When I rang my travel insurer Staysure to amend the medical declaration on my annual policy, I was told I would be charged £15 for the call and needed to make the change via the web portal. Yet a popup message had instructed me to call when I tried to amend the policy online.
I wanted to inform it of a biopsy I had just undergone and I now face a second £15 charge when I call with my results. A total of £30 for two phone calls to update a £75 policy seems preposterous.
CW, London
Some companies used to charge customers premium-rate numbers for calling their helplines. It was a lucrative means of steering customers online to cut costs. The practice was prohibited by the Consumer Rights Directive in 2014.
I put it to Staysure that its £15 flat fee was a way to circumvent the ban. It is also in potential breach of the consumer duty obligations introduced by the regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) that require financial firms to treat vulnerable customers, who often don’t have internet access, fairly.
Staysure told me that complex amendments such as yours have to be done by phone and it claimed that, given this, the fee would have been waived but the agent didn’t get a chance to tell you. This is at odds with your memory of a notification of the charge at the end of the call.
A spokesperson said: “We are sorry our customer feels that admin fees are unjust when making policy changes over the phone, but we do review them on a case-by-case basis where necessary. We regularly review our processes to ensure they remain fair for everyone and in line with industry best practice.”
I flagged the issue to the FCA, which said in a statement: “It’s crucial people can trust their insurer to support them to manage their policies, and they shouldn’t face unreasonable barriers or costs when doing so.”
You did not end up having to pay the fee.
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