At renewal time, they take payment at midnight on the day of renewal, meaning if they can't debit the card immediately, the policy expires. This means you are then forced to take out a new policy at a higher price. I was told by a rude, unhelpful customer rep that is standard practice across all companies, and there is nothing she could do. This is clearly not the case, as my insurance company were similarly unable to take payment – however, because they tried to do so BEFORE the renewal date, rather than waiting till midnight on the day, I was able to call a few days later, update my payment information, and continue the policy. This apparent inability to extend my existing cover is despite being sent an email at 6am on 31 Oct (the renewal date) saying: "No need to panic! All you need to do is contact us ... [to] simply update your payment details or retake your payment and get you back on cover without a hitch". I assume most people simply agree to pay the extra £15, but the whole exchange left an extremely bad taste. I now have to look for a new breakdown company, but I can't continue with Auto Aid if that's how they treat their renewing customers. Put your prices up if you need to, but don't resort to underhand practices to gain a little extra cash.