Hi

Cut a long story short, cancelled car insurance policy because I found it cheaper elsewhere 1/2 way through the Budget Policy they then took out my bank account the full amount of the policy, can they do this?

i would not have thought so! contact your bank/building society immediately and tell them that you want an immediate refund in accordance with the direct debit guarantee insofar as Budget Insurance have taken a payment to which you were not aware and had not agreed for them to take

spoke to Barclays.......... so helpful...not!!! have to phone budget to request the money to be refunded to my account.....spoke to them refusing as I cancelled the policy. will be writing to bank. More paper work!:-|

Oooh, no, that's not right. Did they do it through your existing Direct Debit setup?

Direct Debit - Your rights

Your rights

The Direct Debit Scheme protects you and your money by means of the Direct Debit Guarantee.

This Guarantee is operated by all banks and building societies that take part in the Direct Debit Scheme. The efficiency and security of the Scheme is monitored and protected by your own bank or building society.

The Guarantee

If the amounts to be paid by Direct Debit or the payment dates change, the organisation collecting the payment will notify you normally 10 working days in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed.

If an error is made by the organisation or your bank or building society, you are guaranteed a full and immediate refund from your branch of the amount paid.

If any payment is made in error, you should contact your bank or building society who are responsible for giving you a full and immediate refund - even if the original error was made by the organisation collecting the payment.

Direct Debit is one of the safest ways of paying your bills. Fraud rarely occurs because organisations using the Direct Debit Scheme go through a careful vetting process before they're authorised, and are closely monitored by the banking industry. But if money were to be taken from your account fraudulently you'd be protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee, and would be entitled to an immediate refund from your bank or building society.

Don't forget, you can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by contacting your bank or building society. We also recommend you notify the organisation concerned.

yes it was done through existing direct debit set up , it came out of my bank two days after cancelling policy....

Then the bank is obliged to give you an immediate and automatic refund. Quote the Direct Debit guarantee at them - it is a guarantee, ie 'this will happen in the event of this', not, "meh meh meh, we can't do anything, go bug someone else', which is what it sounds like you got.

If the insurer was entitled to take the amount, or it is a grey area that needs sorting, the DD guarantee still applies - Budget must inform you in writing ten days before they attempt to take a different amount than usual, and I'm assuming that the 'full amount' of the policy is way more than they usually would have taken.

Get the money refunded from the bank - the bank will then chase Budget to recoup their losses. This is how it's meant to work, and they can't say no.

You may need to get someone else on here to take a look at any 'cancellation charges' Budget may try to justify this with; you'll need your old policy document for this. When you were cancelling (over the phone?), did they warn you that there were extra charges or fees to pay for cancellation? Or did they happily cancel the policy and give you the impression that it was all done?

Anyway, let us know how you get on with your bank. Remember, they have an obligation under the Direct Debit Guarantee to refund this payment, as it was taken in error: "If any payment is made in error, you should contact your bank or building society who are responsible for giving you a full and immediate refund - even if the original error was made by the organisation collecting the payment." Good luck.