Coronavirus: University student who returned home to Portsmouth told he must pay £395 to add city address to insurance - or go back to uni in Plymouth

Oliver Rose, 22 from Milton, has returned home from the University of Plymouth to be with his family during the coronavirus pandemic.

But the company he’s insured his car with, MyPolicy, has given him an ultimatum – pay £390 to add his home address to his policy, or return to Plymouth immediately.

Oliver says the company has tracked him through the black box fitted to his car, and is outraged that they could act in such a way given the global circumstances.

He said: ‘Given what’s going on with the virus, I thought they would be more accommodating, but this is just crazy.

‘They gave me 14 days to go back to Plymouth – but it goes without saying, I’m not going anywhere.

‘I thought the black box was only meant to be used to measure speed, braking distances and how much I’m driving; instead, it’s been used to track me so they can try and profit off of coronavirus.

‘If you ask me, that’s dodgy behaviour.’

Oliver is in his third year at university and drives a Ford Focus C-Max, and paid £1,300 for a year's insurance, plus the black box.

To add his Portsmouth address, he would need to pay £365, plus a £25 admin fee.

‘I’m just so annoyed by it all, I came home to be with my family while this virus is going on,’ he said.

‘The only options I’ve got are to pay the £390, go back to Plymouth and leave my family, or pay to cancel my insurance.

‘I only paid £350 for the car itself – it’s an absolute joke that MyPolicy is refusing to budge on this. I feel like I've been treated very unfairly.’

A spokesman for MyPolicy said: ‘We fully appreciate that a lot of our customers will be facing challenges and as such we aim to offer as much support and understanding as we can.

‘If any of our customers are experiencing difficulties, we invite them to get in touch with us and we will aim to be as flexible as possible.’