I have had to make my very first car insurance claim on my vehicle regarding an electrical fault which caused fire in the engine and breakdowns, but now the insurance company have turned down my claim saying they can find no trace of a fire therefore not a valid claim and are returning my car.

The first breakdown occured wherby the car suddenly lost power and was juddering with a heavy burning smell, the car cut out completly leaving me with no drive or brakes. Recovery came out and thought at first it may be the clutch from the heavy burning smell, but when told it was a new clutch investigated further wherby he found that 2 pipes had come off below the brake servo pipe and the brake servo pipe was burnt and melted. He could not see at the time how those pipes had come off, but said the excessive heat had caused the brake servo pipe to burn and melt.

I then bought a new brake servo pipe and had it replaced to fix my car, however I got only a maximum of 2 miles when again the car lost power and started juddering again with the heavy putrid burning smell. I was recovered yet again and this time was told they thought it was caused by the Cat blocking up.

I booked my car in the next day to a really local garage less than a mile away as i knew i would not get far. It took me three quarters of an hour and 3 stops to actually get there. The garage was about to take my car in, when the mechanic called the man that booked my car in to say my car was actually on fire. They disconnected the battery and put the fire out and informed me that it was actually an electrical fault that had caused fire in the engine compartment and that was the reason my car kept breaking down nothing to do with the cat and would also have been the reason why the 2 pipes had come off as the excess heat would have blown them off and the reason for burnt melted pipe which i had alraedy replaced.

I obviously made a claim on my insurance, but they are saying they cannot find any trace of the fire so therefore are denying my claim and returning the car to me. Obviously i had already replaced the burnt part for which i have receipt of for the new one.What can I do as obviously I cannot fix the car as this will continue to happen and go on fire and the insurance wont accept the claim. Any help will be appreciated.

Hi right

What you need to do is send in a report from the mechanic that replaced the part send it with the receipt, make it a Formal Letter of Complaint. Marke it as such. Send it Recorded. Give as much detail as possible.