Insurance is a credit agreement?

[GlasweJen]

I was cold called in October from a man who said he was from the halifax, as I bank with them (for all my sins) I continued the call and the man sold me the Halifax Personal Accident Plan. The documentation arrived early in November, I had a cursory read over it and filed it. Today I decided that I wanted to terminate the cover as I remember requesting that the premium (£7.99) be taken out on the 7th of the month and it never comes out on the right date. I went to get the documents and found a piece of paper I'd never noticed on my first look at the documents which says the following:

 

 

Fixed Sum Loan Agreement regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974

 

 

Customer Name : Miss J Schnifer

Customer Address: 1 Any Street

 

Key Financial Information

Amount of credit £95.88

Duration of Agreement 12 months

Total Payable £95.88

 

Policy Number ABC123

Cash Price of Policy £95.88

Advance Payments 0

Total Charge for Credit 0

Interest 0

Fixed rate interest 0%

 

On the back it says that once i have signed this agreement i have a short time in which i may cancel it. my cancelation rights are set out in the terms and conditions attached to the document (there is nothing attached and i can't find anything in the envelope).

 

There is a box at the bottom which says:

 

This is a loan agreement regulated by the consumer credit act 1975. Sign and keep a copy only if you want to be legally bound by its terms.

 

I have not signed this (as i didn't know it was there). I can find no terms and conditions with this piece of paper, I never agreed for a credit agreement to be put in place. What can I do?

[freakyleaky]

Hi Jen. Just Bumping This For Others To See!

 

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[cazzaswfc]

Hi,

 

Some companies do now do a credit search when you apply for direct debit agreements and the monthly plan again can be a credit agreement.

 

Obviously looks like this policy falls into this,

 

have they stated you have to pay up the years fee if you want to cancel?

[Darkangelsdelite]

When you pay by direct debit, this is a credit agreement as its regulated under the consumer credit act and you don't need to sign anything to enter into the agreement.

Also, it takes a few days for a BACS payment to clear so even if your preferred payment date is the 7th, it may not show on your account until a couple of days after this date.

You should be able to cancel the agreement but in doing so you may be charged a fee for ending your contract early.

 

 

DA

[GlasweJen]

No one stated anything, I never imagined the bank would enter me into a credit agreement like this because they know fine well I'm a student and that I lost my job, well they should as I have a student account with them. No one mentioned anything about fees for early cancellation in fact I was told I could cancel whenever I want. Surely the lack of terms and conditions is a bit dodgy?

[LemonTwist]

It sounds to me like this policy was mis-sold. Why would a student with no job need a Personal Accident policy? The main purpose of such a policy is to replace your income should you become injured and need to take time off work. Of course, a lot of people's employers provide sick pay anyway, but this policy would be useful for those who aren't covered by a corporate sick pay scheme.

 

I would never buy a policy from a cold-caller. If I ever wanted to do so, I would ask them to send all the documentation before agreeing to anything. Personally I believe cold-calling is an appalling sales technique, as it doesn't give the customer time to think things over, and vulnerable people might feel pressurised into agreeing with the salesperson.

 

I have an account with the Halifax too, but luckily I've never had anyone try to sell me insurance. If they ever did, I would tell them that as I work in insurance anyway, I would be able to arrange a policy myself if I believed I required one!! That would soon scare them away from trying to mis-sell me a policy!!

 

What you need to do is write a formal letter of complaint saying that you were sold a policy you do not need, and ask for a full refund of any premiums you have already paid.