Court for no insurance - cancelled by insurer!

[craig_1975]

Hi there all

I've recently received a court requisition for having no insurance on 27 Nov 2013 (the letter just came through a few days ago and the court case is scheduled for mid January 2014).

I incorrectly believed I had insurance. I took out a policy in May 2013, but it was later cancelled due to not returning some requested documents. I never noticed that the policy was cancelled - correspondence was email based and no cancellation email came through.

I have proof of the insurance certificate, proof that my direct debit is open and never cancelled (they just stopped requesting payment), I also had my car tax and mot done after the insurance had been cancelled. Both of which are surprising.

Within 2 hours of receiving the requisition I took out new insurance.

Can I plead to the DVLA in advance of the trial to remove the case? If not, would a written mitigation plea be sufficient or better to attend court in person?

I don't want ideally to be convicted of anything here. What fine is likely if anyone has any experience? The stated maximum is £1,000 plus costs of £110.

Many thanks in advance for any comments or suggestions. It is my first ever time here so apologies if I've not followed any normal protocols.

Kind regards,
Craig

[strong123]

Re: Court for no insurance - cancelled by insurer!

Hi and welcome

I'm afraid I know very little to nothing about this but I'm sure someone will be along shortly who will be able to advise.

There are many on here who will be able to.

[craig_1975]

Re: Court for no insurance - cancelled by insurer!

Thanks for the "welcome". Interesting place here - just wish I'd found it under happier circumstances)))

[strong123]

Re: Court for no insurance - cancelled by insurer!

Thanks for the "welcome". Interesting place here - just wish I'd found it under happier circumstances)))

The people on here are amazing and most of us on here have found it through pretty tough circumstances including myself.

It may take a bit of time but you will get a response, so hang in there.

[craig_1975]

Re: Court for no insurance - cancelled by insurer!

The people on here are amazing and most of us on here have found it through pretty tough circumstances including myself.

It may take a bit of time but you will get a response, so hang in there.

:santa_smiley:

[enaid]

Re: Court for no insurance - cancelled by insurer!

Hi, I am unsure about this situation, but will say I expect the judge would say it was your responsibility to make sure you were insured. As you noticed the payments were not coming from your account you must have known there was a possibility the insurance had stopped. Just my opinion on the matter, sorry if it's of no use.
Enaid x

[jumper999]

Re: Court for no insurance - cancelled by insurer!

Here is a site where lots know about things like this...hope it is of some help.


http://forums.pepipoo.com/

[craig_1975]

Re: Court for no insurance - cancelled by insurer!

Hi, I am unsure about this situation, but will say I expect the judge would say it was your responsibility to make sure you were insured. As you noticed the payments were not coming from your account you must have known there was a possibility the insurance had stopped. Just my opinion on the matter, sorry if it's of no use.
Enaid x

Thanks for the comment.... but to clarify, I only noticed that direct debits had stopped after I was sent the court requisition.

[Inca]

Re: Court for no insurance - cancelled by insurer!

I have to say I'm with enaid on this one,if you knew the money wasn't being taken out of your account it stands to reason that the car was no longer insured...and ignorance is no defence sadly.
The production of an insurance policy,albeit in date etc etc,means nothing if the payments haven't been made.

Edit...just saw your latest post.....Can't see that defence working either ...Sorry

[craig_1975]

Re: Court for no insurance - cancelled by insurer!

I have to say I'm with enaid on this one,if you knew the money wasn't being taken out of your account it stands to reason that the car was no longer insured...and ignorance is no defence sadly.
The production of an insurance policy,albeit in date etc etc,means nothing if the payments haven't been made.

Hi there.... Thanks, but as I said to Enaid - I wasnt aware of the cancelled direct debit payments until after the letter for Court came through a few days ago. I only looked online to prove to the court I was paying. Then realised I wasn't! If I had spotted the payments had stopped then I would have done something much sooner.

