Not upheld: policy terms dispute / alleged mis-selling complaint against Policy Excess Insure LTD trading as Nova Direct

Decision detail

Summary

Mr R purchased a platinum home emergency policy from PEX and subsequently complained that he was not entitled to boiler service cover in the first year, believing it should have been included. PEX responded that the policy terms clearly stated boiler service was only available upon renewal. The ombudsman reviewed the policy terms and confirmed they explicitly stated the boiler service benefit was only available upon renewal of the policy. Since Mr R was provided with the policy terms and conditions prior to purchase and had the opportunity to review them, the ombudsman concluded PEX had acted fairly and did not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman examined the policy terms and conditions which explicitly stated that boiler service was only available upon renewal. Since Mr R was provided with these terms prior to purchase and had the opportunity to review them, the ombudsman concluded that PEX had made it clear from the outset that the service was not included in the first year. Therefore, PEX did not treat Mr R unfairly or act in breach of the agreed terms.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website