The Annoyance of Auto-Renew Insurance.
Other
I've had this about 3 times now. I set the auto-renew to 'no' as soon as I take out the insurance and then at the end of the year do a price comparison and go through a cashback site to get the best price but again my last insurer (Hastings) auto-renewed my home insurance without my consent/permission. So again using the 14 days cancellation window have to phone up and get the insurance refunded. Another time it auto-renewed but my credit card didn't allow them to charge which was great but this time on a different credit card (Halifax) the accepted the charge. It was something like £84 last year for the year's home and contents insurance and this year was £155 at Hastings which they auto-renewed. In comparison I shopped around and got a policy for £115 and went through Quidco and got £37 cashback. Which is about half the price.
I personally don't think auto-renew should be legal. It's easy enough for them to pester you to offer renewal which you can accept if you want to. I'm sure there were a few back handers given to the politicians who allowed this to go through. It is anti-consumer.
Anyone else hate auto-renew insurance?
I use a pre-paid debit card myself for stuff like this. I load It with the amount and pay It and by next year It does not take anything because I have not loaded It. I dont own a credit card and I dont want one either. I do own a regular debit card which you can freeze too so money will come out of It.
Its a con Bonzo. They know people too busy to check so bump it up. I try to haggle to move to another insurer before payment auto renews.
Not only should this be illegal it is difficult to stop and a pain to get the refund, and of course, you are also out of pocket whilst awaiting the refund, then, unless you have internet banking you have to keep phoning to check that the refund has gone through. It shouldn't be allowed!
I do car insurance every year by debit card. I don’t think they can take it without permission as how do they know you have it in there? I don’t own any credit cards.
Auto renew should be stopped, I've been caught out with this previously so keep a close eye on it now, I aways shop around each year for a better offer.
I could be wrong, would have to check, but I am with Churchill and I get a letter each year saying my insurance is due for renewal and unless they hear from me to the contrary they will automatically renew. I suppose that at least gives me time to shop around.
Lynibis I must admit I did get such an email but I'd already set my preferences to not auto-renew so didn't look at the email properly just thought it was an offer to renew but after looking at it after they took the payment it did have a statement about taking a payment. There is only a 2 week cooling off period that you must request a refund as well without additional charges. I can see some people overlooking this until they get their credit card statement and it is too late.
It shouldn't be happening its as simple as that and doesn't happen with other services.
BonzoBanana that's terrible, no refund after 2 weeks. I guess you'd have a good case if you could prove you set it to no auto renew. I am glad you did this topic as mine is due 1/8 so will start searching for good deals on 1/7.
I've just had to cancel my renewal when I phoned them they said they already took the money out of my bank account and why I want to leave them I said cos I've found a new insurance company that's £51 .89 cheap and for the last few years you keep putting up the prices on me like this year to want £100.89p increase which is unfair so I be going over to a new insurance company on the 6th April which is cheaper only paying £250 And getting more cover its a con auto renewal use to be better years ago when they sent letter's in the post so now i got to wait for a full refund from my old insurance company which only takes them second to take the money money out of the account but takes them up to a week to put it back into the account
I never understand insurance company s when I had a mercedes A class I was only paying £120 per year now paying more on a Peugeot with a 16 cc
But on the other hand- if you forgot to renew and ended up with a conviction you would be pretty angry. Many years ago I worked for an insurance broker- when a renewal notice came in for the clients insurance we would always search for a cheaper price for the client and notify them of both prices
suevernon1968 My mot, insurance and tax are linked so I have to get the mot first, then get the insurance and then I can get the road tax (or whatever its called now) within a few days of each other. I've got them at the same time of year to make it easier although it is a big expense all together but then I'm set for the year. I'm never going to forget to get insurance as I can't tax the car without it. Of course if you one of those million people approx who don't bother with a mot, insurance or tax and still drive then its a different matter.
BonzoBanana i dont have to do my insurance etc as i have a motability car. I think the service received from any insurance broker has declined over the years. There is probably something written in the terms and conditions in tiny text that says that the insurance will automatically renew if the client doesn’t make contact within so many days of the renewal date. But its the same as anything else- it’s getting more expensive to live. You have to shop around for house and contents insurance, utilities even savings and mortgages.
Pjran well. They have to protect their investment so by doing it that way they know the vehicle is covered. I don’t receive the motability part of my PIP - you can choose to have a car or motability scooter etc instead. It also includes servicing and breakdown cover. As the cars are changed every three years so the mot doesn’t come into it. I would rather not be so disabled and have to get my own car but you have to look for the silver linings !
Pjran i do. But without a car i would be more of a burden. I would have to get help just to get a pint of milk. If i am well enough to use my crutches I cant carry shopping as the swing of the bags puts me off balance and immediately after cancer treatment I jjust dont have the energy to get up on my crutches.
I used to find it frustrating but it’s in place so that people aren’t left without insurance if they forget to take out a new policy or manually renew. Which I’m sure a fair amount of people would and then the consequences are serious. It’s an option, and companies are happy to remove the auto renewal if you ask, but I do think it’s a good safety net which probably saves a lot of people getting caught out. You also get an email or letter before your renewal (usually 3-4 weeks before) which tells you it’ll auto renew unless you contact them otherwise. Likewise if you turn off auto renew they contact you advising if you don’t contact them it’ll lapse. So you’re still informed and get to choose.
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