Help! and a warning about Dial Direct insurance

forgotmyname

I must have one of the few insurance companies that dont auto renew.

I wish they did really. Policy up early Jan and they dont send out renewals until 20 days before its due.

2 years ago i nearly didnt get it covered because their office was closed due to the snow.

FairGo

I've had the same problem with DialDirect too, but this time for my home insurance. They've automatically renewed but couldn't take payment from my card so have cancelled the insurance and had the cheek to charge me early cancellation fees and administration fees which come to over £60!!!

This really is a very unfair process, one designed to cheat the consumer and milk money out of us. I even asked them what would happen i decided to renew my policy with the, again and they said I would still have to pay all these charges as well. Clearly this is not a company I will EVER do business with and would not recommend them to anyone either. How can they charge ridiculous amounts for things like early cancellation when I didn't ask for the product in the first place.

Anyway, my complaint is now with the FSA. I would encourage more people to lodge their complaints officially too and look to change such automatic renewal policies. Any other suggestions on how to get my issue with this awful company welcome....

hrdservices

I feel obliged to offer a courtesy warning to anyone using car insurance by dialdirect.

These people will charge you for everything from change of address, change of anything, not telling them when you last went to the bathroom.

Watch this moll print with this company, and the experience with them from the outset was just bad, bad and better bad.

Before I even got my car insurance with them, they threatened to charge me for not producing my proof of no claims discount. I emailed and phoned a couple of times but no one was available, and when I eventually got in touch with someone they were so rude I wondered why they were even in the car insurance business.

Eventually I took out my insurance with them and had to pay for a change of address (£30), and to cancel my policy, yes another charge of £75 and then some.

This has got to be the worst car insurance provider in terms of customer service and making money out of you unwittingly. Their overweight for for number must bring in some revenue as well given the amount of time it takes to get through and passed the BS audio robot. They ask you for everything including your policy number, name and all sorts of stupid questions, then tell you they cannot find your details and you will have to wait for an adviser.

Beware, beware, beware.

hrdservices

More terrible reviews available for dialdirect on the review centre online. As a new user I cannot post links but there are 117 bad reviews.

Can any action be taken by a regulator?

FlameCloud

hrdservices wrote: »

More terrible reviews available for dialdirect on the review centre online. As a new user I cannot post links but there are 117 bad reviews.

Can any action be taken by a regulator?

Explicit fee based charging is supported by the regulator - after all, why should everyone else pay for your admin.

If you don't like the fees, go with an insurer who doesn't charge for amendments, but you will likely have to pay more for the policy in the first place.

TheBaldwins

I have had the same issue with Dial Direct - only getting to the paper work 2 days after it auto-renewed. And yes it is why they are cheaper, but I don't think the charges are fair for comsumers. I am going to challenge them as I'm pretty sure that according to regulation we have a right to cancel within a 14 day period without penalty. The FSA (FCA) ICOBs Handbook points to this: http://fshandbook.info/FS/html/handbook/ICOBS/7/1

Also, I have to say, it seems that some of you people out there only hang around forums to abuse people. You should be ashamed of yourselves. If you don't agree or don't want to help, then why don't you keep your opinions to yourself?

Quentin

Dial direct is really just another brand name for bisl, aka budget insurance.

Check to be sure you don't end up still with them under the other brands they use to confuse. (post office, rac, marks and spencer, etc etc)

TheBaldwins

I called Dial Direct and told them that they can't charge me a cancellation fee as it's against regulations. They said it's not a cancellation fee, it's an 'arrangement fee'. I asked what the arrangement fee is for and I was told that it was for arranging the insurance. I asked them why they only charged the fee when I cancelled and not when the insurance auto renewed, and they said it's because I cancelled. So I argued that it is therefore a cancellation fee. I paid the fee, and I told them that I will be writing a letter of complaint which I will follow all the way to the end. I have their address: Dial Direct Insurance, PO Box 6515, Basingstoke, RG21 4UJ. If you write a letter of complaint, they MUST respond within 8 weeks , and if you're not happy with the response, they reject your complaint or you don't hear from them within the 8 weeks, you can go to the Financial Ombudsman Service. You must go to them within 6 months of final reponse from the company. I don't care this is just £32 or so, it's the principle that some companies think they can do what they like. I work for an insurance company and I can tell you we don't charge these fees and the customer is always at the forefront of everything we do.

Quentin

Despite your own employers approach, (why didn't you insure with them), a cancellation fee is the norm these days whenever you cancel a motor policy. And £32 cheaper than msny "better" names charge.

If you work for a insurer why did you agree the one dial ts & cs without apparently understanding them?

erinus

I arranged car insurance with dial direct on 31/01 to commence cover on 13/02 then received a letter stating they were cancelling the policy as I failed to declare a claim from 2011 (genuine mistake). For cancellation the charge was £38 even though no cover had actually been provided and this was still within the 14 day cooling off period. I was simply told this was their procedure. Followed this up with a complaint through the Financial Ombudsman and called back two hours later to be promised a full refund...still waiting. Total rip-off.