Attempt to Charge £22 to cancel a bike insurance policy

[bobthedog]

About 6 weeks ago I was putting an old scooter back on the road having had some mechanical repairs carried out. While the scooter was off the road I let the insurance lapse for a year and SORN'd the bike for the duration before spending some cash on the bike. I put this insurance with Devitts as I had previously held policies with them.

As the repairs were coming ready for completion and in order to tax and "unsorn" the bike I took a cheap insurance policy out to cover the period while selling the bike. Having successfully sold the bike this weekend I came to cancel the insurance policy, which was £80. As it was pointed out in the policy documents that Devitts would charge £75 to cancel, for cancelling early, I wasn't expecting too much in the way of a refund......

I did not expect the agent to then try to charge me £22 for cancellation. She asked for my card details. I refused advising her that I could wait the remainder of the year and let the insurance lapse naturally. She replied that "it is a legal requirement to cancel your insurance when you sell on or dispose of the vehicle", and that the further fee would be charged for cancellation.
After consulting her manager she relented and said that this charge would now be waived as I had paid up front for the entire year, but I could get up to £50 refund/discount if I take out another motorcycle policy with them.

Devitts used to be a reputable insurance broker (if there is one) that I used regularly over the past 10 years, now it is simply another cowboy outfit. I recommend avoiding them in future!

 

[A signaller]

Memory jog:- When, about 7 years ago I decided to sell my scooter, the last of five that I had owned over the previous 30 years, I requested an insurance refund for the remaining 9 months, after deducting their cancellation fees, I got back the princely sum of £18.50p. When I queried this, all I got was corporate BS.

 

[Mrs Slocombe]

Yeah, been there. Better just to let it lapse rather than try and cancel.

 

[bobthedog]

Yeah, been there. Better just to let it lapse rather than try and cancel.

It was the "legal requirement" quote that got to me, I know it is a legal requirement to have at least 3rd party insurance to use the vehicle on the road, but legal requirement to cancel the policy left me a little surprised...

 

[Daxx]

Memory jog:- When, about 7 years ago I decided to sell my scooter, the last of five that I had owned over the previous 30 years, I requested an insurance refund for the remaining 9 months, after deducting their cancellation fees, I got back the princely sum of £18.50p. When I queried this, all I got was corporate BS.

I had this on a car policy with 3 months to run. Cancellation fee was 50 quid. So I let the policy continue on a car I didn't own as it cost me 30 quid....

 

[MadKev]

Some you win. Axa let me carry my 12 yrs no claims from a bike to a car, they could have wriggled but they didn't. Some you lose.

 

[Joshua Slocum]

Heres a thing you should all think about
If you fail to cancel the insurance on a motor vehicle, and it either passes into some one else hands by way of a gift or sale, or if it is stolen , should it be involved in an accident then you are in the doodooo
as the policy is still on the vehicle
best thing is to stash the vehicle away until the policy expires

otherwise you could end up like one poor bloke, who as if he had not had enough bad luck really got dropped in it

Fife man faces crippling costs after motorbike he sold was involved in fatal accident - The Courier

A Fife biker has been left stunned after a legal loophole could force him to pay tens of thousands of pounds after a man died on the motorcycle he had sold him days before.

www.thecourier.co.uk

 

[Joshua Slocum]

What to do when you sell your motorbike? | The Bike Insurer

Selling your motorbike can be a traumatic experience. We take the stress out of it with our simple guide.

www.thebikeinsurer.co.uk

 

[Cutaway]

Heres a thing you should all think about
If you fail to cancel the insurance on a motor vehicle, and it either passes into some one else hands by way of a gift or sale, or if it is stolen , should it be involved in an accident then you are in the doodooo
as the policy is still on the vehicle
best thing is to stash the vehicle away until the policy expires

otherwise you could end up like one poor bloke, who as if he had not had enough bad luck really got dropped in it

Fife man faces crippling costs after motorbike he sold was involved in fatal accident - The Courier

A Fife biker has been left stunned after a legal loophole could force him to pay tens of thousands of pounds after a man died on the motorcycle he had sold him days before.

www.thecourier.co.uk

That's a bitch.
Is this in UK law or through an agreement between insurance companies, like rear-ending a veh ?

If the seller has the buyer sign a doc stating that the former does not give permission for anyone to ride it, would that absolve him of responsibility ?

 

[GreyArea]

Heres a thing you should all think about
If you fail to cancel the insurance on a motor vehicle, and it either passes into some one else hands by way of a gift or sale, or if it is stolen , should it be involved in an accident then you are in the doodooo
as the policy is still on the vehicle
best thing is to stash the vehicle away until the policy expires

otherwise you could end up like one poor bloke, who as if he had not had enough bad luck really got dropped in it

Fife man faces crippling costs after motorbike he sold was involved in fatal accident - The Courier

A Fife biker has been left stunned after a legal loophole could force him to pay tens of thousands of pounds after a man died on the motorcycle he had sold him days before.

www.thecourier.co.uk

Anyone know what happened to the bloke who was liable, did he end up paying out?

 

[Infiltrator]

Often better to suspend the policy instead of cancelling it. There is then no insurance on the vehicle, so you cannot be held liable and at the end of the policy, sometimes you get some money back.

Either way, Insurance firms are bast**ds.

 

[Joshua Slocum]

That's a bitch.
Is this in UK law or through an agreement between insurance companies, like rear-ending a veh ?
Rear ending no longer applies, due to slam ons

If the seller has the buyer sign a doc stating that the former does not give permission for anyone to ride it, would that absolve him of responsibility ?

