Domestic and General set up an auto-renew without my consent

triade

hello,

I took out an insurance plan with D&G April last year. it was a year plan. they contacted me telling me it's ending soon but not to worry, they have auto renewed it. I was not asked and I did not give them permission to do this. I find this quite frustrating as there is no opt out in my online account and there is no cancel button. I was not given the option. There is also no contact by form or email. Only letter or phone number. Letter will cost me money and phone is incredibly stressful, especially for someone with a cognitive disability.

I have ADHD, it is very difficult for me to deal with this type of thing and I certainly am not prepared to put myself through mental torture of going on their phone line. I contacted them by email that I found via other means and made it very clear they do not have my approval or consent  to auto-renew and that they must cancel what they did and that I would be cancelling my direct debit with them as soon as the last payment is taken for what I agreed to.

I don't want to be subjected to additional stress, it's hard enough to deal with normal stuff. I need to know, how can I cover my back here? I need stuff that is straight forward and easy to do that makes pretty well sure that I am not going to get threats from them. I did not agree to an auto renewal and I need to make sure they can't argue against that. 

p.s. how is this legal? this feels pretty predatory to me. is there a regulator I can report them to? There's no easy opt out on their website, just a 0330 phone number and snail mail address. That seems abusive.

Many thanks.

Edited. For phrasing.

FlorayG

If you cancel your DD they will cancel your insurance anyway
Sadly for you, this arrangement is normal and if you don't want to autorenew then you do need to 'phone them before the due date and go through the hoops

SiliconChip

As sometimes happens here it appears that you are looking for a particular response rather than paying attention to the responses you're getting, so why not save everyone time and bother and tell us what it is you want to hear and we'll just say that?

DullGreyGuy

FlorayG said:

If you cancel your DD they will cancel your insurance anyway
Sadly for you, this arrangement is normal and if you don't want to autorenew then you do need to 'phone them before the due date and go through the hoops

They will cancel it for non-payment, which is then declarable for life (assuming it is insurance), and may send it off to debt collection

triade

SiliconChip said:

As sometimes happens here it appears that you are looking for a particular response rather than paying attention to the responses you're getting, so why not save everyone time and bother and tell us what it is you want to hear and we'll just say that?

I thought I was very clear in what I was asking for. Surely if I had posted this alone without context, people would be asking for all the other information? I feel like I can't win here.

triade said:

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 I need to know, how can I cover my back here? I need stuff that is straight forward and easy to do that makes pretty well sure that I am not going to get threats from them. I did not agree to an auto renewal and I need to make sure they can't argue against that. 

-

Many thanks.

Edited. For phrasing.

Can you all please remember, I have adhd and my brain doesn't work like yours. I can't deal with things like this easily and I have severe problems with emotional regulation.  I'm trying my best but it's not as easy for me to be calm and collected as it is for you

triade

FlorayG said:

If you cancel your DD they will cancel your insurance anyway
Sadly for you, this arrangement is normal and if you don't want to autorenew then you do need to 'phone them before the due date and go through the hoops

But considering I find that nearly impossible, is that not predatory? I sent an email to their customerhelp@domesticandgeneral.com email address. I'm pretty sure this is the primary means to contact them and have a clear line of communication.

My email to them was as follows

hello,  I do not consent to auto renewal,  you DO NOT HAVE PERMISSION to start a new contract and I DO NOT AGREE.  I do not appreciate you sending me an email informing me that you will be autorenewing without asking me if I want to.  I am grossly offended at this behaviour.  My plan #######  ENDS on the 08 April 2025 .  I do not agree to any continuation.  amend your systems to reflect this IMMEDIATELY.  failure to do so will be pursued with the ombudsman. 

triade

DullGreyGuy said:

FlorayG said:

If you cancel your DD they will cancel your insurance anyway
Sadly for you, this arrangement is normal and if you don't want to autorenew then you do need to 'phone them before the due date and go through the hoops

They will cancel it for non-payment, which is then declarable for life (assuming it is insurance), and may send it off to debt collection

It's no secret what these phone lines are like, they can put you on hold for ages and try all sorts of tactics to break people into giving up. Do you not agree, having no cancel button in the profile page and having the phone line or snail mail as the only means to cancel this auto-renew, is abusive? I would have expected there to be some kind of regulation that says cancellation must have a clear and easy process?

I honestly feel like I'm being pushed into a corner by this company and it's making me angry. I have a severe disability and the 'options' I am being given are pretty much impossible for me to deal with, I don't understand how they can just do this to people. 

Edit: seems I'm not alone. Honestly thought I was going mad...

https://www.thetimes.com/money-mentor/income-budgeting/auto-renewal-laws-uk-ban