Cancelling Van Insurance- No Good, Crap customer service

[Merchant UK]

Ok So my van insurance ends on 31st may and i got a new quote from a company called Vanline Direct.

When i signed up on-line i was pleased with the price, but Tuesday i received an email asking me to call them. Then they kept on trying to add things to the price, and generally trying to get as much out of me as possible.

This had finally made me decide to cancel and not go with them at all, it was just the way they were trying to get me to pay more that really made me mad.

The Policy doesn't even start til the 1st June. So i said to the woman "Save your Breath I'm cancelling" she told me i'd have to pay £35 Cancellation charge, even in the cooling period, as stated in their terms and conditions. But the irony is that i didn't get the terms and conditions until i paid the deposit online, and only then did i receive the terms and conditions along with the insurance details and cover note.

Surely this is illegal as i should of had the terms and conditions first before i purchased in order to make an informed choice as to whether to go ahead and commit to a contract of insurance with them.

A deposit is surely fully refunded if i chose to cancel within the 14 day cooling off period?

Any help appreciated As they now have my debit card details and bank details and i don't want them taking any other money out of the account

 

[simon field]

Don't even get me started on the complete scam known as vehicle insurance, just don't.

My BP's son has been working as a claims handler for Aviva (I think) and it is absolutely shocking what goes on.

Are you completely sure there is a cooling-off period in commercial insurance?

 

[Merchant UK]

hi simon, yes the woman said if i cancel during the cooling off period i need to pay £35, Its in their T&C's Now its not the money but the principal.

How was i to now about the terms and conditions as i only received it when i made the deposit payment and got it with the insurance paperwork.

Surely thats illegal quoting terms and conditions when you've never seen any upon purchase?

 

[Newchodge]

Are you sure there were no TCS on the website? It is very rare not to have to tick the box that says I have read and accept the TCS before making any payment.

 

[Merchant UK]

Are you sure there were no TCS on the website? It is very rare not to have to tick the box that says I have read and accept the TCS before making any payment.

Not that i'm aware of i didn't tick any box before i bought it, Plus when your buying a product like this you shouldn't have to trawl all around their site looking for T&C's It was done via money supermarket so it went via them

 

[simon field]

you shouldn't have to trawl all around their site looking for T&C's

I completely agree, you shouldn't have to - but they are sharks, so you do have to.

It would cost them a great deal more than £35 to take you to court though.

I'd cancel the d/d at the bank, write the insurance 'company' a frank letter disputing the debt for the reasons you've given here, mention their high-pressure sales bollox, along with their ombudsman and see what happens.

My guess would be nothing.

 

[Merchant UK]

Well i've emailed them and written to them, lets wait and see what happens, Didn't think people could get shafted like this, if i went to tescos and then decided that i didn't want nothing and walked out only to be fined £35 i'd go mental, why is it different or allowable for insurance companies to do this. Could i charge them £35 for writing my letter to them?

 

[Newchodge]

Unfortunately, you didn't do the equivalent of walking out without buying anything. You ordered something and paid a deposit. You should never hand over money without knowing precisely what you are agreeing to!

 

[simon field]

Here's an example of how car insurance works:

My business partner's car was parked on the roadside (legally and safely) outside his house. 30mph zone. He was at work (17 miles from the house / car)

Some berk came round the corner doing 40+, swerved to avoid cyclists (who were riding in their correct lane) and went into the back of BP's car, which then pushed it into the back of his girlfriend's car, writing it off.

Long story short -BP's insurance has gone up £60, and his girlfriend's has gone up £45. Neither of them were even there!

BP's eldest son has just passed his test last week. Insurance for a 20 year old new driver is obviously horrendous, around £1400 Third party fire & theft I believe.

Whilst applying for insurance, it became apparent that it would be cheaper if he had his mum & dad (my business partner) as named drivers on his insurance for his new little Honda Civic. But he forgot to mention the (non-fault) accident they'd recently 'had'.

When my BP reminded him of this, he rectified it and lo and behold - his insurance went up over £400 to approx £1700!!! due to there being two non-fault claim drivers on the policy.

When asked why on earth his whole family were being penalised for the actions of some jerk crashing into their cars, he was told 'It's the underwriters'. They say you're statistically more likely to have a claim now!

He asked to speak to the underwriters. They wouldn't let him. He's in the process of documenting exactly what's gone on and I really hope he sticks it to 'em, but I doubt he will cos they all seem as bad as each other and it appears to be a closed shop.

Sorry about that!

 

[kelvin1950]

Ok So my van insurance ends on 31st may and i got a new quote from a company called Vanline Direct.

When i signed up on-line i was pleased with the price, but Tuesday i received an email asking me to call them. Then they kept on trying to add things to the price, and generally trying to get as much out of me as possible.

This had finally made me decide to cancel and not go with them at all, it was just the way they were trying to get me to pay more that really made me mad.

The Policy doesn't even start til the 1st June. So i said to the woman "Save your Breath I'm cancelling" she told me i'd have to pay £35 Cancellation charge, even in the cooling period, as stated in their terms and conditions. But the irony is that i didn't get the terms and conditions until i paid the deposit online, and only then did i receive the terms and conditions along with the insurance details and cover note.

Surely this is illegal as i should of had the terms and conditions first before i purchased in order to make an informed choice as to whether to go ahead and commit to a contract of insurance with them.

A deposit is surely fully refunded if i chose to cancel within the 14 day cooling off period?

Any help appreciated As they now have my debit card details and bank details and i don't want them taking any other money out of the account

I had a similar experience with Adrian Flux a couple of months ago whilst insuring my car. They eventually decided not to persue the £45 admin charge for cancellation after I spoke to a manager, got them to spell their name and told them I thought it important that the papers got it right when they reported the court case. As a gesture of goodwill, they waived the charge. Guess which gesture I waved at the telephone?

Legalised blackmail the insurance industry.

 

[Merchant UK]

I just think its free for all now and that they tend to want to make money from you even if you don't want insurance, They say that they charge an admin fee but that only has to reflect the work which they do to cancel your insurance and not simply be put there to make a profit when you decide that the insurance is not for you.

Terms and conditions should be supplied by the company up front to let you make an informed choice prior to purchasing their product, and not hidden away, under a tiny link some where obscure on their website for you to find.

Failure to do this would certainly make it very difficult for the average person to even know what they are getting themselves into.

I think what i might do is sign up again via the money supermarket website and do a screen print of each page and then i will have the proof that the terms and conditions were not presented to me prior to purchase.

As a company myself could i stick some T&C's somewhere and then charge them £35 for each hour i spend complaining to them, That would reflect the true costs of the hassle involved.

 

[kelvin1950]

My cancellation was within 15 minutes of an initial quote from an online source. As I filled everything in I found it hard to work out what they had actually done in the way of admin.