Reoccurring payments

My son took out AA breakdown cover in November 2015 online and I paid using a debit card as it allowed us to go through Quidco. He believes he cancels before the next year but has no proof. It turns out a reoccurring payment was made in 2016 and 2017 totalling £450 from my card. I didn’t spot this payments before now. He didn’t get a letter in 2016 and took out RAC cover instead. In 2017 he took out European cover with another provider as he has been travelling for the past 9 months. He has just returned and found an AA renewal letter from last November. My issue is that these payments have been made from my card but I have not been directly contacted to warn me and to give me the chance to cancel. The AA have not been helpful and my bank says it cannot help. Is the AA allowed to take these payments without notifying me? Thank you
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 35,242
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    Yes. They only need to contact the person with whom they have the contract.
  • note-from-mum
    note-from-mum Posts: 14 Forumite
    Telephone the FOS ask them to raise a complaint on your behalfs to the AA. AA will have 8 weeks to send you a final resolution. if they are smart they will refund the money.
    if they say no refund in their final response then you go back to the FOS and ask them to adjudicate. THE FOS woill ask for telephone recordings and other stuff. if they up hold your clain you get it back plus 8% interest and aa pays around £550 costs. If the FOS dismiss your claim you get nothing but it still costs the AA approx £550 so its in their best interests to pay your complaint. all it takes initially is a phone call to FOS and costs you nowt.
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 116,040
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    My issue is that these payments have been made from my card but I have not been directly contacted to warn me and to give me the chance to cancel.

    Which is always a risk with third party payments as they notify the plan holder.
    Telephone the FOS ask them to raise a complaint on your behalfs to the AA.

    Probably best not to do that but instead go straight to AA and complain. I have seen a number of complaints over the years (I did a short stint in complaint handling) and the ones that came via the FOS were usually heavily abbreviated and an interpretation of the complaint rather than the actual complaint.
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
  • Thank you for the quick responses. I will try once more complaining to the AA especially as when I last spoke to them then I thought it was only for one year. Then I will try the FOS if unsuccessful. A similar problem happened with my daughters cover as the renewal letter was sent to an old address and not forwarded but luckily I spotted that one early on through my bank statement!
  • dunstonh wrote: »
    Which is always a risk with third party payments as they notify the plan holder.



    Probably best not to do that but instead go straight to AA and complain. I have seen a number of complaints over the years (I did a short stint in complaint handling) and the ones that came via the FOS were usually heavily abbreviated and an interpretation of the complaint rather than the actual complaint.


    you have a point but if you write your complaint in advance.



    Then call the FOS explain then email your complaint to the FOS person they will forward your complaint un abreviated to the Insurance company.
    Most insurance companies have a code of practice that when an FOS associated complaint comes in it is handled by their legal dept.
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 116,040
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    Then call the FOS explain then email your complaint to the FOS person they will forward your complaint un abreviated to the Insurance company.
    Most insurance companies have a code of practice that when an FOS associated complaint comes in it is handled by their legal dept.

    Complaints are handled via the complaints department. Not the legal team. The complaints team is the one qualified and regulated to handle complaints. Complaints handling is a regulated process. The legal side will only get involved when the complaint is legalistic in nature.

    What we saw coming from the FOS was handwritten by someone in the FOS on their form an interpretation of the complaint in a couple of sentences.
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 26,612
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    Most insurance companies have a code of practice that when an FOS associated complaint comes in it is handled by their legal dept.
    That is not correct. The same people handle the complaint regardless of where it originates. A FOS-forwarded complaint carries no extra weight and can even harm the complaint (as Dunston has already pointed out).
    The complaint process is defined and regulated. The customer must first complain to the firm in question and must then allow eight weeks for the firm to consider it. Only after that consideration period is over can the Ombudsman Service get fully involved. I would expect the AA to refund the money without FOS involvement.
  • note-from-mum
    note-from-mum Posts: 14 Forumite
    edited 12 May 2018 at 2:05PM
    dunstonh wrote: »
    Complaints are handled via the complaints department. Not the legal team. The complaints team is the one qualified and regulated to handle complaints. Complaints handling is a regulated process. The legal side will only get involved when the complaint is legalistic in nature.

