Elephant Car insurance

[lorn250]

I cancelled my car insurance with Elephant on 11th November, phoned them and said I was cancelling. They said as the policy was for both my husband and myself it would be better to write in and cancel and send back the policy. This I did and took out insurance with someone else. Then in December I got a letter from them saying that they were cancelling my policy and I owed them £50. I replied stating that I had cancelled the insurance in writing and by phone on the 11th of November and as I was within 21 days (it was actually 7 days) that I owed them nothing. I then sent them a copy of the letter sent and the new policy with another insurance to show that I had taken out a policy with someone else. I heard nothing until this week when suddenly I have received a bill from a debt collector for £70 and been threatened with court action.

What can I do, I don't owe them this money and I don't see why I should pay it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Lorn250

[JonCris]

Had you paid your previous years premium in full before you cancelled?

Also can you explain what you mean by "I cancelled my policy within 21 days" had you just taken it out then cancelled it. If so were there any days that Elephant were on risk?

[lorn250]

Yes I did, does this make difference

Regards

Lorn250

[Michael Browne]

Also can you explain what you mean by "I cancelled my policy within 21 days" had you just taken it out then cancelled it. If so were there any days that Elephant were on risk?

You haven't answered this.

In other words was this an old policy that you didn't want to re-new with Elephant or was it a new policy that you wanted to cancel within the first 21 days.

[JonCris]

Originally Posted by Michael Browne

You haven't answered this.

In other words was this an old policy that you didn't want to re-new with Elephant or was it a new policy that you wanted to cancel within the first 21 days.

& had they been 'on risk' during any of that time

[lorn250]

Elephant had not been at risk, as I was insured with another company. I have tried talking to them about this but they have now given this account to a debt collection agency who have said that they will be taking me to court for £70

[Darkangelsdelite]

I think there's still some confusion here....
What we need to know is whether this policy was cancelled from renewal
i.e it was renewed in November, you called up within the first 21 days (known as the "cooling off" period,) OR was this a 'mid-term' cancellation i.e it was renewed earlier last year and you decided to cancel part way through your 12 month contract.
The reason we ask is that the outstanding balance could be due to a cancellation charge, in which case you may well be liable for it. If it was cancelled during your cooling off period then they can only charge you for the time on risk.
please post back with more specific info and we'll try and help you.


DA

[lorn250]

This was a renewal, the insurance ran out on 3rd November I told them that I would not be renewing and got a new insurance on 11th November. I am happy to pay the 8 days

[Darkangelsdelite]

If you are cancelling within the first 14 days of a policy then they cannot charge you a cancellation fee as this is in clear breach of FSA regulations.
The most they can expect you to pay is for the days cover that you have used. I'd write in to their complaints dept and ask for a breakdown of the £70, if any part of it is a cancellation fee then you have a case.

DA

[mrneko]

Originally Posted by Darkangelsdelite

If you are cancelling within the first 14 days of a policy then they cannot charge you a cancellation fee as this is in clear breach of FSA regulations.
The most they can expect you to pay is for the days cover that you have used. I'd write in to their complaints dept and ask for a breakdown of the £70, if any part of it is a cancellation fee then you have a case.

DA

Not true sorry, all of the EUI group i.e admiral, bell,diamond etc send renewal docs out at least 21 days before the date of renewal, this is the cooling off period.

it states in their terms and conditions that they have the rite to charge you anything between £22.50 to £45 to cancel after the date of renewal, they would then give you pro-rata back minus that charge.

Also elephant do not do a duel insurance such as multicar, so im not sure how the insurance is for both you and your husband, was it two sperate policys???

If you have proof that you had insurance before the renewal of the elephant policy with another company they will normally cancel if free and backdate the insurance to show you were not covered with them.