Direct Debit by my EX wife

Hi, help please as I am at the end of my tether. I have been with an insurance broker who I was happy with for 20 years. during a messy mess up with my (now) Ex wife she moved into rented house and it appears I agreed to pay her house content insurance in 2016. she has moved about 7 times and had various policies and until  a few months ago I have no idea I was paying for the policies. I contacted the company and they said because I agreed the first one they could continue taking all of her policies? surely this is not right as I have had no DD mandates, no payment schedules anything??? now I am £1000 out of pocket and basically they said I agreed a DD mandate in 2016. my argument is this was for that policy and since then she has had another 6/7 polices all on my account. please help as I really don't know what else to do. 

Comments

  • eskbanker
    eskbanker Posts: 36,763 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Foxboy1 said:
    now I am £1000 out of pocket and basically they said I agreed a DD mandate in 2016
    So you've been paying about a tenner a month on average - obviously that sounds like a more substantial figure when aggregated over eight years but conversely if you didn't miss that money during that whole time it weakens your argument about its significance now?
  • Thanks everyone. I get your feedback and I have cancelled the DD. I didn't realise because I also had a policy and on my bank I just assumed it was my insurance. I only noticed because on one day they took 2 payments, I then checked and realised but it was not all of the time, she had cancelled a policy, then started a new one, then cancelled and then started a new one. so basically 7 different policies. my argument is I agreed one policy, we got divorced, she had moved 7 times but set up new policies with my DD. at no time was I contacted or new apart from the first policy which I agreed to, also they said that she said she would have the conversation with me about the payments, clearly they should have had the conversation with me about was I happy to add a new policy for her through my bank and share a schedule of payments. also for those that think I was negligent. we had a horrible divorce and at the time I was depressed on medication and my life was in ruins, sleeping on a friends settee and wanted to die. it is now I have turned my life around and paying attention to everything I have noticed. 
  • sausage_time
    sausage_time Posts: 1,370 Ambassador
    Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Glad you are getting life sorted @Foxboy1.  Valuable lesson for all here - monitor and track/explain every payment.
    I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Credit Cards and Budgeting & Bank Accounts boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com.
    All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
  • Grumpy_chap
    Grumpy_chap Posts: 17,885 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Whatever the rights and wrongs of the ex-wife setting up ongoing home insurance (whether contents or buildings & contents), the OP has been paying these premiums and has now stopped paying the premiums (cancelled the DD).

    Out of common decency, the OP should inform the ex-wife that the premiums are no longer being paid as this will give her the opportunity to put in place suitable alternate payment provision.  The risk of saying nothing is that the policy is cancelled and leaves her without cover yet she may have cause to claim against the policy.  The OP may feel that is none of his concern, but the ex-wife might well retort that it is unreasonable behaviour and / or cite that there was an agreement for the OP to make these payments as part of a spousal support arrangement (whether true or not).

    The OP can hold their head high by at least doing the best thing in the circumstances.
  • friolento
    friolento Posts: 2,228 Forumite
    1,000 Posts First Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic
    Whatever the rights and wrongs of the ex-wife setting up ongoing home insurance (whether contents or buildings & contents), the OP has been paying these premiums and has now stopped paying the premiums (cancelled the DD).

    Out of common decency, the OP should inform the ex-wife that the premiums are no longer being paid as this will give her the opportunity to put in place suitable alternate payment provision.  The risk of saying nothing is that the policy is cancelled and leaves her without cover yet she may have cause to claim against the policy.  The OP may feel that is none of his concern, but the ex-wife might well retort that it is unreasonable behaviour and / or cite that there was an agreement for the OP to make these payments as part of a spousal support arrangement (whether true or not).

    The OP can hold their head high by at least doing the best thing in the circumstances.

    She'll be notified by her insurance company/ies that the DD could not be taken.

    Unless there is an existing Court Order which compels the OP to pay her insurance premiums, she hasn't got a leg to stand on. In any event, she fraudulently set up DDs as she pretended to be the owner of the bank account that got charged. The OP might seek the advice of a solicitor or the men's abuse helpline to understand the merits of possible action against her.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 350.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 252.8K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.2K Spending & Discounts
  • 243.2K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 597.6K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 176.5K Life & Family
  • 256.1K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.