Hello I have recently moved so didn't get my renewal documents. I have been a bit sloppy with my emails as well unfortunately. I received a text today from my car insurance co asking me to call them urgently which I did right away. It was from the collections department. They told me my card had bounced so they was unable to collect my premium. They had subsequently spent ten days trying to contact me to no avail so my policy had been cancelled. They told me I had to start a new policy which I have done and paid in full. I did this all at the office whilst at work and was panicking that I wouldn't be able to drive home. I have subsequently came home and started to research my situation. It seems I should have tried harder to reinstate my policy and I also didn't declare that I had had insurance cancelled when filling in the form. I'll call them tomorrow to correct this mistake. I want to know whether it is likely I can get the policy reinstated? I have been with that insurance company for several years, not that will count for anything I'm sure. Also, will the authorities catch up with me for the time I have spent uninsured? I'm worried I will be punished for not having any insurance. Any advice/opinions appreciated Thanks

Hi there, thanks for the response and info. A couple of posts have been deleted to make the thread more relevant and easier to read, so apologies for any confusion you may have right now. I have now posted the full story. Thank you for your opinion.. will get the subject request sent off ASAP.

Their response dated 16th Jan 2015 refers to them.

Hello I purchased an extended warranty from Warranty Direct in 2012. They collect premiums in four monthly payments. After my first year, the premiums were a little large for me to manage so I rang them to cancel my policy in June 2013. This was a brief telephone call during which the advisor offered me a monthly payment schedule as they can offer this to loyal customers. I accepted this offer. One feature which attracted me to the policy was that when you sell the car, the warranty can be transferred to a new owner. This obviously makes the car a more attractive buy with regards to a private sale. I continued with the policy with no problems. During November 2014 I decided to sell the car. I rang Warranty Direct to find out how you go about transferring the warranty so I would be prepared once a sale was agreed. They told me as the policy was not able to be transferred. I expressed disappointment that this was not explained to me when I changed the payment schedule. I was under the impression that they offered me a monthly payment plan to retain my custom and that was all. They told me the policy could not be transferred as I was on a continuous monthly policy, that could be cancelled by giving a notice period of one month, but was never ending until the car reached 130k miles. I offered to pay the remainder of the annual policy which they rejected due to the car being too high risk. I also queried the fact that I had renewed in May 2014 and had negotiated more favourable terms which there would be no need for them to offer if I was on a continuous policy. They have not responded to this point in their written response. They accept they did not explain this change to me when I was offered a monthly payment schedule. As mentioned above, ther conversation was very brief. From memory, which I feel is fairly accurate, the conversation went along the lines of.. Me: I would like to cancel my policy as the payments are unmanagable Advisor: We can offer you a monthly payment schedule Me: Ohh okay, that sounds good Advisor: We are able to offer this to loyal customers.. I will get your direct debit amended Me: Great thanks, have a nice day A retentions advisor has explained that this is not a benefit of the policy so they do not accept this as a valid complaint. There is no reference to this point in the written response from the customer service manager. They claim in their written response to have sent me a new policy document detailing the changes in June 2013 but I have no record of this (I accept there is a chance I may have misplaced this but I have several other documents from them, dated from the start of my policy and throughout, and am pretty meticulous with filing my paperwork). The only additional policy document/booklet I have is from my renewal in May 2014. There is no explicit mention of the change, just it is not contained in the policy booklet - which looks nearly identical to the first policy booklet I received when purchasing the initial policy. As the retentions advisor who offered me the new payment schedule in June 2013 did not say there would be any changes to the T&Cs, I never read through the new policy booklet/document with a fine tooth comb. Therefore, my complaint is I have been treated unfairly and had a considerable benefit of the Warranty Direct product deprived from me. If this had been explained to me, I think it is unlikely I would have renewed in May 2014 as I was aware I would be looking to change the car during the next year. In their written response, they have advised I would need to contact either Motorcodes or the Financial Ombudsman. I intend to contact the Ombudsman but before I do, would like to review all my phone calls just to ensure the accuracy of my comments. Do you have any advice on the complaint in general or on how/the best way to submit a subject of access request?

The fact that this hasn't been implemented shows the power of the tobacco lobby. Debates about the effectiveness of the change in reducing smoking in my opinion are a smoke screen. IF the changes stop one person from taking up smoking, surely this is a benefit.

For this research to be credible, we need to know how many cigarettes the E Cigarette was supposed to contain. For example, if brand X is equivalent to 30 cigarettes, but contains 10x as many carcinogens as one cigarette, I would consider that an improvement.

Rather than fight the symptoms, we in the West need to take a hard look and consider why people are acting this way. I am a strong believer the phrase 'One man's terrorist is another's freedom fighter'

I strongly agree with this. I was a heavy smoker ( wireless head sets plus lax rules at work!) and have pretty much quit cigarettes instantly with an E Cigarette. I admit I was mainly motivated by financial reasons as opposed to health concerns.

Whilst I understand the position of those who advocate for this law, these types of laws are so hard to enforce effectively and come down to the subjectivity on an officers part. I am sure there will be lots of police officers who smoke with their children in the car and will continue to do so if this is implemented.

As a smoker who has recently swapped cigarettes to E-Cigs, I think people are capable of choosing which method suits them best. IE, the blood test may indicate nicotine gum will give the best chance of quitting but how about if they work in an environment where chewing gum is banned? Or what if they can't stand the taste? Can a blood test indicate that?!

There are so many studies suggesting lots of things. We need to consider whether the authors of this study have an agenda.. there are clear statistical links between lifestyle choices and certain cancers. Most obviously, smoking and lung cancer. There is also a lot of evidence linking dairy products to breast cancer. Who knows, perhaps in the future there will be a link between electromagnetic waves and brain tumours?!

I also did this recently as I was purchasing a D Cat and was a little worried.. so far so good and has been a couple of months! Best of luck with your purchase!

Hello, Happy new year to you too. I am a member of my local CU and take pride in the fact that I am contributing to my local community.. as well as depriving the poredatory institutions of their profits! Every small action helps...! Best wishes with regards to your CU!

Hello, I am looking to refer a complaint to the financial ombudsman as I believe the company I am complaining about have overlooked a couple of key points. Firstly, I would like to review all of the information myself. Therefore, I need to submit a subject access request. Is the company required, under the law, to provide me with recordings of my telephone calls plus their own notes on my file? Many thanks

Hi, I work for a small family business. No member of staff there has a written contract. Recently, one of the junior managers, who is a family member, sacked me on the spot during a disagreement. As I turned on my heel to exit the office, he immediately changed his mind, we had a heart to heart, and I remained in employment. I am unsure as to whether any of the senior managers/family members are aware of this incident. I am going to ask the owner of the business to write me a letter (asking him to do me a proper contract seems a bit too much effort for him) confirming they will give me notice if they want me to leave plus pay me all wages due. I will have it signed by a co worker acting as an independent witness. If he agrees to this, and the letter is signed, will this support me if they break any terms agreed in the letter? I have only worked for the company for 18 months, so I assume any terms in this letter will over rule the statutory rules if applicable? (Ie, they are over and above, as opposed to less than what the law guarantees). Many thanks for reading.