Aoninsure.ie - claimed direct debit without my consent for a policy I didn't renew!

plys

Hi all,

Last year, I got car insurance through insure.ie (now aoninsure.ie), and it was due for renewal last week.

I arranged alternative cover through another broker, however my bank account has been charged €96.80 in what appears to be a reinstatement of an old direct debit from Aoninsure. Last year, I had paid a deposit and 6 monthly installments.

Is it not illegal for them to charge my account without any form of consent? Obviously I should have cancelled the direct debit myself after the 6 months were up, but surely they can't just reinstate this without any form of approval from me, either for the insurance policy or the financing arrangement.

Has anyone had this experience before and if so how long did it take to get a refund??

Thanks,

plys

coffee_cake

These places usually have a "we will renew automatically unless you cancel the policy by x date" condition
so by accepting the original policy you would have consented

leannejoshua

They usually send u out a letter offering you insurance again and if you dont want to renew with them they tell you to inform them otherwise the direct debit will go ahead !

plys

ok... but one of the letters i got stated that my previous insurer was not offering renewal, and so an alternative policy was arranged... does this not change the game a bit? think i know the answer.. :mad:

chris85

plys wrote: »

ok... but one of the letters i got stated that my previous insurer was not offering renewal, and so an alternative policy was arranged... does this not change the game a bit? think i know the answer.. :mad:

What exactly did the letter say?

Best bet is to contact Aon. It is most likely a tech glitch and they will arrange a refund immediately. yes it shouldnt happen, sometimes it goes but the main thing is the insurer acts promptly to rectify the mistake, presuming a mistake has been made of course.

plys

Yeah I'm kinda in a bit of a pickle because I'm at work and all the letters I received from Aon are at home, so I can't really figure it out properly until I get home and have a proper read of those docs, so I'm guessing it'll be tomorrow before this is resolved..

I did go onto their website and request a callback, but have heard nothing as yet.

I can't leave the office to call them from my mobile...

Thanks for your replies, guys, hopefully this doesn't drag on...

chris85

plys wrote: »

Yeah I'm kinda in a bit of a pickle because I'm at work and all the letters I received from Aon are at home, so I can't really figure it out properly until I get home and have a proper read of those docs, so I'm guessing it'll be tomorrow before this is resolved..

I did go onto their website and request a callback, but have heard nothing as yet.

I can't leave the office to call them from my mobile...

Thanks for your replies, guys, hopefully this doesn't drag on...

See what they say when they call you. I wouldnt automatically assume its their fault. The majority of policies these days renew automatically so they send a renewal price and then state this will take effect from the renewal date unless the policy is cancelled in the interim. Definitely all the facts need to be looked at.

plys

chris85 wrote: »

See what they say when they call you. I wouldnt automatically assume its their fault. The majority of policies these days renew automatically so they send a renewal price and then state this will take effect from the renewal date unless the policy is cancelled in the interim. Definitely all the facts need to be looked at.

I agree that's probably what has happened, however I think it is a fairly dodgy business practice tbh... it's not their 'fault' that their business model and MO means that they *assume* you will renew with them and via the same payment method as the last time - but it's not about who's fault it is, it's about the fact that my bank balance is down by almost a hundred quid when it shouldn't be.

It's grand for a person who is relatively on top of their finances and monitors bank statements etc, but what about the poor auld granny who doesn't have a clue what's going in or out of her account...?? Setting it to auto-renew by default effectively gives the company power of decision over their customers' bank accounts.

In my case, I should have cancelled the DD, or informed them that I was getting insurance elsewhere - mea culpa - but I still think it's a cheap shot by Aon. In their world, it might be an "erroneous transaction", but for me, right now, that 96 euro is the difference between me eating this week and not.

chris85

plys wrote: »

I agree that's probably what has happened, however I think it is a fairly dodgy business practice tbh... it's not their 'fault' that their business model and MO means that they *assume* you will renew with them and via the same payment method as the last time - but it's not about who's fault it is, it's about the fact that my bank balance is down by almost a hundred quid when it shouldn't be.

It's grand for a person who is relatively on top of their finances and monitors bank statements etc, but what about the poor auld granny who doesn't have a clue what's going in or out of her account...?? Setting it to auto-renew by default effectively gives the company power of decision over their customers' bank accounts.

In my case, I should have cancelled the DD, or informed them that I was getting insurance elsewhere - mea culpa - but I still think it's a cheap shot by Aon. In their world, it might be an "erroneous transaction", but for me, right now, that 96 euro is the difference between me eating this week and not.

Its not dodgy at all. I like that each year I get a renewal quote and I have to do nothing and its applied seamlessly every year. I usually ring a few places to get a quote elsewhere each year but noone ever beats its.

