After having a car accident, Yuliya was told by her motor insurance company that not only would her car need to be written off but she would also need to pay extra because of an error they claimed she made when first taking out the policy. Yuliya didn’t agree with what the insurance company were saying and got in touch with us.
What happened
When Yuliya passed her driving test, her sister and brother-in-law lent her their car to use. Not long afterwards Yuliya had a car accident – and she contacted her insurance company straight away. She received a letter from them to say that her car would need to be written off, and her claim wouldn't be paid. They also said she would also need to pay an extra £500 towards her insurance premium.
They said this was because she'd put down the wrong starting date when first taking out the policy. Yuliya had put the year 2000 on the policy, as this was when her brother-in-law bought the car she was borrowing. The insurance company claimed that because Yuliya started to use the car in 2011, she should've put this date down. She tried to explain to the insurance company the reason behind the mix up of dates, and told them that she didn’t think it was fair that she had to pay extra money.
Watch Yuliya's story to find out how we helped
Pressing play on the video above will set a third party cookie. Please read our cookie policy for more information.
What we said
Yuliya got in touch with us about her issue after hearing about us through friends. We looked at both sides of the story and decided that the insurance company weren’t acting fairly – as they'd not been clear enough when they asked Yuliya for details about her use of the car.
We wrote to both the insurance company and Yuliya explaining what we thought. We said it wouldn't be fair for Yuliya to have to pay more each month because of an understandable error. So the insurer reconsidered. They agreed with us and decided that Yuliya didn't have to pay the extra money – and that she should get some money back for her car that was written off.
I'm proud of myself that I didn't let it go. I'm extremely happy with the service – if anything happens again, I think I would contact the Financial Ombudsman Service faster.
How we can help you
If you think you've been asked to pay more because of a mistake, or you think you've had your insurance claim unfairly turned down, we'll be able to give you an impartial decision. Talk to your insurer first, and if you're still not happy then get in touch.