Hi All

new to this forum but seems great.

I have a problem with car insurance, sorry in advance if this thread is a little long, but I want to see if I can take the company to court.

1. We called company for insurance, they accepted everything by phone.

2. They took the initial payment out of the bank account

3. I am happily insured , or so I thought.

4. I get pulled over for police stop.

5. they say I am not insured.

6. Car impounded (tears) girlfriend is pregnant etc etc.

7. I didn't have the money to pay to get car out of impound, so took the option of having it crushed.

8. found out that insurance company had paid money back into bank account.

9. I contacted them, they said they had tried to inform me that insurance was not valid, but the phone numbers I gave were incorrect.

10, My dad advised me to get down to the office to find out what went on, but play it cool, ( He had seen this site, so it was good advise)

11. I politely asked for a copy of my policy as I was due in court for failure to produce insurance, the young clerk obliged and I got a printout showing a policy number AND the correct phone details, ( so the manager I spoke to lied).

12. I get to court, show my insurance and I walk a free man, (Should have been driving a free man you say).

Finally, I have been writing to the company asking them to refund me the cost of my car and bus fares etc. because it was their error ( I haven't told them that I have the printout.)

They are refusing point blank, and have finally issued their final letter with the statement that I can take this up with the ombudsman.

I issued an SAR, they say they have no further info, (But I still have the printout with my phone numbers that they say they wrongly entered)

So now what do I do?

Should I just apply to court, or should I give them 1 more chance but also drop a hint that I have this printout and will start court proceedings if they are unwilling to come to terms with their error.

Please any advise?

Personally I would go via the Ombudsman 1st. You have the final notification letter, and the Insurance Company are bound by the decision - you are not. Explain to the Ombudsman everything you have told me.

On another note, the SAR - They have advised that they have nothing further to give. Have you received a letter of cancellation?

If not then they do not have a leg to stand on....

Hi bazaar

I'd agree with craigwalton, the Ombudsman are there to regulate insurers and this sort of thing needs to be looked into, take it to them first.

Good Luck

Becca

OK Guys thanks very much, I'll keep you posted on how things proceed.

Sorry almost forgot.

They say they never issued insurance, they just paid money back into account, but lied about trying to contact me.

Right, I had to go back to my IF2 booklet for this, and:

"The contract of Insurance comes into effect once the Insurer has accepted the insurance proposal, terms have been agreed and the premium has been paid, or agreed to have been paid."

As they have issued a quote, you have accepted it, and paid an instalment (at least) then you have been under cover... Unless you made a misleading statement in your proposal and they have voided the policy.

This means that they have to give you notice that they intend to cancel the policy, not just refund the money...

Definately go see the Ombudsman!!!

OK Thanks Craig, They said they tried to contact me, but theyd put in the wrong details over the phone, they had 3 numbers which can prove on the printout I received. ( They still do not know I have this ),

The money left our account to pay for the first installment. 3 or 4 days later they put the money back in. They didnt send a letter otherwise I would have received a copy after I issued an SAR to them. I'm out about £1500 because of the loss of car, and having to go to court, they blamed us for not checking our bank account, which is really annoying. Is the ombudsman going to be able to tell them to refund money for my car?? I'm not too

sure, so whats my chances of taking them to court and sueing?

any advise?

It seems to me you have a good argument for Court action. But whether you can sue and use the FOS I dont know. I would prefer to do both at the same time. I am planning to sue my insurers today. I believe a summons would assist the insurers to settle before a hearing, until then they are happy to hope you are bluffing.

Sorry been away for a while working so no chance to sort this out,

I contacted the FOS they now say they may still investigate even though 6 months have only just passed. ( I should kick myself). I have been asked to send them a covering letter as to why I didnt deal with this sooner. Truth is this is for my son, and he didnt have a clue and was waiting for me, so any advise?

Issue a summons instead.

Thanks for the quick reply Haydn,

Havent done this before, so Do

I get son to issue letter before action to give them time to reflect?

Wait the 14 days etc, then apply at small claims?

OK How does this look?

Not too over the top I hope.

Comments welcome

Request for payment for loss.

Dear Sir/Madam,

POLICY NUMBER: xxxxxx

Further to my letter Dated XXXXXXXX as sent to your local offices at XXXXXXXXXXX

I am extremely disappointed that you have submitted your final response to this matter.

However, I am glad that you have stated that you have supplied all relevant data after my Subject Access Request dated XXXXXXXX.

I have in my possession a print out copy of the policy which was indeed issued and also, which allowed me to avoid prosecution from not having said insurance.

I also have a letter from your XXXXXXXXXXX quite clearly stating that the policy was never issued AND that you had tried to “contact me but had been given the wrong contact details”.

I advise you that this is completely false, because the printout I have clearly shows the correct contact details for me, I.E telephone numbers AND address.

Quite why XXXXXXXXXXXX would blatantly issue false information in their letter to me, only your senior management could possibly explain to me.

As shown in your lack of documentation, you have also failed to send out a letter of cancellation which is required by law "The contract of Insurance comes into effect once the Insurer has accepted the insurance proposal, terms have been agreed and the premium has been paid, or agreed to have been paid."

As you have issued a quote, I have accepted it, and paid an installment (at least) then I would have been under cover...

This means that you would have to give me notice that you intended to cancel the policy, not just refund the money...

So I believe you can see your predicament.

I have attached a copy of my original demands for you to browse over again and for you to reflect on what could have happened in this case.

My targets to resolve this matter

As previously stated, I hope that we can enter into a sincere dialogue about this matter and I am writing this letter to you on the assumption that you will prefer to do this rather than be involved in any legal proceedings which would obviously incur additional costs for yourselves.

I am willing to give you a further 14 days for you to reflect and to reply to me accepting, unconditionally, my request in principle and letting me know a date by which I will receive payment.

If you dispute that I am entitled to payment, I request that you forward within the above mentioned time scale, a copy of the Terms and Conditions that were in force at the time my account was opened, and any subsequent amendments to those Terms and Conditions. These are requested under CPR Pre-Action Protocol 4.6©, and failure to provide them will be brought to the attention of the court, should it be necessary to commence a county court action.

If you do not respond, or you do not respond positively, within this time period, I will exercise my right to seek judgement in court. I believe that these targets are more than sufficient for a large company such as yours with dedicated staff and departments.

I may also be reporting you to the relevant FSA departments for their investigations into this matter.

Yours faithfully,

[name]

..

Add the words NOTICE BEFORE ACTION at the top of the letter. Tell them you are issuing the summons in (your town) county court on day, and date. Say 14 days time without further notice unless payment of xxxxx is received. At which point you will feel obliged also to report to the FSA.

Otherwise you will only be delaying things further. Dont ask for sincere dialogue, ask for your demands.

OK Thanks Haydn