Home Brokers got Credit in Our Name: Home Ins policy cancelled/never renewed 2y ago.

[ilovecheese]

Hi,

Hope I have the right forum.

Ive posted in Insurance ( Just Realised Have 2 House Insurance Policies ) about how I just realised that a one year home insurance policy we cancelled/never renewed 2 years ago is actually still in force and premiums have been taken from our account for the last year to pay for it.

The way the premiums are paid is a lending agreement is taken out whereby a credit institute gives the amount of the yearly premium to the brokers and we pay the credit institute back monthly (they said this was the only way they would agree to a monthly direct debit).

In 2008 we signed a credit agreement for a period of 9 months (to cover one years premiums). The premium the first year was about €32 per month.

However in 2009, the brokers went back to the credit institute, took out more credit in our name to cover our premiums for a second year , but this time the premiums were €45 per month. They did this without our knowledge.

If we agreed to 9 payments of €32 in 2008, is there any way it could possibly be legal for that agreement to somehow give them permission to go and get credit out in our name every year thereafter?

Surely we would have to have signed the second the credit agreement for it to be valid given it was for a different amount and covered a different period?

The brokers also never wrote to us to ask us did we want to renew our policy or to state that they were renewing it - we havent heard from them since we first took out the policy in 2008, but those papers clearly state the term of the home insurance policy was one year.

 

[ajapale]

Moved to Home: Insurance which is where this type of question is disucssed on AAM

 

[ilovecheese]

My question was more about the credit agreement having been taken out in our name without us signing for it than the fact it was to pay for home insurance, but thanks.

 

[peteb]

they couldnt take out a credit agreement with an outside finance company. I think the one you referred to previously was Premium Credit. To organise premium finance with them the broker applies online and sends you out a pre-populated application form where you just sign the agreement and the direct debit mandate. Without this being signed Premium Credit will not release the payment to the broker. So you would had to have signed the application. No other way around - having dealt with Premium Credit.

Every year after the 1st they could just roll it over online without any further paperwork required to be signed. It was probably put in the renewal letter they sent you saying the direct debit would continue unless you informed them otherwise.

 

[ilovecheese]

Hi Pete,

We signed a credit agreement for the first years premiums which were €32 per month. After a year we cancelled/didnt renew our policy.

After we took out the policy the first year, we have never received any further correspondence/renewal forms from the brokers and the premiums are now €45 per month.

The initial docs state the period of cover was for one year and we have nothing to say they were going to renew it after that - no benefit statements, nothing.

They never informed us that our policy was still in force, but have been going and getting money out in our name. We did initially sign a DD mandate and credit agreement but we understood the credit agreement only covered premiums for one year.

 

[peteb]

You would need to see how they phrased their renewal letter. In most cases the letter would probably have said that they roll it over unless they hear to the contrary. It saves the hassle for them of contacting you, and you the hassle of realising that you forgot to renew it.