I changed my car a year ago, but failed to spot the problems which can arise when insurance and road tax need renewing around the same time – in my case, the 28th for insurance and 30th for road tax.

On the 25th I realised that my certificate of insurance didn't cover the period for which I needed road tax. So, I phoned my insurers to ask when I would receive my next certificate. They said 7 to 10 days after the automatic renewal date of the 28th. I could get it quicker, however, if I paid a £9 fee for them to use a 1st class stamp! After registering my amazement, they made an alternative suggestion - I could tax the car online about 24 hours after the insurance renewal.

I don't like the idea of a piece of paper, costing £135, being sent in the post, so I went looking for another insurer. I remembered good feedback about LV on here, so I got an online quote which was slightly cheaper than the existing insurer. This morning I phoned and explained the problem. Within 15 minutes I was signed up and they'd emailed me a new certificate as a PDF file. After a visit to the Post Office, I'm now sorted for another year.

I'm not revealing the name of the original insurer, because, when I phoned to cancel my policy, they insisted I'd been misled. Nevertheless, they also said they'd have been unable to send me a certificate by email and were not aware that it is an accepted practise.

Of course, I should have predicted the problem and been ready for it, but I was not impressed by their performance.

Edited by John Boy on 26/04/2012 at 18:16