Insurance - and getting out of it?

We'll skip how I got into it in the first place unless you all want a story on what a plonker I can be.[^] I never buy things like this over the phone but just prior to Christmas, I did and full marks to the persuasive powers of the telemarketer. When the documents arrived I asked myself what the hell I needed funeral cover for when I already have it attached to another insurance policy so rang to cancel it. Fine, not a problem BUT they wouldn't cancel Kevin's without his say-so. So, I'll get him to ring them. However, he is working way up north at the moment where cellphone coverage is dodgy at best and when he does have it, doesn't want to be stuffing around with this sort of thing so it hasn't been done.

Last night when I went into our bank accounts this insurance company (well known) has taken out the premium and I saw red. I was going to ring this morning and rip shit but decided to get some input first. My argument is, and will be, that they didn't need his authorisation to set up the insurance but they need it to cancel it.

So your input please on my rights. At this point I'm thinking of ringing, asking politely again to have it cancelled, if that doesn't happen, asking to speak to a supervisor and if I still get no joy, threatening with - who? Commerce Commission, Fair Go?

Cheers,
Ronnie

Call your bank immediately and cancel the Direct Debit Authority on your account. To be honest, you should have done this at the first hint of a problem. It's something I always do as a first port of call as it can be done over the phone with your bank, and if you do end up owing the other party some money, you can send them a cheque, or re-instate the direct debit authority if you have some other ongoing business with them.

Because this kind of thing happens all too often, I am very wary of setting up Direct Debit Authorities with anyone these days. It's just so easy for companies like this to take money out of your account, and then you have a helluva job to get it back. Much better to be in the position of owing them money, so you have the leverage.

So, that is what you should do to prevent any future deductions being made from your account.

As for getting back the money they have already taken, 4 ways:

- Write a polite e-mail or fax to the person you are dealing with and ask for a refund
- If that doesn't produce any result, write a letter to the CEO of the company
- If you still don't get any joy, contact the Ombudsman
- And at the same time, lodge a claim with the Disputes Tribunal (cost to you would only be $30 IIRC).

One of those avenues should produce a result, but I hope for your sake (and theirs) that they see reason and issue you with a prompt refund.

Grant, that should have been obvious shouldn't it. Duh:rolleyes: Will get on to that first thing in the morning - all of it.

Don't know what possessed me to get sucked into this in the first place as I'm usually very short and sometimes, downright rude, with people trying to sell me anything over the phone. I can't believe I was so stupid.

Cheers,
Ronnie

How can they arrange a DD over the phone? It needs a signature, doesn't it? Or have I missed something?

tigger;300144 wrote: How can they arrange a DD over the phone? It needs a signature, doesn't it? Or have I missed something?

You can cancel a DD over the phone, but obviously Ronnie would have signed a DD form with the salesperson at the time of taking out the policy.

Hopefully the said insurance co. will treat Ronnie nicely today. No doubt we will hear how it went later.

Good point tigger. Ronney did say she had done it over the phone an I agree, they have to have your signature with your details to set it up surely.

Ring back and ask for a Senior person. This is what happened to me yesterday:

I rang a Bank about an account I have with them and spoke to a girl who obviously did not know her job but was inisisting I was wrong.. I got off the phone furious, having decided I would make further arrangements and close my accounts with them. Niggle - so rang back and got a different person. No you are absolutely right and I can also do this for you to make things easer. Following getting what I wanted in the first place, I asked the girl to please pass on a verbal complaint to her Boss as I had come within a whisker of closing my accounts. She said she woud. I am toying with emailing the Bank. I have no problem with dealing with people saying "Can I just check that with my Senior" but outright insistence that she was right when she wasn't is stupid.

All the best.

Ronney;300134 wrote:
Don't know what possessed me to get sucked into this in the first place as I'm usually very short and sometimes, downright rude, with people trying to sell me anything over the phone. I can't believe I was so stupid.

Cheers,
Ronnie

We find just telling them that the person they're looking for has moved, or is out, or that kids have just been put in the bath seems to work for us - basically use one of a million standard lies.

