Tesco "Named Driver" NCD

tony_d123

I am having problems with Tesco Motor insurance.

My son was a named driver on my motor insurance last year and it clearly stated "One of the great advantages of having Scott on this policy is that they can build up their Named Driver NCD, which can be used exclusively on Tesco Motor Insurance.

If they personally have a claim free record on your policy, we will credit them with the number of claim free years they have earned should they wish to insure a car in their own right with Tesco Motor Insurance.”

He took out his own policy the day after mine ran out and stated that he had 1 years NCD. They are now saying that the NCD only applies if he is currently a named driver on another Tesco policy??? Oh and they want another £450 on top of the original £1050 premium in lieu of the 10% discount!

I have written to the customer service department, but six weeks later it has still not been investigated.

Has anyone else had similar problems with Tesco regarding "Named Driver" NCD? I will be contacting the ombudsman shortly and wondered if it was something that has occurred before?

MarkyMarkD

Surely you mean 30% discount? 30% of £1,500 is £450.

The FAQ on Tesco's website is crystal clear about the eligibility for this offer (my emphasis):

Question:

Do you offer no claims discount to named drivers?
Answer:

Yes. We give named drivers on Tesco policies 30% - 50% discount off the risk based premium when they take out a policy of their own with us. Just give us the name, date of birth and postcode of the policyholder whose insurance you are/were covered under and we'll confirm the discount.

This benefit cannot be transferred to policies with other insurers. Discount is based on the number of continuous years as a named driver (min 1yr) at the time the discount is applied. The policy you are named under must be live when your discount is applied.

So he took out his own policy one day too late.

It's quite interesting, to be honest, that he suddenly needed a policy the day after yours ran out. They weren't, coincidentally, on the same car, were they? And it wasn't possibly true that you were actually fronting the original policy on his behalf?

Apologies for the cynicism, but if he was named on your policy in respect of your car, he would normally not have chosen when to buy his own car entirely on the basis of when your car insurance policy ran out.

Steve1981

MarkyMarkD wrote: »

It's quite interesting, to be honest, that he suddenly needed a policy the day after yours ran out. They weren't, coincidentally, on the same car, were they? And it wasn't possibly true that you were actually fronting the original policy on his behalf?

Apologies for the cynicism, but if he was named on your policy in respect of your car, he would normally not have chosen when to buy his own car entirely on the basis of when your car insurance policy ran out.

jumping to a few assumptions there mark,

it could have been that they discovered he would be the main driver for the next year and decided in an honest way to stop insurering it in OP name and that the son should take on his own insurance.

of course the OP didnt clarify this so it 'could' be a different car and that OP then insured his own vehicle elsewhere?;)

MarkyMarkD

I've apologised for the cynicism, but I've seen too many threads like this where the underlying story is a bit more messy than what's disclosed in the first place.

There's nothing wrong with insuring a vehicle in someone else's name as long as the main driver is disclosed as such. So suddenly deciding that the main driver had changed, on the same vehicle, isn't a reason to change the name of the insured per se.

I shall wait for the OP to enlighten us as to:

(a) whether the OP had another car, as well as the car his son was the named driver on;
(b) whether the son insured the same car in his own name when the OP's policy ran out;
(c) whether the original Tesco policy named the son as the main driver, and whether he was in fact the main driver of that vehicle.

I have an open mind.

tony_d123

It was a family car registered in my name and when I bought a new one, decided to give it to my son after he had passed his test.

It is still registered in my name and me and my wife are still named drivers, but thought we would be honest and name him as main driver as he now uses it most of the time. But should have just renewed the policy as most other people do. You do not get rewarded for being honest in this world.

An interesting thing you point out about the policy having to be live. Tesco polices start at midnight but end at 12.00 noon the day after, so you get cover for 1 year and 12 hours. So he was actually on both policies for 12 hours.

tony_d123

Thanks but I don't need a lesson in what is legal, just after some similar examples of dealing with Tesco if any out there?

The frustrating thing is that I could have cancelled within 14 days with a full refund but they have dragged it on for 6 weeks, just sending apology letters for not dealing with it yet. Because of their delays, can I still reserve the right to cancel when they make a decision?

Iamthesmartestmanalive

Yawn

Im with tesco and they are brillant insurers, they abided by my NCD discount when I bought my own car

Its not tescos fault you were fronting to start with, and that you didnt read the terms before withdrawing from the fraud you were commiting

Your sons a young driver, he has higher premiums for a reason and this doesnt justify your suggestion of fraud

Its people like you who make insurance dearer

tony_d123

Iamthesmartestmanalive wrote: »

Its people like you who make insurance dearer

You have not read the thread! Insured in my name when I was the main driver. Changed to my son after I bought another car. What more can I do?

The quote about keeping the insurance was a flippant one and I would not really go through with it.

Thought I might get some sensible help on this site, but unfortunately it seems no-one has anything constructive to say.

Iamthesmartestmanalive

tony_d123 wrote: »

You have not read the thread! Insured in my name when I was the main driver. Changed to my son after I bought another car. What more can I do?

The quote about keeping the insurance was a flippant one and I would not really go through with it.

Thought I might get some sensible help on this site, but unfortunately it seems no-one has anything constructive to say.

He has clearly been driving it for a while as main driver whilst being named though

Hazzanet

Iamthesmartestmanalive wrote: »

He has clearly been driving it for a while as main driver whilst being named though

Hmm, that's not how I read this. The OP owned and used the car, and was the main driver. It sounds as though the son was a named driver, and used it on occasion.

When the OP purchased a new car, they became the main driver on the new vehicle, and decided to "give" the old one to the son although not re-register it.

Therefore, the OP is no longer the main driver on the old car, as they are the main driver on the new one, and as the old car now "belongs" to the son, he becomes the main driver.

I see no issue of fronting here; the OP has been fair and honest with the insurer.

tony_d123

Iamthesmartestmanalive wrote: »

He has clearly been driving it for a while as main driver whilst being named though

Well aren't you the pompous one. Your comments are just assumptions based on your own suspicious mind.

FYI I we have currently 3 cars in the household and 4 motorbikes, I have insured at least one bike and car for the past 30 years. I guess myself and my wife have contributed approx £20,000 to the insurers in that time without making any claims, so do not say that It is people like me that make your insurance premiums higher.