You’re certainly not alone in facing challenges due to an Acorn Missed Payment. With the rising cost of living, many across the UK find it increasingly difficult to keep up with their financial obligations. The best course of action is to reach out to Acorn as soon as possible, ideally before your payment deadline. This proactive approach is your key to tackling these financial hurdles head-on.
But what might happen if you delay this crucial step? Stay tuned to discover the potential consequences and solutions.
Table of Contents
MORE
LESS
Who is Acorn Insurance?
It is crucial to understand who Acorn is first, especially if you’re grappling with an Acorn Missed Payment. Acorn is backed by insurance giants like Axa, Groupama, and others. They use Granite Underwriting as their trading name as well.
Below are some facts about their company that will help you verify their legitimacy.
- Their company was established in 1982.
- Acorn Insurance has registered their business in the Companies House of the UK under the company name ‘ACORN INSURANCE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES LIMITED’.
- Their Company registration number is 01636368.
- Their company registered address is 98 Liverpool Road Formby, Liverpool, Merseyside, L37 6BS.
- They are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under reference number 311873.
As you can see, they are a legitimate insurance company. Hence, you might need to deal with them properly in order to avoid facing escalation situations.
Below is a list of insurance services they provide according to their website:
But, when you miss a payment with a provider of this stature, knowing how to navigate the situation becomes essential for maintaining your financial health.
How Does Acorn Deal with Missed Payments?
Acorn collection agents will follow the steps below in general if you missed paying a payment for them.
- Reminders Are Just the Beginning: Initially, Acorn will send you reminders if you miss a payment. This includes reminders for pay-as-you-go and insurance premium finance agreements.
- Granite Finance Ltd’s Role: Fortunately, Granite Finance Ltd (which is part of Acorn) will give you extra time to pay. This leniency is mentioned in your credit agreement. But keep in mind you are still required to make those due payments.
- They will allow you to spread the cost over three weeks. It is not a problem if you can’t pay the total due amount at once. Instead, you can spread the cost of the missed payment over three weeks. For that, they have various options available on their website.
- But, you must request a time-to-pay arrangement for each policy directly from the provider in the event of a missed payment.
- The Importance of Staying in Touch: It’s crucial to stay in contact with Acorn after a missed payment. Ignoring reminders can have serious consequences. As a result, your finance agreement could be cancelled, leading to the withdrawal of your insurance.
- Risks of Policy Cancellation: You may face difficulties in finding new insurance if your current insurance policy gets cancelled. As a result, Insurers may see you as a higher risk, possibly leading to increased premiums or refusal of insurance.
Now that you know the steps to take after an Acorn Missed Payment,
- what’s the next move?
- How can you prevent further complications and safeguard your financial stability?
Stay tuned to find out more about managing these crucial situations.
Missed an Acorn Payment? Here’s What to Do
Don’t panic, but act quickly. Here’s a straightforward guide that you could follow if you are missing an Acorn Payment:
- Immediate Payment is Ideal: It’s better to pay the missed instalment as soon as possible in order to stay on the safe side if possible. Got the funds? Great, make that payment!
- Spreading the Cost: Acorn allows you to spread the cost over 2 to 3 weeks if you don’t have funds to settle the total due amount through a single payment. It’s a helpful way to manage your finances without added stress.
- If you choose to pay in two weeks:
- Here, you need to pay the first instalment on that day. For that, you can use your credit or debit card.
- Then you need to pay the second instalment exactly a week later. Acorn will automatically handle the second.
- Choosing Three Weekly Payments: They will Divide the total due payment into three parts.
- Here, you need to pay the first instalment on that day. For that, you can use your credit or debit card.
- Then you need to pay the second instalment exactly a week later. Acorn will automatically handle the second.
- Then, you have to pay the third instalment at the end of the second week.
The Acorn debt collection agents will give you another chance to settle the due amounts by postponing due dates by two days if the second or third payments fail. But beware, they might cancel your policy for non-payment if this attempt fails.
Contact Acorn Support Early: The key to managing an Acorn Missed Payment is by contacting Acorn’s support before the payment is due. Surely, they will help you and might even change your payment date if your story is true and convincing enough.
The Consequences of an Acorn Missed Payment!
