Soldato
Apologies if this is a bit long winded!. Got my renewal in last month from my insurer, tail end of March for the RSV. They wanted £336. They apologised for the "slight increase" in the premium but said it was due to rising costs which were unavoidable. Quite amazing considering when I took out a policy with them last year it cost £136.
Anyway, there wasn't a chance in hell I was paying that so I did a search using Tesco Compare which threw up an absolutely identical premium with Hastings for £101. Happy days. So I called my insurer on the 28th of March to inform them that I would not be renewing and wished to cancel the policy there and then as I wanted to have Hastings begin my policy that day. The guy was fine and said he would put a note on their system showing I had requested this and also that he would remove the request for payment via my direct debit. I informed him I intended to cancel the direct debit as soon as I had finished the conversation on the phone with him which he replied to saying "Yeah, that's what to do".
Fast forward to a few days ago. A letter drops through the door from my insurers finance company ( who run the collection of monthly payments for them ) demanding 1 months premium ( for April, due on the 2nd ) and informing me that they will be charging me a £20 administration fee.
So I call back my insurer today to quiz them. Woman tells me they have nothing on their system to say I had cancelled the policy. I say I was told that this would be done but she just kept saying over and over "Well, it hasn't, we have no note on the system". I'm advised to call their finance company. I do so and the guy tells me that I need to speak to the insurance broker regarding the matter as they will only stop a request for payment if they are told do so from them. Here we go, I think.....I'm going to be bounced from pillar to post. Called back my insurer and the woman explains that although I had called to tell them I would not be renewing that I neglected to inform them I wanted to cancel the policy. This is completely untrue, the guy I spoke to when I first called to do this said he would put a note on their system and cancel the policy. Why else would I cancel a direct debit???!!!.
So the upshot is that my insurer want their £16 monthly payment for the last month of the policy and their finance company / cash collectors want their £20 admin fee. I'm not happy about paying either. Why should I pay for a months insurance that I didn't even use?. Dial Direct have said they have contacted their finance company to request they waive the £20 admin fee but can't guarantee that they will do so.
I'm wondering what the consequences of not paying up are?. Will I get a black mark on my credit rating?. I'm not a happy bunny, why can't people do their jobs properly?. I'm sure that if I made a pigs ear of something when giving them info and "forgot" to tell them something that they would soon jump down my throat.
To top it all off, my new insurer sent me a letter telling me that they had contacted my old insurer to verify my no claims and that they had been unable to do so. Which is complete bloody nonsense as well!!!. Luckily I had the renewal letter which had my NCB on it but it's nice to know my old insurer felt the need to play silly buggers and not bother to give Hastings info on my NCB. Gits.
Anyway, there wasn't a chance in hell I was paying that so I did a search using Tesco Compare which threw up an absolutely identical premium with Hastings for £101. Happy days. So I called my insurer on the 28th of March to inform them that I would not be renewing and wished to cancel the policy there and then as I wanted to have Hastings begin my policy that day. The guy was fine and said he would put a note on their system showing I had requested this and also that he would remove the request for payment via my direct debit. I informed him I intended to cancel the direct debit as soon as I had finished the conversation on the phone with him which he replied to saying "Yeah, that's what to do".
Fast forward to a few days ago. A letter drops through the door from my insurers finance company ( who run the collection of monthly payments for them ) demanding 1 months premium ( for April, due on the 2nd ) and informing me that they will be charging me a £20 administration fee.
So I call back my insurer today to quiz them. Woman tells me they have nothing on their system to say I had cancelled the policy. I say I was told that this would be done but she just kept saying over and over "Well, it hasn't, we have no note on the system". I'm advised to call their finance company. I do so and the guy tells me that I need to speak to the insurance broker regarding the matter as they will only stop a request for payment if they are told do so from them. Here we go, I think.....I'm going to be bounced from pillar to post. Called back my insurer and the woman explains that although I had called to tell them I would not be renewing that I neglected to inform them I wanted to cancel the policy. This is completely untrue, the guy I spoke to when I first called to do this said he would put a note on their system and cancel the policy. Why else would I cancel a direct debit???!!!.
So the upshot is that my insurer want their £16 monthly payment for the last month of the policy and their finance company / cash collectors want their £20 admin fee. I'm not happy about paying either. Why should I pay for a months insurance that I didn't even use?. Dial Direct have said they have contacted their finance company to request they waive the £20 admin fee but can't guarantee that they will do so.
I'm wondering what the consequences of not paying up are?. Will I get a black mark on my credit rating?. I'm not a happy bunny, why can't people do their jobs properly?. I'm sure that if I made a pigs ear of something when giving them info and "forgot" to tell them something that they would soon jump down my throat.
To top it all off, my new insurer sent me a letter telling me that they had contacted my old insurer to verify my no claims and that they had been unable to do so. Which is complete bloody nonsense as well!!!. Luckily I had the renewal letter which had my NCB on it but it's nice to know my old insurer felt the need to play silly buggers and not bother to give Hastings info on my NCB. Gits.
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