Admiral, one of the UK’s leading insurance providers, has admitted that it has experienced a systems error with its direct debit payments for February this year.
The IT error has resulted in hundreds of customers being charged double their February premium. The company has issued an apology to all of its customers that have been affected. Out of the four million customers who have their home, car and van insurance with Admiral, it is thought that around 900 have been affected.
Many refunds have already been issued and more will be processed very soon.
Checking your bank statement is important
According to the Money Advice Service guidance, we should all regularly check our statements so that we can detect this sort of error, yet only 65 percent of people do so.
Even though Admiral claim to have contacted most of those who have been affected, it is vital that you check for yourself. You can spot it as a duplicate entry for February.
The importance of insurance
Keeping on top of your van insurance is not just important when errors like this occur, it is all part of being a responsible van owner.
If you have made modifications to your van such as a Speedliner you may want to adjust your insurance. Perhaps you have invested in a liner from a provider such as http://www.vehicle-accessories.net/Interior/Van-Linings/Waterproof-Van-Linings/Speedliner because you will be using your van for a different purpose. Your insurer may need to know about this too.
What you can do if you have paid a double premium
Very few small businesses can afford to pay a double premium so it is important that you get the situation resolved swiftly. The last thing you want is for it to affect your cash-flow for the month. If you were double-charged and were not refunded, then it is likely that Admiral did not charge you a March premium. However, it is vital that you get hold of your bank statement to check this.
A member of the Admiral team should also contact you. If that has not happened, you can contact them on 0333 220 2000. If you have been charged fees as a result of bank charges, they will make sure that you are reimbursed. It is not fair that you should suffer because of their mistake.