It’s crucial to understand the consequences and how to respond if you already have an Acorn Missed Payment. Here’s a simplified breakdown:
- Mistakes can happen: Sometimes, it is common for you to miss a payment by accident or due to financial struggles. In those situations, your first step should be to Contact Acorn support. Surely, they will provide you with a solution to solve your financial issue.
- The Risk of Ignoring: The situation could escalate if you do not respond to Acorn’s reminders that come through emails, letters and calls.
- Verify with Acorn Support: Double-check whether you have really missed paying the payment by contacting Acorn support agents.
- Check Your Bank Account: Use online banking to confirm whether they have automatically deducted payments from your account.
Be prepared for the following actions taken by them if you miss a payment on the due date:
- Extra Charges: This includes administration costs that add up.
- Policy Cancellation: No payment means no insurance coverage.
- Legal Action: You might face court proceedings to recover the unpaid premium.
A missed payment isn’t just a one-time issue. It lasts in your credit history for six years, affecting your credit score negatively. As a result of this negative impact, you may face difficulties in getting new loans or credit cards in the future.
The Cost of Default if you have missed payments for Granite: Granite charges £25 for a default payment. That’s an added expense you want to avoid.
Now you know the consequences of an Acorn Missed Payment.
But,
Stay tuned as we will walk you through the answers to the above questions within the next sections.
My Direct Debit to Acorn Will Fail. What Can I Do?
The best course of action is to communicate with Acorn’s support team as soon as possible if you are anticipating a failure to settle a Direct Debit to Acorn Insurance.
Explaining your situation can lead to more manageable payment arrangements. By doing so, you can avoid getting additional stress from bank charges and further financial strain.
Acorn’s approach to such situations is often flexible. But you need to get in touch with them and have honest communication with them in order to access this flexibility.
I Can’t Pay My Acorn Installment. What Should I Do?
As we mentioned before, it’s better to immediately get in touch with Acorn if you have an Acorn insurance missed payment or are unable to pay your instalment.
Contacting Acorn directly can open doors to various solutions. Such as
The critical aspect is to adhere to any new arrangement provided by Acorn in order to prevent policy cancellation and potential debt collection actions.
Acorn Contact Details
For direct communication with Acorn, here are their details:
| Website: | https://www.acorninsure.co.uk |
| Contact them: | https://www.acorninsure.co.uk/contact-us/ |
| Address: | Acorn Insurance Services Limited, The Lighthouse, 98 Liverpool Road, Formby, Liverpool, Merseyside, L37 6BS |
Will Acorn Send My Details to a Debt Collection Agency?
Certainly yes. Acorn will surely forward your debt to a debt-collecting agency if the debts are defaulted due to your ignorance or inability to pay. Thus, we strongly advise you to get in touch with the Acorn support team and sort out the debt issue before things get escalate to this extent.
What consequences you have to face if Acorn Insurance transfers your debt to a Debt Collection Agency?
Let us walk you through how any debt collection agency in the UK, including a debt collection agency hired by Acorn, will practice their debt collection operations in general. Through this section, we hope to help you understand what will happen to you if you ignore them.
At first, the debt collection agents hired by Acorn will send you an initial notice letter noticing their involvement and requesting you to settle the debt. After the initial letter, they will use all normal communication methods such as letters, emails, and phone calls to get in touch with you and convince you to pay.
Then, they sent you one last letter titled Letter Before Action (LBA). With this LBA letter, they inform you that they will take your debt issue to court if you do not get in touch with them or settle the debt before the due date mentioned in the letter.
Surely, they will take your debt issue to the court to solve it. And the judge will issue a County Court Judgment (CCJ) against you if the debts are proven true.
A CCJ makes you legally responsible for the debt. It will be recorded in your credit history and in the public registry for 6 years if you do not settle the debt before passing 30 days of receiving the court order.
Otherwise, the status of the CCJ will be updated to ‘satisfied’ if you manage to settle the debt passing the initial 30-day window.
Receiving a CCJ will negatively affect your credit history. As a result, you may find hardship in getting new loans and credit cards in the future.
The Acorn themselves or Debt Collection agents that were hired by Acorn will go to court to take a warrant or a writ of conduct to use bailiffs to visit your home and seize belongings if you ignore the initial CCJ conjugation.
Initially, the bailiffs will send you an enforcement notice notifying you that they will visit your home in 7 days. After passing 7 days, the bailiffs will visit your home with the warrant in hand and seize your belongings if you do not settle the debt.
