Rules of Direct Debit payments

The BGA introduced monthly Direct Debit payments to make membership affordable and easier to manage on a groom’s salary. It is crucial that you abide by the rules when setting up a Direct Debit to avoid cancellation of your BGA membership and KBIS insurance, resulting in being uninsured.

Monthly payments – What is Premium Finance

If you choose to pay by Direct Debit for your BGA membership you will be entering into a Premium Finance Agreement. Premium Finance is a repayment method that allows BGA members to pay for their membership monthly whilst paying the BGA membership and KBIS insurance premium in full. 

Who provides the finance?

The finance facility is provided by Premium Credit Limited, Premium Credit House, 60 East Street, Epsom, Surrey KT17 1HB.
 
Premium Credit helps businesses and individuals spread the cost of their insurance premiums as well as providing finance to pay annual fees such as professional fees, membership subscriptions and school fees. 
 
Premium Credit are the No. 1 premium finance company in the UK and Ireland.

 
WHo will my information be shared with?

KBIS act as a credit broker on behalf of Premium Credit Ltd to provide finance. We receive a commission for introducing you to Premium Credit. Your personal information and the bank details you provide us with will be passed to them and they will contact you via email with a credit agreement.

Credit is subject to status and they may use a credit reference agency that leaves a record of the search or other information about you to carry out credit and anti-money laundering checks. This record will be visible to third parties. 

How many payments will I make and do I have to pay a deposit?

The agreement spreads the annual cost over 12 payments. You do not need to pay a deposit although the first payment is due as soon as you submit your application.

 
When can I expect payments to be collected from my account? – First payment and subsequent payments

Your first payment will usually be collected within 5-10 working days of your application. (We cannot be specific about the amount of time it takes to collect your payment because Premium Credit needs to notify your bank that they will be collecting payments.)
 
Your subsequent payments i.e. the next 11 will be collected on the same date each month, as the start/renewal date of your membership. If you choose to change this payment date a charge of five pounds will be applied. 
 
If your payment date falls on a weekend or public holiday the payment collection may be delayed until the next working day. Please make sure that you have adequate funds in your account so that you can make the payment to Premium Credit.
 

Will I pay extra if I choose to pay monthly?

If you choose to pay monthly you will pay 8% more than if you choose to pay in full annually, by credit/debit card.
 
The applicable APR is 15.4%. APR is a calculation designed to make it easy for customers to compare the credit charges against other finance options.
 

What are my obligations under the agreement?

This section explains what you have to do when you submit an application and also the charges that you may become liable for if you fail to carry out certain obligations.
 
At the beginning of an agreement

• You are required to sign Premium Credit’s credit agreement. You will receive an email from Premium Credit inviting you to register for their service ‘MyPremiumCredit.co.uk’. This email contains all the information you need as well as a link to follow to complete your registration and electronically sign your credit agreement.
• If you do not respond to Premium Credit’s email, Premium Credit will write to you (at the address you provided) with a paper copy of the agreement. Please make sure that you sign and return this in the freepost envelope they provide.
• The process is quick and easy and, provided you do not cancel your cover or have payment problems, you will only need to sign an agreement once.
• You have 21 days from your application to sign your credit agreement.
• If you do not sign the agreement in this time Premium Credit will apply a penalty charge of £10. This fee is usually collected in conjunction with your second instalment.
   

Ensuring that you meet your payment responsibilities   

• As part of your agreement, you should ensure that you have adequate funds, within the nominated bank account, when your instalment is due.
• If you do not have adequate funds, or if Premium Credit are unable to collect the instalment a penalty charge of £27.50 will be applied to your agreement.
• Premium Credit will reapply for payment within the timescale shown below and so you should ensure that you have adequate funds in your account to cover the instalment amount plus the penalty charge.
• If your payment is unsuccessful Premium Credit will issue a default notice by post the next working day.
• Premium Credit will attempt to collect the instalment again, 8 working days after the initial payment was rejected.
• If Premium Credit are unsuccessful for a second time they will issue a resubmission failure letter to you, by post, the next working day.
• If you do not contact Premium Credit they will cancel your agreement 15 working days after the first payment rejection.
• When KBIS are advised of the cancellation they will try to contact you by telephone and/or email to reinstate your agreement. If KBIS cannot contact you they will have to cancel your insurance policy and will advise the BGA of the cancellation.
• If Premium Credit cancel your agreement and KBIS reinstate it (when two payments have been unsuccessful and the agreement has been cancelled) your agreement will be reassessed by Premium Credit. This can mean that your monthly payments increase from the original amount and that additional credit checks may show on your credit history.

Unfortunately, the BGA and KBIS have no control over this decision and so the only advice that we can provide is to make sure that you do not default on any payments. If your payment amount changes because of a cancellation Premium Credit will write to you to confirm the new amount you will be paying.

 
Who should I contact if I want to discuss my payment plan?

You can contact Premium Credit directly by calling 0344 736 9836 or by sending an email to customer.services@pcl.co.uk

Alternatively, you can contact KBIS by calling 0345 230 2323 or by sending an email to ask@kbis.co.uk
 


The simple advice is only to take the Direct Debit option if you can guarantee that you will have the amount in your bank upon collection day every month.