Insurance Cancellation

kerril

I'll start from the beginning.

I bought a new car 2 weeks ago, rang insurance company (RSA) to change and the premium goes from €33 a month to over €110 a month, I am nearly 30 with 8 years no claims bonus. I immediately told them that wasn't good enough and that I was going to shop around and then cancel my insurance. Found a new policy for €369 for the year rang to cancel.
Friday 1st Aug
First problem "we cannot cancel over the phone, we need our legal documents back and cancellation order in writing" I was not happy and explained that I could email them the letter and post documents. I was told "This is not allowed under the terms and conditions of my insurance". I then asked for those terms and conditions to be sent to me, to which I received a response of "you are just being awkward now" I also pointed out that my insurance was taken out with Tesco, Tesco are no longer anything to do with my insurance and I deal only with RSA. I argued that this would be a change of conditions and that my contract would be null and void. I was told that wasn't the case. I explained that I wanted to cancel my insurance straight away as I didn't want to lose cover or have duplicate policies.

Later that day I received the terms and conditions and duly noted the TESCO terms and conditions not RSA. From here on I communicate via Email.

Monday 4th Aug
I argued the case again about change of conditions and also that if I were to stop paying my insurance then it would be cancelled anyway (I wouldn't have done this but just a point) also that when a vehicle is changed then the old cover is cancelled with immediate affect.

Tuesday 5th Aug
I am getting generic answers that don't address my points so I decide to follow their procedure. Along with my documents I sent the written confirmation and stated I wanted to be informed by phone the moment my policy is cancelled.

Friday 8th Aug
I emailed them looking for confirmation that they received my documents ant 14:55 leaving them enough time to respond before close of business

Monday 11th Aug
I receive a response "Please note your policy has been cancelled with effect from renewal date 08.08.14 and your Direct Debit has also been cancelled" They left me without insurance for the weekend. Very irresponsible and unprofessional and only highlighting my reasoning for wanting immediate cancellation. I responded with a complaint, Highlighting all the points again.

Tuesday 12th Aug
Receive two phone calls to say that it was being dealt with by a manager and asked was I now insured. I then argued all my points again.

Responses where.
Q when I change vehicle the cover on the old vehicle is cancelled immediately
A This is a matter of trust, you would still be our customer and we'd still trust you are honest.

Q Change from Tesco/RSA to RSA only
A when you use to ring Tesco you rang the same number. So its effectively the same thing

BLA BLA BLA, round in circles. I explained that if they had just called when my policy was cancelled then that would have been the end of it. The call rep explained that it was down to a matter of capacity and that they were to busy to call.

30 seconds to read email 30 seconds to respond.

Today I received a letter of apology for not calling me on the Friday and basically reminding me of their policy. No mention of the points I raised about immediate cancellation and change of conditions, no apology for calling me awkward on the phone and basically everything I had already heard.

What if I had been in an accident with my two kids or stopped at a checkpoint?

Also I started with Tesco over two years ago and brought with me 6 years no claims bonus with me. Today I received a letter stating I have 5+ no claims bonus, could they not just write 8 and save me some more hassle trying to get another letter from them stating my actual No claims bonus? I couldn't imagine given them important information like this eg how many penalty points do you have? I have 1+.

So I am looking for advice.

Does Tesco leaving Ireland give me the right to leave my contract?

Should I just leave this or escalate to Financial Ombudsman ?

oldyouth

I read as far as you asking for your insurance to be cancelled straight away and then complaining that they cancelled it.

kerril

oldyouth wrote: »

I read as far as you asking for your insurance to be cancelled straight away and then complaining that they cancelled it.

I didn't want to leave anything out, my biggest complaint is they cancelled my insurance and didn't notify me until three days later

oldyouth

kerril wrote: »

I didn't want to leave anything out, my biggest complaint is they cancelled my insurance and didn't notify me until three days later

But you asked them to cancel it straight away. There may be more information in your post, but I ain't reading all that. Perhaps others can advise

Spocker

So if I can summarise what I think you are saying:

- You asked RSA to cancel your policy with immediate effect, which they did, as soon as they received the written notification, with an actual signature (as an email will not suffice for that). They then notified you (in writing?) which you received the next working day
- I've often changed vehicle without having to cancel a current policy, I've either paid or been refunded the difference. As it's a legal requirement to display an insurance disc relevant to the vehicle, this requires a swap of documentation with the insurer, not a cancellation of the policy
- The insurance cover was fully taken over by RSA, and they would have more than covered themselves for any change in policy conditions when transferring. You would have received this in writing and been given an opportunity to cancel the policy with no penalty if you did not wish to keep the cover in place.

I'm not sure what you think you'll achieve by escalating to the Financial Ombudsman - what outcome would you expect?

In my opinion, you should just put this behind you, and move on

ravima

It seems to me to be a question of you not renewing the policy on 8th August, than they cancelling it.

No motor insurer will cancel a policy at your request until they are in receipt of certificate and disc.

If you had an accident whilst uninsured, you would probably be prosecuted. Any innocent injured party would be compensated by MIBI, subject to their rules and then MIBI would seek recovery of their outlay from you.