Insurance demanding payment for cancelled policy

[Cheeseybeaner]

Wondering what people think about this.
My girlfriend was insured with the post office until febuary this year when she cancelled at renewal and went elsewhere for a cheaper policy.
No payments were requested at the time she informed them not to renew but they are now saying that she owes them £40 for a missing months payment which they 'failed' to take last year.
The money was in the account and the direct debit did not bounce, for some reason they simply didn't take the money which seems to date back to last September. They've sent several letters and have now passed it to a debt recovery firm called C.A.R.S.
Is there any obligation to pay them for their own failure to collect the money some 9 months ago? Seems unreasonable to me if the policy was paid on a monthly basis and they did not request it earlier.

[Marcg868]

I know its not helpful but I'm dealing with the same situation. I'd send them a letter saying prove it to the debt monkeys. Don't speak to them on the phone, only speak to them in writing.
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JACK, MISS YOU LOADS YOU LEGEND.

[Livefast123]

Send the debt mongoes a letter saying that the debt is in dispute, you are dealing with the company involved and would request no further contact from them until the issue is resolved

I would suggest to the Post Office that they should have been a bit more proactive in chasing the debt and that it should have been sorted out at the time and not months later. It's down to them to prove it.

Alternatively you know you owe the money so just pay it
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Current ride - Yamaha MT-07

[Rogerborg]

Rest assured that Postman Prat has already sold the debt on for a small fraction of its value, so you've already punished him for his mistake.

Now you can either pay off the collections agency £40, offer them (e.g.) £20 to fully clear it, or try to Hetzer your way out of by contesting the debt with the original creditor. There's not much in it for either of them, so that may be the last you hear of it, bar a few toothless threats about taking you to County Court.

Think what it's going to do to your credit rating though. Is it really worth the hassle for the sake of £40 that you did agree to pay?
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[Cheeseybeaner]

[RichieZX6R]

First of all right to the C.A.R.S company telling them its in dispute and you wish to have no further contact with them as they can be quite threating and send all post via recorded delivery so they know you are serious. If they say they will be calling round its usually a threat letter and wont be followed through but dont answer the door and make sure its locked as they can enter via an open door or window but cant force entry or push past you.

Contact the post office and ask for proof of these letters they sent demanding payment as they should have records of these dates (they are the post office after all!) and why they didnt reach your girlfriend. Then take it from there.

Good luck!
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Current: Kawazaki ZX6R 51
Past: Kawazaki ZX6R 96 - Honda CBR 600F4 05 - Dragstar 125 02 - Honda CB 400 SF 94 - Honda NSR 125 51 - Gilera Runner XV125 04

[Cheeseybeaner]

[yambabe]

[RichieZX6R]

[yambabe]

Yes, wrong. They have no right at all to enter your premises as there is no court order, what you described about them entering via an open door or window applies to bailiffs not debt collectors. Even if you let them in, what can they do? Can't distrain without a court order........

I totally agree that they will try to bully and threaten you into paying, that's exactly what I said above. But that's ALL they can do.
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Sod falling in love, I wanna fall in chocolate.

[Cheeseybeaner]

[RichieZX6R]

dont mean to argue but i didnt say they can LEGALLY enter your home but a lot of people dont know the difference and these agencies know this and will use it along with ALOT of other underhanded tactics. They will try every technique in the book and play on the lack of knowledge from the public in order to get payment.

Thanks
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Current: Kawazaki ZX6R 51
Past: Kawazaki ZX6R 96 - Honda CBR 600F4 05 - Dragstar 125 02 - Honda CB 400 SF 94 - Honda NSR 125 51 - Gilera Runner XV125 04

[yambabe]

Technically your girlfriend owes the money, however I would do the following:

Tell CARS that the amount is disputed with the Post Office and you won't pay it or discuss it with them. They can't do anything! As I've been arguing with Richie (even though we are both mostly saying the same thing!) they will try to threaten or bully you into paying - just tell them to get stuffed. CARS won't take your girlfriend to court for £40 cos they may have bought the debt from the Post Office but they have no contract with HER and no legal right to enforce payment so the judge would strike the case out pretty much straight away.

Write to the Post Office and tell them that under the terms of the direct debit guarantee scheme it is up to them to take the payments correctly and in good time and as this is their failure she does not intend to pay. Tell them that if they wish to pursue further they will have to take her to court.

Then get on with your lives.........
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Sod falling in love, I wanna fall in chocolate.

[Cheeseybeaner]

[yambabe]

Shouldn't do. They might try to put a marker on for one delinquent payment but a) she can dispute that, on record, with backup from her bank that the PO didn't request the money and b) no reputable company doing a credit check on her is going to be bothered by a one-off delinquent payment of £40 if that's the only thing on there.......
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Sod falling in love, I wanna fall in chocolate.

[Cheeseybeaner]

[phonesurgeon]

My 2p worth...

Has the Post Office or CARS ever sent you a Notice of Assignement?
If not... then the original"creditor" (lets call it that way... although its only insurance) in this case the Post Office has merely contacted Cars in view of cashing up on the overdue money.

Now one thing the OP said is that they paid via direct debit... I am hoping that the OP is aware of the direct debit guarantee offered by most(if not all) financial institutions...

It does work both way... and in this case i can only see negligence from the Post Office in collect such amount claimed...
I would send a letter to CARS and ask them to proivide proof that the alleged debt is owed to them...

In the meantime write also to the Post Office and point out their negligence in collecting the direct debit, and while you are at it ask them to provide you with the recorded telephone conversation where the OP gf tells 'em not to renew!

Oh and by the way any correspondence must be signed for, and please do not talk anymore with any of 'em on the phone... you need as much paper trail you can get!

Just my 2p worth.

[Ingah]

This is interesting to me as my evil estate agent failed to take out a sizable rent payment (something like £500), and only realised a few weeks down the line, and basically took the money out weeks late through no fault of mine...

You can see what i'm thinking
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-- Ingah

[phonesurgeon]

get back to your estate agent and inform them that their late collection of the direct debit has put you on hardship...
Also remind them that the direct debit guarantee works both way...

If you really wanna go to town with them you could accuse them of negligence(for not collecting the money on due date) and/or incompetence(for collecting the money "late" without informing you)

[Ingah]

[RichieZX6R]

[phonesurgeon]