I sincerely hope that this violates either consumer and/or insurance law in Spain where I live.

I (per thread https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/505898-2020-octavia-combi-scout-4x4-20tdi-dsg-7-extended-warranty-worth-it/ ) decided to contract VWFS' "Long Drive" _insurance_ policy against major maintenance problems. It's an insurance plan, not an extended warranty, legally speaking. A requirement was to agree to contract this insurance no later than the end of the original factory warranty. So it's a bit like Long-Term Care medical insurance - you start buying it when you(r car is) "young and healthy" in the expectation that later in life you might need major care.

The contract terms do include what I hope is an unconscionable statement that VWFS may unilaterally cease providing the product. Unconscionable because this puts an unquantifiable risk of a fundamental change in the value proposition of the insurance product on the consumer. I am filing a regulatory complaint in Spain about this, though my experience with Spanish regulators in various sectors has been .. less than stellar.

Not sure if there's even a question to ask here about this, but if anyone has any similar experience (with VWFS just up and cancelling something that you bought on the basis of being able to continue it for years), I'm interested in hearing it.

regards, -Jay

 

Here's their actual text (Google Translated from the original Spanish):

"On 14-10-2024, your contract number xxxxxxxxxx, with policy number xxxxxx, expires. We cannot renew it under the same conditions that we agreed due to the increase in costs related to the effects of inflation, which has led to a significant increase in expenses. For this reason, we are regrettably forced to exercise our right to oppose the automatic renewal of your guarantee insurance contract, as stated in point 3.4.2. of the Conditions of the same. In any case, we would love for you to continue enjoying all its benefits with the same convenience as before, so we invite you to contact your Official Dealer from the expiration date so that they can offer you new alternatives of interest to you."

 

^^^ Sounds fair enough.

 

You do not keep doing the job you were employed to this year then next for the same wages as when you started the job do you?

The problem is that insurance is an actuarial statistics business, and insurance is usually very tightly regulated to avoid market abuses.

When an insurance product, in the ability of the consumer to assess whether it's worth buying, is based on "Must pay starting early and must maintain over a long period of time, against the possibility of a major expense much later", but the insurance company can just decide "gee, we miscalculated", then the consumer is put in a lose-lose situation where buying a risk-mitigation product *does not mitigate the risk*.

  

26 minutes ago, Ootohere said:

^^^ Sounds fair enough.

 

You do not keep doing the job you were employed to this year then next for the same wages as when you started the job do you?

 

In the UK it is a Financial Product. 

Read the Terms and Conditions of the product you are buying pre-buying.