# Beware If You Cancelled Your VHI Policy: VHI still taking DD's on cancelled policies!



## annet

If you cancelled your VHI policy, and you also paid by DD, you should be aware of this.

http://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/surviving-the-recession/vhi-charging-former-customers-2555873.html


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## mrpolite

well to be fair, if the many thousand cancelled as per the papers it will take a while to complete all requests.
Just contact your bank to cancel the DD straight away. It will always take longer for it to b stopped when requesting through a third party.Plus its not as if they would not refund the money if you have cancelled or credit it to your new policy if you registered under a new policy


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## NovaFlare77

Direct debits will be easy to stop by writing to the banks. According to the IPSO website, banks will stop debits on 1 business day's notice, and I think that's a result of recent EU law.

Salary deduction payments are a different matter entirely, as the process is much more manual with a multitude of different employers doing things different ways. In the case of the teacher referred to in the article, I'm not sure how long it will take to sort out. I paid VHI through salary deduction in my first job, and I still got renewal notices two years after I left that job.


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## annet

*you'd wonder*

I can understand that there may be some of a backlog....

However, it seems that VHI were 100% aware that these policies were cancelled. 

And, thats what I dont understand, if you notify VHI in writing and they acknowledge that policy is cancelled, surely whatever internal systems, from admin to accounting that they have, should be inter-linked so that any scheduled payments can also be cancelled automatically and their records amended.

Unfortunately, I am one of these affected customers. I cancelled my policy and switched insurers. 

I notified the VHI (within ample time) of the cancellation, and in writing the VHI said they'd follow that instruction. 

Then the next month, there was an attempted DD transaction on my bank account....lucky enough I cancelled that DD through the bank! 

I only learned of this, when the VHI sent me a schedule of payment for a double deduction the following month. The notice from the bank came later that week....and no bank charges were applied.

I then wrote a letter of complaint, explaining to the VHI again that my policy was cancelled, just in case they hadnt grasped that fact, and I am still waiting for a written reply to that complaint. 

After great difficulty, I did manage to contact a telephone agent, and this person re-assured me that the error would be sorted....not a hope! 

Yesterday, I got another demand for payment from the VHI....and its a different amount to what the first schedule said they plan to deduct via DD...but rather oddly....the history/payment plan states my renewal date of last year....and a due date for payment in last month....and this demand was a giro form!  

I am just waiting to see if they try any DD transaction later today...

You would begin to wonder...what's goin on in their accounting systems!

Its so perplexing.


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## scuby

AFAIK, when someone contacts any insurance comp to change/cancel their cover, and the change is amended. Notification is then ets sent either to pay roll to amend the wages, or to the bank to amend the direct debit.

Depending on when the bank is advised of the change (this may not be daily, could be weekly or monthly), a payment could already have gone through before the amendments.
 Also no bank and insurance company have the same accounting software, so it will not be a seamless transaction. Same with Payroll, closing off any changes to wages a week or two prior to a salay pay date, if being paid monthly.
Best option if paying by direct debit, is to call the bank and ask to cancel the DD, and it will be done quicker. 

if paying through wages, then pay roll should be getting regular amendments from an insurance company, once the company have amended the policy at request of member.
Obviousy, if a payment does not go through after the DD being cancelled in the bank, then you would automatically get payment reminders etc until the policy is amended.


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## aoh

I cancelled my VHI and also cancelled the DD with the bank - the day before it was due to come out of my account. The next day, VHI put it through and when I asked the bank what had happened,they said the VHI instructions included a new mandate. So basically, they set up a completely new DD overnight - which I immediately told the bank to cancel.

When I called VHI, they insisited the DD had been cancelled but said there was also a note on my account that they owed me money which woul dbe paid by cheque. When I asked how long it would take, they said five working days. This is now the end of the second week and I have still received no cheque.

Can't wait to see if they manage to take the money next month as well.


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## ajapale

VHI's backroom processes were notorious some years back for inefficeinces.

