The latest scam by insurance companies is to automatically renew insurance then try to claim they were doing their customers a favour.
The first most know about this is when they see money has been taken out of their bank accounts, then being charged to cancel an insurance policy they never wanted.
Even when people have contacted their insurance company and told them they have no wish to renew their insurance policy, they are finding it is being automatically renewed behind their backs.
And it comes as no surprise, that when the policy is automatically renewed, it comes with a big hike in premiums.
Very often the poor duped customer now has two insurance policies as was not expecting auto-renewal of the original policy.
Talking to the girl behind the bar at The Barn, she said she had been hit by this scam. She has a motorbike that is off road, no road tax, and yet she was being charged for insurance. This raises an interesting point, as it is necessary to show you have Road Tax to obtain insurance.
If your bank balance goes overdrawn due to unexpected withdrawals, you then get hit with extortionate bank charges.
Yet another reason not to set up Direct Debits as you are allowing a third party to withdraw money from your account.
This is like going shopping in Tesco (which I would not dream of), then next week finding shopping dumped on your doorstep, Tesco debiting your account, and when you query it with Tesco, being told, well that is what you bought last week, we are doing you a favour, we saved you the trouble of going shopping.
The Financials Ombudsman has received nearly four hundred complaints in the first six months of this year from victims of this insurance scam.
If you are insured, and need to call upon that insurance, you have a job getting the insurance company to settle.
A friend had a burglary at her house. One and half years later she is still waiting for the insurance company to cough up.
We have a financial sector, banks and insurance, that is out of control. Occasionally they get hit with multimillion pound fines, although this sounds a lot, it is small change and for the sector it is business as usual.
- Money box – auto-insurance scam
- Money Box – auto-renewal insurance scam
- Congratulations! Your insurer has just ripped you off: Customers duped into renewing expensive policies
Tags: auto-renewal scam, Insurance auto-renewal scam, insurance scam. insurance
November 7, 2012 at 3:46 pm |
As soon as you have taken out your insurance, phone them and tell them to delete auto renewal. I have been doing it for 3 or 4 years now and have had no problem, although initially staff had to refer to managers. The call switches you to, needing to authorize personally any future payments, or not. Belt and braces also notify your bank or credit card.
November 7, 2012 at 5:52 pm |
People have notified their insurance company, and still been charged, then find they are charged a fee to cancel a policy they never wished for.
It should not be necessary to have to do this. The schemes should be opt in, not opt out.
November 10, 2012 at 10:34 am |
Buen Post
Me agradó la forma en que abarca sobre el tema.
Seguiré volviendo esta web para seguir instruyéndome sobre el asunto.
Saludos
November 10, 2012 at 1:40 pm |
Gracias.
December 3, 2012 at 7:50 pm |
Despite telling Axa not to renew my policy 4 times, they still tried to take the money from my account. And they had the brass neck to e-mail me saying ‘Unfortunately, we have been unable to collect payment for your Car insurance policy using the credit / debit card details you have provided.’
Unfortunately for you Axa but not me – I don’t want your overpriced policy, I am unimpressed with your inability to read e-mails and I fail to understand which part of the word NO you don’t understand.
December 28, 2012 at 10:34 am |
Just had to change my car and called CHURCHILL. Price difference was £22, £15 of which was admin fee. I timed the called. 1 min 23secs. Easy money for Churchill. Moving to another comopany next time.
December 28, 2012 at 10:59 am |
You should invoice them for the money or refuse to pay.
January 7, 2013 at 11:52 am |
It’s not just insurance companies. Dating websites use this scam to renew membership without notification, while, to leave their services, you have to phone a telephone number (infrequently answered!).
By the way, you are wrong about needing tax to obtain vehicle insurance. It’s the other way round; you need insurance to get tax.
January 7, 2013 at 11:54 am |
Thanks for correction.
January 15, 2013 at 7:56 pm |
One thing which really hacks me off about insurance companies in general is that they are exempt from the regulations governing unfair clauses and disclaimers. Hence, they can charge as much as they like but deliver as little as they like, and for just about any reason they like. And in the case of motor insurance, which is compulsory for anyone who wants to drive, this equates to legalised extortion. In any other walk of life this would be recognised for what it is – blatant theft.
January 15, 2013 at 10:50 pm |
It is legislation that covers unfair clauses and disclaimers and unless the legislation specifically exempts insurance companies, then they are not exempt though they may well try it on.
This may have been covered in the BBC Radio 4 Money Box programme that as on this topic (please check from links above).
What the insurance companies are doing is tantamount to fraud. It needs legislation that specifically targets the insurance companies.
I am urging everyone who has been a victim of this scam to not only lodge a formal complaint with financial regulators but to also raise with Members of Parliament (feel free to forward what is written here) and please continue to comment with your own experiences of these fraudsters..
January 28, 2013 at 4:30 pm |
Security software also uses this method of auto-renewal. McAfee hide your agreement to auto-renewal in their End User License Agreement EULA. A EULA normally contains restrictions on the use of the software so it’s not likely that anyone would read the 3000 – 4000 word document to find the auto-renewal.
If you buy the software online you risk an auto-renewal. Buy the same software in a shop ( in a box) and no auto renewal is possible. That fact makes the point that auto-renewal is not needed – as McAfee claim.
It is just a scam to get money and hope you don’t notice
January 28, 2013 at 5:18 pm |
I do not know of security software, but a year ago I bought Paintshop Pro. I was quite surprised to find it was cheaper to walk into a shop and buy it off the shelf. I got a copy on disk, a manual and some extra free software.
None of this makes sense.
I was using a free version, which I think expired after 30 days. I expected it to be a nominal price to then continue using, but not so.
I paid cash.
I am reluctant to buy anything off the net with a card, as apart from any fraud, use of the card is open to abuse. The card I use is used for no other purpose and has no money on it unless I wish to make a transaction.
March 6, 2013 at 2:37 pm |
I rang up Bradford & Bingley house insurance a month before renewal I told them to cancel but they didn’t. I cancelled the direct debit then after the final payment a week later a letter arrived saying thank you for renewing your policy. I rang them and was told I owed a months payment i did not cancel. These insurers have to be stopped and made to repay the 1000s of people they are ripping off DO NOT DEAL WITH BRADFORD & BINGLEY INSURANCE. B. Young