My car broke down beyond repair so I have had to scrap it. Phoned Swinton to cancel policy only to be told there will be £68 to pay. £50 cancelation fee and the rest is some sort of shortfall for the year?????

I pay by direct debit and haven't missed a payment infact my last DD went out only 5 days ago. My insurance would have ended at the begining of march and I pay £21 per month. I think this charge is rediculous it would amount to over 3 months worth of DDs.

Would this be classed as an unlawfall charge?

Would I be able to fight it?

if yes to the above what would be the best way to tackle this?

Many thanks in advance for any advise:)

Hi LittleMiss,

I think you will find you took out 12 months insurance and as such that is what you are paying for. If you cancel the poilcy early then there can be expected some sort of charge. The additional £18 however would need investigating because as you say, there should not be a shortfall.

The only suggestion I can think of is to check you policy documents in relation to cancelation.

Have you thought about other options rather than just cancelling, you could make contact with them and ask them to freeze the insurance untill you get another car, that way you are postphoning rather than cancelling. whether there any charges to follow that option i don't know.

Sorry i can't do links but there are two other threads on here about Swinton that I have posted on about cancellation charges. If you search for those, there is advice about getting cancellation charge back. Have a read of them. At least 2 of us have had it refunded or cancelled.

If I were you my first step would be to write to the branch asking them to supply a statement of what the charges are for in writing. Keep copies of everything.

Their terms and conditions are on their website together with their complaints procedure. I went down complaints procedure route and after letter to their head office my charge was written off in full. Someone on one of the other threads actually says cancellation fee is in breach of FSA rules or something like that and tells you what to threaten them with. One of the site team has also commented.

Good luck

Jan

I wrote a letter and received a message on my mobile asking me to ring the manager so he could explain.....I never rang but was still hoping for a reply from them.........never got one.

Got a letter saying they are passing to a DCA in 7 days.

What would be the best next move?

I am thinking of sending another letter explaining their lack of customer service and how they haven't replied to my letter and also sending copies to head office.

Would this be a good move?

I would now write to head office in Manchester complaining that the branch have apparently ignored your letter/queries and have merely passed to debt collectors - send a copy of your letter to branch to them as well. Send it recorded delivery. Tell them you want everything in writing and will not accept telephone calls from either them or their debt collectors as you will need everything documented in the event it goes to the Ombudsman.

This is the first stage of their official complaints procedure - its on their website, you'll get address of Manchester office from there. From memory, second step is Ombudsman, but do check their website.

They will pass to debt collectors though - they'll be ringing you soon. Ignore debt collectors tel calls. When they write, write back and tell them its in dispute and Swinton's head office are dealing.

Might be a good idea to post your letter on here (with no name or acct no) - there may be some insurance experts who can help you beef it up - I just know what worked for me!

HI , NEW TO THIS SITE AND CANT FOR THE LIFE OF ME LOCATE WHERE I CAN ENTER A POST SO IVE TRIED TO FIND THE MOST RELEVANT TOPIC TO POST MY QUESTION.[sORRY]

MY BIKE INSURANCE RENEWAL WAS 10 DAYS AGO AND IVE CALLED THEM TODAY TO STATE THAT I WISH TO CANCEL AND THEY HAVE INFORMED ME THERE WILL BE A CHARGE. PLEASE COULD SOMEONE CONFIRM IF THEY POSSESS THIS RIGHT TO APPLY THIS CHARGE AS I THOUGHT THE CUSTOMER ALWAYS HAD 14 DAYS GRACE TO INFORM THEM IF YOU WANTED TO CANCEL WITH NO CHARGE BEING APPLIED???

MANY THANKS:confused: