Go skippy cancelled my insurance

[iggy74]

Quote

Hi, i commenced a new car I insurance at the end of June. I had an additional driver on my policy for whom id provided driving licence information and confirmed no convictions etc. Go skippy emailed to request a driving summary for him however couldn't do this straight away as I was in holiday and also had to request and wait for this to be sent to me before I could send to them.  I received a text the day I returned from holiday at 6pm stating my insurance was cancelled- this was 3 weeks after policy had started and I had paid a deposit plus one monthly instalment to them.  I tried to contact them when i received the message to be informed that their systems had crashed and to phone back at 9am. When i called them back they informed me they could have done something if id called the day before! I explained re holiday etc but they refused to allow me to reinstate policy but said If I paid them £145 cancellation fee they would start a new one! I have had to find alternative car insurance and they are now threatening court action if I dont pay this fee within 2 weeks. Is this legal? Would appreciate any advice

 

Hi, i commenced a new car I insurance at the end of June.

I had an additional driver on my policy for whom id provided driving licence information and confirmed no convictions etc.

Go skippy emailed to request a driving summary for him however couldn't do this straight away as I was in holiday and also had to request and wait for this to be sent to me before I could send to them. 

I received a text the day I returned from holiday at 6pm stating my insurance was cancelled- this was 3 weeks after policy had started and I had paid a deposit plus one monthly instalment to them. 

I tried to contact them when i received the message to be informed that their systems had crashed and to phone back at 9am.

When i called them back they informed me they could have done something if id called the day before! I explained re holiday etc but they refused to allow me to reinstate policy but said If I paid them £145 cancellation fee they would start a new one!

I have had to find alternative car insurance and they are now threatening court action if I dont pay this fee within 2 weeks.

Is this legal?

 

Would appreciate any advice

Edited August 2, 2023 by BankFodder
Restructured in order to make it readable

[Ethel Street]

What reason did they give for cancelling the insurance?

[iggy74]

Hi, they said it was because they hadn't received the driving licence summary for my additional driver. I offered to get it to them but was informed it was too late. Not sure why they needed this as I'd provided the licence number,  they didn't ask for mine just for my additional driver 

[BankFodder]

What precisely is the fee that they are trying to recover from you? We don't really get any clue in your original post.

You say that you paid a deposit and one month's instalment – you don't tell us how much that is either.

Had you been with this company before?

Did you receive the request for the summary wave on holiday and did you respond to immediately?

And please note that you have posted a long solid block of text which I have restructured to make it readable.

Please can you bear in mind that your posts have to be read by people sometimes a very small screen such as telephones

[unclebulgaria67]

Go Skippy have a poor reputation for customer service and should be avoided.

When the policy was arranged, it is standard for the Insurers to go through process of checking the information and when they asked for the additional drivers licence summary, they would have allowed 14 days for this to be provided or they would cancel the policy.  

Whilst some Insurers might have allowed some time in addition to the 14 days, Go Skippy are not a customer focused business that would have done this, as they would no doubt be thinking that they would make more money by sticking to the 14 days and then cancelling.  And they will pass the £145 cancellation fee if not paid to a debt collection company to write to you chasing for payment.

Answering your question, yes it is legal.  When you signed up to the Insurance contract, you agreed to provide any information to Go Skippy within the time limits advised.

If you are not happy, then submit a complaint to Go Skippy and advise that you want to refer the complaint to the FOS, so can they issue their final response as soon as possible.  Whilst your complaint is ongoing, Go Skippy should put chasing the debt on hold.

[iggy74]

Hi, my policy commenced at the end of June and I paid around £35 at this point then around £35 for my first instalment the second week in July - sorry, I dont have exact amounts to hand.

I have never been with this company before, the fee (£145 ) they are trying to charge me is for them cancelling my policy.

I did receive the request for the summary before holiday but couldn't respond immediately as it wasn't for a document I had. 

it's not my summary it's my additional drivers summary so I've had to request it from them and hadn't received it before I went on holiday.

Sorry for the solid block of text. Hope this reads better 

 

[unclebulgaria67]

Submit a complaint to Go Skippy as advised above. That is your next step.

Because Go Skippy would have to pay a fee to the FOS, if you continued the complaint to the FOS, you may find that Go Skippy will reduce or remove the cancellation fee.