So I'm minding my own business watching my credit score slowly going up and today out of the blue I have had a letter from "Go Skippy" car insurance threatening me with legal action for non payment of £284. Now I haven't had insurance with them since 2015 so this was a bolt out of the blue and with only 4 months left of my 6 year default this is the last thing I need.

Anyway I have made some calls today and this is what has happened

Feb 2014- I paid £284 for my insurance

Nov 2014- They refunded me £284(apparently)

They didn't even ring to explain just send me a debt letter

So today some 2 and half years later they now want me to pay back the mistake they have made by refunding me in November 2014. They offered me a payment plan where I pay them over 3 months or if I pay whole amount they will knock £50 off...

This sounds off to me and I really need to know where I stand legally?

Thanks

Steve

If you owe it then you pay it. However. you need to find out WHY they refunded you, and why its taken so long.

The fact theyre willing to knock £50 off is a tad weird, unless they know its not enforceable and are trying to bluff you.

However the only way to be sure is to do a SAR

Thanks for your reply, I'm miffed that they have taken soon long to claim the money back, They do not know why it has happened and they said the reason for the refund is not known.

I assume that they can demand this money back and there is no time limit if re claiming the money?

With the SAR just confirm what they have told me?

Thanks

Did you realise that they had made the refund to you?

No I did not realise they refunded me.

Well, where you stand legally is that it was a payment made under a mistake and you are obliged to repay it. On the other hand, if they sued you for the money then you could run an estoppel as a defence. However, they are unlikely to sue you for this kind of money. Actually it would be better for you if they did.

I'm not sure that they would have the right to mark your credit file as a result of this because the refund/mistake has not been made to you as a result of any credit agreement.

Frankly, if you have the money then for a quiet life the best thing to do is to repay and take advantage of the £50 discount. It's a pretty good interest-free loan.

It would be helpful if you could post up the debt letter in PDF format please so that we can see exactly how they are treating it.

Thanks for your reply,

So i really cannot afford to repay this and if it is proven by my old bank that a refund was in fact given to me then I think to expect me to then pay is some 30 months later is unreasonable and add that to the letter of sction agajnst me without even a phone call to me or even a letter explaining a mistake has happened makes me want to ensure that I only pay the amount if it effects my credit score/credit file. I have always payes my debts but this one really leaves a bad taste.

Well, if youre being truthful with what you have said here, then You have to repay it. However, get things in writing this time and stay off the phone. Explain you cant afford it in chunks, and propose another repayment plan.

Could be a little cheeky too and say because it was their fault and theyve left it so long and you cant repay, then they should strongly consider agreeing .

so it begs the question what is this all about? Insurance co cancelled policy or maybe you did and they refunded when they werent supposed to? I think we are not getting all of the story and that makes a difference as to what advice would be given. Your more fatalistic responses makes me suspect that you know this is a problem rather thanjust an administrative error so be more forthcoming please.

Voided Insurance ? They cancelled, refunded the premium and then realised that they should have kept it.

Go Skippy are a very small company, who use Gibraltar based underwriters. If you read around the forums, they don't seem to apply by the same rules as other Insurers.

I have had this type of situation, where Insurers have refunded amounts in error. You write out to the Policyholders explaining what has happened and ask politely for the money back. You can't really note credit records as it does not relate to performance of any credit arrangement. Difficult taking it to court, as the money was sent unsolicited to the Policyholders account. Most Policyholders did return the money as they were decent people not wanting money they were not entitled to. But some just kept it and it was written off. Of course databases were updated to make sure we never offered Insurance to them again.

Depends on circumstances as to whether you keep the money or pay it back as best as you can. If they note your credit record, then make a complaint and involve the ICO if necessary.

Evening all, Sorry for the late reply to your questions, I have hopefully attached the letter sent to me by Go skippy..

Ericsbrother- I dont understand your suggestion that I am being fatalistic, I have answered the questions that has been asked of me? If you explain your comment So i can better reply to you

Unclebulgaria67- Go Skippy have terrible reviews online I have read a simple google search does not show them in good light,

I made a complaint to Go Skippy as I did not have any facts or proof about the refund, This is the email I received today by a manager. Would appreciate everyone's advice on what to do next.

Thank you for contacting us, Your complaint has been passed to me as part of the Customer Journey Department. The contents of which I was concerned to note.

I have attempted to call you on the contact numbers provided however I was unable to reach you but left a voice mail message.

Firstly, Go Skippy aim to provide excellent customer service at all times, and I am sorry that you do not feel we have done so in this instance.

Having checked your policy, I can see that it started on the 22/02/2014 and lapsed on the 22/02/2015. I do understand that you made a payment of £281.08 for your car insurance policy however on the

26/11/2014 this amount was refunded back to you in error.

Our accounts department has only identified this error on the 02/03/2017 therefore we began our debt collection process and issued the attached letter to you.

We acknowledge that the refund was issued in error and therefore we can offer to waive £50 of the debt reducing this amount from £281.08 to £231.08.

Please note that we have provided you with insurance for entire 12 month duration from the 22/02/2014 to the 22/02/2015 therefore the payment is due and will need to be paid.

I do understand that we are chasing this debt more then 2 years later however please note that we are allowed to request this payment and chase a debt outstanding provided it is within 5 years.

I appreciate that this may not be the response you were anticipating, but I do hope that I have provided a clear explanation as to why are chasing this debt.

Please note that we follow a strict debt collection procedure which means that we will issue out 3 debt letters and if there is no response from yourself and no payment plan arranged to clear the balance then the debt will be passed to our debt collection company, the Insurer Collections Bureau who will contact you in due course.

Once again my offer will be to waive £50 of the debt reducing it from £281.08 to £231.08. We can then set up a payment plan.

Please confirm if you are happy to accept my offer in resolution to your complaint.

I await your response.

Kind Regards,

Up to you, what you want to do.

You could write back saying that it is going to cost you time and money to look into this matter, so the £50 offer is not sufficient even to cover inconvenience. Advise them that if they continue to pursue the matter, that you will refer a complaint to the FOS and also report this to the FCA in relation to a breach of ICOBS. Remind them of the financial standards expected by the FCA, who will no doubt wish to make enquiries about the standards of accounting at Go Skippy.

Before i make any attempt to pay I want to explore every avenue to ensure this debt has to be paid back. I get that I have the refund back but I was unaware at the time and my situation is now different some 2 1/2 years later that I cannot just pay it back.

I will look up what part of the fos and the ICOBS they may have breached before I reply to them.

Thanks uncleB