Car insurance finance company requesting payment on policy that has been cancelled.

clarkey1984

Hi all. I received my car insurance renewal around a month ago, and to my dismay saw that there was a significant price increase, from £78 to £113 a month no less, so after temporarily forgetting and subsequently remembering about it nearer the date i checked the email, which stated I must opt out / cancel no later than the 4th of April to prevent the policy automatically renewing, and as luck would have it that day was the 4th, so i cancelled there and then and found comparable cover for £56 a month elsewhere.

However, despite me acting within the insurance companys specified timeframe, receiving confirmation that the policy has ended, and also cancelling the finance companys (close brothers) direct debit, low and behold, they attempted to take the first £113 payment as if the policy had continued, I had however anticipated this possibility, so i moved the balance of my current account over to my savings account the night before just in case.

I'm now getting emails, text messages and letters from close brothers saying I am in arrears, there is a £25 late fee, i am in danger of my cover being cancelled etc etc.

Despite my browser remembering my login credentials for the close brothers website, when I try to log in i am presented with a secret questions and answers screen, what was the name of your favourite pet, where were you born, you get the idea, which i am pretty much certain i never set up, i then explored the forgot password avenue, recovery email to reset never arrives, obviously checked spam folders, i work in a very loud environment so calling them isn't an option.

Any ideas?

GrumpyDil

None at all other than call them when you aren't working (at lunch etc) 

mgfvvc

clarkey1984 said:

Any ideas?

Are there any contact options in the emails they send you? Does it come from a no-reply email address or a customer-service email address?

You could also try LinkedIn, Twitter/X, Instagram, snail mail?

Close Brothers Motor Finance Head Office

Roman House
Roman Rd
Doncaster
DN4 5EZ

https://www.closebrothers.com/contact-us

clarkey1984

Thank you people, I had an email from the insurance company themselves today so I got on their live chat, explained the situation and they were apologetic, assured me that the policy was definitely closed and I didn't owe them anything, its something to do with the renewal cut off being so close to the direct debit date, so they pre apply for the first payment on the assumption you're going to renew, they also said that the customer department was already aware and amending whatever it is to stop the payment requests.

dunstonh

clarkey1984 said:

Thank you people, I had an email from the insurance company themselves today so I got on their live chat, explained the situation and they were apologetic, assured me that the policy was definitely closed and I didn't owe them anything, its something to do with the renewal cut off being so close to the direct debit date, so they pre apply for the first payment on the assumption you're going to renew, they also said that the customer department was already aware and amending whatever it is to stop the payment requests.

Direct debits are often submitted 2-3 weeks before the collection date.  So, this is quite a common scenario.

clarkey1984

I received another email today saying my cover will be cancelled as of TOMORROW (yes in capital letters) if payment is NOT arranged.

Live chat tomorrow again then, oh joy.