More Than record ALL telephone conversations, so the discussions and any verbal contracts you may have with the company will all be recorded.
About the modifications. More Than dont cover cars which have been modified to increase top speed, acceleration or performance. By lowering your car, youve increased the cars performance so it is not covered. However when you were getting the origional quote, the customer manager you spoke to would have asked you if the car was modified or not. If you said yes, then they would have had to ask their underwriters about the modification in question. If they accepted the mod then you would be covered and your premium and excess would be altered accordingly. If at a later date they told you that you were not covered, then it is their fault.
As for the NCD, More Than check the customers NCD themselves. At the end of the quote the customer manager would have asked you who you were previously insured with, the contact telephone number for the company, and your policy number. If you gave them those, then More Than would have confirmed your NCD themselves. The NCD is checked by a small team and not the actual customer manager who quoted you. As far as I am aware, we never ask the customers to confirm their own NCD.
If you want to complain, youll need to write a few letters. Firstly, tell them what you want and when you want it. So ring/write a letter to a Team Leader from the motor servicing section and tell them you want a copy of the recordings they have of any phone calls you have made to them (dates will be helpful) and tell them you want them within a week (5 working days). By listening to the calls, you can prove who was in the wrong or not. If More Than are to blaim, tell them that you want a refund or you want to be compensated and get the Team Leader to assure you him/herself that the Customer Manager you spoke to will be put back on training, and that you will be getting in touch with the Ombudsman and writing to the FSA. This will scare them and will let them know that you mean business.
Another thing to note, if anyone from More Than tells you that they will ring you back at a certain date etc, and you do not hear from them, then they are within breach of contract and you can tell them you want to be compensated somehow.
Its late and Im tired, oh and Ive just come out of training so I dont know everything fully, but I have a friend who has been motor sales and service trained so if you want any more info, give me your details and Ill ask her to see whats going on (provided shes allowed to). Also which call centre did you speak to? I work in the Liverpool call centre.
Let me know how you get on. At the end of the day, if you told them during the quote that your car had been lowered, and they still covered you, then its their fault and not yours. However if you did not declare your suspension, then it is your fault and youll have to cancel your policy. (if you pay monthly then you can stop paying and the maximum they can charge you for cancelling is £55.00).
[Edited by Irfan on 08 October 2004 at 11:55pm]