13 replies to this topic

[Gadget2]

My Insurance is due in the third week of November. Three days ago I rang A. Flux insurance and paid them my fee.  After reading the policy I decided that this was not for me. So, a telephone call to them to cancel the insurance --- I am told that this will cost me £25 to cancel!! 

What happened to 14 days 'cooling off' also the insurance has not even started yet! They then offered me a reduction in the cost of insurance if I stayed with them which meant they had charged me more in the first place!

 

There is no way now that I will even ask them for a quote let alone take out insurance with them

 

Most Miffed and dissapointed with this company.

[h8ten]

I was with them once and on two occasions I received someone else's renewal papers.  First time an accident I accepted an apology and told the destroy the paperork I had received.  Second time I tracked down the person whose papers I had received and he had received someone elses.  Contacted AF to complain and cancel and I was also told about a cancellation fee but pointed out to them that in my letter of complaint I reserved the right to cancel without any penalty if their explanation was not considered acceptable.  I think that you still have the 14 day cooling down period even although your policy has not started.  Could it be that they are thinking you are wanting to cancel your current policy?

Edited by h8ten, 28 October 2020 - 03:23 PM.

[mbes2]

What put you off the policy?

[coldel]

To provide a bit of balance, I have used AF a number of times over the years and they have been nothing but professional and very reliable. I switched out of them this year to Chris Knott purely on a cost basis, but miss their new systems where everything can be done online, they have a login now you can access all your details online vs Chris Know which is still feels very much more old fashioned in its approach.

 

You have a 14 day cooling off period where you can get your premium refunded but you may be charged an admin fee dependent on the insurer for setting up the policy you told them to go ahead with in the first instance. There is nothing underhand about this and many insurers do this. Without wanting to come across as a dick but I think you have to admit you are partly to blame for the problem OP, you handed over your hard earned without reading the policy on what you were buying which also included most likely a clause about charging an admin fee for cancellation. Hell I know I have been there too, but when the dust settles its a good lesson learnt if you can accept that you made a mistake not being more thorough and in future pore over the policies before paying a penny. 

[Gadget2]

It seems that this happens with other insurance providers too;

 

My concerns the fact that I have been charged for something I have not used.  If I ordered and paid for an item from Amazon (Other retailers are available) and then found it was not suitable / changed my mind and returned it unused I would recieve my money back. 

 

Insurance suppliers seem not to follow this, I am being charged for sweet F.A.!!

 

On top of all this, they STILL have not sent my money back!

[coldel]

Yes but if you have told them to renew, they will have invested the time to set that up for you, someone there who is paid a salary would have had to do something, just because you havent then gone ahead into the period of cover doesnt mean work hasnt been done, you have to pay for their salary, the cost of employing them, overheads etc. What does the contract say in terms of refunds, sometimes it says something like 10 days or something to refund (larger businesses often run on payment runs which happen once or twice a month so you will be rolled into those). 

Bottom line is a business has to protect its interests, I imagine they get people do what you do all the time. Pay for cover then change their mind and it will use up resource and cost the business money to do that. So they put in a nominal cost to cover that and to discourage people from harming their business in that way.

 

Sorry, again I am not trying to be a dick but business operates a certain way and the AF model is not unique, I found out the hard way many moons ago, dont pay money without reading the small print, its boring but ultimately you are signing a contract which you have to honour and it stings when you get caught out.

[Carlie@A-Plan]

There is a cooling off period in insurance - legally they can retain the "set-up" fee as this is a service that has already been used and paid for (as above comment suggests) - which I suspect that's what they've done, returning the premium but not returning their set up fee (£25 in this case but varies) rather than it be the cancellation cost. You can call them and ask for clarification on this.

 

We don't retain anything at all if you cancel before the policy has started, but other brokers work differently to us. Obviously I don't represent them so for full clarification that's a discussion you need to have with them and maybe just ask for a breakdown of costs. 

 

Refunds depend on their process, we issue refunds the same day but can take up to a week for some banks to process it on the receiving end so we always advise 3-5 working days to cover the expectations set by the banks. Hope this helps and as always, I'm here if you need me 

 

Carlie

[rabbidog]

Just cancelled a policy with A Plan after just 3 weeks of cover, loyal customer for 3 years on both mine and the wife's car, premium of £390 was paid in full, received back £270! Therefore lost £120 which amounts to nearly 30%, which is extortionate in my opinion.

Needless to say A-plan/KGM will never get my business again.

[coldel]

Unfortunately insurance never has and never will be about loyalty. I mean on here for instance even though from what I can see Spitfire Toe Links are meant to be better than Eliseparts and people pay more for it. That doesnt happen in insurance, does anyone really admit to paying more for insurance because the contents of the policy, say the refund percentages, are better in one than another? All we do as customers is chase the cheapest deal, and insurers know this and cover themselves with things such as the above. It will always come back to reading what you sign up for - but agree thats a bitter pill to swallow.

[C8RKH]

I agree re loyalty.  Been with Swiftcover for years and my renewal came through - £390. Checked on Compare the Meerkat and same cover from a similar company was £230. Guess where I went?

 

Phoned Swiftcover to cancel my renewal (the one thing they don't let you self serve online!) and the usual speel from the "Retention Agent" around Oh you've been with us a long time let me look at your quote. I just said "no". I said if you have a better price you should have just offered it to me instead of being lazy and greedy and just expecting my loyalty.  

 

So the loyalty thing is too way. Why be loyal to a company that shows you no loyalty? The system is broken

[coldel]

Its the same as breakdown cover, probably worse! Pay £150 'introductory offer' which goes up to £280 the following year. I say I am moving to another one because its cheaper and they say 'ah yes buts that an introductory offer' and I say yes this is the rod you have made for your own back. If all companies are doing these first year deals then I will just move each year, this is a behaviour that the breakdown companies have created themselves. See ya in a few years AA for your intro offer once I have been round the intro offers of your main competitors 

[C8RKH]

Agreed. They are offering what is really a "commodity" service (Insurance, Breakdown cover) but trying to convince you they are a "premium value added" service provider. It's what happens when you give marketing any control or power whatsoever as they come out with all of this rollocks to try to justify their existence and the value add.  The biggest value add from marketing is usually to just get rid of them as overheads!  There are jobs. There non jobs. Then there are marketing jobs!  

[C8RKH]

Agreed. They are offering what is really a "commodity" service (Insurance, Breakdown cover) but trying to convince you they are a "premium value added" service provider. It's what happens when you give marketing any control or power whatsoever as they come out with all of this rollocks to try to justify their existence and the value add.  The biggest value add from marketing is usually to just get rid of them as overheads!  There are jobs. There are non jobs. Then there are marketing jobs!  

 

[Carlie@A-Plan]

Just cancelled a policy with A Plan after just 3 weeks of cover, loyal customer for 3 years on both mine and the wife's car, premium of £390 was paid in full, received back £270! Therefore lost £120 which amounts to nearly 30%, which is extortionate in my opinion.

Needless to say A-plan/KGM will never get my business again.

 

Sorry you feel this way rabbidog   unfortunately, as with all insurance, after the 14 day cancellation period you would be subject to cancellation fees, although ours are lower than most - different insurers also have different cancellation terms, some are pro rata so worked out by days on cover/left until renewal and some are short term which have a set cost if cancelled within a certain time period and after that time period there is no return premium. Each insurer varies. Our cancellation fee is a set £30 as A-Plan - but if you would like a full breakdown of costs we are happy to explain exactly what was charged across the cancellation.

 

Carlie