Laya Health Care

RubyGirl

I tried to cancel my kids today off my health insurance, and they said I could'nt because I have agreed to a one year's contract.

This is def new because I have changed and amended names before.

Has anyone come across this?

bobbybold

hi, i have my health insurance with layla, i rang them a few days ago to explain i could not afford my plan and they suggested i go down a plan which would save me 20 euro a month , i was happy with this and went ahead , the following day i recived a letter stating i would be paying more that what i had been paying orginally for a down grade in my policy , i rang them and they told me it was the governments fault and the higher amount would apply and i could not cancel as i was locked into a years contract ( i never signed anything) so now i am paying more for a lesser policy , could somebody suggest anything i could do now .... thanks

RubyGirl

Could you not move to another insurance company, or cancel your direct debit. Had same problem but I got out of it because my husband had cancelled his a few days before I did kids. They took about a day of so to get back to me but I got what I wanted.

bobbybold

hi , thanks for the reply so fast they said if i cancel my direct debit i will be held accountable for the rest of my one year term which wont end untill nov they said its a one year agreement , i never signed anything but they really did not give me the right info who would pay more a month for a lesser policy....

LostArt

http://www.hia.ie/consumer-information/cancelling/

d9oiu2wk07blr5

RubyGirl wrote: »

I tried to cancel my kids today off my health insurance, and they said I could'nt because I have agreed to a one year's contract.

This is def new because I have changed and amended names before.

Has anyone come across this?

bobbybold wrote: »

hi, i have my health insurance with layla, i rang them a few days ago to explain i could not afford my plan and they suggested i go down a plan which would save me 20 euro a month , i was happy with this and went ahead , the following day i recived a letter stating i would be paying more that what i had been paying orginally for a down grade in my policy , i rang them and they told me it was the governments fault and the higher amount would apply and i could not cancel as i was locked into a years contract ( i never signed anything) so now i am paying more for a lesser policy , could somebody suggest anything i could do now .... thanks

Those lock in contracts are not legally binding and you're also entitled to a 14 day cooling off period!

There's a directive under EU law called Directive 93/13/EEC on an unfair term in a consumer contract and Article 3 defines an unfair term as;

1. A contractual term which has not been individually negotiated shall be regarded as unfair if, contrary to the requirement of good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties' rights and obligations arising under the contract, to the detriment of the consumer.

2. A term shall always be regarded as not individually negotiated where it has been drafted in advance and the consumer has therefore not been able to influence the substance of the term, particularly in the context of a pre-formulated standard contract.

The fact that certain aspects of a term or one specific term have been individually negotiated shall not exclude the application of this Article to the rest of a contract if an overall assessment of the contract indicates that it is nevertheless a pre-formulated standard contract.

Where any seller or supplier claims that a standard term has been individually negotiated, the burden of proof in this respect shall be incumbent on him.

Unfair terms within the meaning of article 3 includes;

a. Inappropriately excluding or limiting the legal rights of the consumer vis-à-vis the seller or supplier or another party in the event of total or partial non-performance or inadequate performance by the seller or supplier of any of the contractual obligations, including the option of offsetting a debt owed to the seller or supplier against any claim which the consumer may have against him;

b. Making an agreement binding on the consumer whereas provision of services by the seller or supplier is subject to a condition whose realization depends on his own will alone;

c. Permitting the seller or supplier to retain sums paid by the consumer where the latter decides not to conclude or perform the contract, without providing for the consumer to receive compensation of an equivalent amount from the seller or supplier where the latter is the party cancelling the contract;

d. Requiring any consumer who fails to fulfil his obligation to pay a disproportionately high sum in compensation;

e. Irrevocably binding the consumer to terms with which he had no real opportunity of becoming acquainted before the conclusion of the contract;

f. Obliging the consumer to fulfil all his obligations where the seller or supplier does not perform his.

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31993L0013:en:HTML

shannon82

You have a 14day cooling off period