Car Insurance cancellation

[joneshousehold]

About 3 weeks ago we put a posting on another thread about cancellation charges. (Well when I say 'we' I mean 'him in doors' who hasn't got the hang of this posting lark yet!). It should have gone into a new thread really. It reads

Just had the very same problem re car insurance. Although they say I will have to pay all future monthly payments (up to November, about £200.00 ) because I have had a claim in this insurance year. The thing that annoys me is that I bought a new car (group 8 and asked them for a new quote to cover it, replacing my existing group 14 car. They quoted the same premium for the group 8 as the group 14. (Part of the reason for buying the new car was to reduce costs.) When I asked why, they said it was because I had had a claim in this insurance year. I did then ask if there was a penalty for cancelling the policy and was told no. So I went and insured the new car with Direct Line at a reduced cost. Have just attempted to cancel my old policy and been told to pay up. Of course they have your notification of no claims bonus which you need for the new insurers.
Banks, insurance companies, I hate them all!!

Following that posting we have written to Cornhill and said we require a letter of No Claims Bonus (which was protected) and complaining about the charge. We pointed out that the earlier call advised there would be no penalty for cancellation. The reply now received says that the full payment is due for the remainder of the year because of the claim in the year which is within the terms and conditions. There is no comment about the no claims bonus letter.

Now all this has a familiar ring to it but before we go ahead and write back saying
1. Give us a copy of the transcript of the call and
2 Terms & conditions cannot be unfair and that we feel this is penalty which is unlawful. Something along the lines of the letter in this thread
ASDA car insurance

This way we will have a double whammy - either we can claim it back as we were misinformed or because it is a penalty.

Any one spot any obvious mistakes?

[Loula]

Sorry, I did read this and it sounded like a comment not a plea for help.

Which charge are you unhappy about? Both?

LOULA

[joneshousehold]

What we want is to cancel the policy without having to pay the rest of the year (we have been paying by monthly instalments). We think we were misled in the first place as the girl on the phone said there would be no penalty if the policy was cancelled. Alternatively can we claim it is an unfair penalty to make us pay for a full year if the policy only runs for about half the year? We just want to walk away with our certificate of no claims discount and not have to pay for the rest of the year. Is that possible or have we got the wrong end of the stick?
There aren't actually 2 penalties just the rest of the years' payments.
Hope that's clear
Thanks

[Loula]

Let me look into it and get back to you.

As far as I am aware it should be written in the policy booklet about claims occuring and policy cancellation.

But give me a few hours and I will come back with a definitive answer.

LOULA

[joneshousehold]

Yeh Hah!!! Success

We wrote to Cornhill and sent it by email on 2 May.

I am writing to you following my letter of 5 April 2006 sent by recorded delivery. Since that date I have not received a reply but I do seem to have a further letter from you dated 20 April 2006 acknowledging the cancellation that took place by telephone a couple of weeks earlier. The Royal Mail has confirmed that my letter of 5 April has been delivered.

As my earlier letter pointed out your staff advised me that I would not incur any penalty for cancellation and so the contents of your letter dated 20 April 2006 are incorrect. Please let me have my certificate of No Claims Discount within the next 7 days.

My letter of 5 April 2006 was clearly a complaint and should have been dealt with as such. You have published that you will acknowledge complaints within 5 working days and deal with these within 4 weeks. This means you only have until 4 May to provide the certificate. If you have an alternative method for times of dispute such as a letter of confirmation that will be accepted by another insurer this will be acceptable as a temporary alternative.

It is important that you appreciate I am not prepared to accept that there are further payments due and this is based on the information given to me by your staff. If you are disputing my statements you will have to provide me with a transcript and copy of the recorded conversation detailed in my earlier letter within the next 7 days.

I am sending a copy of this letter by e-mail and I suggest you use the same medium to ensure prompt conclusion.

Email arrived this afternoon. The threats obviously had some effect. Letter attached is being sent by post as well. Extract from reply

It is my understanding that your complaint is centred on the information that was provided by our Customer Service Department in connection with the cancellation of your policy. Therefore, I have monitored the telephone calls made on 10th March 2006 and 29th March 2006 whereby you discussed this matter.



Within the telephone call dated 10th March 2006 our Customer Service Associate states that she has referred your query regarding the premium associated with the proposed new vehicle to our Underwriting Department. Whilst I can appreciate that the new vehicle is in a lower group rating, our Associate does explain that due to the claim within the insurance year, there would be no reduction in the premium and that the full premium is owed.

When entering into a contract of insurance, a customer agrees to pay an annual premium in return for a guarantee of protection in the event of a claim covered by the policy. If payment is made by monthly instalments, we allow this to continue for the duration of the policy. However, if the policy is cancelled, the remainder of the annual premium immediately becomes due. This is clearly stated in our policy booklet, General conditions 5 and 10.

Our position regarding the above was clarified within the telephone call dated 29th March 2006 whereby you contacted our Customer Service Department to cancel the above numbered policy.

That said, I can appreciate that within the former telephone call you had specifically queried whether any penalties would be incurred if you cancelled your policy. You were informed that you would not be liable for any penalties as you were in the second year of insurance with Cornhill Direct. Therefore, it is my belief that this has led to the confusion regarding the remaining premium to be paid.

In light of the above I have waived the outstanding balance of £243.39 as a gesture of goodwill on this occasion. Please also find enclosed written confirmation of you no claims bonus entitlement. I trust you will find this to your satisfaction and that we can close our file on this matter.

Fantastic result. I am skipping about the place now. Another good result for the small man (and his wife).

Right now let's get the banks into court, I'm feeling lucky!