Not upheld: Service failures generally complaint against Right Choice Insurance Brokers Ltd

Decision detail

Summary

Mr A complained that Right Choice Insurance Brokers Ltd unfairly charged him a cancellation fee of £60 when he cancelled his motor insurance policy within the 14-day cooling off period. The policy was taken out on 11 September 2020 and cancelled after Mr A confirmed he was not the owner or registered keeper of the vehicle, contradicting his application form. Right Choice subsequently passed the unpaid cancellation fee debt to a debt collector in July 2023. The ombudsman found that the terms and conditions explicitly permitted Right Choice to charge a £60 cancellation fee for policies cancelled within 14 days, and that Mr A had agreed to these terms before completing his purchase. Therefore, the complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman considered whether Right Choice acted in line with the terms and conditions of the agreement. The terms and conditions explicitly stated that Right Choice would deduct a cancellation fee of £60 from any refund provided by the insurer if the policy was cancelled within 14 days. Mr A was required to confirm he had read these terms before completing his online purchase. Therefore, Right Choice properly brought the cancellation charges to Mr A's attention before he decided to buy the policy and was entitled to charge the fee.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website