Van insurance renewal through Compare the Market and Sterling Insurance

Shredhedd

Hi folks, I'm wondering if someone can advise me as to how to proceed as I've just had £85 taken from me by Sterling Insurance for NOT taking their van insurance.
My van insurance was due to expire at midnight on Tuesday 19th December. My premium for last year was £260 and my renewal quote was for £397 so I decided to use Compare the Market to shop for a better deal. This was done on Monday 18th of December at approx 9 o' clock at  night. Most of my details were already stored on the site from previous searches so I only updated the answers that the questionnaire asked me to. The cheapest quote to come in was through Sterling Insurance for £288 so I decided to sign up online. Job done, or so I thought.
The next day, Tuesday 19th of December, a representative from Sterling Insurance called me to clarify some of the details on my application. It transpired that I had to add the fact that I occasionally drove my van to work, changing the policy to Social, Domestic, Pleasure and Commuting and I also had to disclose my medical condition (which I always do but there was no option on their questionnaire). These changes increased my quote to over £400 and I informed the rep that I would not be taking their policy as my own renewal was cheaper. He attempted to persuade me to relook at the policy but I declined as I was in work and with 2 police officers asking to view CCTV footage from an incident the previous evening. On Tuesday night at home I went back onto the compare sites and renewed my policy with a different provider.
On Wednesday I received a call from another rep of Sterling Insurance stating that I was due to call them back to review the policy but I insisted that I wasn't interested and that I had in fact renewed with another company. The rep told me that she would refund the original £288 minus an £85 admin fee.
Now here is my argument. Sterling Insurance didn't sell me the £288 policy as there were inaccuracies in the application. The policy they wanted to sell me was over £400 and I declined as it was more expensive than the renewal with my original broker. I was told that the admin fee was triggered because I signed up online and that Compare the Market charge the insurance companies for using their website. I use comparison websites to save me time and money. It would defeat the purpose of these sites if we had to pay for every policy that wasn't available to us.

I have received a refund of £203. Surely I should be entitled to a full refund as I never agreed to the £400+ policy and they wouldn't sell me the £288 policy. I have been charged £85 for using a comparison website. Anyone have any ideas as to my next step?

400ixl

When did you take out the policy, when was it due to start and when did they call you to correct your omissions?

They had sold you a £288 policy which you had taken out, they are not accountable for the fact your omissions meant that you had not correctly declared your risk and it needed to be increased. That is an adjustment to the contract you had already taken.

It really depends on cooling off periods, whether the policy had gone live and the T&C's of the contract you took out with Sterling.

Sterling, like Hastings are well known for being cheap on the comparison sites and then contacting the policy holder to be able to find gaps in their declarations to push up the policy price.

You need to be very careful that you are complete on the comparison site questions, and then when you go through to the insurer, you go back through all of their questions again as some things may not have transposed correctly, or there may be other more detailed questions.

RefluentBeans

You should get a refund as you cancelled within the 14 day cooling off period - but you may still have to pay for the days of insurance you used. Remind them that you cancelled during the 14 day cooling off period and take the loss on the one or two days they may say you were covered for (normally only £5 or less). 

Shredhedd

Thanks for your replies. I bought the policy online on Monday evening, the 18th of December and my existing policy didn't expire until midnight on the 19th. The rep phoned me on the 19th around lunchtime when I told him I wasn't going ahead with it due to the increased premium. I purchased insurance with another company on the evening of the 19th. A different rep called me on the morning of the 20th saying I was meant to call them back. I informed her that I had decided not to purchase their policy and had informed her colleague the previous day. I was then told I had to pay the £85 admin fee. When I mentioned the 14 day cooling off period I was informed that it didn't apply because I had bought the policy online. 

RefluentBeans

Shredhedd said:

Thanks for your replies. I bought the policy online on Monday evening, the 18th of December and my existing policy didn't expire until midnight on the 19th. The rep phoned me on the 19th around lunchtime when I told him I wasn't going ahead with it due to the increased premium. I purchased insurance with another company on the evening of the 19th. A different rep called me on the morning of the 20th saying I was meant to call them back. I informed her that I had decided not to purchase their policy and had informed her colleague the previous day. I was then told I had to pay the £85 admin fee. When I mentioned the 14 day cooling off period I was informed that it didn't apply because I had bought the policy online. 

I don’t think they’re right. I would make a complaint - insurance companies are a regulated industry so have a robust complaints procedure. Like I said they may charge for a couple of days of ‘cover’ but certainly less than the £85 charge. 

Can see more here: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/car-insurance/cancelling-car-insurance/#refund 

Aylesbury_Duck

Is this a case where because the service had started, the cooling-off period is deemed to have ended prematurely?

ThumbRemote

400ixl said:

They had sold you a £288 policy which you had taken out, they are not accountable for the fact your omissions meant that you had not correctly declared your risk and it needed to be increased. That is an adjustment to the contract you had already taken.

Utter rubbish. The OP has already said there was no option to declare a medical condition initially. It is not an omission if you don't answer a question you're not asked. 

RefluentBeans

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Is this a case where because the service had started, the cooling-off period is deemed to have ended prematurely?

I didn’t think the 14 day cancellation right could be waived just by the policy starting? I was under the impression that you’d get billed for a period of usage of the insurance but that’s it - unless the OP explicitly did waive this right, I don’t see how they can just nullify the 14 day right (especially as the service is ongoing - not a one off installation that can be ‘completed’ during the 14 day period). 

born_again

ThumbRemote said:

400ixl said:

They had sold you a £288 policy which you had taken out, they are not accountable for the fact your omissions meant that you had not correctly declared your risk and it needed to be increased. That is an adjustment to the contract you had already taken.

Utter rubbish. The OP has already said there was no option to declare a medical condition initially. It is not an omission if you don't answer a question you're not asked. 

In which case you would contact them. As you need to inform them of all relevant facts.

As this was a van, is it used for business? So not a consumer purchase.

RefluentBeans

born_again said:

ThumbRemote said:

400ixl said:

They had sold you a £288 policy which you had taken out, they are not accountable for the fact your omissions meant that you had not correctly declared your risk and it needed to be increased. That is an adjustment to the contract you had already taken.

Utter rubbish. The OP has already said there was no option to declare a medical condition initially. It is not an omission if you don't answer a question you're not asked. 

In which case you would contact them. As you need to inform them of all relevant facts.

As this was a van, is it used for business? So not a consumer purchase.

In the original post ‘Social, Domestic, Pleasure and Commuting’ - so not a B2B contract. 

sheramber

RefluentBeans said:

Shredhedd said:

Thanks for your replies. I bought the policy online on Monday evening, the 18th of December and my existing policy didn't expire until midnight on the 19th. The rep phoned me on the 19th around lunchtime when I told him I wasn't going ahead with it due to the increased premium. I purchased insurance with another company on the evening of the 19th. A different rep called me on the morning of the 20th saying I was meant to call them back. I informed her that I had decided not to purchase their policy and had informed her colleague the previous day. I was then told I had to pay the £85 admin fee. When I mentioned the 14 day cooling off period I was informed that it didn't apply because I had bought the policy online. 

I don’t think they’re right. I would make a complaint - insurance companies are a regulated industry so have a robust complaints procedure. Like I said they may charge for a couple of days of ‘cover’ but certainly less than the £85 charge. 

Can see more here: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/car-insurance/cancelling-car-insurance/#refund 

from your link

Important: The refund won't cover any days for which you were insured during the 14 day cooling-off period and you may still be charged admin fees, so check the terms and conditions.