Commission files charges against Youi insurance

11 August 2016

Commission files charges against Youi insurance

The Commerce Commission has filed charges in the Auckland District Court against insurance firm Youi NZ Pty Limited, alleging it employed misleading sales techniques when attempting to sell policies to consumers who were only seeking a quote.

The 15 charges Youi faces under the Fair Trading Act are representative and relate to alleged misrepresentations made between July 2014 and February 2016. Specifically, the Commission alleges that Youi:

made false or misleading representations on its website regarding consumers’ ability to obtain a quote online

made false or misleading statements during telephone sales calls with consumers, including telling them bank or credit card details were required to generate a policy quote

asserted a right to payment for unsolicited insurance policies by sending letters demanding payment and/or debiting consumers’ bank or credit card accounts without their express permission or knowledge

sent invoices to consumers in relation to unsolicited insurance policies that did not specify that the consumer was under no obligation to pay for the policies.

Youi has co-operated with the Commission’s investigation and has indicated that it intends to plead guilty to the charges. As this matter is before the Court, the Commission cannot comment further at this time.

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