swinton charge/Fees - are the legal?

[colinsunderland]

Just a quick question, are the fees swinton charge legal

 

£12 for processing a non direct debit payment and £24 for a bounced direct debit, so £36 in total?

[martin2006]

Claim them back. Only thing i would consider is whether they might cancel yr insurance so i personally would write asking them to waive the charges but hold taking action until they are no longer yr insurer.

I know some will say they cant cancel it because its a rebuttal but if they did you have a tougher job trying to get that years ncb.

If its the 1st such dd failure a letter should do it.

[colinsunderland]

I'll find out later on if it was the first charge or if there have been more, I'm guessing more as the monthly payments seem higher than when they started from what he said.

 

I've searched but can't find other threads regarding this, only regarding cancellation fees.

 

Thanks for your reply

[unclebulgaria67]

They are legal, if they are stated in the terms you signed up for.

 

Many companies seem to do this these days, as they have outsourced payment processing or accounts functions or simply want money to cover their costs.

 

Complain and see how they respond.

[bellister]

The fee is difficult to quantify, however it never ceases to amaze me how people want some person to do work for nothing

[colinsunderland]

The fee is difficult to quantify, however it never ceases to amaze me how people want some person to do work for nothing

 

I have never came across a company charging £36 for taking a payment by card rather than direct debit.

 

Not that it makes any difference but he was changing bank accounts and rang them on the day payment was due to make a debit card payment

and give new dd details, so he didn't actually 'bounce a payment' and it wouldn't have been late,

 

 

but they insist he had to pay the extra £36, £12 up front and £24 added to monthly payments.

 

 

Considering he had to speak to them to change details, and taking the payment over the phone would have added an extra say 2 minutes onto the call,

 

 

I think £36 is a little steep.

 

Bet hey thanks for your first post input.

[dx100uk]

sri disagree with these posters

 

its a PENALTY FEE

the FCA deem penalty fees unlawful

 

go get them back!

 

dx

[colinsunderland]

ok, just got a copy of the letter from them, and a bit more information.

 

He rang them on the day the DD was due,

now they wouldn't actually take payment as they said the system hadn't updated and it wasn't showing a missed payment.

They did however change the direct debit details.

 

 

He was told to ring back the following week to make the payment which he did do and was then informed about the charges,

so he refused to pay there and then while he checked them out.

If they had taken payment the day he rang it wouldn't have been late.

 

 

Obviously all calls to insurance companies are recorded so there will be proof of this,

especially as it was in the same call as the DD details were changed,

so they can't say he didn't ring.

He hasn't paid yet.

 

The letter he got was a letter and default notice in one.

Now unless things have changed, I don't think the default notice is valid.

It is dated the 30th December and he got it the day I posted, 4th Jan.

The default notice tells him to remedy the breach he must pay the outstanding sum with a £12 missed direct debit administration fee by the 13th Jan.

 

 

When he rang last week he did offer to pay the outstanding payment but pay the admin fee later, but was refused.

Now if the DN was posted on the day it was written, would that mean it was served on 4th Jan?

2 working days after posting first class?

So 14 days after that to remedy the breach should be the 18th Jan, not 13th.

 

The other £24 was a default fee that has been added onto the rest of his payments for the duration of the rest of the policy life.

This was a 'default sum under your Credit Agreement as we were unable to collect your monthly payment of £xx.xx which was due on the 29.12'

 

Now to me, he rang and offered payment on that date, so although not by direct debit, they were able to collect the sum due, but they declined, so should he have been changed a £24 default fee?

[dx100uk]

DN is invalid

 

 

the charges are not lawful.

[colinsunderland]

thanks DX

 

any pointers as to where to look and what to do next? i've looked about and can't find much recent.

 

I did notice this

 

Notice of sums in arrears under running-account credit agreements

 

(1)This section applies where at any time the following conditions are satisfied—

 

(a)that the debtor under an applicable agreement is required to have made at least two payments under the agreement before that time;

 

(b)that the last two payments which he is required to have made before that time have not been made;

 

Does that mean there must be 2 payments short before a default notice can be issued?

 

He rang them earlier to pay the installment but they refused unless he paid the £12 fee at the same time, so he hasn't yet but the insurance will be cancelled tonight if he doesn't pay so trying to sort it out asap for him

 

thanks for your help

[unclebulgaria67]

Problem is that Swinton i believe have outsourced payment handling and these charges are to pay for the cost of handling payments.

 

All the various admin fees should be disclosed at the time the contract is agreed. Now it might have just been a statement, making him aware that various fees are included in the contract terms and that it is important these are read and understood.

 

The default notice is to provide a chance to remedy the departure from the previously agreed payment schedule. If he paid the amount shown in the default notice, it clears that default. It does sound like there has to be 2 missed payments before the account is in default and not a trigger for the default notice.

 

Best to pay these fees under protest to keep the policy running and to enter into complaints afterwards. Insurers can charge admin fees for various, provided they are included within their terms. But when challenged, the Insurers must evidence that the fees are to cover their costs and are not a way to make a profit. If a complaint is made, the Insurers have a decision as to whether they decide to waive/refund as a gesture of goodwill or to provide a breakdown calculation justifying. The FOS are not likely to uphold a complaint and i doubt issuing a court claim would be wise.