[Inca]

Re: Court for no insurance - cancelled by insurer!

Hi there.... Thanks, but as I said to Enaid - I wasnt aware of the cancelled direct debit payments until after the letter for Court came through a few days ago. I only looked online to prove to the court I was paying. Then realised I wasn't! If I had spotted the payments had stopped then I would have done something much sooner.

I'm sure you would have......I'm no expert but I can't see a defence here,,maybe some wiser Beagles will be able to help you more..one thing I would do though is make sure you attend the Court Hearing (if you can't get it stopped beforehand)...you can't defend yourself if you're not there.

Good Luck

[des8]

Re: Court for no insurance - cancelled by insurer!

The insurance company has to ensure their insured receives notification of cancellation.
Although the policy was effected online, sending an email about cancellation is probably not sufficient as emails can go astray or go into the junk folder and not be seen.
In support of the OP is the fact that DVLA apparently renewed the vehicle's licence AFTER the policy had been cancelled by the insurers. Obviously the insurers systems are not sufficiently robust.
If the insured does not have to examine his bank account regularly (not everyone does) he would not necessarily note the failure to deduct the premiums.

I would be asking the insurer for copies of all correspondence and looking to defend

See here: http://www.nickfreemansolicitors.co....rance-letters/

[craig_1975]

Re: Court for no insurance - cancelled by insurer!

The insurance company has to ensure their insured receives notification of cancellation.
Although the policy was effected online, sending an email about cancellation is probably not sufficient as emails can go astray or go into the junk folder and not be seen.
In support of the OP is the fact that DVLA apparently renewed the vehicle's licence AFTER the policy had been cancelled by the insurers. Obviously the insurers systems are not sufficiently robust.
If the insured does not have to examine his bank account regularly (not everyone does) he would not necessarily note the failure to deduct the premiums.

I would be asking the insurer for copies of all correspondence and looking to defend

See here: http://www.nickfreemansolicitors.co....rance-letters/

Thank you for these comments. I will contact the previous insurer for all correspondence.

Do you know if penalty points can be imposed by the court even where the court requisition documents only refer to a penalty of a fine?

[bluebottle]

Re: Court for no insurance - cancelled by insurer!

The insurance company has to ensure their insured receives notification of cancellation.
Although the policy was effected online, sending an email about cancellation is probably not sufficient as emails can go astray or go into the junk folder and not be seen.
In support of the OP is the fact that DVLA apparently renewed the vehicle's licence AFTER the policy had been cancelled by the insurers. Obviously the insurers systems are not sufficiently robust.
If the insured does not have to examine his bank account regularly (not everyone does) he would not necessarily note the failure to deduct the premiums.

I would be asking the insurer for copies of all correspondence and looking to defend

See here: http://www.nickfreemansolicitors.co....rance-letters/

I have to agree with you, Des. The motor insurance industry needs a good hard kick up its backside. It is all very well the industry's representatives going on television, puffing out their chests and banging on about the number of uninsured vehicles on the road and how they are going to have them taken off the road when, in reality, motorists are having their vehicles seized and destroyed due to the sheer incompetence and malpractices within the industry. At any one time, the Motor Insurer's Database is nowhere near as accurate as it should be. I have spoken to the ICO about what they can do to motor insurers who fail to comply with their duty to ensure accuracy of data and the answer I received was that the ICO has no problem slapping fines on insurers for failing to ensure data is accurate, but they have an issue with determining how compensation should be calculated for those who lose their vehicles due to the incompetence of a motor insurer.

[enaid]

Re: Court for no insurance - cancelled by insurer!

I am sorry, but the OP did state that he had not returned requested documents, having no idea what these were, but were obviously important enough for the insurers not to carry on with the policy maybe that should be looked into.


I incorrectly believed I had insurance. I took out a policy in May 2013, but it was later cancelled due to not returning some requested documents. I never noticed that the policy was cancelled - correspondence was email based and no cancellation email came through.