Charged for not renewing insurance

Hoonercat

If it does turn out to be a clause on page 35412 of the T&C's:rolleyes: , should it be considered as a legitimate charge? Should I just say 'Fair enough' and pay up (though they haven't asked for payment so assume it's getting lumped onto the mortgage:mad: ).

Or would I be within my rights to point out that the new Insurance company asked for (and received) the name of the mortgage Lender and the account details to show that the Coventry have an interest in the house? Should I ask them to breakdown the £25 cost (I tried this over the phone only to be told 'well, there's a lot of work involved':rolleyes: ).

skintandsad

A lot of work involved - hmmmm! They check to make sure that the sum insured is adequate in terms of rebuild cost, as that is the amount you should be insuring for, and that it covers basics.
It isn't exactly rocket science!!!

It goes a bit like this....

In purchase year surveyor said rebuild cost = £100,000
2 years later rebuild cost = £100,000 x 101% = £101,000
has client insured property for £101,000 ?

Also, we want property covered for fire, flood etc, is property covered?

It would take someone who knows what they are looking for no more than 5 minutes to flick through the policy.

I suppose that would be a long time if you were trying to hold your breathe that long :rotfl:

£25 fee is pretty standard for lenders; but as previously stated, I would check to make sure it is in your terms and conditions and find out where it is mentioned so you can read it for yourself.

Then, if you DO have to pay - haggle with your new insurers to pay the cost if possible.

lisyloo

If it does turn out to be a clause on page 35412 of the T&C's:rolleyes: , should it be considered as a legitimate charge?

Probably yes for these reasons.
1) You agreed to it. You might not have read all 300 pages but you still agreed to it.
2) It's an admin charge and not a peanlty charge. Admin charges are legal.
3) Balance up your time and stress. Is it worth it? If you'd spent your time doing something productive instead of writing on here, how much could you have earnt?
4) How many hundred or thousands did you save on the mortgage deal?

My only reticence is that like you I believe that this is really a punitive fee and not an admin fee.
They don't levy this to check your policy (otherwise they'd have to do it every time you change). They are being dishonest in my opinion.
It's actually a punitive fee to put people off taking their insurance elsewhere.
They can't say that because those are illegal so they call it an admin fee because that's legal.

Or would I be within my rights to point out that the new Insurance company asked for (and received) the name of the mortgage Lender and the account details to show that the Coventry have an interest in the house?

I don't think that argument works.
How do they know it's correct without checking for themselves?
You could have made a mistake or be a fraudster.

Should I ask them to breakdown the £25 cost

I personally think this fee is quite small.
We have been through this argument with car insurance fees as well but basically they can include buildings costs, electrcity, phone, paper, paper storage, person that orders the paper, printer costs, ink costs, managerial costs, payroll costs, national insruance, pensions, sickness, training, hardware, software etc.
They could easily justify it IMO.

It would take someone who knows what they are looking for no more than 5 minutes to flick through the policy.

See costs above.
It's not just the persons time you are paying for.

I would write the letter (make sure it's in line with their formal procedure) ask them to justify it.
That way you will fairly quickly get a good idea of whether they are fobbing you off or whether they are right e.g. it actually is in clause d paragraph 2 page 456.

Hoonercat

3) Balance up your time and stress. Is it worth it? If you'd spent your time doing something productive instead of writing on here, how much could you have earnt?

Absolutely nothing, I've been off work with flu and don't get paid

I would write the letter (make sure it's in line with their formal procedure) ask them to justify it.

Thanks, I'll do that just as soon as my head is a bit clearer. I know it's only £25, but it's the fact that they're, in reality, trying to charge customers for having the cheek to shop elsewhere that I find annoying. The suggestion that it's to cover the admin cost as they need to know who is ensuring the property is rubbish, what of the thousands of Coventry customers who have their insurance elsewhere? The Coventry has no way of knowing if their investments are being protected, do they intend to write to these customers each year asking for the insurance details and demanding £25 to do so? (Hope I'm not giving them ideas here:o .)

We have been through this argument with car insurance fees as well but basically they can include buildings costs, electrcity, phone, paper, paper storage, person that orders the paper, printer costs, ink costs, managerial costs, payroll costs, national insruance, pensions, sickness, training, hardware, software etc.
They could easily justify it IMO.

In that case, should they not charge customers everytime we ring them for something, as we're using the time of an adviser? Or charge us for making online applications/queries.
Actually, you've got me thinking now. If it's all about covering costs, maybe I should ask them to cover my costs? Such as the 4 phonecalls I had to make before finally being told that the fee was because I also had a mortgage with them, paper, envelope, stamp, ink, printer wear and tear, electricity, wear and tear on the light bulb, wear and tear on the carpet on which I've been pacing with worry, heating, as I've had to spend more time at home seeking advice via an internet forum, and that's just off the top of my head:D

Feel free to add anything I may have overlooked:p

lisyloo

In that case, should they not charge customers everytime we ring them for something, as we're using the time of an adviser? Or charge us for making online applications/queries.

It depends on their business model (which they are at liberty to decide).
Many car insurance companies now strip out a lot of admin from the upfront premiums (no doubt to be the cheapest in searches).
If you want to cancel, change your address or change your car then you have to pay an admin fee.
As far as I know, queries are not charged extra for which must mean they are included in the service.

As a customer you don't get to choose how the company runs it's business however you can choose which companies to use.
For car insurance some of this information has been compiled for people so that they can compare the admin fees before buying.

So what you suggest is in fact happening in the insurance industry.

The £25 fee you are seeing has been around for a while as a dis-incentive for moving your house insurance.
They have to now call it an "admin" fee to make it legal.

If it's all about covering costs, maybe I should ask them to cover my costs?

I have certainly got money back from companies before where I've incurred costs.
You need to write an articulate letter and justify yourself.
If you can give names, dates, times and departments that you spoke to then it will add a lot of credibility to your complaint.
As you say you, there was no income lost so your costs would be fairly low but in principle there is no reason why you shouldn't make a claim if you can adequately demonstrate incomptance (detailed records would help a great deal here).

Also defence is the best form of attack so if you put in a claim for £35 then there is a greater chance of them settling for £25 (in my opinion).