Not upheld: Service failures generally complaint against GROVE & DEAN LIMITED

Decision detail

Summary

Mr P complained that Grove & Dean Ltd wrongly renewed his motorhome insurance policy in February 2024 without his permission and unfairly charged him a £55 cancellation fee plus £231.29 in outstanding premiums when he attempted to cancel in July 2024. Mr P claimed he had cancelled the automatic renewal in January 2024 through the online portal and sent a cancellation letter on 16 January 2024, but G&D had no record of either communication. The ombudsman found that Mr P failed to provide evidence of the alleged cancellation letter or email, and that continued premium payments and G&D's renewal confirmation letter on 23 January 2024 (to which Mr P did not respond) demonstrated that G&D had no notice of cancellation. The complaint was not upheld as G&D acted fairly in renewing the policy and applying the standard cancellation charges.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that without proof that G&D received notification of Mr P's wish to cancel, G&D did nothing wrong. Mr P failed to provide evidence of the alleged cancellation letter (no certificate of posting or email screenshot) or the earlier email he claimed to have sent. The fact that G&D's system contained no record of cancellation, combined with continued premium payments and a renewal confirmation letter sent on 23 January 2024 to which Mr P did not respond, demonstrated that G&D had no notice of Mr P's cancellation request. The ombudsman noted that if Mr P had genuinely cancelled, he would likely have contacted G&D again after receiving the 23 January renewal confirmation letter.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website