Not happy - cancellation fee / cancelled policy

[firebirduk]

I took out car insurance on the 7th January, choosing to pay monthly. The policy was approximately £600 a year, and payments were for £50 a month.

 

I sent my proof of no claims off as requested to the local office and heard no more.

 

The next payment came out of the account on the 23rd January for another £50 as expected.

 

Then on the 5th February we get a letter saying the insurance has been cancelled due to not receiving the no claims proof and we owe a further £75 (apparenty £50 of this was for a cancellation fee they imposed)

 

We did call the local office and spoke to an unhelpful lady, who couldn't pass us on to the manager as he was unavailable, but said he would call back the next day.

 

A total £175 for less than a months insurance seems like a rip off to me. I don't want to pay the extra cancellation fee and don't see why I should, especially as they happily took the second payment at the end of January.

 

The lady couldn't explain why we owed this much and said she wasn't prepared to speak to us any longer and hang up. My wife wasn't rude on the phone or shouting, but simply asked for an explanation as to why the policy was cancelled without warning and why so much was still owed when we had the policy cancelled on us within a month of it being taken out?

 

Any suggestions where we go from here - straight to the fso?

[rebel11]

Hi firebird

 

Welcome to CAG

 

I believe we have a Swinton rep who can look into the matter. No doubt other Caggers will respond soon.

[firebirduk]

Thanks for the welcome - lots of interesting articles on here

[unclebulgaria67]

Think you will have to make a complaint to Swinton head office, as it sounds like the branch have lost the NCD proof and are now not wanting to help you or answer your complaint. Unfortunately Swinton are owned by a large French Insurers and going by what people say, are not known for good morale amongst their workforce.

 

In regard to the charges on the policy, these will be set out in the policy. If they don't receive the NCD or they have lost it, they will cancel and charge the time on cover, plus the cancellation admin fee amount.

 

Swinton Group Limited, Swinton House, 6 Great Marlborough Street, Manchester M1 5SW

By telephone – call 0845 168 3676

[firebirduk]

Thanks for the response. It just struck me as odd they want a cancellation fee on top of the money they've had off me already:

 

£600 for the year, so that's roughly £50 a month.

 

They've had £100 out of me and cancelled the policy within a month of me taking it out. Now they want an additional £75.

 

Surely a months insurance can't cost £125 after you deduct the cancellation fee (based on a full year being £600)? If they'd said forget about the cancellation fee in lieu of the monies they've already taken I'd have understood.

[unclebulgaria67]

Thanks for the response. It just struck me as odd they want a cancellation fee on top of the money they've had off me already:

 

£600 for the year, so that's roughly £50 a month.

 

They've had £100 out of me and cancelled the policy within a month of me taking it out. Now they want an additional £75.

 

Surely a months insurance can't cost £125 after you deduct the cancellation fee (based on a full year being £600)? If they'd said forget about the cancellation fee in lieu of the monies they've already taken I'd have understood.

 

It should be the time on risk, plus cancellation admin fee.

 

Make a complaint to Swinton head office about this and ask for a breakdown of the cancellation calculation. You need a breakdown, so you can see what they are charging you for.

[IllMakeYouFamous]

This seems common with Swinton they "never receive" proof of peoples no claims bonus

[ccholland]

Hi - if you are able to email a complaint direct to this guy with a breakdown of what happened and when along with a copy of the correspondence you sent to them regarding your NCD he should look at dealing with it as he is their compliance person: [email protected] - make sure you title the email 'Formal Complaint' (sorry if that's a bit obvious)