cancellation of car insurance policy

[borolad63]

Hi

 

After problems with cancellation of policy (Swinton Insurance through Insurance Factory.com) I was informed that I had to pay for one months payment plus a charge totaling £62.35. I rang Insurance Factory explaining the situation and that I was not prepared to pay up, as I considered the debt was caused by them and not me.

 

I have now received a letter from CCI Legal (Debt Collection Agency) saying they have been instructed to collect payment for £92.35 for the debt.

 

The account name is Thomas City Insurance (Do not know of this company).

 

Assistance needed

 

Many thanks

[borolad63]

Upps!

 

Sorry The name is Thames City Insurance not Thomas City Insurance

[harrassed senior]

I am not able to offer much assistance other than to confirm that Swinton themselves stick on a really high sum of money for cancelling a Policy.

[unclebulgaria67]

Upps!

 

Sorry The name is Thames City Insurance not Thomas City Insurance

 

Thames City Insurance and the Insurance factory are the same company.

 

My advice is to pay the amount due to Insurance factory or if you believe you have reason to complain, make an official complaint to them. After 8 weeks if Insurance factory cannot resolve, go to the FOS. The Insurance factory could incur a fee of £500 by the FOS and it would cost you nothing apart from the postage.

 

Don't be tempted to ignore this. You will end up with a problem with your credit record/rating, which could cause problems with getting finance/credit in the future. You could also be taken to court and end up with a CCJ.

[Bazooka Boo]

It will not be cost effective to take anyone to court for a measly sum of 90 odd quid. it will cost them the same again if not treble that in fees and the DJ would probably tell them to stop being so childish! You certainly won't have a CCJ awarded for such a petty amount.

 

Why did you cancel the policy?

Assuming there was no claim outstanding, what does it say in the policy ref. early termination? Does it tell you costs etc?

 

Is this one of those retched policies that they automatically like to renew at the end of the 12 month period?

 

Where has the extra 30 quid appeared from? Them or the DCA?

 

I would be inclined to contact the Ins coy, via letter outlining why your not paying the money they are requesting? Did you have Ins with another coy at the same time they are asking for payment?

[mr angrypants]

KEEP AWAY from thames city and the insurance factory [same company], I had a £1800 policy with them, cancelled it after three months as I lost my job, so was expecting to pay three months worth of cover plus maybe a small cancelling fee, say £50 or so. Not so. Having paid two months worth of cover to start off with plus £40 brokers fee to thames city, I then paid three amounts of £150 before writing to them saying I wanted to cancel. I sent back the insurance certificate, then got a letter saying '' you have an OUTSTANDING BALANCE of £374, please call us to make payment''. I wrote them a letter asking for a fee breakdown, as I worked out I had already paid them nearly £800, which would be 44% of the years premium, when I should have paid 28%, so really even if they took a cancelling fee out they would owe me a months backdated payment. They then wrote back saying yes yes we got your letter we will look into it, it could take four to eight weeks to resolve. I got a phone call yesterday and a text from this company called ''insurance collections bureau LTD'', the caller asked me if I was able to make a payment for £449 that day as they had sent me a letter already. I had not received a letter, so I said to her that I was currently in a dispute with thames city for the money and I knew that I didn't owe them anything like that much, so she said she would email them and hung up. The letter from ICB basically threatens court action and says it could damage my ability to obtain credit in the future, which I guess is their way of trying to scare me into paying? But I will not be paying them anything and would quite happily go to court to discuss this ''outstanding debt'' , especially, if like above, it costs them money and not me

[rameses_qc]

It will not be cost effective to take anyone to court for a measly sum of 90 odd quid. it will cost them the same again if not treble that in fees and the DJ would probably tell them to stop being so childish! You certainly won't have a CCJ awarded for such a petty amount.

 

 

Erm...yes you could. It's quite possible. They've been awarded for less. Don't forget these are all tax deductable expenses for the creditor

Anyway, the whole thing depends on the circumstances of the case. What are their terms and conditions re cancelling? Did you tell them in the way the terms said? What was the difficulty they caused? Why was it their fault? I think these are the questions that need answering before anyone can advise

[Bazooka Boo]

Why are people commenting on a 2 year old post?

[nit_mis]

I have a similar problem with Swinton car insurance. I have cancelled my car insurance 3 months before the annual contract. They asked me to pay approx £80 of which £30 is an outstanding balance and £50 admin fee. I paid them £30 and since I have not paid them £50 admin fee, they forwarded it to Debt collection agent. Now they are asking for £75 (Addition £25 late payment). I have written back to debt collection team to ask their client to give me exact breakdown of Admin fee, but they still continue to call me over phone or writing a threatening letter of court case.

Now sure what to do on that? Any help would be highly appreciated.

[unclebulgaria67]

Unfortunately these admin fees are in Swintons terms and conditions. You either pay or you enter into a formal complaint in writing with Swinton, threatening to take it to the FOS. Because Swinton may have to pay the FOS a fee of about £500, they might try to resolve the complaint with you, as that could be the cheaper option for them.

[nit_mis]

A big thanks to you uncleburgaria67. I did the same as you mentioned and they were really serious this time in removing the asking amount. Also this time I received an appropriate letter from Credit agency that they will look into the matter. Before this I was just receiving threatening calls or letters.

All sorted. Again a big thanks!!!

 

 

Unfortunately these admin fees are in Swintons terms and conditions. You either pay or you enter into a formal complaint in writing with Swinton, threatening to take it to the FOS. Because Swinton may have to pay the FOS a fee of about £500, they might try to resolve the complaint with you, as that could be the cheaper option for them.