Then, the seized goods will be stored in a warehouse and eventually sold in an auction to cover their expenses and total debt.
As you can see, it is not wise to wait till things escalate to this extent. There is plenty of time in between these procedures. We strongly recommend for you to use that time to find a reliable solution.
What should I do if I cannot afford to settle the debts with Acorn?
Sometimes, you may face difficulties in agreeing to the proposed payment plans from Acorn Debt Collection Agency, especially if they are financially burdensome.
In such situations, it is advisable to explore alternative debt solutions that can effectively address your debt-related concerns. In the UK, there are various alternative debt solutions to consider.
However, it’s crucial to keep in mind that each of these debt solutions has specific eligibility criteria. Selecting the right one can lead to debt resolution, while choosing the wrong one could worsen your financial circumstances.
Hence, seeking guidance from a professional debt advisor is a prudent step to take if you find it challenging to determine the most suitable debt solution on your own.
If you need personalised assistance based on your current financial situation, please feel free to complete our online form by clicking here to receive help from our Money Advisor Team.
Can Debt Collection Agencies Harass Me For Payment?
No, any Debt Collection Agency in the UK, including the debt collection agency hired by Acorn, is bound by law to adhere to the rules and regulations set forth by the Financial Conduct Authority while in their pursuit of debt recovery.
This implies that you possess certain rights in your interactions with them. Here’s what they cannot do:
- Multiple Daily Calls: Repeated calling throughout the day is off-limits.
- Social Media Pursuit: They cannot chase or contact you via social platforms.
- Pressure Tactics: Pressuring you into actions is not allowed.
- Simultaneous Collector Harassment: Only one collector should contact you at a time.
- Misuse of Legal Documents: Using documents resembling court forms to intimidate is prohibited.
- Threats or Public Embarrassment: Any form of threats or public shaming is illegal.
- Disclosure of Debt to Others: They must not inform others about your debt.
- False Legal Claims: Falsely claiming to represent legal authorities or fabricating legal proceedings is not allowed.
If you believe they have violated any of these regulations, you have the right to file a formal complaint.
For that, it’s better to make a complaint to the relevant Debt Collection Agency’s head office about the unethical practice their agents conducted on you, giving them a chance to solve the issue internally.
Then, as your secondary measure, in the event that the issue is not satisfactorily resolved, you can escalate your concerns to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). The accused Debt Collection Agency may end up paying huge fines and compensation if they are proven guilty of your accusations regarding unethical debt collection practices.
Keep in mind always to provide provable proof in order to make your complaint case strong. Otherwise, it will become a waste of time since there is no proof to prove your issue. For that, make sure to document and record every communication you had with them.
Should You Check For Other Debt Collectors?
You need to be aware of other unsettled debts you have with other companies or debt collectors. Here is a summarised breakthrough for you to follow and track your debts.
Ensure you’re not overlooking any debts. Here’s how:
- Credit Report: Examine it for any defaults.
- Communications: Peruse emails and postal reminders or overdue notices.
- Legal Stand: Look up court records for CCJs you might have.
- Bank Statements: Search for unfamiliar names that might be debt collectors.
Hundreds operate in the UK, each associated with diverse companies.
- Cabot Financial: Often associated with the DVLA.
- Lowell Financial & PRA Group: Famously acquire debts from credit card giants like Barclaycard.
Seeking Free Financial Advice?
There are a number of debt charity organisations that you could use to get professional debt and financial advice free of charge. Their advisors will inquire deeply about your debt issue and will help you in finding a reliable solution to your debt issue with Acorn.
Below is a list of charity debt organisations where you could get free debt help:
Key Points
- Defaulting on an Acorn payment could lead to your details being passed to a debt collection agency.
- It’s crucial to contact Acorn’s support team early if you’re facing payment difficulties.
- Proactively discussing your situation can lead to workable solutions.
- Struggling financially doesn’t have to mean dealing with debt collectors.
- Working out a payment plan with Acorn is preferable rather than ending up facing collection agencies.
- A number of UK citizens have managed to write off some portion of their debt using other debt solutions available in the UK.
- In tough financial times, reaching out for help is a smart move.
- Non-profit debt advice organisations can provide valuable support and advice.
- Ignoring an Acorn missed payment can escalate to more significant issues.
- Addressing payment issues early can prevent the involvement of debt collectors.
