The Great 'Car Insurance Cancellation & Administration Fee' Hunt

anniecave

gerardflanagan wrote: »

Thanks for the reply.

So should I just get an annual policy and cancel it in September rather than a monthly one?

You may be able to buy an annual policy, and pay in monthly installments, then just have to pay a cancellation fee when you cancel?

There are temporary cover companies, but they work out very expensive, so for 3 months, I would think you'd be better off with part of an annual one.

maria6259

My 82 year old father cancelled his car insurance with Saga in April which was half way through the year. His payment was approx £127.47 for the year and he got back £10.07! This equates to a charge of £50 for cancellation.

However, he got me to write to them with a 'sob story' about how he is a pensioner, doesnt have much money (he does), has saved them money as his chances of having an accident were high (he was a terrible driver, thank god he doesnt drive any more).

Result: they gave him another £50 back

Nice one Saga!!

dunstonh

You may be able to buy an annual policy, and pay in monthly installments, then just have to pay a cancellation fee when you cancel?

That is likely to be more expensive. When you buy an annual policy and pay in instalments you are doing so under a credit agreement. The insurer gets the money up front. When you cancel say after 3 months, you will have to pay 4-5 months equivalent premium plus a cancellation charge.

minty1_2

I did not recieve my renewal quote from Quote mart, so insured with another company. Assuming i had to ask for a renewal. It was only 4 days after the renewal date that i found out that they had taken my money and renewed me automatically. (not something i was expecting as my partner who had been with Direct line for 10 years gone pulled by the police for no insurance as he thought he did have rolling renewal). Renewal date 10th March Canelled policy on the 14th March. Two letters and two phone calls and nearly 4 months later they are finally going to pay me back some of my money having first taken a cancellation fee of over £50. They say this is because even though i sent the renewal certificate back to them they say they didn't recieve it...... Turns out there 14 day cooling offf period only counts if they've recieved the certificate back in that time frame. Seems a tad unfair to me as i have a full no claims history and over 20 years of driving.
Any advice ?

anniecave

The cancellation and admin fees are different for Tesco and Tesco value policies apparently.
I just phoned up and asked about Tesco
They told me the admin fee is £15.75 and the cancellation fee is £10.50 + 10% of the policy value.

aye_up_3

hi i'm currently insured with kwik fit and have just changed my car,when i rang them to change it over they wanted a lot more money so i did a comparison quote and found it a lot cheeper,i was paying £275 per month to them and had the policy for 3 months,when i rang to cancel they said it would cost me £475 to cancel surely this can't be right

dunstonh

aye_up wrote: »

hi i'm currently insured with kwik fit and have just changed my car,when i rang them to change it over they wanted a lot more money so i did a comparison quote and found it a lot cheeper,i was paying £275 per month to them and had the policy for 3 months,when i rang to cancel they said it would cost me £475 to cancel surely this can't be right

Yes. You are trying to break a contract. Cancelling after 3 months will have around a £20-£50 fee and you will have to pay for approx 5 months of cover as a penalty. So, its seems about right.

Annual car insurance is not designed to be pay as you go and changing mid term can work out very expensive.

squeekyminos

I've recently cancelled my AA membership (which I no longer need) after the annual membership renewal fee was taken from my account. I cancelled within the 14 days. AA's T's and C's state that there will be an admin charge on cancellation. I thought my statutory rights would entitle me to a full refund without charge, and I'm therefore wondering if i need to pay this charge or not?

So how is the cancellation fee legal bearing in mind your statutory rights to a full refund within cooling off? Am i being daft here?

dunstonh

I thought my statutory rights would entitle me to a full refund without charge, and I'm therefore wondering if i need to pay this charge or not?

With insurance, the providers are allowed to make a charge if you elect to cancel. However, AA membership is not insurance.

So how is the cancellation fee legal bearing in mind your statutory rights to a full refund within cooling off? Am i being daft here?

Its lawful and acceptable as long as its in their T&C.

Schrodingers_Cat_2

Tesco insurance have made my blood boil, and here is why :-

Back in July, I found I could get good car insurance elsewhere for half the price....so I got the new policy, and set about cancelling my combined Tesco Insurance and Tesco Breakdown Recovery policy.

I called Tesco on July 22nd.....5 days before the next payment was due, and clearly informed them of my desire to have the policy cancelled as from July 27th.

I was informed they had noted that, but that due to their system I would have to actually call back on July 27th to cancel the policy. They then informed me of cancellation fee.....1 month premium + £10....and in addition 25% of the breakdown cover.....all of which comes to £59.

Well, I am extremely busy, and forgot to call back on July 27th....not least because I had already TOLD them I wanted the policy cancelled. Then on August 7th I got a letter saying my payment was 'overdue' ( I had cancelled the direct debit). Well....I called and told them it was not my fault or problem if their system could not cope with advance cancellations ! There is NO legal requirement that one can ONLY cancel on the actual cancellation date.

But today, regardless of that, they sent me a bill for £77....part of which is for money 'due' after the date I had already told them I wanted the policy cancelled. They can sue me for that extra...as I have no doubt that 'our system cannot cope' is NOT a legal defence.

But it's worse.....and here is something for anyone with such combined insurance to watch out for. The ' 1 month plus £10' would appear to INCLUDE the breakdown component......so, if they are also charging you 25% seperately for the breakdown cover ending....then they are penalising you TWICE for the same cover !

£77 to cancel an insurance policy is a rip off. Also.....I cannot find the 25% breakdown cancellation amount anywhere in the actual policy document.