Review of Direct Line Car Insurance

I insured my car 8 months ago with Direct Line. Someone backed into my car in a car park 3 weeks ago, and I made a claim for this hit and run accident. Direct Line handled this terribly -they failed to get an appointment for the repair for me, I had to call to organise the repairs myself. I waited 3 weeks for the appointment, and then I called the repair centre 2 days before to confirm the appointment, and they told me Direct Line cancelled the appointment. I called Direct Line, and they told me I would have to re-book the appointment, it was cancelled by mistake. So I did.

The car was at the accident repair centre for one week, and I got a call from them telling me that Direct Line had called and told them not to repair my car because I was uninsured as they were cancelling my insurance. This was a shock. I called Direct Line (they didn't even have the courtesy to call me to inform me), and asked why they were cancelling. They would not give me a reason, they said they would send me a letter to explain. I received a letter that stated they were cancelling my insurance with immediate effect, but still did not state a reason.

I have now forwarded this to the Financial Ombudsman and am considering taking legal action against them. We had a contractual agreement for them to provide insurance, and they have failed to provide on all counts, yet have unfailingly deducted the monthly charge from my bank account. This is appalling and they should not be allowed to cancel insurance without a clearly stated, written explanation.