Car Insurance Tips & Tricks

Rakel

Good Afternoon,

I need some advice with regards to my car insurnace. Me and my partner took out a single car policy last October (2012) with Admiral. Everything was fine up untill I renewed it this October (2013), I went online to check my bank account yesterday and was shocked to find that Admiral tried to take out nearly double the amount they had took out the previous month (start of new policy October 9th 2013 Amount - £111.18, Amount they tried to take Yesterday Novemeber 13th 2013 amount - £229.56). I got straight on the phone to them to ask why this had happened, hoping it was a mistake. The Girl I spoke to explained to me that they had 'found a discrepency' in my policy and had notified my via email that my policy would be nearly doubling as I had not diclosed to them that my partner had a driving conviction for being on his mobile phone whilst driving. I did not revece any correspondence what so ever from Admiral explaining to me that my policy was going to change!! Hench the reason I was so stunned when I check the bank. My partner was fined and given 3 points for being on his mobile back in January 2012 (before we took out the first policy). When setting up the policy in October 2012 as I was down as a named driver and the gentleman I was speaking to from Admiral asked to speak with my partner to confirm a few details, when speaking to him on the phone my partner told them about this conviction. So when I called Admiral yesterday the girl explained that the amount had changed as I was being charged over £770 for not declaring this offence on last years policy and they are back dating the money that my policy should of been charged at.

Can they do this, I feel that I am being unfairly treated and I am not aware of my position on what to do? If I can do anything. I do not see why I should be charged any more for their error in not taking down the correct information at the time it was given to them. My policy from last year has now expired and should not be void. I really really need some help. I got quotes for the same type of insurance and declaired all motoring convictions and was quoted £645 by Diamond (Admiral) and the quote they gave me on the phone was £2455.83. I do not understand. Any advice is much appricated. Thanks

Rakel

Now ** be void. Sorry typo..

pocketslint

I renewed my policy with echoice in January. When I did so I enquired about changing vehicle during the life of the policy as I was looking to change car in the near future. I was advised that there would be a £25 admin charge, which I expected, and any difference in risk, up or down would be a factor as one would expect. As I was changing from a car in Gp 15 to a car in Gp 9, I thought that this could only be in my favour. With the years policy paid in full (£189) I phoned to change vehicle details yesterday and I was charged £108. The explanation given for this discrepancy was that I had no experience of driving this particular vehicle (Is this not the case with all new vehicles?) and therefore there was a significant rise in risk. Does this make sense to anyone? Does anyone have a similar experience and is this correct? How and with whom do I officially record my complaint? Thanks in advance, WW.

Quentin

Record your complaint to echoice initially. Send a formal complaint in line with their complaint procedure which will be set out in the policy docs.

If you are unhappy with the reply you can then escalate to the FOS for their adjudication at no cost to you.

If you are still unhappy with the FOS reply then your final option is to take echoice to court, though this will involve you in cost unless you win your case.

pocketslint

Thanks Quentin, does this seem usual practise? Is this the norm? WW.

Quentin

Their "reasoning" is not unusual!

Practically, if your complaint fails to get the reult you want, all you can do is see if there is any significant saving with a new policy elsewhere (after taking into account cancellation charges and not getting any NCD for the part year) and if so vote with your feet.

pocketslint

As I follow the advice and recommendations on MSE I do vote with my feet or my wallet at every renewal, maybe this is an area where echoices claw back money as they quoted significantly less than their competitors through the comparison sites. The moral here Is to change vehicle at the end of your existing policy when you are still in control and have a degree of leverage, WW.

nandrews

I have just had Kwik Fit auto renew my car insurance, despite me not authorising any such thing! They even took the money from my credt card (early!) and without the correct details, since my credit card had been replaced since I took out the policy.
The worrying thing is that the card company supported the auto renewal despite the card details being different!
As I had told Kwik Fot not to auto renew, the card company have refunded. But it still concerns me that insurance can be auto renewed without any authority from me!
Nigel

siln

Just found out that because I had obtained an RAC quote through a comparison web site that I wasn't entitled to any offers shown on the home RAC page. Told to read the very small terms and conditions way down the page in small print which said that both the quote and payment need to be done ditectly on the RAC website! Just something to factor in when obtaining quotes.

Fizz_flop

Had my renewal quote through, but after checking usual comparison sites I've had a quote from the same company for over £100 cheaper. Stupid question, but am I ok buying the online quote?