I think its down to the fact that all insurance data is now online, so in the event of an accident, the claim is registered straight away, especially in the case of a fatality
a document absolving the buyer is not as far as I know legal in law, The Duke may know more as thats his field

my daughter has loaned her car to a friend, who lost his through redundancy, but needs a car for interviews
I made sure that she added his full name and address to the insurance, and had a copy of his licence as well

I think I quoted this before, but an old friend of mine had a nice Honda 125 motorcycle, used it occasionally, and looked after it, his Brother in law, who is a well know waster, and general arse , needed urgent transport as he had been offered a job some distance away, after 3 years out of work ( but not wetherspoons)

family pressure meant that my friend loaned the motorcycle to his Brother in law ( help his sister out with the finances etc etc )
the machine was not insured at the time and it had a months MOT, Derek made his brother in law sign a letter promising to insure it, MOT it, keep it in good order etc
away he went
Turned out brother in law failed to insure it, and also failed to return it after the promised month, when he would be getting a company car etc
3 months later, my friend is trying to track the bike down, but Brother in law keeps it hidden
my friend gets a letter from the Police with a court date
bike being ridden untaxed, uninsured, not tested and with now bald tyres
at this point he gets very upset, but brother in law had moved on and left his sister, also taking the motorcycle,
he goes to court, shows them the letter
the magistrate was very kind but said I am very sorry the law is quite clear, and I and fining you and endorsing your licence, for aiding and abetting a criminal act
big fine
9 points
bummer
Magistrate gave sage advice
if you loan a motor vehicle to any one, it is your responsibility as the registered keep to ensure it is roadworthy and road legal
so either sell it to your brother in law or give it to him, and register it in his name ( you can now do it online in seconds)
think the fine was 600 hundred quid
plus his motorcycle insurance on his big bike became a no go
he was in tears after helping out his brother in law, but the laws the law
he wanted to know what to do next, as the copper in court said, if he gets nicked again riding it, you are coming back to court
He reported it stolen to the local Police station
never heard any more after that

 

[Joshua Slocum]

Anyone know what happened to the bloke who was liable, did he end up paying out?

he had to cover the costs some how

It was ruled that, because Paul gave an uninsured rider permission to ride a motorcycle on his policy, technically he had breached his contract and subsequently, faced serious financial problems.

 

[Kinch]

Often better to suspend the policy instead of cancelling it. There is then no insurance on the vehicle, so you cannot be held liable and at the end of the policy, sometimes you get some money back.

Either way, Insurance firms are bast**ds.

I recently bought a new wheelchair for my spouse - mountain bike wheels - she loves it. About three days after it arrived I received a letter from an Insurance Company I had never heard of stating that they had opened an account in her name with a free three month policy that included a variety of benefits and allowance for potential damages of up to £2million.

I was utterly furious - how had they accessed our details, address etc, who had given them authority to open an account in her name, where they thought they had a right to determine what kind of insurance benefits she would require if she wanted insurance etc. I got no response from phone calls, so I dropped a post on their facebook page. Then I received a call from the head of the company who had supplied the Wheelchair. He began by saying he was responding to my phone call..............I stopped him at that and told him I hadn't telephone him or his company. He attempted to take control of the conversation and after a few minutes of determined cross talking he relented and said 'You are not going to let me explain' - to which I replied, not a chance since he was trying to tell me that he and not the third party insurance company was responsible. He was of course talking ballox while he tried to defend what was a. a dirty deal involving selling customer details without authority and b. a stupid marketing ploy by the Insurance man.

The insurance paraphernalia included a statement to the effect that it 'was crucial that we took up the offer of a special priced two year policy' to protect our equipment and prevent third party action for any damages. "We are providing £2m worth of cover against damages"............at which point I decided to let loose with "It's a f*cking wheelchair you dim caant, not a f*cking tank! - how much f*cking damage do you think an old age pensioner can do from a f*cking wheelchair?" He hung up.........haven't heard a dicky since.

 

[The_Duke]

It’s ok, brokers love doing extra work for free. On an £80 policy they would have possibly made enough commission to cover the cost of issuing it - just.

Every change costs time and resources, and thus money. You can have “user pays” or an extra amount added to every policy to cover the costs.

 

[Joshua Slocum]

I recently bought a new wheelchair for my spouse - mountain bike wheels - she loves it. About three days after it arrived I received a letter from an Insurance Company I had never heard of stating that they had opened an account in her name with a free three month policy that included a variety of benefits and allowance for potential damages of up to £2million.

I was utterly furious - how had they accessed our details, address etc, who had given them authority to open an account in her name, where they thought they had a right to determine what kind of insurance benefits she would require if she wanted insurance etc. I got no response from phone calls, so I dropped a post on their facebook page. Then I received a call from the head of the company who had supplied the Wheelchair. He began by saying he was responding to my phone call..............I stopped him at that and told him I hadn't telephone him or his company. He attempted to take control of the conversation and after a few minutes of determined cross talking he relented and said 'You are not going to let me explain' - to which I replied, not a chance since he was trying to tell me that he and not the third party insurance company was responsible. He was of course talking ballox while he tried to defend what was a. a dirty deal involving selling customer details without authority and b. a stupid marketing ploy by the Insurance man.

The insurance paraphernalia included a statement to the effect that it 'was crucial that we took up the offer of a special priced two year policy' to protect our equipment and prevent third party action for any damages. "We are providing £2m worth of cover against damages"............at which point I decided to let loose with "It's a f*cking wheelchair you dim caant, not a f*cking tank! - how much f*cking damage do you think an old age pensioner can do from a f*cking wheelchair?" He hung up.........haven't heard a dicky since.

add it to your house insurance