Driving without insurance low lifes

[Escapee]

Anyone driving or riding without insurance should be locked up or receive a fine in excess of the cost of the insurance right?

I have a pay monthly multiple insurance policy for my motorbikes, I haven't used any of my bikes for the past 3 weeks but went to work on one yesterday. In work for no reason it came to me that I hadn't seen my monthly policy through the post. When I get this I take a picture with my phone in case I am stopped, as it has the policy details and dates on it.

I didn't have the login for the insurance company site so as a matter of interest I had a look on askmid (I know it's only about 93% accurate), the bike I was riding and planning to go away on this weekend showed up as uninsured. I then checked my emails and I had received notification from them that the payment was being taken on 22nd November, I checked my bank statement and the money had been taken on the 22nd November and I checked that it had also been taken on 22nd October. So nothing to worry about right?

When I got to my partners I logged into the insurance company website with the intention of printing off this months policy. I was unable to do this because it said the policy was lapsed, I was not even able to request no claims confirmation. (My old car policy on the same page even though cancelled over 3 years ago still allows me to click the button for NCD confirmation)

I immediately contacted them via email (Not the £1.02 a minute hotline) stated my issue. I then tried to contact them about the NCD and cancelling the policy, this is impossible because every turn you take gives an answer that doesn't take into account that it's their fault. It all assumes the customer doesn't know what they are doing.

I immediately took out insurance with another company for the bike I am using this weekend and printed off the policy to carry with me.

I received an email from my original company today copied below:

Dear Mr. xxxxxxx,

Policy number: xxxxxx

Thank you for your email.

I apologise for any stress and inconvenience caused by this.

Please be advised that your policy is showing as lapsed due to a technical error on your policy.

This means that cover has not been in place since 21/10/2013 at 09:59. This has only been brought to our attention upon receipt of your email otherwise we would have taken action immediately.

I can confirm that our Payments Team have now issued the October's and November's payments that was taken, please allow 3-5 working days to receive this.

As we are refunding the last 2 payments taken this would mean we will not be liable for any claims that may have been made from 21/10/2013 at 09:59 up until now.

If you wish to obtain a new quote with us please go to our home page www.xxxxxxx.co.uk

Please accept my sincere apologies for any inconvenience this may cause and I am deeply sorry for this issue.

Yours sincerely,


xxxxxxxxxx Customer Services

So basically they are saying they have a technical problem, they have taken the payments but I have been riding without insurance since 21/10/2013

it's not the first problem I have had with them, what a way to run a company. I am sure the next problem will be obtaining confirmation of my NCD.

[Gary L]

Who's that with?

[TheDaddy]

Originally Posted by Gary L

Who's that with?

Yes let's all avoid them, hope the company in question get to see this to in time

[Escapee]

Ebike, they are also Ecar and Commercial Vehicle Direct. I'm not sure if there any other companies in the group but beware of any company offering insurance with the following address:

MMT Centre, Severn Bridge, Aust, Bristol, BS35 4BL

There appears to be a high number of complaints about this company, many of the complaints follow the same trend such as:

1. Claiming not to have received a copy of your NCD and driving license, therefore cancelling your policy and keeping a big chunk of money.

I had that threat, even though I had emailed it to them, faxed it and sent it by post!

2. You find that your vehicle is not on the MID

Due to it being a monthly policy this can happen for up to 5 days every month , but they are within the legal requirements. This is the reason I kept a picture of the monthly policy on my phone.

Unfortunately some police forces are taking the information on MID to be correct and impounding vehicles even when the owner has provided details of their insurance company. The last time I did some research the MID was about 93% accurate, it means thousands of vehicles at any one time are incorrectly reported by the database.

3. When anything goes wrong with payments being taken or policy lapses, they usually claim 'you changed it online'

The best part about my email to them was the initial reply:

Thanks for your email.

We are currently experiencing unusually high email demand therefore please allow up to 3 working days for a response. Once you have submitted your enquiry there is no need to contact us again as we will respond to all emails we receive.

So, should I have continued to ride my motorbike while waiting for their reply or perhaps I should have phoned the £1.06 minute hotline.

Just to make it clear, this insurance policy was far from cheap. It was attractive because vehicles could be changed online on a monthly basis without further charges. I was paying a lot of money for the convenience!

Plus, as a customer having this policy and paying them a large premium for almost 5 years I find their attitude appalling.