Dynamo Recovery Scam

BryterLater

Hi all,

I've searched the forum and found a few complaints about dynamo breakdown recovery but can't find any similar to my story.

I took out breakdown cover in March 2023. I did this via a comparison site. I entered the registration of the car as part of this. I was not asked for the age of the car. I paid £23 for annual cover.

On Saturday morning I woke up to find dynamo have taken £38 from my bank account. I received an email at 21:30 on Friday night saying they had conducted an audit and my car is 11 years old but I had declared that it was 10 years old. As I say, I was never asked the age of the car. On looking through the documentation it does say the car is 10 years old - which it was when the policy was taken out. However the policy didn't start for another few weeks by which time the car had turned 11!

I've contacted my bank who have said they can't raise a chargeback yet as the payment is still pending but once it has gone through they will raise one for me.

Has anyone experienced anything like this before? Surely they can't just take money from my bank without any consent? What if they had decided the additional fee was £20k rather than £38? I tried calling them but their offices are shut between 17:00 Friday and 09:00 Monday - which seems all the more convenient that they decided to do this on a Friday night!

Sorry for the rant, I just can't believe it and any advice would be appreciated.

born_again

Expect a rejection of the chargeback, as you car was 11 when the policy started.
Unless you have a personal plate, age is very clear from reg plate. But even with a personal plate they will be able to pull age data up.

HillStreetBlues

born_again said:

Expect a rejection of the chargeback, as you car was 11 when the policy started.
Unless you have a personal plate, age is very clear from reg plate. But even with a personal plate they will be able to pull age data up.

Shouldn't the company get in contract with OP  stating they need the extra payment or cover will be cancelled.
Just because a company might have the card details, doesn't mean they can use it any time they want without consent.
So is any consent in the T&Cs?

BryterLater

born_again said:

Expect a rejection of the chargeback, as you car was 11 when the policy started.
Unless you have a personal plate, age is very clear from reg plate. But even with a personal plate they will be able to pull age data up.

I'm not denying the car was 11 when the policy started. I am saying that I never told them the car was 10. I only entered the rwg number and they aged the car at 10.

BryterLater

HillStreetBlues said:

born_again said:

Expect a rejection of the chargeback, as you car was 11 when the policy started.
Unless you have a personal plate, age is very clear from reg plate. But even with a personal plate they will be able to pull age data up.

Shouldn't the company get in contract with OP  stating they need the extra payment or cover will be cancelled.
Just because a company might have the card details, doesn't mean they can use it any time they want without consent.
So is any consent in the T&Cs?

Thanks. I'll check the terms and conditions. Clearly the policy is now way more expensive than others I could have took at the time 

BryterLater

HillStreetBlues said:

born_again said:

Expect a rejection of the chargeback, as you car was 11 when the policy started.
Unless you have a personal plate, age is very clear from reg plate. But even with a personal plate they will be able to pull age data up.

Shouldn't the company get in contract with OP  stating they need the extra payment or cover will be cancelled.
Just because a company might have the card details, doesn't mean they can use it any time they want without consent.
So is any consent in the T&Cs?

The below is from the terms and conditions. As they didn't agree these charges with me in advance I think they have breached their own T&C's.


"Fees and Charges
We will charge you for the work incurred in handling your insurances. These charges apply if you instruct us to arrange insurance, carry out a mid-term adjustment, renewal, cancellation or other work on your behalf. Any additional charges, if applicable, will always be agreed with you in advance of them becoming due. All fees paid to Dynamo Cover are non-refundable."

HillStreetBlues

BryterLater said:

HillStreetBlues said:

born_again said:

Expect a rejection of the chargeback, as you car was 11 when the policy started.
Unless you have a personal plate, age is very clear from reg plate. But even with a personal plate they will be able to pull age data up.

Shouldn't the company get in contract with OP  stating they need the extra payment or cover will be cancelled.
Just because a company might have the card details, doesn't mean they can use it any time they want without consent.
So is any consent in the T&Cs?

The below is from the terms and conditions. As they didn't agree these charges with me in advance I think they have breached their own T&C's.


"Fees and Charges
We will charge you for the work incurred in handling your insurances. These charges apply if you instruct us to arrange insurance, carry out a mid-term adjustment, renewal, cancellation or other work on your behalf. Any additional charges, if applicable, will always be agreed with you in advance of them becoming due. All fees paid to Dynamo Cover are non-refundable."

So not only have they taken an unauthorised transaction, they have broken their own T&Cs.

BryterLater

HillStreetBlues said:

BryterLater said:

HillStreetBlues said:

born_again said:

Expect a rejection of the chargeback, as you car was 11 when the policy started.
Unless you have a personal plate, age is very clear from reg plate. But even with a personal plate they will be able to pull age data up.

Shouldn't the company get in contract with OP  stating they need the extra payment or cover will be cancelled.
Just because a company might have the card details, doesn't mean they can use it any time they want without consent.
So is any consent in the T&Cs?

The below is from the terms and conditions. As they didn't agree these charges with me in advance I think they have breached their own T&C's.


"Fees and Charges
We will charge you for the work incurred in handling your insurances. These charges apply if you instruct us to arrange insurance, carry out a mid-term adjustment, renewal, cancellation or other work on your behalf. Any additional charges, if applicable, will always be agreed with you in advance of them becoming due. All fees paid to Dynamo Cover are non-refundable."

So not only have they taken an unauthorised transaction, they have broken their own T&Cs.

That is what I think. I just can't believe a company can just take money from my bank without any authorisation.

I am tempted to call the police

Bigwheels1111

One reason I like the AA is it clearly states any car. This year Family cover for 4 was £23.75 each
Home, relay, onward travel and national recovery.
You all need to live at one address, or so they say.
We all do.
I’ve never had a car recovered to my home always to a mechanic.

BryterLater

It would seem I am not the only one to fall victim to this scam

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/dynamocover.com

rmr555

@BryterLater
I was horrified to find they had taken money out of my account (again!!) this weekend for the same spurious reason as you.  I called my bank this morning and asked them to put a block on any more payments to this company - I do not trust them not to find a reason to incur yet another charge! When it is due to renew in November, needless to say I won't. Ideally, I'd cancel now, but of course that would incur ANOTHER charge. Technically, nothing they are doing is illegal I think, but it's morally dubious at the very least.  

Lesson learnt - I will stick to AA, RAC or GreenFlag in the future!