Car insurance quote not being honoured.

A question about : Car insurance quote not being honoured.

Hello everyone. I'm new here but wanted to get some advice about whether car insurance has been mis-sold, or whatever the right term is.

After going on a comparison website, my dad decided to go with one of the quotes and had a phone conversation with the insurer. They told him that a claim that was made against his insurance wouldn't affect the amount, so he went ahead and took out the insurance.

He was then contacted to say that it DID affect how much he would be paying, and they increased the amount (he is paying monthly). He is still within his 14 day cooling off period. He asked for the insurer to honour the original amount but they are not willing to do so. What should he do? He has already paid a deposit and it's going to cost him if he cancels, but he is in the process of getting alternative quotes. Thanks for taking the time to read this and comment.

Best answers:

• If he's in the 14 day cooling off period he should get his deposit back and it shouldn't cost anything to cancel the policy. I'd move companies on principal if I'd been lied to like that - a claim will always increase your premium.
  The other thing the insurance comparison sites never show up is if you've been on a driver awareness course (in place of taking points). So I fill out my form on Go Compare or whatever, go to take up the policy at the stated price and then get asked have I or my named drivers been on a course.....put my premium up by Ј13. Ok, not a lot, but on a Ј200 policy it's a fair old %. Especially as the whole point of those courses is to avoid getting points and affecting your insurance premium!
• I've asked my dad to check the policy - they never told him upfront that there would be a cost to cancel. I think it's terrible that once the quote had been agreed they go and say something different. It's not my dad's fault. They've wasted my dad's time and money and I'm quite angry about it.
  Another thing I would like to know, is if my dad spoke to them on the phone after they wrote to him saying that it was going to go up, does the 14 day cooling period change to the date of that conversation?
  Thanks once again for taking the time to read and reply.
  By the way, the start of the policy is from midnight of 11.02.2015. It would be great if my dad doesn't have to pay to cancel and also if he gets the deposit back. If anything, they should pay him for messing him about! Please would others on this forum comment if you have any additional advice or information you can give me. It needs to be sorted out urgently because the 14 days is alsmost up. Thank you.
• Hi. Thanks Quentin for the information. I just wanted to say that the insurance company was aware that there was a claim because my dad told them on the phone and that's when they replied it wouldn't affect the policy (it was a passenger in his car that had made a claim).
  It was only after my dad took out the insurance with them that he got a letter saying otherwise and increasing the amount. That's why I thought it had been mis-sold, as they told my dad one thing at the time, then it was changed afterwards. When he phoned up to discuss their letter the rep was quite rude to him.
  We're looking around for a different insurer. I know someone whose insurance company got his date of birth wrong, then they wanted to increase the premium but my friend told them it was their mistake and the company honoured the original amount quoted.
• Just to clarify - when your Dad used the Comparison website did he enter details of the claim on line or did he only mention it during the subsequent phone call?