To think direct debits shouldn't be able to autorenew if the amount has changed?

[KlippityKloppity]

I have pet insurance. I got the email last month saying it was auto renewing. Fair enough. I was in an insanely stressful time at work so saw the email and thought "sure, fine" expecting it to renew as it always does.
Except now on closer inspection I realise it has fucking DOUBLED (and ive made zero claims since I took it out 3 years ago).
Okay, fine: they sent me an email giving me a headsup. But AIBU to think thats not fucking good enough? I had no reason to suspect they would randomly hike up my premiums like that.
Now I cant change anything im locked into it for a year and I just think its disgusting because I cant afford that price jump 😩 I think its really dishonest

The whole point of a direct debit is that it's for a variable amount. You also admit that you got an email informing you. It's on you.

That is normal practice with direct debits IME. If you want a non- changeable amount that you set up yourself, that is a standing order. I don't think you can do that with things like insurance.
You say they sent you an email before the renewal? That is normal practice and is the point at which you look for alternatives if you haven't already done so. My home insurance renewal notice usually comes at least a month beforehand. Same with travel insurance, gas and electric, broadband, mobile phone. It is a pain but unless you can prove they didn't inform yoi I don't think there is anything you can do.
I have got wise to it all now and set calendar reminders to start looking in good time.
I am sorry you got stuck with a huge increase.

You had an email informing you that the price was changing. If you were busy, missed it, didn't read it- then that if your fault, not the company.

I can see its frustrating and we are all busy and can easily miss emails, BUT, the alternative could be they don't auto-renew and you need the insurance the next day/week/month then have none.

That's the whole point of a DD.

That is literally how direct debits work. If you want to control the amount, you need a standing order, but most subscriptions etc aren’t set up to allow that.

That's how they work....for the contract we agreed and signed on.
If you dont stick to contractual amount shouldn't it be unenforceable?

There should be a cool off period - it shouldn't be too late to change

I agree with others in that the onus is on you to check etc etc but as it's doubled, it sounds like you have crossed some sort of threshold, like the age of the pet. Unfortunately, the older your pet the more you have to pay and this is often applied in big increments. Of course, it's also up to you to be aware of that. You could cancel this insurance and shop around for one you find more suitable.

The contract you 'agreed and signed on' almost certainly didn;t say that the price would remain unchanged indefinitely.

The email you received should have told you the price for the coming year (if it didn't you would have a valid cause for compaint) and gave you enough time to cancel the policy for the upcoming year if you decided you wanted to.

“I had no reason to suspect they would randomly hike up my premiums like that.”

The email informing you was probably your best clue.

How do you suggest they inform you, if they have emailed you and you didn’t read it? Sky writing? Turn up at your house? Tie a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree?

That is literally what a Direct Debit is for. Maybe familiarise with the DD you agreed to when you first set it up.

https://www.directdebit.co.uk/direct-debit-guarantee/

You don't understand what a direct debit is, do you?

But the contract was only for that 12 months
Then it's another contract for the next 12 months...

I'm sorry but I don't see how it's dishonest

Also at any point in the policy period you can contact them to say I don't want it to automatically renew next year and they'll action that for you so it won't automatically renew next time

I just Googled this OP, and this was what I found

The Rules on Price Increases and Auto-Renewals

• Advance Notice is Mandatory: Under the UK Direct Debit Guarantee, the company must notify you in advance (typically 10 working days, or an alternative timeframe specified in your original contract) of any change to the amount, date, or frequency of a payment. They cannot surprise you by pulling a doubled amount out of your account without warning.

Did it not mention in the notification that it was about to auto renew, the new price? If not, then it looks like you can do something about it.

It's a DD, not a SO so of course it can change..... that is the whole point.
They notified you so they have done nothing wrong. Sorry.

You usually have a 14 day cooling off period to change your mind/cancel.

Yes this

”I went to claim on my pet insurance and found they’d cancelled the policy, even though I signed a renewing contract and set up a direct debit authorization”.

I got the email last month saying it was auto renewing. Fair enough. I was in an insanely stressful time at work so saw the email and thought "sure, fine" expecting it to renew as it always does.….
Except now on closer inspection I realise it has fucking DOUBLED (and ive made zero claims since I took it out 3 years ago). Okay, fine: they sent me an email giving me a headsup.

I genuinely don’t know what else you were expecting them to do. Come round your street with a loudhailer? Put a flying banner behind a plane.

They sent you an email. You didn’t read it. That’s all on you.

I can sympathise.. it's happened to me where the renewal email comes in good time, I plan to shop around to compare quotes, life gets in the way and the renewal date passes.

You can always cancel the policy but how much you are refunded, if any, will depend if you are within the cooling off period or not so check first about any admin or cancellation fees.

You should always check the price (and T&Cs) of any insurance on renewal. Prices change, that's well known.

Plus if it didn't autorenew and your pet was ill before you put new cover in place, you could be facing a bill for thousands, which is a much worse option than paying a higher premium.

They would have sent a renewal quote in the email and if you dont cancel they assume you agree to the new price. You can still shop around and switch to a new company

As a cautionary tale. Before auto renewal was allowed, I was a claims manager and we had a phone call to the emergency help line one Saturday when hhd office was closed. A guy was building an extension to his house and cut through the electric power supply between the house and garage. The main fuse box was in the garage. He burnt the house down.

We kindly paid for the Saturday and Sunday nights stay in the hotel our emergency line sent him to....

In that email they would have told you the new price, the same way any insurance policy does. It’s on you to read it and check the figures and if you don’t want to renew you have to do something

I’d rather that than my insurance lapsing.