours i believe my perception of them was justified. Would you drive a car on the road with no written confirmation the was actually covered??

What you believe is not the determining factor here, you don’t get to insist a company based their policies on the musings of a customer.

You are being ridiculous here, and unreasonable, and really need to stop it, insure your car, and move on.

"Musings" get a grip. I have insured cars and motorbikes for over 40 years. I have never had any reason to complain, this was a new experience for me. I should have read to reviews and small print, and yes i moved on very quickly with a well know insurer. 

cymruchris

Spivo46 said:

LunaLater said:

Spivo46 said:

dunstonh said:

They did not deliver the goods!

There are no goods to deliver.  Its insurance.

As you wrote it, you applied via the broker.  The broker inputs the info and the provider supplies the documentation.  You gave them 8 hours before cancelling but chased it 3 times in that 8 hour period.

Have you ever taken out a Car insurance policy, paid over 500 quid for it and not received any evidence that you are covered and it exists? Give your head a shake.

8 hours.....    Have you considered that you are actually being unreasonable in your expectations?

i don't believe the car was insured and after reading many reviews in those 8 hours i believe my perception of them was justified. Would you drive a car on the road with no written confirmation the was actually covered??

What you believe is not the determining factor here, you don’t get to insist a company based their policies on the musings of a customer.

You are being ridiculous here, and unreasonable, and really need to stop it, insure your car, and move on.

"Musings" get a grip. I have insured cars and motorbikes for over 40 years. I have never had any reason to complain, this was a new experience for me. I should have read to reviews and small print, and yes i moved on very quickly with a well know insurer. 

So 40 years ago, before the internet - how did you manage then? Sent off a cheque? Went into the local insurance office?

Wouldn't the experience back then be broadly simillar (but no doubt slower) than what you've done with this broker?

I seem to recall in the mid 90's when I got my first car insurance, going into the local insurance agents office, filling out a form which got sent off, and then a week later I got my insurance certificate through the post. When they told me I was insured - I believed them.

In your case, you may not have had the valid certificate in your inbox, but you'd have your payment record from whatever time of the morning it was that you bought the policy. You rang them, and you said they told you you were insured, for me that'd be enough to put my mind at rest until the documentation arrived the next day. (At a push, you could even have recorded the conversation for your own peace of mind).

I know here you want other forum users to be aware of the issues you faced, but to be fair I still think you over-reacted and were way too quick to pull the policy resulting in your charge. (And it seems many others feel the same way) But you did what you did for your own reasons, and the charge is fair as it's in their terms and conditions.

A learning for the future might be to ONLY buy insurance directly from the policy providers, and do away with the brokers/middlemen. You won't find yourself in a similar situation next time around then.

LunaLater

Spivo46 said:

LunaLater said:

Spivo46 said:

dunstonh said:

They did not deliver the goods!

There are no goods to deliver.  Its insurance.

As you wrote it, you applied via the broker.  The broker inputs the info and the provider supplies the documentation.  You gave them 8 hours before cancelling but chased it 3 times in that 8 hour period.

Have you ever taken out a Car insurance policy, paid over 500 quid for it and not received any evidence that you are covered and it exists? Give your head a shake.

8 hours.....    Have you considered that you are actually being unreasonable in your expectations?

i don't believe the car was insured and after reading many reviews in those 8 hours i believe my perception of them was justified. Would you drive a car on the road with no written confirmation the was actually covered??

What you believe is not the determining factor here, you don’t get to insist a company based their policies on the musings of a customer.

You are being ridiculous here, and unreasonable, and really need to stop it, insure your car, and move on.

"Musings" get a grip. I have insured cars and motorbikes for over 40 years. I have never had any reason to complain, this was a new experience for me. I should have read to reviews and small print, and yes i moved on very quickly with a well know insurer. 

So then 40 years ago what form of immediate proof are you claiming you received?

This should be interesting…

Spivo46

LunaLater said:

Spivo46 said:

LunaLater said:

Spivo46 said:

dunstonh said:

They did not deliver the goods!

There are no goods to deliver.  Its insurance.

As you wrote it, you applied via the broker.  The broker inputs the info and the provider supplies the documentation.  You gave them 8 hours before cancelling but chased it 3 times in that 8 hour period.

Have you ever taken out a Car insurance policy, paid over 500 quid for it and not received any evidence that you are covered and it exists? Give your head a shake.

8 hours.....    Have you considered that you are actually being unreasonable in your expectations?

i don't believe the car was insured and after reading many reviews in those 8 hours i believe my perception of them was justified. Would you drive a car on the road with no written confirmation the was actually covered??

What you believe is not the determining factor here, you don’t get to insist a company based their policies on the musings of a customer.

You are being ridiculous here, and unreasonable, and really need to stop it, insure your car, and move on.

"Musings" get a grip. I have insured cars and motorbikes for over 40 years. I have never had any reason to complain, this was a new experience for me. I should have read to reviews and small print, and yes i moved on very quickly with a well know insurer. 

So then 40 years ago what form of immediate proof are you claiming you received?

This should be interesting…

comparing Apples with Oranges. My judgement this week is against standards as they are now. This broker is way off the mark. Personally, i would never pay £500 to anyone without recognition that it is received and i got what i paid for. Phone calls that followed gave me the impression they had no insurance! Answers such as; "We are waiting for the insurer to verify and respond" is not acceptable in my view. Anyway, you are boring me now, but thanks for your point of view. 

dunstonh

 My judgement this week is against standards as they are now. This broker is way off the mark. 

I don't see it.  By using a broker, you introduce a potential delay as the broker needs to get them from the provider.  8 hours does not seem unreasonable for that.

Phone calls that followed gave me the impression they had no insurance! Answers such as; "We are waiting for the insurer to verify and respond" is not acceptable in my view. 

So, if its not acceptable to you, how would you deal with stage where the broker is waiting for the insurer to supply them the documentation?

400ixl

So if this was a renewal and 8 hours was too long to get the certificate, one must assume you left doing that renewal to the very last second. Did you not put in place the renewal in good time as most people would which would have had days for the details to come through?

40 years of insuring should have told you that you rarely get the best price leaving your renewal to the last minute.