Hi,
I have a quick question regarding a car insurance policy my Girlfriend agreed to - but now wants to cancel.
Her insurance is due for renewal on the 27th November. Her current insurer is Swinton, sold through their branch in Chichester.
About a week ago she got a call from the broker in the chichester office of swinton reminding her that her policy was due for renewal at the end of the month. She was given a price for her renewal - and was assured that this was the best price from Swinton for her situation (new driver, 1 year no claims).
She was quoted around £900, but said if she was to take out the policy she would rather pay monthly. To which the broker recalculated her premium with the current APR they offer giving her a premium total of around £1100 or so.
All fine so far... now it gets interesting, she asked if they could send her the details out in the post so she could check them over, and also as she didn't have the funds to pay the deposit on the monthly payments deal until she was paid a week later. The broker was reluctant to let her leave the call without taking payment from her - she said she needed to provide payment details on the spot as the "low" premium would likely rise if she was to wait a week.My girlfriend repeatedly said even if she gave her debit card details there were no funds to clear the payment... to which she got the response "What about a credit card?" she doesn't have one, and reiterated she would like to pay after she got paid... instead the broker said she would have to put her on a £0 deposit deal, to which my girlfriend reluctantyly replied ok...
Anyway - my girlfriend told me about this conversation when i got home from worked - as she felt she had been backed into a corner and not really had a chance to consider her options. I also thought that the insurance quote was rather high, lookin at Swintons website direct was nearly £500 cheaper!!!
Now - i think she is within her rights to cancel this policy, as at the moment, the insurance hasn't become active, no payment has passed and my girlfriend hasn't signed anything. Now she phoned the office to complain that she had been pressured into buying, unfortunatly the person she spoke to was the same person who pushed the policy in the first place, she took offence to the remarks, and demanded £65 to cancel the policy to cover the expense they have incurred already.
Is this correct? My girlfriend was sure that the broker mentioned a 14 day cancelation period... from the date of contract. The main question is has the contract become active? As no payment has passed, and cover has not yet started i dont see how it could have?
If someone could advise her rights in this situation i would be most greatful.
Andy