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First Call....Last Laugh


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Ok here goes

 

First Call GB Ltd are a budget breakdown recovery company. I have been with them for several years with no problems. Surprise surprise I now have one.

 

On 2n Apr 2008 on my way to work I had a bit a breakdown. Basically I lost all electrical power to the engine and to various ancillary systems. After pusihing my car round the corner into a parking bay I gae them a call and they sent out a recovery man. He prodded around a bit and then told me it was an electrical problem, he thought it was due to a faulty relay but wasnt really his area of expertise so he couldn't be too sure. Anyway he then recovered my car to a local garage.

Now because the car was old and was of low market value it wouldnt have been worth spending more than £50 getting it fixed, and probably not even that. I had also been planning to get a new one at the end of the month anyway so I decided not to bother getting it repaired.

 

Now fast forward a couple of weeks later and I receive a letter and invoice for First Call asking for £90 for recovery costs. Basically the recovery man has put down that I had a electrical fire (which I didnt, think I would of noticed what with the flames an all an sitting in the car for 2 hrs waiting for him to show up) and under First Calls T&Cs any costs recoverable elaewhere (ie my car insurance) are not covered.

 

Now my first point of contention is that there was no fire. An electrical fault yes but no fire. Their T&Cs clearly state that

 

“The vehicle is covered for call out charges and up to 1 hour’s labour charges, at the scene of your breakdown where your vehicle is rendered immobilised due to electrical or mechanical faults within the Territorial Limits stated in this policy.” [emphasis added]

 

Where breakdown means “…..an electrical or mechanical failure or a road traffic accident or damage caused by vandalism, fire, theft or attempted theft which renders the vehicle immobilised.”

 

So covered im covered under that one I believe.

 

Now their general exclusions state that they will not pay

 

“Any claim recoverable from any other insurance policy.”

 

Which takes me onto my second point of contention, namely that since when have car insurance policies covered you for breakdowns?? Im with Admiral and I am certainly not covered

 

Section 1. We will not pay:

 

“For mechanical, electrical, computer failures and breakdowns, or breakages.”

 

 

Section 2. We will not pay:

 

“…any loss or damage caused by mechanical, electrical, electronic, computer failures and breakdowns, or breakages”

 

 

So I called them up a couple of weeks ago and told them I wasnt paying and my reasons why (see above). They then got back onto the recovery man presuambly to ask him whether or not there was a fire. He has then replied as saying yes (how he can remember particulars from several weeks previously I dont know). On the back of this information they insisted I would have to pay, I insisted I wouldnt. They said they would speak to their manager and then get back to me.

Couple days later get an answer phone messaage from them saying if I can supply proof of repair showing it wasnt electrical fire they will waive the charge. I obviously dont have proof as the car wasnt repaired.

I have been quite busy with other things since getting this message so hadnt a chance to get back to them before they sent me a cancellation notice of my cover. It doesnt mention the outstanding invoice nut presumably they will follow up with this at a later date.

 

I have now written this letter and just wanted peeps to pass their eyes over it and offer any constructive criticism

 

I am writing to you in response to your letters for payment of a purported outstanding invoice to the sum of £88.69. This invoice is said to cover the cost of recovering my vehicle to a place of repair. You then further direct me to pay the invoice and claim the money back from my insurers and that failure to pay will result in cancellation of cover and legal action for the recovery of said amounts plus costs.

In your letters you assert that as the nature of the breakdown was an electrical fire (a point which I contest in its entirety) then costs of recovery are usually covered by the policy holders Motor Insurance Policy and as such are not covered under the First Call Breakdown Policy.

I hereby categorically deny your right to any monies in addition to those already paid when taking out the breakdown policy. Additionally I deny in its entirety the allegation that any fire, electrical or otherwise, occurred. Furthermore any legal action will be vigorously defended and a counter claim issued for a pro rata refund together with costs on the basis of vexatious litigation.

From your Terms and Conditions it would appear that you are solely reliant upon the General Exclusions (part 8) to the policy which state that First Call will not cover:

“Any claim recoverable from any other insurance policy.”

I hereby assert that such costs are not recoverable from my motor insurance policy (Admiral) and as such the general exclusion does not apply.

From the Admiral Terms & Conditions (http://www.admiral.com/yourPolicy/pdf/ADM.pdf)

Section 1. We will not pay: “For mechanical, electrical, computer failures and breakdowns, or breakages.” [emphasis added].

Section 2. We will not pay: “…any loss or damage caused by mechanical, electrical, electronic, computer failures and breakdowns, or breakages” [emphasis added].

For the avoidance of doubt the details of the breakdown are described here:

On the 2nd April 2008 at approximately 07:30 whilst driving along Ranby Road (Sheffield) my car lost all electrical power to the engine and various other ancillary electrical systems (hazards, indicators, wipers). After manually moving my vehicle to the parking bays adjacent to the junction of Ranby Road and Rustlings Road I called First Call for breakdown assistance, which promptly arrived two hours later. Note that had my car been on fire I would most surely have noticed the flames whilst sat in the drivers seat awaiting its arrival.

