Kwik Fit Home Insurance issue

[DAVEB71]

Hi everyone, I am having a bit of trouble with kwik fit home insurance, they havebeen my insurers now since last year,(full year) and then again this year, butI recently got a letter from them saying that they never collected the monthly premium from my account since Jan 2011, so theres 6 months owing, they rang mywife the other day and said they want ALL the money due to that date, whichagain is fair, but as I work away alot my wife told them that we could pay in 3or 4 installments and she seemed ok, so I emailed them this morning:

 

Hello MsLynch

 

I further to your recent letter dated 14/07/11 and the conversation with my wife last week, I have checked my account and I can see that although the direct debit was active, no money has been taken out since the 24th January 2011, to bring this up to date the outstanding amount is somewhere to the tune of £xxx.xx, I will of course bring this up to date but I will have to do this in a minimum of 4 instalments paid over a short period of time, as I myself am waiting for invoices to be paid, but I suggest you still collect August's monthly premium payment as usual, I can't really see you having a problem with this asyou have already said to my wife the mistake was from your end as you have beenhaving "problems with the banks".

 

I am working away till 19th August and then we are on holiday for 10 days from the following Saturday, (20th), so please direct any correspondence via email and I will answer any queries you may have.

 

Kind Regards

 

And this was their reply:

 

Dear Mr B

 

I am writing to you with regards to the email yousent on 2nd August 2011 with regards to the outstanding balance on your KwikFit Home Insurance policy. This policy has now been cancelled by default on 1stAugust 2011 and there is now an outstanding balance of £xxx.xx

 

This outstanding balance will be passed to anexternal collections company after 14 days and any outstanding balance can beset up on a payment plan with them or paid in full to ourselves.

 

If you have any further queries please email backor call us on 0800 027 6646.

 

Kind Regards

 

Customer Care Team

 

Kwik Fit Home Insurance

 

surely Ihave some rights regarding this, as they never collected on an active directdebit because of their problems with the banks at their end, have they brokethe direct debit guarentee in anyway, btw I intend to pay it but not underthose terms, its their mistake, I never noticed till I checked my accounts thatthey haven't been taking the monthly out,

 

cheerseveryone for any help forwarded

 

Dave

 

[dx100uk]

do you need it?

 

dx

[DAVEB71]

Hi dx, I need house insurance, not necessarily off these I suppose, but I think what they are saying is unreasonable and one sided

[unclebulgaria67]

Take your business elsewhere by arranging cover with another company that is more reliable. You don't have to declare having a policy cancelled, as it it not related to non disclosure or anything like that i.e it was just cancelled due to their mistakes with payments.

 

Make a complaint using the Kwik fit complaints procedure which is below. Once you have renewed a policy, it is up to Kwik fit to collect the payment. Under FSA rules Insurers or intermediaries have to have reliable systems in place, plus accounting standards at a certain level. I have dealt with similar for a large Insurers and we had to write off a portion of the premium, due to our failure to collect. This was because a consumer cannot be expected to find a large lump sum on request to make a payment which is totally different to the arrangement entered into. When a consumer opts to pay monthly they are doing so because they wish to spread the premium. As a result of your complaint, I would expect Kwik Fit to write the amount off. If they don't, I would suggest that you pass your complaint to the FOS.

 

If You Have a Complaint

 

We aim to provide satisfactory service at all times. If we let you down, please tell us and we will do our best to resolve the problem.

 

Step 1

 

Please call us on 0800 280 2205.

 

We will do our best to resolve the matter quickly. If you are not completely satisfied, please ask to speak to a Customer Relations Officer.

 

If you prefer, you may write to our Managing Director outlining your concerns and quoting your Customer Reference Number. Or, you can email us at [email protected]

 

Our aim is to acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days and resolve it within 20 working days. But in some cases it may take longer. If so, we will let you know. In all cases, you will receive a final written response within 40 working days.

[DAVEB71]

Cheers mate, sounds like the way forward

 

regards

 

Dave

[kabukiman]

Wouldn't it be prudent to declare the cancellation with an explanation to save any hassle on a future claim. I bet the cancellation would be on the insurance database and you have no idea what kwik fit has put as the reason.

[unclebulgaria67]

Wouldn't it be prudent to declare the cancellation with an explanation to save any hassle on a future claim. I bet the cancellation would be on the insurance database and you have no idea what kwik fit has put as the reason.

 

Does not work that way. When policies are cancelled only certain cancellations are notified e.g. non disclosure cases and fraud.

 

I know a little bit about this, as I have been involved in dealing with underwriting and IT for one of the largest companies.

 

The policies that get cancelled due to payment issues are not notified.

[DAVEB71]

unclebulgaria67, thanks so much for the excellent advice mate as I recieved this email 15 minutes ago, kind regards Dave

 

Dear Mr B

 

 

Thank you for your email regarding your household insurance policy. I am sorry you had reason to complain about us.

 

I tried to contact you today. Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful.

 

When your policy renewed our link with your bank was deactivated. After renewal we should have re-connected this link and continued to take your payment. However, this process was not followed correctly and although cover continued we did not apply to your bank for payment. I apologise for this.

 

I can confirm that I have removed the outstanding balance in full and no money is owed.

 

Once again I apologise for any upset this matter may have caused. This was not our intention. I will contact you on Monday to confirm this.

 

If you would like to speak to me I can be contacted Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm on 0800 027 9655 or alternatively by return email.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Isobel Willis

 

Customer Relations

[unclebulgaria67]

Glad you sorted it.

 

The advice is always to look up the complaints procedure whenever you get into this type of situation with any company and don't be fobbed off. Complain to the relevant regulator/ombudsman if necessary. Most companies hate it if you end up taking a complaint above their heads, as it affects their complaints stats and they may end up with ombudsman fees to pay or worse a decision against them which includes them having to compensate.