With apologies for the number of words!
Back in January I renewed my car insurance. I got all the prices and went for Dial Direct. I explained I was changing my car in March and asked the price would be for the new car. I was told there would be £12 difference.
Yesterday I phoned to transfer the policy. I was told there would be £60 to pay, £25 of this being a set administration fee - which I was not made aware of when I took out the policy.
I queried the amount, and after a long conversation, and a delay whilst the customer services operator talked with a senior manager, I was told that the amount could be reduced to £50.
I rejected this, and after more discussion Dial Direct finally agreed that they would pick up the previous taped phone conversation and phone me back. I received no such phone call..
On 28 February I phoned Dial Direct to complain about the attitude of the operator I had spoken to the previous day, the charges being asked for, and the lack of a return phone call.
I was told the £25 fee would be waived and that there was now £25 to pay. However, I was then told that I did not have Motor Legal Protection Cover, and that would be a further £12.99. I queried this, as the cover note with my policy lists this as being included and was told that it was a printing mistake ? I had been driving for a month believing I was insured, when I wasn?t.
I then asked how much it would cost me to cancel my insurance. I was told that if I asked for this information the offer on the table would be lost, and that I may well have to pay the full amount - £60, the cancellation charge alone £55.
Predictably I have accepted the offer, but I am not happy, especially as Dial Direct?s price today ? 28 February ? for exactly the same policy on the same car is £198.57 plus £12.99 for legal protection ? a total of £211.56 compared to the £250.05 I have finally paid.
So the message is ? do get the prices, but make sure you check all the details, and make sure you get to see policy documents before you part with any cash. The cheapest option may well not end up being that cheap at all.
Isn?t there something we can do to stop the insurance companies, along with the banks, mobile phone companies, double glazing companies and all the rest doing stuff like this?
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They are all losing money ,didn't you know ?
Thats why they need to charge such high fees.
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I think you'll find that most of the low-price insurance co's have 'administration charges' of this order. Mine has a cancellation charge of £55. Their get-out is that it is deemed your responsibility to read all of your policy documentation thoroughly. The charges will be listed somewhere in there.
I have used Tesco before, who were pretty competitive but were also happy to amend my policy without charge - though I don't know if that's still the case.
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Quite common for charges to be made for changes - whether the premium goes up or down.
Puts of people who change their cars every few months and incur lots of expense for the Ins Co processing and posting our documentation.
Although the company I use has published charges they have not charged me for the changes I requested over the years - may be 1 change every couple of years or so.
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If you feel strongly about it then write a formal letter of complaint to the company and if that doesn't work then complain to the Financial Ombudsman www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk
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I think uninsured loss recovery - the 1 million scroats driving with no insurance - adds around £30 to each policy.
I know what I'd like to see done to persistent offenders but...
madf
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