On examination of my car the breakdown technician determined there had been an electrical failure, possibly to a relay located in the fuse box of the car. However as the breakdown technician was untrained in automotive electrical repairs or diagnosis beyond the mere indication that something electrical was not working correctly my car was recovered to a place of repair.

Due to the fact that prior to the breakdown I was in the market for a new car and given its age/mileage and trade value I considered it to be uneconomical to repair. Therefore the car was not repaired.

With these facts in mind I would therefore draw your attention to your Terms and Conditions and your obligations as stated therein:

“The vehicle is covered for call out charges and up to 1 hour’s labour charges, at the scene of your breakdown where your vehicle is rendered immobilised due to electrical or mechanical faults within the Territorial Limits stated in this policy.” [emphasis added].

Where breakdown means “…..an electrical or mechanical failure or a road traffic accident or damage caused by vandalism, fire, theft or attempted theft which renders the vehicle immobilised.” [emphasis added].

Furthermore in the event of a breakdown Sub-Section A: United Kingdom Cover (section B) states that

“If repairs cannot successfully be carried out at the scene of the breakdown then we will pay the cost of recovery of the vehicle driver and up to 4 passengers to the nearest suitable garage able to effect a repair, or recovery to your onward destination, or home address whichever is nearer.”

Clearly the breakdown in question falls well within the bounds of the policy and is therefore not subject to any additional charges.

I therefore require the immediate and complete withdrawal of all claims by First Call for all purported invoices and immediate reinstatement of the breakdown cover as paid for in November 2007. Failure to satisfactorily resolve this issue may result in legal action and the forwarding of a complaint to the Financial Services Authority.

Yours Faithfully

skbuncks

 

First call T&Cs are here:

 

First Call GB Ltd - The Motor Breakdown Specialists

 

 

cheers skb

Edited by skbuncks
Letter updated to what I actually sent - better formating and more assertive

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just a snapshot, but it looks like they are trying to recover the costs from your Insurer by claiming it was a fire (and that you have Fire cover under your motor insurance).

 

If they claim it was fire, you think you would call the fire brigade first before breakdown??:)

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  • 3 weeks later...

Have now received a reply to the letter (as in post 1) I sent to First Call.

At first glance I thought, here we go they’re not backing down better polish up my court shoes. But, on closer inspection they have accepted my version of events and complied with everything I asked for i.e. cancellation of invoice and re-instatement of cover. Fair play First Call, I salute your good sense and judgement.

Here is a transcribed copy of their letter

Dear Mr skbuncks

I write to you in response to your letter dated 13th June 2008, the contents of which have been duly noted.

To firstly clarify the points you have raised in your correspondence, First Call are governed by English Law. If your vehicle was totally destroyed by “fire”, from the time the vehicle is deemed to have caught fire, your Insurance Company become the legal Owners of the fire destroyed vehicle (providing it has met the Terms and Conditions of your Insurance Policy) and therefore they would be responsible for any costs involved with the recovery of the vehicle.

We were informed by the Vehicle Recovery Operator who attended your vehicle on that day in question, that your vehicle caught fire and therefore under most Insurance Policies this would be claimable from your Insurance Company. The reason why the amount of £88.69 was requested is due to it being illegal to claim off two parties and it would be classed as double indemnity, until proven otherwise.

However, by investigating this incident we accept your explanation without reservation and can confirm these charges have been wavered. Your policy has been re-activated and therefore any further correspondence in regards to this incident can be ignored.

I would like to apologise for any inconvenience and feel this incident should have been brought to a conclusion far sooner.

Yours Sincerely

First Call

Another victory aided by the power of CAG:-D:-D

skb

Victory over Lloyds £890

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Victory over Vodafone: default removal

click!

Victory over Lloyds PPI claim £2606 click!

Barclaycard lazygoing - £580 + £398 contractual int at 17.7 % click! (Received partial payment £110 21/11/06)

The GF's battle against RBS click! stayed awaiting the end of the world

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I should probably also say that I have been with First Call for several years as they are one of the cheapest recovery firms around. I have called them out somewhere in the region of 6 or 7 times and whilst they are not among the quickest (usually around an hour to an hour and a half response time) I have always been happy with the service.

 

One thing that really struck me as odd with this liitle problem was the guy that came out was really friendly and drove me around to 3 or 4 garages until we found one that could do autoelectrical work without having to call out a specialist. This is just not something you would do with a car that had been destroyed in fire. I believe he must have confused me with someone else.

Anyway I am happy with the outcome and will continue to use them in the future, provided of course there are no further hiccups

 

skb

Edited by skbuncks
Abysmal grammar

Victory over Lloyds £890

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Victory over Vodafone: default removal

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Victory over Lloyds PPI claim £2606 click!

Barclaycard lazygoing - £580 + £398 contractual int at 17.7 % click! (Received partial payment £110 21/11/06)

The GF's battle against RBS click! stayed awaiting the end of the world

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Well doen on getting that sorted. Have only just come across this thread and your initial letter was spot on.

 

Cheers :-D

Victory over Lloyds £890

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Victory over Vodafone: default removal

click!

Victory over Lloyds PPI claim £2606 click!

Barclaycard lazygoing - £580 + £398 contractual int at 17.7 % click! (Received partial payment £110 21/11/06)

The GF's battle against RBS click! stayed awaiting the end of the world

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