Is there a defence for no insurance ?

[M80]

On the 10 July I rang Sheila's Wheels to renew my wife's insurance for the Gr Cherokee. Ringing an 0845 number ****** annoys me to give them my money so when the questions go on and on and are even repeated I became short.
The operative commented that I shouldn't complain to her as it's not her fault, that annoyed me more, "if I was talking to one of you managers they would get my complaint but I'm talking to you and talking to them would only cost me more money."
My last question, after giving card details for payment, was to ask if our business was complete. On confirmation my phone went down.

Today my bank statement arrived and doesn't show the payment as taken so I checked the MID, no insurance shown.
It seems reasonable to assume now that the vehicle has been travelling around for nearly a month uninsured, as 'maybe' the angered lady pressed delete at the end of the conversation.
The longest journey that would be likely to be copped by an APNR was driven by myself 2 weeks ago, about 200 miles. Otherwise the missus has been doing 14 mile round trips to work, passing cameras but APNR I wouldn't know.

The missus had trusted that I had carried out the task of renewing, I believed I had. The conversation with insurance would be recorded no doubt, but they have that and wouldn't be likely to release for court use anyway.

The other one of course is that the vehicle if not insured should be SORNed.

Should a letter arrive is there a defence cos I am expecting one attacking my licence (cos my name isn't Huhne) and I feel stuffed ?

 

[Naraic]

So you checked with Ask Mid...did you check with Sheila's wheels?

 

[Gkinghorn]

A legal bod would have to advise BUT I suspect it's up to you to ensure your insurance is valid.

Perhaps when you put the phone down there was an issue that the operator had. They could phone you back but they have no obligation to do so.

I would sit tight and wait to see but meantime make sure you ARE insured

sent from my Galaxy Note 8 via Tapatalk

 

[M80]

It only occurred to me this evening after I became aware of the issue that there has been no communication from sheila's Wheels. You would either get the new insurance documents or a letter informing that the insurance has expired. There has been neither.

My view is that if the company are proving to be so inept i would rather take my money elsewhere, so it follows that first we need confirmation that Sheila's Wheels haven't insured and would be seeking payment later, although this I strongly doubt.

 

[bigasotonuk]

It can take a while for the MID data base to get updated.
I renewed both my cars with different insurers, but at the same time via. the same broker and one of them was on MID the next day yet the other didn't appear till over three weeks later. I think you need to phone Shelia's wheels again I'm afraid.
It seems that the charge for ringing them is to encourage you to do everything online I reckon.

 

[Developer]

Ringing an 0845 number ****** annoys me to give them my money so when the questions go on and on and are even repeated I became short.

Hello Martin,

Regarding this, have a look here:
http://www.saynoto0870.com/

 

[Xtractorfan]

It is normal for insurance companies to confirm details and allow you to print off a cover note at least once the transaction has been confirmed, did you give an email address?
You should contact them straight away, if they took your card details and payment they would also have confirmed the transaction with a reference code.

 

[Corned]

Assumption is the mother of all foul-ups!

Sorry to be blunt, but you are responsible for making sure everything is in place. Assuming everything will fall into place is not recommended!

Are you insured now? That's your first priority - ensuring the matter is corrected.

Unfortunately, if it didn't go through successfully on the previous occasion, you will simply have to hope that the car has not been 'clocked' by a camera. I don't see how you could expect any recourse from Sheila's Wheels in this eventuality though.

Sorry again to be blunt, but that's how I see your situation.

 

[shayes]

0845 is a local call rate from a landline no matter how distant you are from them, so you are not paying a premium rate unless you phone them from a mobile phone.

Not sure why you'd get exasperated?

 

[Frontstep]

You should contact the Financial Ombudsman with this one Sat 9-1pm
0800 023 4567

 

[Some guy on the internet]

http://www.sheilaswheels.com/faqs/website/website_faqs.html#faq_6

Geographic numbers

Sheilas' Wheels uses non-geographical numbers as this is the most efficient way for us to handle and distribute incoming calls that may need to be handled in either our Manchester or Glasgow office depending on staff shifts and callers' requirements. Many telephone companies' calling plans are starting to recognise the need to treat 0845 numbers in the same way as geographical numbers, so that they don't incur a cost to people with inclusive call packages. This will help to ensure that people who do not pay for geographical calls don't incur a cost when calling us.