    What we saw coming from the FOS was handwritten by someone in the FOS on their form an interpretation of the complaint in a couple of sentences.
    I had a problem with an insurance company over accident fault. The claims handler refused my complaint on the phone not send a final resolution. I rang the FOS. Who sent my complaint in.

    This made the Insurance company sit up. They listened to the phone calls and agreed with me. The person told me that when the complaint on my behalf came in from the FOS it went straight to their legal team. He described their manager as Sh1ttin bricks when he got it from their legal team. I have done this an number of times and it works for me. so I consider my custom and practice is a worker. The company sent me a goodwill gesture and i dd not go to ajudication with the FOS.
    18 months later when they decided on closing the other parties claim they decided I was at fault. Again I contacted the FOS. Same again this time I had another goodwill plus free premium for a year. They listened to the calls from the previous complaint and heard their worker say to me we will not decide on faulon the phone t till we have spoken to you. they forgot/ignored this. In a stroke they removed me from at fault.
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 116,040
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    edited 12 May 2018 at 2:20PM
    The claims handler refused my complaint on the phone not send a final resolution.

    Claims handlers do not handle complaints. They handle claims. Either they failed to refer you to the complaints team or they did not consider your comments sufficient enough to be classed as a complaint.

    I rang the FOS. Who sent my complaint in again on.

    This made the Insurance company sit up.

    No it didnt. Complaints arriving via the FOS are routine. It sounds like you never dealt with the complaints team previously.
    The person told me that when the complaint on my behalf came in from the FOS it went straight to their legal team. He described their manager as Sh1ttin bricks when he got it from their legal team.

    That is a load of BS. Not what you are saying but what you were told. There is no fear of the FOS.

    Had you made the complaint directly (or been put through at the time) then the same people deal with the complaint regardless.
    I have done this an number of times and it works for me. so I consider my custom and practice is a worker.

    Yes it would work in the end but it adds nothing over complaining directly and only introduces margins of error. We had one where someone complained via the FOS and the scribble was that they were complaining about a bond sold. We checked and found no bond was sold and rejected the complaint suggesting they had the wrong company. 5 months later the person followed up saying it was a pension not a bond and they had never said bond. The FOS scribble clearly said bond. The outcome was the same but it just added a load of time and effort whereas a phone call or direct communication at the outset would have allowed questions to be made to clarify points (and no legal team was ever in sight on routine complaints).

    What I am effectively saying is that you can drive from A to B a number of different ways. Some short, some long. Using the FOS initially to pass on your complaint is a bit like Chinese Whispers and going the long way. The telephone handler at the FOS is interpreting your complaint (they are not trained to know product or issue specific things. They don't actually handle the complaints). Whereas the complaints team at the firm should have a better knowledge of what they do (unless you get a trainee!!!)
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
  • dunstonh wrote: »
    Claims handlers do not handle complaints. They handle claims. Either they failed to refer you to the complaints team or they did not consider your comments sufficient enough to be classed as a complaint.




    No it didnt. Complaints arriving via the FOS are routine. It sounds like you never dealt with the complaints team previously.



    That is a load of BS. Not what you are saying but what you were told. There is no fear of the FOS.

    Had you made the complaint directly (or been put through at the time) then the same people deal with the complaint regardless.



    Yes it would work in the end but it adds nothing over complaining directly and only introduces margins of error. We had one where someone complained via the FOS and the scribble was that they were complaining about a bond sold. We checked and found no bond was sold and rejected the complaint suggesting they had the wrong company. 5 months later the person followed up saying it was a pension not a bond and they had never said bond. The FOS scribble clearly said bond. The outcome was the same but it just added a load of time and effort whereas a phone call or direct communication at the outset would have allowed questions to be made to clarify points (and no legal team was ever in sight on routine complaints).

    What I am effectively saying is that you can drive from A to B a number of different ways. Some short, some long. Using the FOS initially to pass on your complaint is a bit like Chinese Whispers and going the long way. The telephone handler at the FOS is interpreting your complaint (they are not trained to know product or issue specific things. They don't actually handle the complaints). Whereas the complaints team at the firm should have a better knowledge of what they do (unless you get a trainee!!!)
    It suits me fine
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