insurance advice

[wreksta]

hi guys hope you can help me here im in a bit of bother
lets start by saying im insured by *** car insurance (if this is not allowed please remove)
i have always paid my monthly payments without any problems
so it begins on the 23 Nov 2007 i got my mother to ring the insurers up and settle my monthly payment and also to set a direct debit up from her bank
which she did so then i would just pay her the money and no problem
and all was well or so i thought.
i then got stopped by the police on the 4/1/08 he said i wasnt insured so he gave me a producer i just thought there must be an error on their system or something.
So i then produced and it all checked out and all was well again or so i thought
so on the morning of the 14 Jan 08 i was cleaning my shared accommodation when i came across a letter from the insurance shoved under a load of rubbish in the main sitting area(my housemates were messy like that) i though nothing of it at the time and put it my car before heading off to take my girlfriend to work at about at about 9:05 i slid into a parked vehicle not very fast about 10mph if that caused a couple of scratches and a cracked number plate to the vehicle i located the owner explained what had happened gave my insurance details as i was insured to my knowledge and then left. so i went off to a local scrappie with my girlfriend and my mother at about 1:15pm looking for a front headlight. as i was driving i asked my girlfriend to find my insurance policy number so i could ring them and alert them to the incident as she did she came across the letter that i put in the car she opened it and discovered my insurance had been canceled since 28/12/07.I immediately pulled over and then rang them to find out what the hell was going on
i spoke to a rep or something and they confirmed i wasnt insured due to the fact a DDI form wasnt filled out and returned this is a direct debit instruction form which i never received so we had a big argument and then asked to speak to a customer manager or a higher up
he came on the phone by this time i had had enough so i handed the phone to my mam and give all permissions for her to speak on my behalf i told her to instruct him to listen to call logs of the 23rd of November where my mam instructed them to direct debit her for my payments also that i never received a DDI form
after being put on hold and the man listening to the tape he appoligised and admitted it was their error and offered lower premiums and set my insurance up again via direct debit i then i told him about what had happened earlier that morning and he said it would have to go to the customer relations team to make a decision to decide if i was insured on that morning(i thought that this was a complete joke)it took till the 2nd of Feb to get a decision from the customer relations dept stating basically they ruled against me
so i rang them on countless occasions where i was just getting fobbed off
from the customer relations manager
on the 11/02/08 i then rang my insurance about a querie to my breakdown cover (then i hatched my plan)
all the time since the accident date i hadn't received a DDI form nor had my mother
i asked how *** car insurance would be obtaining their monthly payment
they told me via direct debit i then said how when we you dont have a direct debit form from me or my mother
(my reply was the one id been waiting for from them)
he said we do not need a DDI form as the direct debit was done over the phone by the card holder i said thank you very much and requested the voice recording of the phone call GOTCHA
i double checked it i rang again about ten minutes later
and asked the same question and i got the same reply they dont need the form as it was done via phone and the card holder
i have requested all my voice recordings of calls made to my insurers and customer relations their is about 10-13 tapes i also have to pay for them £10 per recording which dont bother me as long as i can validat my insurance on said date of incident

so can i ask do i have a case to take to solicitors because if they wont backdate my insurance from the incident i will lose my license as it is six points for no insurance and you can only obtain six in the first two years of driving

[blacksheep]

you want to get your vip membership on the go mate and I was under the impression (maybe wrongly) that they could only charge £10 for ALL recordings not each.

[super mike]

Yeah, this sounds like real legal advice is needed.

But I hope it turns out well, an ins10 or whatever it is will fuck up your insurance in the future.

[Over Carl]

Technically you are breaking the law and there is no exceptions to whether you are insured or not insured, black and white matter. However, I believe I may have read something regarding recommendations for how to proceed with prosecutions which advised not to prosecute in a case where the insurance cocked it up.

That wouldn't get you off if it went to court, but it hopefully shouldn't, will hunt around and see if I can find that link to that info. Anyway, from what you said, it doesn't seem like the police want to prosecute you for no insurance, just the matter of the outstanding claim for which you were not insured. My first instinct says the company was in breach of contract, which means you should be able to sue for consequential losses, but I don't know if this is 100% correct and whether this would increase the likelihood of a prosecution against you for no insurance.

I would seriously consider serious legal advice as although you have done nothing wrong, as you have realised, this could demote you to learner status, leave you liable for damages, as well as triple your insurance quote until the points go off. I will also try to find you the link I was on about a bit later in the evening.

[Over Carl]

Also I would say it may be worth writing in to them, or calling, but insisting to speak to someone senior. I've had loads of companies quote me crap that is against the law on the phone and the dumb £5/hr staff just say it's company policy so there is nothing they can do. Inform a supervisor exactly which laws they company is breaking and remind them that the law of the land takes precedence over any shitty company's policies, and suddenly they often run out of bullshit excuses.

[Over Carl]

Bollox, I was wrong about the Crown Prosecution Service guidelines for this particular circumstance. Means you have a little less chance of escaping the points than I thought when I first posted. If you can, get some legal advice asap.

[super mike]

Oh, have a read on peppipoo forums too, i think they have a section for stuff like this.

[Little John]

Oh, have a read on peppipoo forums too, i think they have a section for stuff like this.

The stuff on that site isnt always acurate.

Go see a solocitor, with everything they may know somthing I don't, but as far as I can see you will be a learner driver once again soon. You were driveing without insurance nothing you can do about that.

[blacksheep]

how much cash you got to spend on this? The solicitor that got my mate off (well reduced fine and points) is apparently very good (and worth the money) but not cheap, if you want I can get his details for you.

[super mike]

The stuff on that site isnt always acurate.

Go see a solocitor, with everything they may know somthing I don't, but as far as I can see you will be a learner driver once again soon. You were driveing without insurance nothing you can do about that.

No, it isn't, but it is a useful guide i've heard, and it's much more free than a solicitor.

[delambo]

Insurance companies are a law unto themselves - along with Banks!

If I ran my business the way the insurance companies and banks did then I would have no business to run!!

Best visit the CAB for some free advise, but unless you are an ethnic minority, single parent, convicted criminal or homosexual then dont expect to get legal aid without a fight! Insist that you pay your taxes and you demand to see a solicitor under the legal aid scheme, and dont give up until you get what you want.

[delambo]

...But dont try to fight the insurance company by yourself. You could find you are incriminating yourself even more by the things you say and do. And always remember that the insurance companies have more money than you do and can always afford a better solicitor than you can.

Try emailing BBC watchdog with your story - you never know you might have some luck there.