Thank you, that's very encouraging - especially as I have discussed this problem with Swinton Insurance on several occasions. I get the feeling that the 'executives' on the end of the line are well trained in the art of 'Bamboozle' - and extracting as much extra money from their clients to compensate for their initially low insurance premiums. I will check on whether they can automatically increase my DD at my bank. Thanks again for your input.

I wrote to Swinton bikes to advise them that I had changed banks, and gave them the new bank details for the direct debit. But they still tried to take the next DD from my old bank account (which was now cancelled). I didn't find out until they had tried 4 times! When I called them they said it could take up to 30 days for a letter to go through their system - and for this reason they wanted to charge me an extra £48 for not being able to collect from my old bank. I have complained to them several times and the best they can offer is to reduce the extra charge to me by £22. And, now they have raised the cost of my DD automatically so they can grab this extra money. I was so annoyed that I asked if I could cancel my policy - and they said 'yes - but we will charge you an extra £50 to do so' (it's in the small print apparently). It seems the everything goes only in Swinton's favour, and there is nothing you can do about it but run with the policy until it runs out and then change to a reputable insurance company. If you find you have to write to them because you cannot get through on the phone - make certain you send your letter by recorded delivery (which in hind-sight is exactly what I should have done).