I've been on the other end of that line, during impoverished student days, and it's a really soul destroying experience for the most part. I can't remember how many times I got told to go f*** myself or similar, but I didn't deserve that!

When people said they weren't interested, I just thanked them and moved on - you're normally sat with a huge phone book of numbers so haven't the time to go back to people a second time.

Incidentally - you can also ask them to provide you with the database that their company has bought that your details are from, and then have yourself removed from that database - which should help, if you haven't already.

hope that helps (and saves a telemarketer from a future earbashing!)

I just had Farmers Finance ring and say they have singled me out for a special family funeral plan. I politely declined.

I lie....if anyone phones and asks me if I own the propery I say no. None of their business and gets rid of 99% of those calls...

Ok, the interesting thing is that they were able to set up a Direct Debit over the phone without my signature and this is something that perhaps needs further investigation, not on my part particularly but generally because it does seem that it can be done.

However, that said, it was just as easily undone. I rang the bank this morning, got somebody for whom English was a second language:rolleyes:, also had hay fever which didn't help our linguistic problems, but we were able to communicate sufficiently to have the DD stopped. I then rang the insurance company again and again met with the same resistance. She politely agreed with everything I said including the hypocrisy of not needing authorisation to set up an insurance but somehow needing it to cancel it. I was getting shirtier by the second. In the end I told her I would get partner to write a letter requesting cancellation, would that suffice. That would be wonderful she says. So I promptly wrote a very crisp letter, signed it and popped it in the mail. As they have no idea what Kevin's signature looks like........ How dumb is that.

I could, and perhaps should, have made a monumental issue out of it but quite frankly I don't have the time or energy.

Jerry, I too had a very short stint at telemarketing. It lasted two days. I discovered within the first hour that I wasn't into encroaching into people's personal space to sell them something they didn't want or need and probably couldn't afford. Consequently I didn't blame them for telling me to naff off. And that's exactly what I do (usually:rolleyes:) when I have some dimwit ring just as I'm about to dish up dinner trying to sell me Sky, Slingshot or tell me I've been chosen to partake in some wondrous holdiday in some wondrous spot.

Cheers,
Ronnie

Great news Ronnie. Hopefully, that will be the end of the matter and they will refund the premium already taken from your account.

Ronney;300312 wrote: Ok, the interesting thing is that they were able to set up a Direct Debit over the phone without my signature and this is something that perhaps needs further investigation, not on my part particularly but generally because it does seem that it can be done.

The only way I can see that this could have been done is if you had an existing Direct Debit Authority in place with the same company. Then they can easily alter the amount and take an extra payment to cover a new policy.

Or maybe you read out your bank account number to them?
Even that shouldn't have been enough on its own, but who knows, maybe they have worked out a way around the paper forms that were always used in the past.

There must have been something you gave them to authorise this deduction from your account. It isn't possible for deductions to be made from your account otherwise.

Grant, I have another insurance with an arm of this company which I've had for some 20 years - so this is possibly how it came about. I can't recall that I gave them our banking details at the time but I can't recall what I said yesterday never mind what I might have said over a month ago

However, it is something for people to be wary of and shows how easy it can be for others to get into bank accounts. As I said earlier, I'm amazed I allowed myself to be sucked in like this but in my defence, I had a lot going on at the time so probably wasn't thinking very rationally, the outfit is one that is well known and trusted by a large percentage of motorists in this country and their insurance arm is one that I've dealt with long-term. But it all goes to show that when times are tight, even the supposed best are not beyond stooping to a bit of legal whitewash.

Cheers,
Ronnie

I truly have tried to lie and not be rude to these folks. but when they want to know my ID first and not give theirs them I'm instantly HOT and angry..
they did ask to speak to the man of the house once and so I said in a very contrite voice, Im sorry you are just a few minutes late Ive just shot him... and hung up.
Yes I know its a job for some who are desperate for a $$, but I would gather by now that firms dont really get that many good results from it, so why not drop the system of harrassment

I would be having a go at the bank for allowing a direct debit without a signed authority. No way should that have been allowed...