Both Rob Hawkes from Nelson and his mother in law had to battle for their money back after seeking a quote from Youi.

Youi's sales tactics are being condemned by former customers and an ex-staffer of the insurance company which is under investigation by the Commerce Commission.

A former staff member believes the company's culture encourages salespeople to push the boundaries.

The South African-owned insurer has been asked for an explanation by the Insurance Council over claims about its sales techniques which allegedly include debiting customers for policies without their permission.

SCOTT WORSLEY Scott Worsley of Fielding says Youi charged him after he sought a quote for a customer.

The company launched in New Zealand in 2014, selling house, car and contents insurance through the internet and telephone.

READ MORE:

* Commerce Commission completes Youi investigation

* Youi gets 'please explain' from Insurance Council after allegations

Complaints have since emerged that Youi required people to give their credit card or bank account details before giving a quote, and then had their accounts debited without their agreement.

The commission began investigating Youi's sales techniques in March last year. It has completed its investigation but is not yet ready to reveal its findings.

A number of Stuff commentors say they have had similar experiences and had heavy pressure put on them when they tried to cancel their policies.

Judy Whitaker of Alexandra, said her husband Alan was asked for his bank account details before being given a quote, and then declined to go ahead with a policy.

They were surprised to find a strange direct debit on their account.

"I went straight to the bank and they said, oh, that's Youi," Whitaker said.

"He never signed anything ... and then next minute they were saying, you never paid this account and we said, hang on a minute, we've got emails to say that we didn't want it.

"It took us quite some time to get our money back. It just went on and on and on."

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Andrew Campbell said he had been billed straight away and it was a "mission to try and get my payment back".

"They insisted they required all my credit card details and said they couldn't move further without them for a proper 'quote'. While I challenged this process with the phone sales rep, they still insisted."

It took a few weeks to get a refund and Campbell said he cancelled his credit card so it could not be debited.

He now used a pressy card when giving out credit card details.

"Not the practice"

Youi spokesman Trevor Devitt​ said the company would not comment on the allegations covered in the commission's investigation until the watchdog made its findings.

But he said asking for credit card details for a quote was "certainly not the practice" at Youi.

He said he would need the particulars of any new complaints so he could determine the facts.

A former staff member said he had serious concerns about the company's ethics while working there.

The person, who asked not to be identified, believed the company's culture, which encouraged the initial salespeople to "soft sell" customers, and then heavily penalised the staff who handled the cancellations when they lost policies, was the problem.

It was more the culture that salespeople were thrown into, rather than their training, the worker said.

One tactic was to put the customer under a heavy sense of obligation about the agreement and make them second guess themselves.

But Youi also had a strange culture which reinforced positivity.

"I don't know if it came from the States or something but it made me very uncomfortable."

"Numerous emails"

Rob Hawkes said more than $2500 was taken from his account after making inquiries about house and contents insurance.

"It took numerous emails and phone calls to get my money back and none of the apparently senior managers at Youi I spoke to seemed to think it was any big deal."

Hawkes said his mother-in-law had a similar experience.

One of Hawkes' staff had worked for Youi in Australia and believed it was tacitly encouraged by the company.

"A look at their 'wall' on their website shows just how often it's happening," he said.

Jackie Bennion​ was told that giving her card details was the only way to view the policy details and that she could back out within a certain timeframe.

"When I tried to do this I was bombarded with sales people telling me how foolish I was and that Youi was the best thing since sliced bread and they knew how much better it was than my current insurer."

"I would never go back to them no matter how much money they reckon I could save. And as it turned out they were no better than the company I was with anyway!"

Luke Pivac​ was shopping for insurance last month and Youi was insistent on credit card details before giving out a quote.

"Being experienced in this kind of thing I told them I was not feeling comfortable with it and didn't want to. However, they kept asking me more questions about the quote; then brought it up again ... three more times.

"This made me feel even more pressured and was making me feel more uncomfortable, I resorted to having to hang up."

Scott Worsley's motorcycle business was charged when he sought a quote on behalf of a customer seeking finance.

He thinks Youi got his bank details from a policy he arranged for a previous customer.

Writing the experience off to a misunderstanding, he rang for another customer late last year but ended up challenging the need to give bank account details on a quote for someone else.

Worsley says the salesperson rang bank several times, saying account numbers were no longer needed. Eventually he slammed down the phone.

"They were very persistent and just didn't grasp [the concept of a quote]," Worsley says. "I found them to be very pushy and not professional at all , so we don't use them anymore."

Christine Lowdon plans to complain to the Commerce Commission and the Insurance and Financial Services Ombudsman after her experience with Youi.

After realising the company had been deducting money from her account since May last year, she said she was battling to get her money back and had proof she had declined their quote. "They are still mucking me around."

She believed she would eventually get a refund, but she worried for others.

"Their arrogant and intimidating manner on the phone makes me worry that less confident people will doubt themselves and perhaps be left out of pocket by backing down."