AMEX Life Insurance - 20k pt Bonus

[glasszon]

They haven't done anything wrong and should not be criticised. They always had a term which said if you didn't keep your policy for six months they could take back your bonus points. No one can complain that they are seeking to do this. It was extremely clear that this could happen.

Keep your policy for six months and there wont be a problem.



Four months paid.

I knew the moment I took out the policy that I would be cancelling all of my AMEX cards before the end of the six month period.




It certainly was. I guess some people may have thought that they wouldn't bother.

Don't think this has been enforced in Australia, but I heard overseas Amex do chase former cardholders aggressively if they closed the account and subsequently the balance goes negative (such as points clawback or reversed charges). Have you considered that to be a risk in Australia or the laws here are different? There are plenty of people on reddit who can tell you their experience of having to buy points at 2.5c USD each to cover the shortfall and it's not fun.

 

[Dr Ralph]

Don't think this has been enforced in Australia, but I heard overseas Amex do chase former cardholders aggressively if they closed the account and subsequently the balance goes negative (such as points clawback or reversed charges). Have you considered that to be a risk in Australia or the laws here are different? There are plenty of people on reddit who can tell you their experience of having to buy points at 2.5c USD each to cover the shortfall and it's not fun.

Bring it on. I have zero concerns. Would be a delight to see this litigated.

 

[Dr Ralph]

Any idea where i.e. what email, do I send the scanned, signed letter to cancel to?

I just noticed the following email address that was part of the policy documentation originally sent to me:

[email protected]

 

[rock86]

I hate these companies that offer a promo and when people take advantage of it they whinge and whine or change the deal

Eg Amex statement credits at hn

If you offer a special you should honour it.

If people cancel it after the promo that's just life

That is not true at all.

To receive the bonus point from AMEX you need to hold the policy for 6 months, anything less and the bonus points can be clawed back.

With HN, gift cards were never part of the cash back deal and you were required to buy a product they sell.

So, in both instances it has clearly been stated in the T&C's what the terms of the deals are to obtain the bonus points and neither company has reneged on what they stated but have just followed the T&C's of the deal that was offered.

 

[Plutonus]

I sent my letter ahead of time (two weeks) but specified the cancellation to take effect from a date after the six month period had passed.

 

[Jonova]

When I called to cancel my policies, I was told to send a signed letter to
[email protected] to notify them of the cancellation

 

[WLGFlyer]

Going to cancel my lot now. Are they refunding the unused portion when paid in advance for the year? Still a great deal if not....

 

[Mr_Orange]

I emailed in all 3 of my cancellation letters clearly stating the cancellation date for each policy. Confirmation letters received but one extra premium was taken, likely because the direct debit was already in the system and could not be cancelled. They are going to refund it though. Nice points haul, especially with the unexpected 5k that arrived.

 

[Irishbazz]

I emailed in all 3 of my cancellation letters clearly stating the cancellation date for each policy. Confirmation letters received but one extra premium was taken, likely because the direct debit was already in the system and could not be cancelled. They are going to refund it though. Nice points haul, especially with the unexpected 5k that arrived.

I emailed my four cancellation letters in and was told that they would not accept the cancellation date so far in advance, will need to do it again 30 days prior, they will send out reminders closer to the date. They have cancelled all DD's though.

 

[Mr_Orange]

I emailed my four cancellation letters in and was told that they would not accept the cancellation date so far in advance, will need to do it again 30 days prior, they will send out reminders closer to the date. They have cancelled all DD's though.

Mine were not that far in advance.

 

[Happy Dude]

I'm trying to cancel my two policies now and have been told that letters with electronic signatures are not accepted. I don't have access to a printer/scanner for a few weeks so I hand wrote a cancellation letter and took a photo. Angry phone call coming their way if that's not suitable.

 

[Mr_Orange]

I'm trying to cancel my two policies now and have been told that letters with electronic signatures are not accepted. I don't have access to a printer/scanner for a few weeks so I hand wrote a cancellation letter and took a photo. Angry phone call coming their way if that's not suitable.

When you do have access to a scanner, I would sign a blank page, scan it and save the resulting clipped signature a JPG. Insert that into future letters and then save as a PDF from Word and the recipient will not know that it is an 'electronic signature'.

 

[Happy Dude]

When you do have access to a scanner, I would sign a blank page, scan it and save the resulting clipped signature a JPG. Insert that into future letters and then save as a PDF from Word and the recipient will not know that it is an 'electronic signature'.

That's exactly what I did (and have been doing for years both personally and professionally). They don't have a record of my signature and I flatten/lock all pdf's so how they know it's electronic or otherwise is beyond me. Their wording:

"Thank you for the below email, in order to cancel your insurance policy we require a signed letter to be sent to us. We are unable to accept and electronically signed request."

It is frankly stupid to expect someone to type a letter, print it, sign it, then scan/send it.

 

[Mr_Orange]

That's exactly what I did (and have been doing for years both personally and professionally). They don't have a record of my signature and I flatten/lock all pdf's so how they know it's electronic or otherwise is beyond me. Their wording:

"Thank you for the below email, in order to cancel your insurance policy we require a signed letter to be sent to us. We are unable to accept and electronically signed request."

It is frankly stupid to expect someone to type a letter, print it, sign it, then scan/send it.

I agree, but that is what I actually did since I don't have my 'electronic signature' saved anywhere since I write letter so infrequently.

 

[SOPOOR]

Yes it is a bit silly.
And the scanner idea is a great one

Ive been on the phone and on hold for 30 mins
I receuved a letter saying that my payment had bounced. Even though i sent the cancellation.

Apparently it's my fault that originally I sent it without a hand signature. And then they replied saying it needs to be hand written. So I did and sent it back to the same email address
But apparently it's my fault it's the wrong email address.

 

[N860CR]

I got the standard email stating I need to send them a scanner letter.

I'm sitting in a hotel and just remembered when I saw this thread. I wrote it on a napkin, took a photo, and sent it. We'll see how that goes!

 

[Dr Ralph]

I'm trying to cancel my two policies now and have been told that letters with electronic signatures are not accepted.

They definitely are valid.

You may suggest to them that you will report their actions to the FOS (who also deal with Insurance complaints) if they choose not to accept your email with electronic signature. They'll hate that because it costs them money to respond to any enquiry from the FOS.

I'd also suggest you refer them to the requirements of signature as set out in the ELECTRONIC TRANSACTIONS ACT 1999 (Cth).

And if it was me I'd send them an email stating the following:

'1) Policy number xx_xx_xx_ has already been cancelled. You may not attempt to impose additional requirements for the cancellation of this policy.

2) Should you ignore the cancellation notice already provided to you and attempt to debit my credit card for any future payments, a charge of $150 shall be levied against you for each attempt.'

 

[WLGFlyer]

Cancelled via email and received confirmation letter via snail mail. Said they will refund the unused portion (paid annually).

 

[Daver6]

How long after submitting via email did you get the confirmation letter? I immediately received an email acknowledging receipt of my email, but nothing else in something like two weeks.

 

[jbman]

It took 1 week for me to receive the letter in the mail to confirm my cancellation