Just found out that my insurance company has taken payment twice each month since November

TheVoice

TheVoice

TheVoice

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From what I can see, when I called them up in November to renew at a lower price I'd found online, they neglected to cancel the auto-renewal for my old policy even though I specifically asked if that would be done; they said yes. Means I've been paying £180 each month rather than £75.

Yes, I'm feeling rather stupid for not realising sooner, but it'll certainly teach me to pay closer attention to my direct debits and what's going out each month. Money had been feeling really tight this year and I couldn't really work out why because I wasn't buying or spending any more than I usually would, so it's good to know this is why, at least.

Going to call Hastings tomorrow and go from there. Anyone know if it's going to be a difficult process to get the money back? I've spoken to my Mum, she's said that I'm covered by the Direct Debit guarantee so I can always use that to get refunded anyway, but am I better just leaving that as a last resort?
 
I am 99.99999999% sure you will phone up, explain, and you'll get your money back. Ask for a little compensation for the lost interest. You may get something.
 
you will most probably be told that they will have to listen to the call to make sure what was said and then they would refund, you can go through the bank but it might end up with them chasing you for time on cover charge if it wasnt clearly advised you wished to cancel, not saying you didnt but thats the usual route they will take
 
It was with the same company. I called them, said I'd seen online that a new policy with them was cheaper than the renewal they had offered, asked them to match it and they did. Evidently the guy I spoke to didn't cancel the old one so it kept going too.

Called them up about it today, they said they'd put a cheque in the post and cancel the renewed policy, leaving me with the cheaper one that I'd wanted in the first place. Was a lot more straightforward than I thought it would be.
 
Might be worth double checking once you've got the cheque that the current policy is still live (i.e. they continue taking payments for current one)... knowing how incompetent people are in general it wouldn't suprise me if they cancelled the wrong policy or even both, and even if its their fault driving around without valid insurance isn't a good idea.
 
Absolutely, I'll be keeping a close eye on it from now on. Can't quite believe I didn't notice sooner, but when I saw the direct debit on my online statement I didn't really think to look at the amount. Oh well, should be about £700 I get back!
 
TheVoice said:
Called them up about it today, they said they'd put a cheque in the post and cancel the renewed policy, leaving me with the cheaper one that I'd wanted in the first place. Was a lot more straightforward than I thought it would be.
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I'd have been very surprised if it was anything other than straightforward tbh. I mean, they'd have no argument whatsoever. Who would take out two insurance policies on the same car with the same insurer with the same cover? Completely pointless, so it was an obvious error.

Did you ask for compensation for the money being taken all this time?
 
Why would compensation for anything other than interest be due (and that would be virtually nothing). Where's the need for financial redress here other than a refund? Telephone whiplash?
 
To be honest if you didn't notice till now it obviously didn't affect you that much! No need for compensation there ..
 
Rackerz said:
To be honest if you didn't notice till now it obviously didn't affect you that much! No need for compensation there ..
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Actually it did, I'd been really feeling the pinch the past several months but I was just putting it down to an increase in bills/purchases for other things.
 
I usually check my online statement 2-3 times a week and noticed last month that an online retailer had taken payment for Brink twice so they refunded that back to me no problem. Check your statements regularly, you never know when you'll spot that O2 topup for a phone you don't have which is usually a test to see if the card is active when it's been cloned!
 
TheVoice said:
Actually it did, I'd been really feeling the pinch the past several months but I was just putting it down to an increase in bills/purchases for other things.
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I'm sorry - the compensation you should be seeking then is for your own lack of attention to detail. You did nothing for 6 months!

Seeking compensation for something like this is akin to any other false claim, just on a smaller level.
 
Rackerz said:
To be honest if you didn't notice till now it obviously didn't affect you that much! No need for compensation there ..
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More fool you! Other than people like Bill Gates or Puff Daddy, most folk would notice an extra £105 vanishing out of their account every month.
 
Siliconslave said:
as you legally can't insure a car twice they shouldn't have to check what was said, it should also be on your record...
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i read the OP as two different companies, its not strictly illegal, insurance companies dont like dual cover as it means if theres a claim they have to pay out half, seen many a case where this has happened but the policy holder not put in jail for it :p, if its with the same company it would be a straight forward thing, if it was two different companies they will listen to the calls normally as insurance companies dont usually write money off their records/give refunds without checking

EDIT***

shameless googled for peace of mind

It isn't illegal to have two policies on the same vehicle, however it is illegal to try to claim twice for the same vehicle and the same incident.
 
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