£25 "admin fee" for bounced payment?

[sb118]

I've just had a letter from my wifes car insurance company, this months payment has bounced and they are charging me a £25 administration fee on top of the payment of £97.

 

I'm thinking "penalty charge", do the same rules apply to insurance companies as they do to banks? I'm bound to have agreed to high fees when i took out the policy, but are they enforceable?

 

Many thanks

[alanfromderby]

Exactly the same rules apply - this is an unlawful penalty charge.

[sb118]

Marvelous thanks, i'll get writing

[Loula]

Hello Steve,

 

Please can you tell me which insurance company and also do you have a copy of the policy booklet?

 

Thanks

 

LOULA

[sb118]

The company is "its4me", an online based company, not got a clue where the policy booklet is, the wife has "tidied" unfortunatly.

[sb118]

Just to rub the salt in, i got the letter from Barclays telling me i was getting a £30 charge from them too. £55 of collective fees for a bounced £92 insurance payment, lovely.

[Loula]

You can only read its4me policy wording if you have your policy details. It is an on line policy which Swintons run.

 

I will work out a letter for you asking for the returnof this £15.

 

Be back later

 

LOULA

[idi]

I have the same issue with my insurance finance provider. They are charging me a £25 admin fee and I got my bank charging me £35 quid for the bounced DD. I have read the terms and conditions and it mentions nothing about 'charges'. I spoke to them today and they said its stated on the credit agreement which I do not have a copy of. Now if im correct, they are required by law to provide me a copy?

[Loula]

Yes they are obliged to supply you with a copy.

 

Suggest you obtain a copy and try to claim back this charge stating you were not provided with the T&C's at the time of completing the DD.

 

LOULA

[Loula]

Hi SB118

 

I would suggest you write to them requesting a copy of the document where it states they make a charge for bounced DD's.

 

When it arrives, inform them youhave not seen it before and therefore you should notbe chraged on this occasion.

 

LOULA

[Seminole]

I have a copy of it here. Their charges are interesting. If you cancel the policy they will charge you an extra month's payment plus £30. I wonder if this a penalty charge

[Loula]

I would say it is.

 

I am trying to wade through the FSA guidelines on fees and charges. I will have a 'purple wobbly' if they condone this type of charging.

 

If it were me, I would be writing a letter stating that this is a penalty charge and demanding my money back.

 

LOULA

[ElginStu]

Hi Folks

 

I have also been subject to "Its 4 Me" £25 Admin Fee. My £17 Direct Debit was returned because I would have gone O/D by £7 (for which Bank of Scotland charged me £39 as a result). I sent a 'cut and paste' version pf the preliminary letter via e-mail to 'Its 4 Me'. I received a very prompt recorded delivery response today saying that "It was cleary stated in the Pre Contract Information that a charge of £25 would apply to any Direct Debit that falls into arrears." and then gave me an address to contact if I wished to dispute this. I cannot remember receiving the pre-contract information. The only documents I have are the Insurance Certificate, and the letter for this years quote saying that my cover will continue unless I say otherwise, as the Direct Debit is already set up.

 

After all that pre-amble, my question is this, should I continue with the LBA?

[benjee]

Online Insurance is the worst for hiding charges, but most online brokers have to make money somewhere - its the charges that do this.

 

They all display them as its required under FSA reg's, however you will find it normally hidden under the "Terms & Conditions" which they usually require you to read and tick a box confirming this. Best way is to click the links, and print it out. Then at least you have a copy to read all the information. Its there to be read.

I wont make out to be a martyr but how many people click online without reading? (I've done it!) If theres a box to click confirming you have read something and you havent, then the Insurer has the right to charge you as you have clicked through own fault. Thats why they have online assumptions as well, online deals are always assumptive to certain criteria - you have to meet that to get the deal.

 

In all Insurance situtaions you should still have a copy of all documentation sent in the post whether purchased online or via a call centre as how else are you able to read all the small print and know what you have cover for ? (excluding short term insurance)

 

Its4me used to have a bad reputation for Customer Service, whether this still stands I don't know.

 

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Did you know! - Insurance Companies do not make money from new policies, only renewals?

[Dawnb]

Marvelous thanks, i'll get writing

 

hi there i am also with Its4me insurance company and they also have charged me £25.00 ad fee. i am glad that you are writing to them for the theft can you please tell me are you writing the same letter as you wrote to the bank, that is the template that we can download the one where we do not know what our charges are or can you please help me out and tell me what you are going to write. much appreciated

[karlos_d]

ive experienced exactly the same £25 charge / theft from my "its 4 me" car insurance policy for a missed DD payment.

 

I'd like to know what letter people recomend sending to "its 4 me" to reclaim my charges back. Please help...

 

thanx

[Glitterari]

I don't recommend using its4me at all - I used them a couple of years ago until i had to make a claim (someone helpfully decided to set alight to my old banger one night and write it off for me) and they were awful - they told me I wasn't entitled to a payout for what was in the car because I was TPFT - except I'd been paying fully comp ever since I took the policy out.

 

Apart from that they were awful - dragging their feet and keeping you on hold for hours. Did FA when I made a complaint.

[rkmscorpio]

Hi

 

I have just wrote to Its4Me to reclaim £75 worth of direct debit default charges.

Within 4 days I received a response informing me of the following:

 

I would firstly like to state that all our charges are lawful under statute and they reflect the costs incurred by the finance company (who process the loan on our behalf) in order for them to be able to get the direct debit mandate reinstated after a default. The OFT report on 5/4/06 mentioned in your letter was in relation to the costs levied by credit card companies for late payment and did not concern direct debit defaulted payments.

 

All our procedures and fees have been approved by the FSA (who acts as our governing body) and they were outlined to you when you sent the pre contract information at the inception of the policy. The £25 reinstatement fee was also only applied on three occasions because when you paid the the remainder of the policy in full on 29.09.06 we did not require this additional amount as there was no need for the direct debit to be reinstated.

 

I would like to thank you for your continuing business and I hope that you will remain a customer as you will find that the fees that we levy are standard throughout the industry.....

 

 

Does anybody know what my next move should be with regards to this letter?

 

Thanx

[alanfromderby]

I would direct them to section 5.14 of the OFT statement:

 

Implications for other standard default charges to consumers

5.14 The broad principles set out in this statement are likely to be relevant to other default charges in standard agreements with consumers, such as those for mortgages, store cards and bank accounts. We expect the banks and other finance businesses to consider the wider implications of these principles, and to bring any similar charges they impose for breach of contract into line with them, where and as appropriate bearing in mind the different legal and practical contexts in which they operate. If appropriate steps are not taken within a reasonable timescale, further regulatory investigation of the position can be expected.

 

...and if they still refuse to refund the charges then take them to court.

[Rob S]

Perhaps you could ask them which statute gives them the right to make such admin charges?

[rkmscorpio]

I would direct them to section 5.14 of the OFT statement:

 

Implications for other standard default charges to consumers

5.14 The broad principles set out in this statement are likely to be relevant to other default charges in standard agreements with consumers, such as those for mortgages, store cards and bank accounts. We expect the banks and other finance businesses to consider the wider implications of these principles, and to bring any similar charges they impose for breach of contract into line with them, where and as appropriate bearing in mind the different legal and practical contexts in which they operate. If appropriate steps are not taken within a reasonable timescale, further regulatory investigation of the position can be expected.

 

...and if they still refuse to refund the charges then take them to court.

Thanx Alan,

 

I will try this..mucha appreciated will keep you posted! rar

[sb118]

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