Hi, can anyone help at all.

I received this letter from peter vardy recently. I purchased my car 12 month ago, and paid £399 for Gap insurance for 4 years. The letter is as follows

"We hope you are enjoying your new car and would recommend us to your friends and family. As part of our commitment to forging a long-term relationship with all our clients we hope you will allow us to continue to look after your car long into the future.

Whilst writing we have taken the liberty of attaching your status disclosure document relating to the insurance product you have purchased from us. We can confirm that you have a purchased GAP insurance policy which started on xx/11/2017.

Our records show these details may have been omitted when you ordered your vehicle. You are not required to take any further action as a result of this letter, however receipt of this letter will start your statutory cancellation period detailed in your policy summary. Full information on the policy can be found in your terms and conditions, which you have already received.

Please accept our apologies for this oversight. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Head of Compliance."

Now to me this reads like the statutory cancellation periods starts from when I have received this letter, in November 2018. I phoned the number on the letter, and the call handler says no, that the notice period starts from when I took out the policy?

any help appreciated.

I don't really understand what the story is about. Maybe you could clarify – or maybe somebody else will come along who understands.

What I gather is that you have received some notice that your insurance policy is being cancelled because some relevant details haven't been given to the insurer. Is this correct?

I understand that you have been on the telephone to them. You are new here so you probably didn't know that you should be recording your calls. Read our customer services guide before you do anything else.

Its with regards to your statutory cancellation period for the GAP Insurance.... If you entered into the contract over the phone, online or on your doorstep, you have 14 calendar days to cancel the contract under the Consumer Contracts Regulations.

The cooling-off period starts the day after you agree to go ahead with the service.

If you want to cancel a credit agreement, the Consumer Credit Act gives you a 14-day cooling-off period to cancel the agreement.

As its been and passed now its irrelevant but it has given you a fresh start date (the date of the letter should you wish to cancel the insurance)...the dealer simply failed to serve notice in 2017 and is covering its backside.

Andy

GAP insurance is useless

go cancel it now.

GAP insurance is useless

go cancel it now.

You say that quite often

Try saying that to someone who's car is written off 2 years into their finance agreement and after The insurance company has paid out direct to the finance company, They now have no car and still owe thousands

It happened to me years ago, I actually had Gap insurance and didn't know, My car was hit from behind and written off, I got a letter saying i still owed £700 after the insurance had paid out, And included was a form to sign for the gap to cover it

That's when i found out gap insurance was a good thing

GAP Insurance correctly taken out can be useful. Worth shopping around and not taking out cover through garage selling the car, as that is usually much more expensive.

You say that quite often

 

Try saying that to someone who's car is written off 2 years into their finance agreement and after The insurance company has paid out direct to the finance company, They now have no car and still owe thousands

 

It happened to me years ago, I actually had Gap insurance and didn't know, My car was hit from behind and written off, I got a letter saying i still owed £700 after the insurance had paid out, And included was a form to sign for the gap to cover it

 

That's when i found out gap insurance was a good thing

I agree.

It is dangerous for anyone on this site to give sweeping statements such as 'GAP insurance is useless', and I doubt he/she or this site itself would take responsibility for someone acting upon that advice only to suffer a claimable event the following week that ends up costing them £1,000's.

9/10 the only people to benefit are the dealership whom sold it via a commission backhander and the ins co themselves and the interest the finance co make out of it by loaning the money to pay for it.

yes colin there are rare examples of it saving peoples bacon admittedly, but GAP ins was invented by the insurance and finance industry anyway, biggest exploiter were people like welcome finance, yes car etc etc I don't think they ever paid out once and it typically cost the punter £2-3k on their loan, probably more than any shortfall like you had.

if I remember correctly postggj actually found out that both of the aboves' GAP ins was actually totally fake.

and like MIF on mortgages - the policy actually never existed with them nor their insurers

9/10 the only people to benefit are the dealership whom sold it via a commission backhander and the ins co themselves and the interest the finance co make out of it by loaning the money to pay for it.

 

yes colin there are rare examples of it saving peoples bacon admittedly, but GAP ins was invented by the insurance and finance industry anyway, biggest exploiter were people like welcome finance, yes car etc etc I don't think they ever paid out once and it typically cost the punter £2-3k on their loan, probably more than any shortfall like you had.

 

if I remember correctly postggj actually found out that both of the aboves' GAP ins was actually totally fake.

and like MIF on mortgages - the policy actually never existed with them nor their insurers

Sorry but from your description you seem to be pigeon holing GAP into yours/others experiences of it associated with historic failed sub prime finance providers, which risks having a very narrow minded and - if I may say so - evidently cynical viewpoint.

GAP is actually widely associated with the purchase of new or nearly new cars - the 'return to invoice' variety in particular has nothing to do with finance agreements and can prove to be a financial lifesaver. I bought a brand new Mitsubishi ASX two years ago, paid cash for it, and bought a 5 year GAP policy for the equivalent of less than £80 per year. If the car is written off during that time then the policy tops up my insurance payout to provide a brand new replacement vehicle. Bearing in mind that after 4 years the car will have depreciated by at least £10k that is not some mickey mouse Welcome policy but done through a proper insurer and providing a real potential benefit.

I get the fact that for whatever reason you don't like GAP, or maybe the firms you seem to associate with it, but I think that the advice provided has had weight added by your 'site team' status yet it could be potentially very damaging to some. Sorry I'm not meaning to offend by the way.

9/10 the only people to benefit are the dealership whom sold it via a commission backhander and the ins co themselves and the interest the finance co make out of it by loaning the money to pay for it.

 

yes colin there are rare examples of it saving peoples bacon admittedly, but GAP ins was invented by the insurance and finance industry anyway, biggest exploiter were people like welcome finance, yes car etc etc I don't think they ever paid out once and it typically cost the punter £2-3k on their loan, probably more than any shortfall like you had.

I get that, But i have buildings and contents insurance for my home, I have never claimed on it and i'm happy that i have not had to

So insurance companies have made money from me and have never had to pay anything out

So should i deem it as pointless and cancel it ?

Gap insurance is just the same, I am covering myself for a possible future large pay out if something goes wrong, I see idiots on the road every day, There is a good chance that one day one of them is going to drive into my car

I agree, Colin. The whole point of most insurance is to pay out to the few who suffer a loss.

HB

Its down to personal choice and affordability...if you can afford it ...have it...and peace of mind.You could say that most things are a waste of time...unless you need to claim on it...house contents /building insurance etc etc.

you need to look at the value of the vehicle now and what you still owe the finance co. If there is no appreciable gap in values cancel the insurance. If you owe a damned sight more than the car is worth then keep it.

The tricky bit is estimating what an insurer will pay for a write off and that is the only thing you are interested in.

you need to look at the value of the vehicle now and what you still owe the finance co. If there is no appreciable gap in values cancel the insurance. If you owe a damned sight more than the car is worth then keep it.

The tricky bit is estimating what an insurer will pay for a write off and that is the only thing you are interested in.

Depends on the type of GAP insurance, and what it is protecting you from. The OP may want to be protected if their car gets written off and there is finance outstanding (when the balance of payout vs. finance outstanding is key), or there may be other factors (such as 'return to invoice' GAP

GAP insurance is useless

go cancel it now.

Unbelievably bad advice. Even if you don't trust the selling Dealer there are several specialist companies which offer GAP

Hopefully you won't need it, only the shortsighted would call that a waste of money.

If you do need it, it could save you thousands.

Wow

H