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t_harries
03-08-2005, 21:06 PM
I know this s long but someone PLEASE help me! :confused:

I have had motor insurance with a well known insurer for donkeys years and had no problems until they got taken over by an even larger copany (careful not to mention any names here!).

In march I got pulled over by Police for a dangerous overtaking manouver (Yes very silly of me I know :o ). I was required to produce my drivers licence and Insurance etc etc. When I got home I looked for my driving licence high and low and could find it nowhere, phoned DVLA to order a new one and they told me I had points due to not producing in 2001, now I do not recall being asked to produce docs at that time but they advised that the easiest thing to dowould be just to get my insurance company to write a letter or send a copy of the certificate to prove I had insurance in 2001 and then licence could be resent.

In March I called the broker who I had dealt with originally back then and although he sounded relucatant to do anything he said he would have a look in the back office through the piles of boxes and hope to find it within a month.

After 6 weeks I had still recieved nothing so called again and this time was told he was in Birmingham on a course and he would call be back the next day. Well the next day was Friday and I heard nothing, I called the following week and again was told he wasnt in the office but as soon as he got back he would give me a ring.

Anyway, again nothing so on June 2nd 2005 I called again and demanded that something was done now, the woman I spoke to called my insurabnce company herself and requested that they send me a letter confirming I had insurance which they agreed to do, she called me back to advise and I requested a written letter advising me of this from her (which I recieved and have) The address on the letter she sent is correct (you will see what Im getting at later on).

Some weeks past and still no letter from my Insurance company, I called the broker again and spoke to the same woman who had written to me. She said she would get them to resend it, she also asked them to fax it to her which they did and she confirmed she recieved it and it had been sent when requested but another copy was on the way.

Again I waited and still no letter from my insurance company, however because so much time had past I recieved a letter from the Magistrates Court saying I owed £150 for this 2001 case (£100 No insurance, £50 MOT Driving Licence) and that a warrant was out for my arrest until the sum was paid in full. Obviously I paid the amount in full as I was not prepared to be arrested and end up with a criminal record.

I contacted my broker again, its a Saturday so they were closed, I was not prepared to wait until Monday so I called my insurance company directly and asked to speak to someone about the policy, I was advised I was through to a callcentre in Bangalore and all they could do was arrange a callback on Monday, now I initially refused a callback as I have also had problems with them regarding my current policy where they promised 3/4 callbacks which never happened.

I cancelled a DD which was due on the Monday, the previous Saturday and called them straight away to pay by card telling them I had cancelled the DD and giving details of the account I wanted the new DD setup on 'Not a problem Sir thats all done for you card payment has gone through and I have setup the Direct Debit to go out on 19th of next month' when I asked if this was all OK he said everything fine. I then got a letter saying my insurance had been cancelled through non payment and quoting me the traffic act etc so this is when the previous callbacks were offered but never materialised.

Eventually they put me through to a woman who referred to herself as the Callbacks Manager this was immedietly bad news to me after the previous experience but I must say she was very apologetic over the telephone but still offered no recompense but assured me she would personally ensure I was called back which meant I was prepared to give them one last chance.

They did indeed call back but still took 2 weeks before I recieved the letter and that was because I called AGAIN as I hadnt recieved the next letter, I have now recieved the letter via fax as I cannot submit it as legal evidence because the case is closed and Ive paid the fine. However I notice some errors with the letter,

1. They didnt put a house number on the address which explains why I never recieved it (my road isnt small) (yet my broker had the full correct address when SHE wrote to me advising she had given my details to the Insurance Company).

2. I asked for proof I had insurance on 04DEC01 and they have provided this however they state I was driving a car which I didnt know about or own until May2002.

As well as that, instead of having the correct cars at the correct times they have stated that I had the same car reg J*** TDB but was later ammended to J***PDV (which is the correct reg), in May02.

Who do I speak to about this (if anyone) and am I due any compensation for the fine I had to pay as a result of the delay?

MrShed
06-08-2005, 21:02 PM
Now, I could be entirely wrong, but my first thoughts would be:

- You cannot do anything against the broker....as they are not your current broker anymore, I very much doubt they have any kind of responsibility to you.

- To be honest, I do not believe you can claim any kind of recompense anyway. If you were awaiting documents to prove your innocence, you should have(I THINK, I am no lawyer) asked the court to give you a court date, or explained the situation and asked for some extra time, which they would have to give you. Also, to be fair it is your fault that the charges were brought anyway...its all very well saying you cannot remember being asked to present items etc, but you MUST have been.

Apologies if this all seems harsh, just telling it how I see it...I am sympathetic, and you may not have known you could ask for more time etc etc but this is not the insurance firms fault either. However, I could be entirely wrong with the majority of this post!

keith@mrs-miggins.freeser
12-08-2005, 07:56 AM
the broker acts for you, as your agent, and is bound to perform duties on your behalf. those duties should include all administrative matters such as making sure you receive the policy with the correct vehicle details and address (presuming they had them - which you say they did). it doesn't matter if they're no longer your broker - you have suffered financial loss as a result of their inaction (ie not checking the policy details before sending to you).

try going back to the broker, explain what's happened, and ask for compensation for your loss, which is a result of their negligence. also mention that if you do not receive a reply soon, you will take the matter to biba (british insurance brokers association - they have an arbitration panel). also contact biba direct for their advice.

the insurance company may or may not have messed up, but that is for your broker to sort out - that's why you have a broker (though the irony is they receive a commission from the insurer - who they're not acting for!).

this is not a legal opinion, and i'm not a lawyer. good luck.