The Co-op can keep its no claims discount

When I received an email from the Co-op telling me they had made a mistake with my car insurance, and I was owed money, I should have been pleased.

I was not pleased. I was terrified. The letter included a reissued no claims discount of nine years, instead of the no years they had reduced me to, which was why I moved to another company.

Lumbered with this Johnny-come-lately apology, I now had to contact my new insurers and try to explain the whole darn nightmare all over again.

There was a crackle from the space station before she called out that I could email it to ‘customer sauces’

And I couldn’t even remember what had happened. Vaguely, I recalled a parking prang some years ago, and the Co-op shooting my premiums up, despite my no claims being protected, and then swapping to Admiral, who gave me an affordable policy despite this.

Was I really going to risk crashing and burning my way through their call centre, battling all kinds of bureaucratic mayhem until my attempt to inform them that my no claims should be higher resulted in me losing the two new years I had built up?

I rang their number with a quaking heart and after a shortish wait a very nice lady I at first presumed to be in India told me, between extremely long and disconcerting delays on the line, that she was going to help me.