Elephant

[pturner]

Hello,

I had a 12month policy with Elephant that expired. I work away from home, and it was only after 6 months from the policy expiry date, and after I had re-insured with another company on that date, that I realised Elephant has continued taking monthly instalments from my account.

I wrote to them with proof that I had alternative insurance from that date and they paid up the 6 months worth of direct debit no problem.

However, can I claim for the interest lost/interest charged(overdraft), during that period?


Thanks
Phil

[bram stoker]

It will be unlikely that you can claim any interest lost. Did you cancel the direct debit to Elephant with your bank?

What charges are you refering to? Charges by Elephant or your bank? What was the policy for?

[pturner]

Thanks Vampiress,

I notifed Elephant of the situation, and they ceased direct debits and refunded me the amount taken over the six months. So in answer to question, I cancelled the direct debits with Elephant. I know the interest of approximately 300pounds over six months is negligable compared with some of the claims on this forum, however its more for point of interest rather than any financial gain.

Thanks for replying..

Phil

[Bookworm]

The DD guarantee lied with your bank. If a DD is taken in error, then it's the bank's responsability to reimburse. Therefore, interest accrued would also be the bank's responsability.
However, there is also a question of secondary "damages", which has been discussed a few times, like when the charges on top of charges spiralled, and people lost their home, say. They could reclaim the charges, but not the further costs associated with the repossession.
But if you had gone down the DD guarantee route, you probably could have reclaimed the interest from the bank. They would in all likelihood then pursue Elephant for reimbursement of the DD and the interest.
I'm sorry I can't be more specific. Thankfully, as you say, it's more a point of discussion than anythign else, and in this case, we are ideed talking pence. Don't write, save the cost of the stamp, you've probably broken even that way!

[alftupper]

How long should insurers take to assign liability, son crashed his car (write off) 6 months ago in what I would say was knock for knock he had a £500 excess and has heard nothing from Elephant since receiving his (small ) settlement.

[craigwalton]

Sorry - put on the wrong thread!?!?

[lookinforinfo]

Quote[The DD guarantee lies with your bank. If a DD is taken in error, then it's the bank's responsibility to reimburse.Quote]

That may be the theory Bookworm, but it's a bit harder to get them to act in practice. Some years ago, BT took too much out of my account on a d/d. As the
amount was in the hundreds, I rang my bank to get the position sorted quickly.

THe manager [thats how long ago it was, as I got the manager] admitted that he wasn't keen to reimburse me as the bank found that the companys' involved rarely paid them back! He did agree though that he would do it
since I had d/d's coming in the next day, some of which I would probably not be able to cover in time.
What the lying git actually did was to ring BT and get them to agree to reimburse
me-this as after I had already rung them and told them the bank were paying me.
BT had said earlier that it would take two weeks to give me a refund which was no use to me at the time.
I rang head office to complain about their mismanager at the branch and all I got
in the end was a mealy mouthed letter saying that he should have refunded me.

[mahala]

Originally Posted by pturner

Thanks Vampiress,

I notifed Elephant of the situation, and they ceased direct debits and refunded me the amount taken over the six months. So in answer to question, I cancelled the direct debits with Elephant. I know the interest of approximately 300pounds over six months is negligable compared with some of the claims on this forum, however its more for point of interest rather than any financial gain.

Thanks for replying..

Phil

I may be wrong, but this sounds like you told Elephant of the situation 6 months on, not when the year's insurance ended. Is that right? So the DD still stood for that 6 months, and then you realised what had happened and notified Elephant?

If that's the case, then I don't think you can claim interest, and I think you're lucky to have got the 6 months' worth of DDs back. For most insurance, you get sent a "do nothing to continue your insurance" renewal reminder, and unless you contact them to cancel, the insurance carries on, and unless you cancel the DD with your bank, they'll keep taking the money.

If that's the case, then Elephant weren't actually in the wrong, and were probably not obliged to refund you any money.

[StoneLaughter]

The D/D guarantee doesn't say "if debited in error it will be refunded". It says "...if any amount is taken which breaks the terms of this agreement...". In other words, you would have to show the Bank that the debit occurred without any authority from a current agreement, or the amount was changed without notice, etc. Errors don't necessarily fall into the "breach of agreement" and therefore you should sort this with the beneficiary.

I would say that in fact, ALWAYS approach the beneficiary first; and if they stand their ground and you believe that the agreement was broken,THEN approach the bank.