Hey guys...Happy belated Easter

I need your help and advice. All your information is highly appreciated.

I was driving in the morning(3rd of Feb) when I was suddenly pulled by police. Police stopped me because their system showed up that I did not have an insurance. I was trying to prove that I had an insurance but I could not.

To make it short, they seized my car and took it to the compound which then I had to pay £150 to take it out. I had to provide Insurance Certificate in order to take the car. Nevertheless, in order to take the car of compound - the car must be insured for 28 days(e.g If I want to pick up the car from compound on 1st of Feb - I need to make sure I have insurance till 29th of Feb). Surprisingly, they released my car even though my insurance was only left for 23 days(which means less than required 28 days).

For my insurance, I paid annually so I insured my car on 24 or 25 February 2016, however the car was Audi A3 S Line. After, when I bought BMW, which was in October 2016, I transferred the insurance from Audi to BMW.

When I bought my car, BMW, it had the number plate [redacted]. I changed the number plate on [redacted] and I told to insurance that I will change the number plate but when I changed it I forgot to confirm to them. However, I told to DVLA straight after I changed my number plate and I received all the documentation V5C, etc. Also, I am the number plate owner.

I am about to get 6 penalty points and £300 fine for 'no insurance' even though I had an isnurance, however if I provide Indemnity Letter my case/fine will be dropped. If I don’t pay fine I will have to go to court - which is due 30th of April:|.

I contacted insurance company and they said that the mistake is from my side therefore they won’t provide an indemnity letter. Brokers called One Call Insurance, however the actual company is XS Direct - they are arrogant as hell.

I contacted Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) for help, and they are investigating my case but the problem is that I even do not know what to expect from them. I have been waiting for investigations since Feb 4th(first waiting for the insurers and now FOS).

I am very lost, please help! What shall I do? My court is due 30th of April 2017

I've removed your registration numbers to protect your anonymity. The pertinent point is that you transfered a personalised number plate to the new vehicle.

And if you make a change such as changing reg plate, then your Insurers must be told straightaway, as it is a policy condition.

See if you can get an urgent reconsideration by the Insurers,

by sending them all of the DVLA documentation to confirm the reg change on the same car they were covering.

It did not really change the risk, but you breached policy terms.

If the Insurers are not withdrawing cover, then they must be able to issue letter confirming insurance.

Hi unclebulgaria67, thanks for your reply.

They have not withdrawn insurance

- it run out on 24th of Feb 2017 as normal.

I asked them whether they can write any kind of letter saying that the car was insured,etc

- and they said no, the only letter is the Indemnity Letter and which they won't provide.

Since the policy was live at the time of being stopped and they are not withdrawing the cover, then establish with the Insurers it is the same car by providing DVLA documents. Ask them to confirm the Insurance was in place and if necessary you will cover their adminstrative costs.

They do not want to confirm.

They say I was insured on a wrong plate therefore they won't provide any letter saying that I was covered

They do not want to confirm.

 

 

They say I was insured on a wrong plate therefore they won't provide any letter saying that I was covered

You seem to have given up with the Insurers and are not willing to pursue this, beyond the current FOS process.

If it were me, i would be persevering with the Insurance underwriter, by providing the documents to help them. If you had insured using the VIN number, the plate no. would make no difference. As long as it is the same car on risk, then it should be easy just to confirm what vehicle was covered by insurance. If you have not satisfied them about the vehicle they were covering which was subject to plate change, then of course they won't issue a letter.

One Call are absolutey useless and cannot be trusted to even open an envelope so you will have to gio with what you have.

The next step will be the ombudsman and then go to an appeal over any conviction if you get one. Explain all of this to the police and courts before the day and you may well get a postponement of the summons to allow you time to put up or shut up.

Hey guys, I thought I will update you with positive and useful news!

After fighting for 8 bloody month against One Call Insurance company, they are also known as XS Direct Insurance and Calpe Insurance Company, I finally won the case against them.

Yesterday, I received my final decision from Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) which will be copied below. I won't put reference number, or the person's name who made a final decision, however I will put all the decision info.

By the way, when I did my first ever complaint with FOS I lost the case. The investigator did not even looked properly at my case. I was nearly teaching her what to do. Then I proceeded the case further to actual ombudsman.

I was stretching the case for sake of getting FOS respond and not attend the court (as I was due to go to court as I mentioned in my first post). So far I never had a court, however I should attend on 8th of October, but by providing this FOS letter I will win the case. FOS obligates insurers to provide an indemnity letter, and this letter is something court will need in order to ‘more’ easily close the case, as the judge is going to be like; ok so everything is sorted therefore no need my involvement anymore.

The Financial Ombudsman Decision:

complaint

Mr S complains that Calpe Insurance Company Limited wouldn’t indemnify him under a

motor insurance policy for a period during which it didn’t know about his car’s new number

plate. He says it also refused to renew the policy.

background

Mr S bought a new car (“car B”) in October 2016. Shortly afterwards he put the private

registration plate from his old car (“car A”) onto the new one. He informed the DVLA but

didn’t tell Calpe. That meant databases weren’t updated. In February 2017 Mr S was

stopped by the police for driving without insurance. Calpe covered the car for the rest of the

policy year as soon as it was told about the change of number plate. But Mr S was still faced

with court proceedings or a fine for driving without insurance prior to that.

Our investigator thought Calpe had acted reasonably. She said the policy required Mr S to

inform Calpe of the right registration number, otherwise car B wasn’t insured. She also said it

was entitled not to renew the policy - although it couldn’t find any record of deciding not to do

so. Mr S said if Calpe insisted car B wasn’t insured from October 2016 to February 2017 he

was due a partial refund of premium.

I thought the policy made it clear that consumers must inform Calpe of any changes, as the

Motor Insurance Database (“MID”) has to hold a car’s correct details. Mr S had accepted he

forgot to inform Calpe or his broker of car B’s change of number plate. But it seemed the

original registration plate on car B was suspended, as Mr S had told the DVLA about it.

Calpe said as car B with its new plate wasn’t mentioned in the policy documents, or

recorded on the MID, Calpe wouldn’t have had to cover any claim involving it. And as Calpe

was still carrying the risk for car B with its old registration plate, Mr S wasn’t entitled to a

part-refund on the policy.

I thought Calpe was right to say that, under the strict terms of the contract, the car wasn’t

insured from the point the plate was changed until it was informed of that. But in terms of

what was fair and reasonable, Calpe had accepted the risk on the car for the year. Mr S had

paid for that cover. Calpe was never carrying any other risk – car B’s original registration

wasn’t being used once the new plate was fitted. So I thought regardless of the plate that

was showing, Calpe should provide Mr S with a letter of indemnity confirming the car was

covered for the year. Mr S would be able to use the letter in his upcoming court hearing.

Since Calpe said the policy’s non-renewal wasn’t its decision, I thought it may be an issue

for Mr S to ask his broker about.

I asked the parties to comment on my provisional findings. Mr S accepted them, but made

no comments. Calpe didn’t comment at all.

my findings

I’ve considered all the available evidence and arguments to decide what’s fair and

reasonable in the circumstances of this complaint.

As neither party made any comment on my provisional findings, I see no reason to depart

from them.

my final decision

My final decision is that I uphold this complaint. I require Calpe Insurance Company Limited

to provide a letter of indemnity to Mr S within seven working days of the date of this decision.