A Mansfield man was almost left out of pocket after his insurance company voided his policy and accused him of being dishonest about his occupation. Leon Widdowson, 22, was involved in a collision on Wednesday, May 3, and after weeks of calling and emailing Eridge Underwriting Agency Ltd, he was told that his policy was void.
The company claimed that Leon was not a sales assistant as he listed whilst arranging the insurance, but that he was a car salesman, an occupation he stopped weeks before taking out the policy ahead of starting his new job selling number plates at PLATES4 Ltd.
Leon had taken out temporary van insurance on a vehicle that he was intending to buy off a friend so that he could test drive it for two or three weeks to make sure it was right for him before going through with the purchase, which he has since done. The policy was for two or three weeks and started on April 26, 2023, almost three weeks after he left his job as a car salesman at Widdowson Motor Sales.
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Unfortunately Leon was involved in a three car collision a week after taking out the policy, after he claims the car in front of him braked "suddenly" and then, despite applying his brakes, the van went into the back of the car that then went into another car.
Leon explained he tried for around two hours at the time to speak to his insurance company but was "a little bit shaken up" and didn't want to have to wait on the phone any longer, so he contacted them again the following day. He said: "I didn't really hear anything back from them until someone sent me an email around May 16.
"I responded to that within one or two days after I had all the information together. Then basically they never sent me an email back acknowledging it."
At this point Leon said he began to regularly call and email the company to find out what was happening and when they were going to collect the vehicle. He explained each time he rang he had to spend around an hour waiting for someone to answer.
Leon added: "My pal went and collected the vehicle otherwise it would still be on the road now. He collected it and said I can keep it here, and then he would charge the insurance company storage of vehicle which is down to them not me to pay it."
He claims the insurance company did attempt to collect the vehicle at a later date, but there was an issue regarding them paying the storage cost and so they left without the vehicle. Leon said: "Every single week I have sent them an email asking when they are collecting the vehicle, I had probably sent close to 20 or 25 emails.
"I think it was last Wednesday (July 5) I called them up and said 'when are you actually collecting this vehicle. I'm going to have to take it further', bearing in mind this is two months later for the accident."
Leon claims he was told that his claim was put on hold as he was a car dealer, and this was not the occupation he had listed, despite explaining the situation. He added: "They voided the policy because my occupation is different supposedly.
"I told him the facts as I've not got anything to hide, I used to buy and sell cars, I was a cars salesman but that ended the beginning of April and I started new employment doing number plates days before the insurance started. Then on July 6 I got that voidance letter and thought 'are you joking or what?'
"I thought what evidence do they have to prove that I'm a car dealer and not a sales assistant dealing with number plates." He sent them an email and claims he was informed that the evidence found was his Facebook profile photo which shows him in a Widdowson Motor Sales uniform, which he explained is because the photo is from last year.
Leon claims that the other evidence was his Facebook marketplace activity and LinkedIn page, and that whilst he used to list cars for sale any current vehicles are ones that he is trying to help friends sell and nothing to do with his main occupation. Nottinghamshire Live has seen Leon's P45 and P11 confirming he left his former employment on April 10, and started his new job on April 24.
Eridge Underwriting Agency Ltd declined to comment when approached by Nottinghamshire Live for a comment. However, Leon has since confirmed that he was contacted by them on Tuesday, July 10, after the approach and was told his claim had been opened again.
He added that they explained how they came to their conclusion, and apologised for the misunderstanding. Leon also claims that the company has reduced his policy excess from £650 to £400 as a sign of good will and is pleased the situation has been resolved.
