Can I ignore Darwin admin charge after not renewing?

[eldertree]

I was insured with Darwin Car Insurance until just over a week ago when I could not find their renewal notice so switched to another provider as I was about to go on holiday and short of time.

I assumed that as they couldn't take payment from my card (new one had been issued in the last few months) the policy would not renew.

They have just asked me for a £50 cancellation fee. Can I ignore that?

[normalbloke]

That’s a fantastic name for the insurance Co in this tale of woe.

[vikingaero]

If you cancelled before renewal yes, if you cancelled after, probably not.

[MitchT]

At face value it appears that you've not renewed as opposed to cancelled, so I don't see how they can make a cancellation fee stick.

[eldertree]

MitchT said:

At face value it appears that you've not renewed as opposed to cancelled, so I don't see how they can make a cancellation fee stick.

That's right. They couldn't take payment for renewal so a new policy wasn't taken out.

[snuffy]

eldertree said:

I assumed that as they couldn't take payment from my card (new one had been issued in the last few months) the policy would not renew.

I had a subscription recently that was due to renew, but I did not want it to. But as the card had expired, I also assumed they could not take the money, so I did not cancel it.

Only, the did. They ask your bank for the new card details and the bank just tells them.

[LeoSayer]

If the policy was set to auto-renew then it would have done just that, payment or not.

[Bill]

LeoSayer said:

If the policy was set to auto-renew then it would have done just that, payment or not.

This. They've renewed because you didn't tell them not to, and now they either need paying or cancelling.

[Your Dad]

Did you inform them that you did not want to renew the policy prior to the renewal date, ergo you cancelled the renewal, or did you fail to inform them, ergo you did not cancel the renewal?

[eldertree]

Your Dad said:

Did you inform them that you did not want to renew the policy prior to the renewal date, ergo you cancelled the renewal, or did you fail to inform them, ergo you did not cancel the renewal?

I didn't inform them - I'll call them when they open. Seems an excessive charge though.

[Your Dad]

eldertree said:

Your Dad said:

Did you inform them that you did not want to renew the policy prior to the renewal date, ergo you cancelled the renewal, or did you fail to inform them, ergo you did not cancel the renewal?

I didn't inform them - I'll call them when they open. Seems an excessive charge though.

Might seem excessive, but you'll have been informed of all the fees prior to policy inception.