When I switched my phone on before breakfast this morning, I was shocked to receive an email from the Staysure travel insurance company with my new policy document and confirmation of payment on this the date of renewal. A payment had been taken from my account without authorisation, and this immediately aroused a sense of alarm in me. It didn't seem to be a scam. I've had a set of documents by email like this every year since I started insuring with them, which must be ten years or more now.
My first thought was to go to the only HSBC bank branch in the city centre and block the payment if it wasn't too late already. Then I found a phone number for Staysure and explained what he happened. The call hander was very helpful, and a brief discussion revealed that policy renewal was automatic and had to be opted out of, not op-in. I hadn't notice this when buying a policy this time last year. I expressed concern at this, as their protocol includes medical screening in establishing the correct price quotation.
In every other year pre-covid, renewal hadn't been automatic. My euro-locum duties and our river holiday cruises had been on different dates, and insurance booked to start before the first outing of the year. I always took an annual policy expecting to go abroad more than once a year, one way or another, making it slightly cheaper than shorter duration policies. How this happened I have no idea. I can't have noticed it on the Staysure website when I paid last year. Anyway the call handler said that a case worker would call me back some time soon.
I walked down to Cowbridge Road, and caught the 62 bus the rest of the way to go to HSBC bank, and a call came through from Staysure's case worker just as I was getting off the bus outside the HMRC building. I explained that I cannot use an insurance police abroad for the time being due to commitments keeping me in Britain. I hadn't responded to the usual renewal reminder emails as I wasn't ready to renew, and would need to update my medical screening details at the time the policy was due to start. I was asked if I wanted to cancel the policy, which obviously I did, and that concluded the conversation.
I visited HSBC bank and asked if it was possible to stop money being taken without my authorisation and was told it wasn't, and given a printout stating that the payment is 'pending' - issued at 07.30 today - although banking transactions for the day aren't concluded until late afternoon. I was told nothing could be done, but I could track payment using on-line apps. Which I don't and won't with HSBC anyway. What if it had been a scam? A fraudulent transaction of which I was unaware? I found this extremely unhelpful.
Fortunately by the time I left the bank, Staysure emailed me confirmation of cancellation of the policy and reversal of the direct debit, though how long it will take is anybody's guess. At least it's a standard feature of such insurance policies to give the purchaser time to change their mind and cancel or modify the policy taken out. This opt-out of automatic renewal issue is cause for disquiet. It's one which is used by Amazon Prime to retain subscribers, by making it hard to find the opt-out option. I'll need to be much more careful in future when closing the deal on any policy of this kind.
I went straight home on the bus and did my share of the housework as Clare was cooking lunch. Later, I went for a walk in the park, chatted at length on the phone with Owain and Rufus. Then I started watching the last of the four newest episodes of 'Beck' on iPlayer, before they are screened live, before and after supper.
Again, very good drama. Peter Haber who plays Beck is a fine actor. He's getting on in years himself now, but plays the part of the elder statesman among detectives superbly, portraying a wise intelligent sensitive team leader, but exposing the vulnerability that's part of growing old, wanting to do things which physically he can't sustain any longer because the stress is debilitating, and there's not enough energy sustaining adrenaline flowing through the body. It's something I can identify with.
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