Well it seems that auto renewal means that I agreed to renewal if I did not respond (I think it was in the terms and conditions of the initial insurance agreement that I took out). I talked to Budget and suggested that as their renewal premium was nearly 3 times the original premium and the cancellation fee (£200) was as much as a full years premium from the insurer that I eventually used that smacks of profiteering. This line of argument did not work. I never heard back from them for a while but now the debt collectors are calling me, I guess I have to pay up?

Hi, I have read a few of the other threads on auto renewal and I think I understand my position but just wanted a little bit of clarity on my particular problem... Budget Home Insurance was up for renewal on September 20th I don't remember getting a reminder (I have since found the reminder and am blaming my wife or old age...) Next thing I remember I get a letter around October 7th informing me that they cannot take money from my credit card to pay the premium, so I check their premium against others on the web: Budget premium is £600, the cheapest premium I find is £200. I take out the £200 policy. I stupidly don't bother to contact Budget as I think, "I don't need their insurance and they haven't taken any money so everything is fine!" I now get a letter cancelling the insurance and a bill for £200, I phone Budget and they say that since they have been insuring me up to cancellation this is what I owe for the service so far. Question 1: Since they never took any money and I never recieved an insurance pack saying I was insured then surely I was not insured? Question 2: Are there any other reasonable options open to me other than paying the £200? (This is the same amount as my entire yearly premium from a competitive insurer and pretty much what I payed last year. They effectively tripled the premium with the auto renewal!) I know this has been covered many times before and I have read the threads but thank you in advance for any advice that could help me save some of this £200 (it is still cheaper than taking out the insurance!) Al