I wonder if thing are still as bad nowadays?


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## scuby

aoh said:


> VHI put it through and when I asked the bank what had happened,they said the VHI instructions included a new mandate. So basically, they set up a completely new DD overnight



how could the bank accept a new mandate, un-signed by you ? i would be asking the bank for a copy.. Bank should not have accepted it


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## aoh

scuby said:


> how could the bank accept a new mandate, un-signed by you ? i would be asking the bank for a copy.. Bank should not have accepted it



I thought that too but they said it was electronic and automatic. Can't say I was too impressed. VHI also said that they send the instructions to the banks about 12 days before the DD is actually withdrawn so the automatic set-up has to be included in that transmission - which means it's included in every transmission as I hadn't cancelled the policy 12 days beforehand.

Mind you, as I was cancelling the first DD, the bank found another VHI mandate on their system coming out of my account but the policy name was a company I'd never heard of. It had never been activated, but I just feel like VHI can help themselves and the bank isn't going to stop them. It's up to me to keep an eye on it all!


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## annet

*Ipsos*



aoh said:


> I cancelled my VHI and also cancelled the DD with the bank - the day before it was due to come out of my account. The next day, VHI put it through and when I asked the bank what had happened,they said the VHI instructions included a new mandate. So basically, they set up a completely new DD overnight - which I immediately told the bank to cancel.
> 
> When I called VHI, they insisited the DD had been cancelled but said there was also a note on my account that they owed me money which woul dbe paid by cheque. When I asked how long it would take, they said five working days. This is now the end of the second week and I have still received no cheque.
> 
> Can't wait to see if they manage to take the money next month as well.


 
Well, VHI done it again!! When I telephoned my own bank, to see whether the DD for my new health insurer went through on my a/c....I was told that the only transaction that did go through on that day was VHI. I was completely flabbergasted!!

These guy's took two months premium out of my a/c (a substantial amount of money I might add), and then before that date, they sent me a giro demand for me to pay them one months premium!

I was so annoyed that the bank paid the DD to VHI....that was their huge mistake! 

The story the bank told me, was that VHI presented the last request for payment under a different reference number (I dont know how true that was)!!!

But, the best part came when the bank tried to wriggle their way out of taking any responsibility for allowing that transaction to go through!!! "Oh that's a matter between you and VHI...and that is nothing to do with us!"   

Its amazing how these guy's quickly change tact when you mention the "financial regulator" and the "Direct Debit Gaurantee"! Lets just say there was a very prompt reimbursement of all monies to my bank account!

I also got the 14 day excuse from VHI (of not being able to stop the DD as some banks apparently require fourteen day's notice)...complete BS if you ask me!! 

You might find this IPSO website helpful. It will give you comprehensive detail on DD's, and your rights and the obligations of all other parties.




If VHI did submit another mandate to access a payment, I'd definately get my hands on that mandate!


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## mrpolite

annet said:


> I also got the 14 day excuse from VHI (of not being able to stop the DD as some banks apparently require fourteen day's notice)...complete BS if you ask me!!



think that might be true, had similar issues when moving from eirom to vodafone 2/3 years ago


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## aoh

Well I finally got the refund cheque from VHI - after they said it would take five working days, it took three weeks and then of course, a cheque takes the guts of a week to clear.

The bank are saying that VHI are some sort of super-plus DD originator so once you sign a mandate, they can keep setting it up. The bank have also been trying to find someone I can talk to who can actually explain all that, as I don't care how super-duper they are, they have no right to take my money without my consent and the bank should have stopped them.

At this stage, I doubt I'll get a clear answer from the bank but hopefully it's the end of the saga.


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## AgathaC

Am glad to see that I am not the only one having problems with VHI. I had to make a change to my policy, it is still not sorted almost two months later. I was giving them time as I could understand that they probably were very busy, but it really has dragged on beyond a reasonable time to resolve.


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