If we went by your way it would mean more hassle for the customer having to ring every year to sort a new policy with them. Also for the granny as you mentioned I would imagine its perfect, they have to do nothing and policy carried on.

For you, you should read the letters they send out if it is a case of them automatically renewing policies. Very common practice.

plys

chris85 wrote: »

Its not dodgy at all. I like that each year I get a renewal quote and I have to do nothing and its applied seamlessly every year. I usually ring a few places to get a quote elsewhere each year but noone ever beats its.

If we went by your way it would mean more hassle for the customer having to ring every year to sort a new policy with them. Also for the granny as you mentioned I would imagine its perfect, they have to do nothing and policy carried on.

For you, you should read the letters they send out if it is a case of them automatically renewing policies. Very common practice.

Ok let me clarify here.. I think it's dodgy if there is no alternative. ie you can't complete the transaction without agreeing to auto-renew. Obviously in this instance, I could have simply paid up front and not signed a DD mandate. But that was not really an option for me at the time, as I wanted to spread the cost.

What Aoninsure.ie is providing here is actually two separate financial products.
1. Insurance brokerage, and
2. A short-term loan

My opinion is that if I am being signed up for a new loan, I should at least have to provide some form of authorisation, either verbal (recorded and on file etc), or written (a signature etc).


I don't agree that 'my way' would result in increased hassle for the customer. I am not proposing that the customer goes through the whole rigmarole of filling in forms, getting proof of no claims etc. All that can remain on file without issue.

I had three voicemails from Aon about my renewal. I was not in a position to answer the phone on any of the occasions when they called. If I had wanted to renew, it would have been as simple for me as answering the call and telling them that I wanted to renew.

My gripe is that, in the absence of ANY form of contact from the customer, the default option for them is to charge my bank account. I am well aware that it is in fact common practise nowadays, but that doesn't take away from the fact that it is an absurd and morally suspect business practise.

chris85

Hardly absurd practice. Suits most perfectly. If it doesnt suit you then dont go with them or remember to cancel it. Not exactly rocket science in fariness. You get the auto renewal letter and you call them to cancel it. The majority of customers with a policy will renew rather than cancel and that is why it is normal practice.

Funnyonion79

Hi, just wanted to say that this happened to me with health insurance with Aviva.

I got the letter from them telling me that my health insurance was up for renewal and unless I contacted them to tell them otherwise - they would insure me again under the same policy (which had increased by €70 a month) and continue taking payment via direct debit.

I ended up getting cheaper cover with Laya but by the time I informed Aviva I wouldn't be renewing my policy, it was 3 days before the direct debit was due to come out and they told me it was too late to cancel this first payment but they would arrange a refund.

However, the refund took 14 working days to come back into my account so I was down an extra €223 euro for over two weeks. Pretty inconvenient considering I had cancelled my policy renewal 3 days before the direct debit was due to come out.

Next year I will ensure I inform them that I dont want to renew in plenty of time. At least I got my money back, so I'm sure you will too.

plys

chris85 wrote: »

Hardly absurd practice. Suits most perfectly. If it doesnt suit you then dont go with them or remember to cancel it. Not exactly rocket science in fariness. You get the auto renewal letter and you call them to cancel it. The majority of customers with a policy will renew rather than cancel and that is why it is normal practice.

We'll have to agree to disagree on this one. Do you work for Aoninsure.ie, by the way?

chris85

plys wrote: »

We'll have to agree to disagree on this one. Do you work for Aoninsure.ie, by the way?

No not even insured by them to be honest. Aviva for me, very good so far from them. With them 6 years and auto renewal every year.

Xavi6

Not sure what the issue is here, Aon are just using the same business practice as every other insurance company which is easiest for the majority of their customers.

If you don't cancel in time or respond to their letters it's your own fault, especially with the amount of notice given. It's not 'absurd' or 'morally suspect' in the slightest.

plys

Xavi6 wrote: »

Not sure what the issue is here

1. They charge my bank account for a product/service I didn't agree to.
2. I have about 15 euro left for food for the month or until I get refunded.

so apologies if I'm being a little over-sensitive!

Just got a callback, refund will be in my account in 5-10 working days :eek:

Xavi6

plys wrote: »

1. They charge my bank account for a product/service I didn't agree to.
2. I have about 15 euro left for food for the month or until I get refunded.

so apologies if I'm being a little over-sensitive!

Just got a callback, refund will be in my account in 5-10 working days :eek:

But that's the thing, you did agree to it as the terms you originally agreed to most likely state that renewal is automatic.

It's unfortunate that you are short cash for a couple of weeks, and it's never nice to see money go out of your account that you hadn't expected to, but blaming the company isn't right in this case.