In the meantime, we are able to accept calls on the following geographical numbers but please be aware that it may be slightly slower for us to route your call correctly.

Motor quotes and sales 0141 275 6942
Motor customer service 0141 275 6937
Home quotes and sales 0141 275 6962
Home customer service 0141 275 0633
Travel quotes and sales 0845 604 3562
Travel customer service 0845 604 3563

 

[DIYMAN]

In some areas the APNR results are processed manually by control room staff when they have time i.e. in slack periods, many are not followed up because there are a lot of inaccurate alarm signals in a day.

 

[Gary Hanson]

On the 10 July I rang Sheila's Wheels to renew my wife's insurance for the Gr Cherokee............
My last question, after giving card details for payment, was to ask if our business was complete. On confirmation my phone went down.
..............bank statement arrived and doesn't show the payment as taken so I checked the MID, no insurance shown.

Assuming the sheila's wheels rep confirmed that your business was complete, you could argue that you and the company have entered into an insurance contract, and that the vehicle is therefore insured. The subsequent absence of a payment being debited from your account may be an administrative error on the part of sheila's wheels, as may be their failure to comply with the legal requirement that contracts of insurance must be evidenced in writing (by the provision of a certificate).

If your vehicle was involved in an accident and the company attempted to avoid liability by suggesting that you weren't insured, it would be a matter for a county court to decide on whether or not you / the vehicle / whatever were in fact insured.

As has already quite correctly been suggested, get on the case and find out whether sheila or one of her wheels actually acknowledges that there is some insurance in place.

Defences to no insurance -

A number of defences exist which may be used in cases of driving without insurance. These will be classed as special reasons, for example if you were misled into believing that insurance was in place, or if your policy was cancelled without notification from the insurance company.

http://www.norriewaite.co.uk/driving-without-insurance.html

 

[Gkinghorn]

The call was also probably recorded . ask them to dig out the recording

sent from my Galaxy Note 8 via Tapatalk

 

[Devonian]

We had a sort of similar thing happen to us. Upon changing his car my son phoned the insurance company and transferred his insurance to the new vehicle some weeks later he was stopped by the police for having no insurance the insurance company admitted it was an administrative error on their part and sent us a letter to that effect which also stated they would retrospectively cover the vehicle should any claims occur. The police accepted this and no action was taken. It did however make us more more diligent in checking certificates as they arrive ( or not)

 

[kimbos1961]

i would say, that the offence is absolutely made out in this case, and your wife would be guilty. After all the insurance co. wouldnt pay out would they, if there was a fatal accident.? She may have a good argument in court for her licence not to be endorsed (special reasons) if she can show that she was genuinely misled by you. Hard to prove, but she would have to show total reliance on you etc. You would have no such argument. In either case the court would have no sympathy if they heard the rant....
Now back to my 220 estate search

part time legal bod

 

[kimbos1961]

ps... the defences in short to no insurance are:
i was not driving
i am insured
my car is legally off the road
its not my car and nothing to do with me

 

[ChrisKnottIns]

If this was us, we'd be picking up the phone and checking whether you wanted the cover rather than just letting it drift, if the transaction wasn't completed. But maybe that's the difference between SMEs and these larger corporations.

It seems they've not finished the transaction but the only way you can be sure is to give them a call if its not showing on MID yet.

For the sake of a phone call, it's probably worth you swallowing your pride so you can get the assurance that you're either covered or you need cover. The longer you stay inactive the more likely you are to get a tug and nobody wants that.

Pick up the phone and see what's happened.

 

[Naraic]

i would say, that the offence is absolutely made out in this case, and your wife would be guilty. After all the insurance co. wouldnt pay out would they, if there was a fatal accident.? She may have a good argument in court for her licence not to be endorsed (special reasons) if she can show that she was genuinely misled by you. Hard to prove, but she would have to show total reliance on you etc. You would have no such argument. In either case the court would have no sympathy if they heard the rant....
Now back to my 220 estate search

part time legal bod

And the post above yours meant what?

 

[grober]

Don't expect the insurance company to be helpful in any way. Take your business elsewhere asap. Might be helpful to go thro a local broker office. They have contact nos within the system which mere customers don't have. Why- money talks- its the only language insurance companies understand.