does anyone know if i can get advice and info about contesting a car insurance write off decision here?

Think i may be in the wrong area?

thanks

yes - your in the wrong place

ummm ok?wrong place,or wrong forum altogeather?lol

I think you post should be here Insurance/Assurance Companies if you have a problem you can click the red triangle on your first post and a moderator will help you move it to the appropriate form welcome and good luck

thats great,thankyou!

Will move your post there and re-title your thread once we know what this is about.

Ok now can you give some more detailed info on your issues ?

Can you give us some background, why was the car wrote off, who has made you the offer (your insurers or a third party insurer), and also why you want to contest the offer.

Once we have these it will be easier to advise you

Mossy

thanks martin,

ok ,here goes..a month ago my car was parked outside my house(no one was in the car)

when a guy trying to park in front of my car,clearly not using his passanger mirror ,scraped into mine putting a hole in the driver side wing.

The car is quite an old n reg,but was in perfectly good road worthy condition at the time taxed and mot,d.

I was offered a hire car while they took mine away to asess the damage.Although there seems to be so many different companies involved im in constant confusion as to who is working for me,and who is not!

I think the hire car was provided by my own insurance company,via another company?currently there are 5 different companies involved(see confusion lol)

Basicaly the car was assesed by an engineer(the engineer working for the hire car company?)who then decided to write it off with a cat B.A decision in itself i disagree with.i was then made an offer for the car which in my opinion was ludicrous as its so small theres no chance of being able to buy another vehicle.

I have managed to keep hold of the hire car,while i argue my case up untill yesterday when they came and collected it.They said they had already been leniant with the car as i had had it for some weeks..however,there has not been a settlement and im sure i was in my rights to keep hold of it untill i had accepted an offer?

his insurance company are now organising an independant report on my car,after i have compiled some evidence to try and prove my car is worth more than they are saying,although they are taking their time(its the weather apparantly)

I guess i would just like to know more of where i stand in a situation lke this and what my rights are.

Ive never had to make a claim against someone else before and have very little knowledge on the system.As i have resolved to keep contesting the issue untill they make me a reasonable offer,it might be a good idea if i know roughly what im talking about!

ok,well thanks again ,and if anyone can help i would really apprieciate it.

am i allowed to mention companies?

Yes of course-it may bring help from others who have had the same experiences-with the same company.

Am i allowed to shout abuse about them?lol

ok..my insurance brokers are academy,(who have been ok)..they told me to deal with wise call,who are useless and didnt give me any good advice and infact were so unhelpful,i didnt realise they were ment to be on my side for ages..

CHURCHILL(bleep) are the other guys insurers,then theres nationwide who lent me the hire car..and i think it was their engineer who did the original quote.

I had a personal conversation with the engineer who didnt seem to be able to give me a satisfactory reason as to why he put the thing in a cat b and said it would cost £1100.00 to repair!LOL its an N reg mondeo not a farrari.

I kept asking him on what grounds was he basing his decision ,to which he replied it was the general condition,age,mileage including a tiny crack on the back bumper!

I had actualy got myself a quote for the damage to the wing from my local garage which worked out at £382.00 before i reprted the incident.

Im sick of these fat cat companies trying to get lay people like myself over a barel,and im sure those five companies will all be creaming an amount out of this.

sorry about the disjointed post..

oh btw,there is no stuctural damage to the car ie..no damage to chassis etc

Am i allowed to shout abuse about them?lol

Feel free-thats what CAGs here for...although keep it clean !!

ha!great...thats a donation worthy thing in itself

OK.

Firstly, have you advised Churchill of the £382 estimate? If so they might agree to this estimate - they will send you a cheque and get the car repaired.

If not then you have to prove the car is worth more than what they are offering. What you need to do is trawl through Autotrader and other websites / magazines and find Mondeos of a similar engine, age & mileage as yours and send them to Churchill as proof of your higher valuation.

Good Luck

Yes thats the way to go Craig-it shouldnt be too hard to get this figure.

thanks guys,yes,i have done this..although its proven difficult because the mileage on my car is very high 200,000 this seems to be what has been causing the main problem..although obviously ,the car was perfectly fine with a new cam belt,sailed through its last mot,and totaly roadworthy etc,they just seem to be only interested in that...yes also have sent them the estimate..but they are now getting another engineer to look at it.

so far they have offered me £250.00 which i think they know is a joke,i have sent them a car i found with a blown head gasket,hole in the wing,no mot being sold for£400.00 scrap!

I am disgusted at the way ive been treated by the first engineer at nationwide,(he was rude)and wise call(she was also rude)you would have thought i had done something wrong myself, when i wasnt even IN the car and it was down to the total carelessness of the driver in his bmw trying to park in a space big enough for a double decker bus.

craig,i dont knw if they will take the car off he cat B to a C or D and let me have it back?none the less ive told them i wont settle for less than £500.00 (always ask for more) so we shall see..

Any ideas about the rules of the hire car?

thanks so much for your help,its been all consuming,inconvienent and stressful.

Any ideas about the rules of the hire car?

You are entitled to the hire of a car for a 'reasonable period' and you also have a duty in law to mitigate your losses.

The definition of reasonable period is usually until repairs have been completed OR in the case of a total loss until an offer has been made + a few days to allow you to sort out a replacement vehicle.

If it can be shown that their offer is too unreasonable based on 'market value' then you would have a valid claim to a hire car whilst they increase their offer, but the onus is on you to show that the offer was not fair and reasonable. What you cannot expect is for them to pay hire charges whilst you hold out for a better offer simply because you 'think' their offer is too low, you need evidence in the form of other vehicles for sale that are very close to the age/condition and mileage of yours to substantiate its value.

If they have taken back the hire car they arranged then you must decide if you want to hire a car of your own volition and claim the cost of it back from them, BUT you will only succeed in claiming the cost back if you can show that their original offer was significantly lower than the real value of your car.

Mossy

I can imagine.My car has 220,000 on clock.

Its ex fleet BMW 520i I bought off ebay for £900

I have service history from new everything was done to T

New this car cost 24 grand-but insurance companies dont hold same thoughs as me when it comes to what its worth.

I could pay 3 times more for a Fiesta or Corsa and have the same valuation at 200k miles.....difference is I KNOW they wouldnt even get close to it without new Engines or major overhauls.

Theres a lot to be said for changing oil at 3k and filter too.

Providing its good tac and not the cheapo stuff

Sorry for digressing......carry on you guys.