Motorcycle Direct - What a bunch of To$$ers!!!

[MattEMulsion]

Well I never thought that I would be writing a thread about bike insurance but Motorcycle Direct have done me over well and truly. I'll be as brief as I can but if you can't be arsed to read it skip to the TLDR bit at the bottom...

Every October at the start of the month I MOT, tax and insure my bike, all paid in full and once it is done it is sorted for the next 12 months. This is the same bike that I have had for 11 years continuously insured etc. As normal I shopped around for the best insurance quote and Motorcycle Direct gave me the best deal so I took out my policy with them. I paid up, downloaded the documents and filed them away safely.

Fast forward to the start of February and I receive a letter from the DVLA telling me that my bike does not appear on the MIB (insurance) database. A simple administrative mistake I think, so I grab my policy documents and give Motorcycle Direct a ring. It turns out that they cancelled my policy on the 29th October because I failed to provide them with proof of my no claims bonus...

Now you may think that this is my own fault but Motorcycle Direct were my previous insurer from the last policy!!! But because I took out the policy online I still have to provide them with their own proof??? I can't honestly recall having to provide my no claims proof for a few years now on bike or car insurance - I thought they had a big database that they can just look you up on - am I wrong?

So Motorcycle Direct left me with no insurance for over three months, used the premium that I had paid to cover some ludicrous cancellation fees and didn't even bother to send me a letter through the post to tell me any of this. Surely that can't be right?

According to them they sent me three emails instead. I will hold my hands up and admit that I never saw the emails, they got buried in my inbox full of crap, but even subsequently now reading the emails they do not say anything about needing to provide proof of no claims or even that they were cancelling my policy, all they were is a generic email with a download link that is now outdated as 45 days have passed.

Also according to Motorcycle Direct they don't send documents through the post as it is an online policy, well I'm sure that they still send out renewal invitations at the end of peoples policies through the post as they are after your money, but deem that cancelling some ones policy midterm is not important enough to write to you for.

Anyway they are refusing to budge on the matter and hiding behind their small print, I have been through their complaints process and still got no joy. Should I take it all the way to the Ombudsman?

TLDR: Took out insurance with Motorcycle Direct, they cancelled the policy without informing me properly, what should I do?
____________________
Yamaha YZF-R6

[WULFSTAN]

Sorry to say mate sounds like you're fault. Ive been with them in the past had no problems.
____________________
Your backside is better enough for you to run again, if need be – bristle up the courage of the cornered rat, put on a bold front, and to hell with them. Bluff my boy – bluff, shift and lie for the sake of your neck and the honour of Old England

[monkeybiker]

To sum up they asked for proof of no claims 3 times and you did not provide this so they cancelled insurance.

Pretty much your fault from what I can see I'm sorry to say.

[Skudd]

I had the thing of telling them my no claims entitlement even though I was re insuring with them. Odd it seemed as I would have thought that it was a continuous thing, but he computer says "No!" so you have to start as if it was a separate thing.

I'm not a e-mail type of person and like a letter through a door asit seems a proper ay to do business. But companies being how they are they force you to change the way they deal with you and you will deal with them how they want no matter how you feel about it. Bit like Tesco and their self service tills. I don't want to use them but I want my milk.
____________________
Famous last words of Humpty Dumpty. " Stop pushing me "
Petty Anarchists look at "1984".............. The Visionary looks at "Animal Farm".

[DieselASFC]

Sounds like it was your fault. What do the emails say exactly?

By the way, if you've followed their complaints procedure fully (ie you now have a final response letter or email stating they consider the matter closed) then going to the ombudsman will cost you nothing. It could cost them something like £750 (some firms pay an annual sum, rather than per case). So even if they dismiss your case, you'll still have stung the fuckers.

Double check all the email correspondence though. They should have asked for proof of no claims and that failure to provide will result in the policy being cancelled. If that is no implicitly implied, you have a good chance at recouping your money.

[Irn-Bru]

That's how it is these days, all online, not really their fault you missed the emails. Just be glad you didn't get done for riding with no insurance.
____________________
KTM 990 SMT & Suzuki DR-Z 400 SM

[BakesBeans]

[Rogerborg]

[daffy]

ive had this before with the download links. rather than send you a letter or a simple email they will email you a downloadable copy of a letter
____________________
2000 zx6r

a b be b1 c ce c1 c1e f k p 10m swimming

[M-C]

I think these were the people that wanted to charge a pal to download his policy documents, cos he hadn't done it within so many days of taking out his policy

[MattEMulsion]

[bamt]

I can see the point of putting correspondence on their website rather than in the email; that way you need to put your username and password in, so there is a modicum of security that it won't be read by the wrong person (some people share email accounts still, someone using your computer could see it by accident). For example, telling you that your last few direct debits had bounced could be embarrassing if it got around at work.

However, the other side to this is that correspondence should be available for at least a year (the life of the policy), and that they should know if you have read it or not by checking their server logs. Something like a cancellation, they should be checking that you have read the correspondence and if not sending it out by snail mail too.

[DieselASFC]

I agree with Bamt, it's a bit underhanded to cancel your policy because you haven't replied to their correspondence. They also have your telephone number and Postal Address. I would go to ombudsman personally, because it doesn't feel like they've done enough to try and contact you before just cancelling the policy. You could claim that the email ended up in your junk folder, and thus never read it. Unless, of course, you've already told the insurers you've now found the emails.

[Ste]

If it ends up in the junk mail folder then that's not their fault.

They can send letters by post but there's no guarantee the letters will be read.

Whatever they do or don't do, they'll always be people who say 'well you should have done [something else]".

I wonder what the policy documents say about providing proof of NCB.

[Rogerborg]

[Ste]

Wouldn't the spammers have to be using motorcycle directs servers for that to happen?

[DieselASFC]

[Ste]

On the first page it says...

"To provide proof of your no claims bonus, please email ncb@europa-group.co.uk"

That's from the first page and within the first 100 words of the policy documents.

Then there's this page on their website:

https://www.motorcycledirect.co.uk/faqs/no-claims-bonus.php

Next there's the terms of business pdf which has the fees listed in it.

https://www.motorcycledirect.co.uk/faqs/TOB%20-%20MCD%20-%2023092014%20-%20V3.pdf

Lastly there is the fees & charges page on their website which also has the fees listed on it.

https://www.motorcycledirect.co.uk/faqs/fees-and-charges.php

And as you say, it's probably also explained in one (or two but probably all three) of the e-mails that the OP didn't bother to read.

[iooi]

[iooi]

[DieselASFC]

[monkeybiker]

[Ste]

[DieselASFC]

[monkeybiker]