Budget car insurance

Pimp Cat · 7th July 2006, 13:58

Afternoon all,

I took out an insurance policy with budget insurance ltd. all was good till i was involved in an accident, not my fault! the car was a compleete write off, The claim took about a month - 2 months to sort out so i was with out a car. Still paying monthly insurance payments tho, when the other company eventualy paid out, i bought a new car and phoned up to change the car on my policy to my new one, it was at this point that i was told my policy had been canceled! I checked my bank statements and they have taken not only the mothly payment for the month they canceled the policy but £357 extra. After lots of phone calls and mainly gettin nowhere, i was told it was a charge for canceling the policy! even tho they are the ones that canceled it!

I have also been charged £80 in late payment fees which i understand i can claim back.

Is there any thing i can do about reclaiming the £357 as well as the £80 in fees??

Cheers

Colin.

craigwalton · 7th July 2006, 17:15

2 things...

Did they tell you why they cancelled it?

Were you given any notice of the cancellation??

JonCris · 9th July 2006, 10:58

Did they notify you be recorded delivery of their intention to cancel & the date of intended cancellation? If not they have breached the rules & their contract with you. Write reminding them of their failings & include in your letter your Data Protection Act request & £10 PO just as you would to the bank

Pimp Cat · 10th July 2006, 11:34

Craig,

No they didn't tell me why they canceled it, infact i still don't know!
I had no notice of cancellation, i got a letter from them sayin that my insurance had been canceled but that was only after i had phoned them up to change my car.

joncris,

I didn't get anything recorded delivery, as above i only found out when i phoned up. i have already written them a letter but i'll send another one with the Data Protection Act if needed, What am i applying for under the DPA?

Cheers,

Pc.

craigwalton · 10th July 2006, 12:55

Personally I would phone them up, with a copy of the policy booklet & schedule with you and ask them where in the book it says they can cancel your insurance with no notification. Most Insurance contracts are the same, and the only way they can cancel your policy ithout notice or agreement is by fraud.

If they advise they did send you a letter then I would go down the Data Protection Act route to ensure this.

You also need to ask how they have come to the £357 in charges.

I would recomend, if you have the option, to try and get the call recorded, as I imagine they will squirm, and a lesser Customer Service Advisor will give something away on the spot.

As you are ringing a company you dont need to tell them that the call is being recorded, which is a bonus...

If you ahve had no notification of the £357 being taken from your bank account, it would also be wise to complain to your bank under the DD Guarantee. If you are getting nowhere with the Insurance Company your bank should give you the money back...

If you are still getting nowhere then let me know what they said to the above & I'll give you more ammunition.

davefirewalker · 18th July 2006, 20:28

Almost happened to me!

got insured with budget over the phone....got the policy etc, then they asked for no claims. Ok not a problem I thought, but I hadnt had insurance for about 18 months, but still within the 2 years reqd. So I contacted my old insurance co and got the no claims (maximum). Budget would not accept it as it was from a van (i had for about 12 months before I stopped driving)

They then upped my premium from about 300 to nearly 1000.

I phoned to ask what the f?** was going on, couldnt get any where with the guy on the phone so told them that as they have changed the conditions I am canceling the policy.

They then tried to claim about 250 in cancelation fees etc. But as the initial payment had been by debit card I informed the bank to refuse any more deductions, and I hadnt yet signed the D/D so they could whistle for it

I just ignored them and they went away. (I think)

Had I have known about this site at the time i'm sure someone would have given me some good advice

Dave

ROBOKOP · 29th July 2006, 18:26

Most companies charge fee's so be careful. It will be in the small print. They can cancel your policy subject to an RTA letter (Road Traffic Act)

I'd ask them for the Recorded delivery number of the letter they sent to you. Thats why its sent recorded... They cant cancel without it!

Good luck!!!

JonCris · 30th July 2006, 01:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROBOKOP

Most companies charge fee's so be careful. It will be in the small print. They can cancel your policy subject to an RTA letter (Road Traffic Act)

I'd ask them for the Recorded delivery number of the letter they sent to you. Thats why its sent recorded... They cant cancel without it!

