Cancelling car insurance early, because of company fault and still being chrged ?

[rudy691]

Hi guys

 

recently I had to sell my car (vauxhall frontera 4x4) due to personal circumstances. my car was insured through Sureterm Direct and ther policy was with Chaucer. apparently it was a 4x4 car policy only (which I wasnt completely clear about that).

I've changed to a smaller car which isnt 4x4 and I have contacted Sureterm and they've said that I won;t be able to change car details on my current policy as Chaucer Insurance will not insure my car because it's not a 4x4. I only had 48 days till my renewal date and I was told I have to cancel policy and I will be charged for the remaining of contract. today I had a letter requesting a payment of 83 pounds in the next 7 days (53 pounds reamining on the policy and 30 Sureterm cancellation fee).

 

can somebody tell where do I stand with this ? can I challenge it ? as it's clearly not my fault that they can't insure my car.

[crem]

I think I would send them the £53 only and tell them you don't accept that a cancellation fee is due for the following reasons

 

1 You did not wish to cancel, but they chose not continue insuring your new car

2 As the full policy value has been paid, they have not lost out.

[rudy691]

the thing is, guy on the email customer service said to me that if I provide a proof of alternative cover, they will drop the amount by about 30 quid. So I think they will drop the cancelation charge. Just want to know where do I stand with paying the remaining of the policy, as it's clearly not my fault that they don't want to insure my car

[rudy691]

anyone ?

[tommy.king]

Try this, you can tell them that you want storage insurance on the car, it means that your car will be parked in a secure gargage and you jsut want it insured in the unlikly event of fire or thef, you will have to pay the admin fee but should save you some bob.

I dont know if you dont want to pay the £30 cancellation fee, if this is the case it seems you will loose your bonus and if you dont give them there money they will refuse to release any bonuses they have, they cannot do anything illegal as they can then be prosecuted for it.

or

if you dont want to cancel the policy and loose 1 years bonus.

 

Usually insurance companies are not that bothered if you dont pay them if you havent made a claim.

In the past I stopped direct debits and got a letter, i called them and said I cant afford it, they then sent a payment reminder then cancelled my insurance.

 

I am not legally qualified so dont take my advise at face value, my response is something I would do and legal advise should be obtained before doing anything I say

[rudy691]

the thing is that this policy is already cancelled and now I have an alternate cover, but they're making problems now on Sureterm Direct side.

 

they told me to send the proof of alternate cover so they will lower the outstanding balance. Today they told me it would have to be another week as they need to send it to the insurer. And they not gonna release my 'no claims discount proof' until I clear the outstanding balance. I've told them that I need to know the revised balance to be able to pay it and I need that proof as my current insurer will cancel my policy. So they're saying that I would have to pay this in full now, so they can release it. but what's the point of me paying it in full and then chasing them for the money that they will owe me ???

[Mallrat83]

Okay heres the problem. Chaucer have offered you a specific type of insurance they have, which is the 4x4 insurance.

There terms and conditions in the underwriting guide will state this and they will decline any vehicle that is a 4x4. As such the insurance company and yourself agreed the premium based upon the information provided to them when you took out the policy, and the insurance policy is seen as a contract between yourself and the insurance company; and as you are breaking that contract thats why the insurance company are charging you the cancellation fee. You may have to pay £x as you may be paying monthly in arrears so there may be an o/s bal (sorry work talk creeping in outstanding balance) or as it is so close to the renewal date the full premium may be required. Your current underwriters were declining due to the vehicle not being a 4x4 and they are fully entitled to decline if the new risk is not acceptable to them, just as there fully entitled to decline a driver under the age of 25 on your policy if they dont like the risk. So as such whilst I understand that you had to sell the vehicle for personal reasons, as far as the insurance company are concerned it is you that broke the terms of the "contract" you had with them.

Sureterm are insurance brokers and so as they specialise in 4x4 and recreational vehicle insurance they wouldnt have been able to quote you on this new vehicle. Your best bet is to log a new complaint with sureterm. as they are you broker the complaint would need to be registered with them, as it is actually them that is likely to be the ones charging you the cancellation fee. What i suspect is that chaucer had already been paid the full premium by sureterm when you took out the policy, and you are repaying sureterm with your monthly direct debits, thats why if you work out your monthly payments you'll probably find your paying around 14% more (roughly) than what the premium is. So you will find that is sureterm who are requesting the cancellation fee and any o/s balance. Log a complaint, stating that you were never advised that they only quoted on specialist vehicles. Whilst you will be liable for the o/s balance, say to the broker that you will be refering to the FSA as you are not happy with there bad practices. If FSA or FOS (Financial Ombudsman Services) are threatened to get involved, they will likely to write off the cancellation fee. Whilst the broker may be correct in applying a cancellation fee, ultimately they will know that if the FOS are involved and decide to take up your case, they will get a charge of £500 (dont quote me as I think im making that figure up). Therefore they may write off the cancellation fee as a gesture of good will, bcos losing £30 makes more business sense than risking losing more if the FOS decide to get involved.

 

General FSA guidelines state the broker/insurance company has 5 days to acknowledge the complaint, then they have 8 weeks to close the complaint case. Something as straight forward as this, I believe can be dealt with by sending one email lodging the complaint and one phone call. So complaint and say you will involve the fsa or fos if you are not happy with the response you receive.

 

As for your proof of ncd? If theyve cancelled the insurance you havent accumilated a years ncd this time, so one quesiton... was last years insurance thru sureterm? if not, go back to your previous provider and ask them if them for proof of ncd. afteral you didnt accumilate anything this year. However if you were insured thru them, your best bet would be to find last years renewal invitation as it will state on there how many years no claims discount the premium was based upon. Otherwise you will have to log a complaint, and get the cancellation fee removed, and then ask the complaints specialist to send out a copy of your ncd.