Need advice regarding insurance (Swinton again)

[shereen]

My insurance runs out at the end of this month. Swinton call me regarding my renewal a couple of days ago, they give me a price, I then ask them to call me back as I wanted to shop round. They call me back the next day, I have a better price which they match, I say ok I will renew with them.

Today I decide that I dont want to stay with them as I have found a better deal..... can you see where im going with this?

So I call them and say I dont want to renew and they say ok but that will be £50 cancellation charge.

I do a quick check online regarding this cancellation charge and it seems that as im within the 14 day cooling off period I should not be charged?

[bognorgaz]

You are entitled to a 14 day cooling of period, you can in that time cancel the policy without penalty but they can charge for any days that the policy has been valid.

[shereen]

[ian505050]

Swinton are cunts and will do what they like as i have found out on a couple of occasions.

They don't abide by there own stupid terms and conditions and avoid using common sense on every occasion.

I had the same issue you have stated. They wanted to charge £171 for a policy that had only been used 5 days.

The total cost of the policy over 12 months was £192. I asked about the cooling of policy and they just passed me round when i was on the phone as they did not know what they were doing.

I received debt collection letters for 2 years each time with a different random figure. I called them so they could explain what these random figures were and they simply could not explain but demanded that i pay them, eeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrr NO.

I then was advised by swinton to call the debt collection agency and they would explain, i called the debt collection agency and they said call swinton and they will explain. So i was in a no win situation.

I then had the debt collection agency call me 5 times a day for a few years.

Just a point to note is that i always pay my bills up front and have never been in debt in my life.

The debt collection agency said that if i was to pay them a one off payment of £50 they would stop chasing the debt.

BUT

as soon as i give the card details they would have taken the full amount after doing a little research on the net.

So, no i did not pay them the £50 and it was a point of principle that i dont pay them a penny until they could explain all the random amounts they had requested.


so... i came to the conclusion in the end

DO NOT BUY ANY TYPE OF INSURANCE FROM SWINTON!!!!

[shereen]

Thing is my existing policy does not run out until the end of this month so the policy I am trying to cancel has not even started yet.
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"The Internet is the first thing that humanity has built that humanity doesn't understand, the largest experiment in anarchy that we have ever had"

[G]

I'd agree you shouldn't be charged.

If you don't get a satisfactory call back, get a letter sent off as soon as possible to both the appropriate department and some of the directors stating you are not happy, will be taking this to the appropriate ombudsman etc.

[FerretFing]

They'll probably class it as an administration charge for the massive effort required for pressing the "Y" key on their keyboard.....& she had to stop filing her nails while you were on the phone. It's just criminal what these companies try to get away with.

[Hetzer]

I got my car insurance through Swinton a couple of weeks ago, they were the cheapest this time around on the Meercat. Ten days after getting it I recieved a letter telling me "You still haven't given us proof of your no-claims."
I rang them up (local branch) and after some BS with the bird who'd signed the letter I told her I'd be cancelling the policy and that I assumed there'd be no charge. She said there would. I then informed her I'd recorded the entire quotation call ( I had, and told the bloke so) and that there had been no mention of a requirement for proof of no-claims and as they were attempting to impose requirements after the quotation they were in breach and I would be paying nothing for the cancellation. Strangely enough she then told me she could handle all of it herself so I gave her my previous insurer's name and policy-number and that was that.

I'm still trying to work out what the scam was, but they got fucked off regardless.
Always record your calls with insurance scum, and inform them you are, and your ass is covered.
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"There's the horizon! Ride hard, ride fast and cut down all who stand in your way!"

[Drew]

Swinton called me about my renewal, and gave me a price (£130), Told them I could get it for £100 elsewhere and would they match, but they wouldn't. So didn't renew.

Went online and took out a new policy with .... Swinton for £100 (and used quidco to get an extra £27 cash back also).

So they couldn't price match themselves

[Rogerborg]

My mantra:

Never renew, always get new quotes.
Get quotes a month early, try again just before you need the insurance, don't settle on anything before then.
Never speak to insurers on the phone.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[yambabe]

Have you actually paid for the renewal?

If you haven't then you have no problem as no contract has actually been created. Tell them to shove their cancellation fee and walk away.

If you have paid then you have a contract and are subject to the terms of it. However there are certain conditions that they must have fulfilled to make the contract binding, one of which is that they must have sent you clear WRITTEN notice of your right to cancel at or before the contract is made (ie when you paid). If they didn't, the contract is unenforceable and again tell them to shove it.

Have a look at this https://whatconsumer.co.uk/cooling-off-and-cancellations/ it might help you decide what to do next.
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Sod falling in love, I wanna fall in chocolate.

[shereen]