Not upheld: Service failures generally complaint against First Central Insurance Management Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr J complained that First Central unfairly cancelled his motor insurance policy three days before renewal, believing the firm acted vindictively after he made multiple calls requesting to stop the automatic renewal due to a 300% price increase. First Central cancelled the policy citing Mr J's abusive behaviour towards staff, including rude comments and racially offensive remarks made during calls. The ombudsman reviewed call recordings and found Mr J's behaviour breached First Central's policy wording, which explicitly permitted cancellation for threatening or abusive language. Finding no evidence of vindictive conduct and determining that Mr J's behaviour fairly justified the cancellation, the ombudsman did not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that First Central's policy wording explicitly permitted cancellation for threatening or abusive language and behaviour towards staff. Having listened to the call recordings, the ombudsman determined that Mr J's behaviour—including rude comments, inappropriate noises, racially offensive remarks, and suggestions that staff should be sacked—constituted a breach of this policy term. The ombudsman found no evidence of vindictive conduct by First Central and concluded that Mr J's evidenced behaviour fairly and directly led to the cancellation decision.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website