Car Insurance - Oh yes they will try it on.

[Tafflaff (Rob)]

When my Car went pop (the first time) I suspended my car insurance for 3 months. They explained that they could not suspend the policy any longer than this. Wouldnt you know it , I managed to purchase another car 3 months and a bit after the suspension. So my policy was cancelled.

Anyway I went back to Swinton Insurance in Caerphilly hoping that they could reinstate my policy, albeit having to start again. My original policy was £420.00 - now I dont know if I'm too trusting , but I was expecting a similar price for my new policy, how wrong I was  

£1378.00!!!  KERCHINGGGGG!

I explained to the lady that it was a little higher than I expected and asked would she mind very much if I didn't jump at that policy and had a look around  

So I did, I went on Confused.com and they spat out a shed load of policies at different prices. Now I dont know if DW's finest are up for a little guessing game here,  No prizes involved, just the chance at puffing out your chest with the knowledge that you are far more mentally superior to your other DW peers.

I bet you cannot possibly guess which company offered me the cheapest insurance......................................

Yip, Bloody - SWINTON!!     £458.00 . Did I stick to my principle and tell them where to stick it ? Did I like hell , I grabbed it with two hands...... ok my mouse    And paid for that policy quicker than you can say..

"Insurance companies! My they are honest people".

[handyman [Alan}]

you can often get a better quote with your same insurance compnay if you log into their websites as a new customer. there are extra discounts for new customers than for those who choose to show 'loyalty'

[Val Beechey]

I had to admit times have certainly changed as far as Car Insurance is concerned.
Knowing my insurance renewal wasn't far away I thought, as my car is now 7 years old, I'd opt for 3rd party only. What an eye opener. I phoned Tesco (who I'm with) and 2 other companies. All quotes were HIGHER than my present fully comp.
It was always the cheap but more risky way to get round insurance. Whats going on, thats what I want to know.

Val

p.s. Rob Was it a broker you fell out with or Swinton direct.

[Tafflaff (Rob)]

They are not a broker per se , They are Swinton based in Caerphilly, though when I had the quote from the internet it was still Swinton in Caerphilly that set up the DD with me by telephone...lol

[rjm]

We had problems with Swinton last year. We are closest to Caerphilly (and have CF postcode) and took out a policy via that office. However, they keep sending stuff to us from the Newport branch and telephoning from there to
invite renewal.

My missus told them to stick the quote in the post but they sent an actual certificate.

We had found cheaper with another company and she rang to cancel with Swinton telling them she just wanted a quote. Two months later they sent a 'bill' for the policy claiming it had not been cancelled and threatening debt collection.

After protracted letters and phonecalls to them and head office over two months it was eventaully sorted out after we provided proof that we had renewed with another company prior to them sending the  unwanted certificate.

When I stated "why would I want two policies for the same car" the dopey girl (Newport branch) kept at me that I might??

I was sat next to my wife when she rang to cancel with Swinton and also when she cancelled the Direct Debit with the bank from the previous year's policy.

In short, they would not admit their mistake and denied that we had cancelled.

I'll NEVER insure with Swinton again!

Also, protecting your no claims bonus is a waste of time as it will only apply if you stay with the same company. As soon as you switch and tell the new company you've had a claim they will hit you an increase.....so you are no better off.

Legal cover is worth the money though.

[rjm]

Anyone else had problems with this automatic renewal thing that insurance companies are doing?

They keep your credit card details on file and will just take payment unless you phone and cancel. This is
morally wrong.

[bymatt666 (byron)]

car insurance is the biggest con in this country !!...dont get me started !..... ......byron

[bulbus]

yeah, kwik fit kept my details and renewed automaticaly.
i didnt realise this and insured with someone else as there is no such thing as loyalty now
had bank statements through and saw they took the money out so phoned them up.

 i ended up about 80 quid out of pocket as canncellation fees were taken out.
they said i should of had renewal letter through, but didnt and had no way of proving it...

 bar stewards....

[Dusty]

Good old Google owned http://www.beatthatquote.com/ came to my rescue. After trolling around the internet getting quotes that would make a stone statue cry I finally got a cracker from these lot.... TPFT £260 including monthly payment ripoff.... sorry monthly payment APR...

[rjm]

It seems it's not any cheaper TPFT than fully comp and cheaper to have your spouse on the policy.

[Terra (Mike)]

I had house insurance with SWINDLETON insurance, my roof was damaged in a storm last year, so i put a claim in with SWINDLETON, they asked for three quotes, so i rang around roofing firms and builders to get the quotes , what a nightmare , partly because of the weather and partly lack of interest by the builders, it took me 6 MONTHS to get the quotes, so i sent them off , only to have them returned with a letter stating thet my claim period had expired, and i couldn't claim for the same thing again,
 Then to top it all , when it was time to renew, i found that the "claim" that i got no money from, or job done, was listed against me, so my insurance went UP.

These people love to take and use any excuse not to give out.