Consumers are being warned to keep a close eye on their service deals after a journalist revealed he was charged over £500 a year for breakdown cover — more than three times the rate for new customers. Adrian Chiles, writing in The Guardian, described how he had been with the same provider, referred to as SMBOBU Recovery, for years without checking the cost. He assumed he was paying a bit more than new customers but was shocked to discover the true extent of the overcharge.
Chiles said he had only called on the service once, when a mechanic used a clever 'chopsticks' technique to jump-start his motorbike. Despite his loyalty and lack of claims, the auto-renewal had pushed his premium to over £500 annually. When he tried to cancel the auto-renewal online, the website would not allow it, forcing him to call. After a 10-minute wait, an operator offered a new price of less than a third of what he had been paying.
Chiles expressed frustration at the lack of apology or refund for the years of overpayment. He eventually insisted on cancelling the auto-renewal and contacted his bank, which confirmed it had heard similar stories about the same company. He concluded that consumers must vigilantly monitor all recurring payments, including insurance, utilities, and broadband, to avoid being overcharged.
