Hi, I am being chased for a small debt from Elephant car insurance.

The story.

I had my car insurance with them for one year paid in advance. At the end of the year they sent a renewal which they could not charge for as my card details had changed. I was looking around for a better deal. A couple of weeks after the end of the year during which I didnt use the car, I phoned them stating I had been offered a better deal could they match it. They couldn't so I said, well I'm not renewing. They said they would be charging me for covering me for the time from when it ended till I cancelled. I wasn't happy with this but if thats the rules I was willing to pay. However they are charging me an administrive fee of £45 on top for cancelling, which I don't want to pay. As I feel I shouldn't have to pay a fee to cancel a policy I only had for a year.

I am now getting texts and phone calls and letters from a debt collection agency. The debt was £65 and they now want £85 with threats it will go up. The money is not a problem to me. I can afford it, but I feel I am being bullied and I don't like it.

What I'd like to know is where do I stand legally? Can they just charge what they like? Should I just pay to get them to go away? If I don't pay, how much could it end up costing me?

Thanks

Hello and Welcome, Hearts. (sound username by the way )

Sorry, I can't help you with your problem. I think this thread would get a better response in the Insurance Forum.

I'll ask a Mod to move this thread.

Hopefully you'll get the help you require.

Please keep to one thread.

Regards.

Scott.

Thread moved to Insurance Companies Forum. I'll remove your duplicate thread hearts so that all advice on your situation is in the one place.

Hi, sorry about that. Being new, I wasn't sure where to put it, so stupidly put it in 2 places (both wrong it seems).

Thanks ;-)

This sounds like it might be a case of dual insurance. If you cancelled the Elephant policy after the renewal date, you would have still been covered by them for a few days, which is why they charged you. What date did the policy with the new company start from? Was there any overlap between the 2 policies? If so, then what you would need to do is send Elephant proof of your new policy, and then they shouldn't charge you for the period of cover between the renewal date and the cancellation date.

No it's not dual insurance. I didn't insure it. I never use it so it's been garaged since. I use the wife's as I'm on her insurance.

All I want to know is am I owe them this money? As I sadi fair enough I cancelled late and I owe them for this but are within their rights to add on extras?

I'm afraid it is standard practice for a cancellation fee to be charged if you cancel a policy mid-term. The FSA rules say that insurers are not allowed to charge anything that could be classed as a penalty. So, if you believe the charge is a penalty and you are not given any evidence to the contrary, then you could dispute it in that way.

Thanks, the thing is though my policy was only for 1 year, so I assumed it ended after the year. Now I can understand that, they in continuing the policy would expect payment for that time but surely this should be pro rata 52/3 of the cost if it overrun by 3 weeks or whatever. My thinking was that as I never renewed then why should I pay extra to cancel.

If what you say is right I'll pay I just want to know that in my case it applies. If you think it does then I'll accept your word.

Thanks

Yes you're right, as the policy was only for 1 year, the contract ends after the year is up. However, nowadays most policies auto-renew, particularly if you pay by monthly direct debit or by credit card with continuous authority.

The insurer will send you a renewal document stating the new premium, 21 days in advance of your renewal date. If you don't want to renew, you are required to contact them before the renewal date to say you want the policy to lapse. If you contact them before the renewal date, they won't charge a cancellation fee.

If you don't contact them, they will assume you want the policy to continue and it will auto-renew for another 12 months. As you went into the 2nd year of the policy, that is why they charged you a cancellation fee.

I hope this clarifies things.