direct debit not taken for 6 months

bigO

Hi,

We have a car insurance policy with morethan.
As we are due to renew our policy we phoned them to ask about renewal and they informed us that no direct debit payment has been taken from our account since june last year although they inform us that we were covered , after saying that we hadn't been covered all in the same conversation!

We phoned our bank and they have said the DD is active for this policy.

Morethan now want £500.

This is their mistake and i obviously dont think i should be left short because their bank failed to take the funds from our account.

does anyone know where we stand with this.

oh, we have been told we can pay £150 a month untill it is settled. Thats not what i want either.

Thanks in advance

lisyloo

i obviously dont think i should be left short

So have you already spent the money?

Thats not what i want either.

What is is that you want?

I think I might be able to help you but I need honest answers to the above questions first.

bigO

Hi,

honest answers coming your way

"So have you already spent the money?"

unwittingly yes.

"what is it that you want"

I want to know why they didnt take the money and i want to pay them £73.84 a month untill it is settled because thats what out budget was.

At least then we can move to a diff insurance provider and the combined payment will be £150 a month.

if we pay them £their £150 a month and then have to pay for a new policy on top of that we end up paying £225 a month, very different from £75 a month.

of course we did spend the money so you could say we shouldnt be complaining, but we didnt make the mistake.

Thanks

lisyloo

unwittingly yes

Firstly I am not a lawyer (but I lurk on bulletin boards quite a bit).
There is a legal principle called "estoppel" which means that if you unwittingly proceded on an assmption then you cannot be made worse off by it.
So if you unwittingly spent the money thinking it was available as a result of THEIR mistake and you cannot recover that money (as it's been spent) then they cannot have it back.

So you could proceed on this basis.
You would need to do some research and write an articulate letter "citing" the "principle of estoppel".
The more knowlegeable and convincing you sound about knowing your rights the better.

i want to pay them £73.84 a month untill it is settled because thats what out budget was.

If you don't want to proceed down that route (for either hassle or moral reasons) then why not suggest your own payment schedule?
To be honest if you say you are willing to pay it back but need a different schedule then they will probably bite your hand off.
Just explain that their mistake could put you into hardship and this way you could guarantee full payment to your schedule withou family hardship (they will like the certainly bit).

of course we did spend the money so you could say we shouldnt be complaining, but we didnt make the mistake.

Yep, whichever way you decide to play it don't forget to remind them that the situation is THEIR making.

Obviously you should do your own research.
I am not a lawyer etc.

If you have free legal advice on your home insurance policy then it would be worth giving them a call.

bigO

Thats the best advice i have ever heard.



I have gone with the estoppel option.

they are not happy.

Hopefully I will get them to waive the bill and i will offer to carry on being their customer.

Then leave.

dunstonh

Estoppel doesnt apply. Car insurance is annual contract and at the start of the year you are informed of the annual cost before you proceed. So, you knew the cost for the year and failure to collect hasnt made you worse off. Its made you better off.

You took on a credit agreement to pay on a monthly basis. Payments have not started and you now have a debt.

The insurance company can do multiple things now.

1 - they can pass the debt to a debt collection agency. So they can do damage to your credit record.

2 - they can lodge a failure to pay and policy cancelled by insurer on your record which you then have to declare on any insurances for the rest of your life. This will increase your premiums and may result in some insurers not covering you.

It is normal in these cases to agree a period to repay that debt over.

lisyloo

Hello bigO,

Can you let us know how you get on please.
There is quite often conflicting advice on legal matters (if there wasn't there would be no need for courts, solicitors and judges).

If what I said was wrong then I'm sorry but I'd want to know so that I don't give that wrong advice again.

I wouldn't advise getting into arreas if they pursue it because anythign that goes on your credit report would be on there for at least 6 years.

So can you update us please?

shelly

I know that the mistake was the insurance co's but didn't you notice you were £X amount better off each month? Surely you keep an eye on your bank account to make sure bills etc are being paid on time and not too early or late? Or not at all in your case.

lisyloo

Surely you keep an eye on your bank account to make sure bills etc are being paid on time and not too early or late? Or not at all in your case.

You are correct to point out that individuals also have some responsibility for ensuring things don't go wrong.
As well as avoiding genuine mistkaes it can also clamp down quickly on fraud.

However, I don't think we should be quick to judge in individual circumstances.
Sometimes people go through a crisis where they lose the plot a bit.
I had one 6 month period in my life where I was visiting a close relative in hospital vitually EVERY day. There were other things in my life that went by the wayside during this period.

My own view is that if there is a transaction involving a business and an unpaid lay person then the business has the GREATER responsibility (and I think a county court judge definitely takes into account whether someone is a paid professional or an unpaid lay person).

Obviously sometimes someone may keep quiet about it if it's in their interests or it could be a genuine mistake on their part.
Not every is equally capable or organised.
If it went to court the judge would have to decide whether it was reasonable for a lay person not to notice. For a large amount I'd say no. For an on-going small amount I'd say it is possible for someone not to notice and ultimately the professionals being paid to do their job should be made responsible, but as I said I am not a lawyer and that's why we have judges and courts to decide on such matters in individual cases.