Good luck!!!

Also request they supply you with "proof of signature"

ROBOKOP · 31st July 2006, 09:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by JonCris

Also request they supply you with "proof of signature"

That wont make any difference believe it or not! Insurance can be cancelled subject to proof of posting (Recorded delivery) Not proof of reciept (Signature) All the insurance companies have to do is to make sure they have gone to reasonable attemps to inform you they are cancelling the insurance.

JonCris · 31st July 2006, 10:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROBOKOP

That wont make any difference believe it or not! Insurance can be cancelled subject to proof of posting (Recorded delivery) Not proof of reciept (Signature) All the insurance companies have to do is to make sure they have gone to reasonable attemps to inform you they are cancelling the insurance.

I know but it does no harm to ask for it because if they don't have it then the letter will have been returned to THEM unopened thereby indicating that YOU do not know of the policy cancellation. If this is not the case then they didn't send it in the 1st place as claimed

Pimp Cat · 1st August 2006, 10:18

well i have finaly had a reply back from budget its quite long so i'm not going to put the whole thing on here. just the bits i think are the important parts or parts i would like some views on for my resopnse.

Quote:

dear sir

...... i note that your policy was undertaken via the internet. On the budget Insurance Services website customers are given the opportunity to review the key facts about policy prior to accepting the insurance online. Within the section titled 'About Us' it stipulates that if we need to resubmit a request for payment to your bank you will have to pay a £20.00 payment default fee. These fees along with any further fees that may become applicable throughout the duration of the policy are also dissclosed within the documentation that was sent imediately after the inception of the policy.

Sounds to me that they are admitting that it is a penelty charge, does anyone have a copy of the statement by the OFT or the FOS about the pentaly charges being unlawfull even tho its in the T&C.

cheers,

Colin.

JonCris · 1st August 2006, 10:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pimp Cat

well i have finaly had a reply back from budget its quite long so i'm not going to put the whole thing on here. just the bits i think are the important parts or parts i would like some views on for my resopnse.

Sounds to me that they are admitting that it is a penelty charge, does anyone have a copy of the statement by the OFT or the FOS about the pentaly charges being unlawfull even tho its in the T&C.

cheers,

Colin.

Correct. Ask them to justify their charges in much the same way as you would the bank. Don't forget to quote the various rulings (to be found on the site as is the OFT statement) which describe such penalties as unlawful

Pimp Cat · 1st August 2006, 11:39

i have just been lookin everywhere and i cannot find the statement by the oft can somone please point me in the right direction or post it or a link to it here.

Thanks.

Colin.

davefirewalker · 1st August 2006, 12:19

Well I would strart with unfair terms and conditions
Statutory Instrument 1999 No. 2083

then would cite various cases where it has been proved that they can only charge for liquidated or actual losses

In the Scottish case of Castaneda and Others v. Clydebank Engineering and Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (1904) 12 SLT 498; the House of Lords held that a contractual party can only recover damages for actual or liquidated losses incurred from a breach of contract. This is also the position in English law: Wilson v Love [1896]; Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co Ltd v New Garage and Motor Co Ltd [1915] AC 79; Ford Motor Co v Armstrong [1915]; Bridge v Campbell Discount Co. Ltd [1962]; Murray v Leisureplay [2004].

I would ask them to justify their charges

then go to the oft website and research the unfair terms and conditions/ charges etc
Office of Fair Trading - making markets work well for consumers

good luck

Dave

Pimp Cat · 1st August 2006, 16:10

cheers for all your help guys.

See if this letter gets the point home that i want my money back and i'm prepared to fight for it!!

thanks again.

Colin.

cardinalchunder · 2nd August 2006, 08:03

You may find it more productive to go straight to the directors of Budget, the name of the company is BISL Ltd and their address and company secretaries name is:-

N.E.Wright
BISL Ltd
Pegasus House
Bakewell Road
Orton Southgate
Peterborough
PE2 6YS

The Directors are:-

S. Klinkert
P.A. Winslow
I.R.Leech

Give em hell!!

regards, CC.

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