Repairs rip-off shame as millions of motorists overcharged for car insurance because of 'secret rates'

 

Underhand dealings are said to have created a two-tier system for ‘at fault’ and ‘non-fault’ claims with some car repairs costing double others

 

Campaigners are calling for insurance firms to scrap secret rates for some car repairs while charging double for others.

 

The underhand dealings are said to have created a two-tier system for ‘at fault’ and ‘non-fault’ claims.

 

And they could share the blame for driving up insurance costs for millions of motorists.

 

According to industry body the National Body Repairers Association, rival firms rip each other off when charging for repairs if their driver is blameless.

 

For they agree side deals of discounted rates for parts and labour with body repair shops when dealing with non-fault claims.

 

But they insist the garages charge an inflated price of up to 100% more to the insurer with the ‘at fault’ driver - and rake in the difference.

 

The hidden costs - said to be worth £750 million - are the equivalent of around 5% of the UK’s 34 million drivers’ annual insurance premiums.

 

 

 

Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/money/household-bills/repairs-rip-shame-millions-motorists-10907702

It's no secret.

The problem is the current case law enables them to do this - I think the insurers refer to this in the article - Coles v Heatherton - we can all thank RSA (or is it RSAI or MRN) for that one.

The measure of damages following an RTA is the diminution in value of the vehicle (general damages), and not the actual cost of repairs (special damages).

Has been like that for a long time and not just related to car repairs.

I can remember house insurance claims after the Great storm in 1987, where builders were charging £750 to replace a handful of tiles. As soon as builders realised that there was more demand than supply and Insurers were just paying up to a certain level without questioning bills/quotes, they took the p*ss.

Insurance is a very poor model when it comes to keeping costs to a minimum. It is why the US healthcare system is the most expensive in the world, but delivers mediocre services to most who take out Insurance. Millions can't even afford the Insurance premiums.

I have long favoured a change to UK private car insurance, with basic third party liability cover provided as part of car tax. Then when a arms length Government agency is involved, you can try to keep costs to a minimum, with garages subject to regulation. People can then opt to take out additional cover as a top up, simiilar to comp cover. This is the way they arrange it in other countries.

INSURANCE COMPAMNY SCAMS

I have just been scammed by a car/van insurance company called Bedford Insurance who fleeced me in a very professional and merciless way because of a mistake made on an online quote.

Instead of writing 2017,,I by mistake I must add,had written 2007 for the vehicle purchase date. They came back to me a day later and charged me another £300.00.- + per year more with an increased deposit payment of another £47.00 payable immediately or they would be cancelling the insurance and still charging me another £35.00 for cancelling it!

Is there any lower level that these fraudsters can sink in?They are always winging about how difficult insurance market is and they are barely making a living and all the other rubbish that they can come up with ,

yet I have never seen any one of them ever go up the wall?

My short question is this;what can we do about this robbery?

How about all of us not insuring any of our vehicles or use them for a year and see how they suffer ?Or take every single one of these companies for even the smallest mistakes they ever make ,to Courts?£65.00 a time is not an expensive way to deal with these crooks as they will lose in both ways since to be represented in court costs them a min of £1500 each time anyway!

Any takers to create a real Consumer force to be reckoned with instead of just word-mongering?

Please add your comments as I for one am sivk of it all!!!

RD

If you do not have a car for about 2/3 years and then decide to get one your insurance rockets and you loos your no claims! wonder how many know this!

This happened to us, we could not afford a car for a couple of years but then got stable so decided to have another one, it was not till we got insurance quotes that we found this out! So basically you have to start all over again with your insurance and build it back up

This is why we need to get altogether and force the insurance companies to change otherwise we`ll suffer even more.The changes has to be thus;

1-the NCB stays at the same level irrespective of how many years you take off before the recess.

2-No cancellation charges applied to any insurance company as if there is a cancellation this is due to finding better quote unless they come down then fine otherwise we leave and no penalties.

3-Never pay higher premiums the following year if you stay with the same insurer. unless of course cirrcumstances changed.

5- The Government cannot hike the insurance tax more than the rate of inflation...ever!

6-Insurance contracts can be for a year but no penalties if changed anytime along that year as nobody has a guaranteed right of printing money when they basically use us a cashcows!

Thank you all

please feel free for other suggestions.

RD

Legal Cover is another misselling scandal according to my solicitor.

I asked her why and her response.

"If you are in a non fault accident ANY Solicitor worth their salt will represent you pro bono. If however you are in an accident and the fault rests firmly at your feet or there is dispute over fault then they legally have to represent you anyway"

... She then stated "Demand that they discount you £20 from your annual policy and remove the legal cover."

This whole insurance thing becoming just like a Pandora`s Box...Dig it deep and soon enough we`ll find just the material

to take them to the Courts!

Legal Cover is another misselling scandal according to my solicitor.

 

I asked her why and her response.

"If you are in a non fault accident ANY Solicitor worth their salt will represent you pro bono. If however you are in an accident and the fault rests firmly at your feet or there is dispute over fault then they legally have to represent you anyway"

 

... She then stated "Demand that they discount you £20 from your annual policy and remove the legal cover."

I don't quite agree with this.

Do you mean Pro-bono (free), or under a Conditional Fee Agreement (no win no fee)? There aren't many law firms out there who would work a case like that for free... Furthermore I don't think a solicitor specialising in e.g banking or family law would represent you for fear of falling foul of the regulator (and their PII insurer) if they screw up.

Someone may correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there is any specific legal obligation for an insurer to provide representation if you're sued in a fault/disputed RTA. If they do so, it will presumably be an exercise of self preservation or a contractual obligation, as their statutory obligation is to indemnify you against third party risks (i.e. pay monies owed to the other side e.g. for injury, vehicle damage, etc).

Also, I don't think I've ever bought car insurance where legal cover was compulsory, as opposed to optional. It applies to when you want to claim for losses that aren't covered by your insurance.

like windscreen chip repair you find in car parks, few years ago told it cost £35.00 to repair, but my insurance company will pay for it as it is cheaper than possible replacement windscreen later, new renewal notice showed a claim for chipped windscreen for £99.00 = asked insurance company why when I was quoted £35, answer that is what we agree to pay? no wonder the cowboys were everywhere on the stores car parks

Indeed I mean that they will take a share of your claim.. My solicitor stated that this used to be bread & butter work for them until the "Ambulance chasers" saturated the market and ruled out self appointment of legal representation.

Of course I agree that in a fault accident they will do little to protect you but, it will be they who are being sued as the insurer. They cannot throw their hands up and say, they don't have legal cover we are not going to pay out.

The legal cover has been flogged with many policies over the years to me Aviva, Admiral et al always quote me with legal cover included. I always ask them to remove and discount my policy.

Legal cover is just one item, breakdown cover is another and I always insist they remove that too as I am a member of the AA.

Martin Lewis on his website always recommends you ask them to remove any add on that they include with your quote and discount your policy, he too thinks that Car insurance and some covers offered bear many similarities to PPI mid selling.

As an aside my Father bought tickets to fly and visit his brother in America, he's 92 and the Travel Agent quoted a jaw dropping health Insurance quote, I advised him not to buy from Travel Agent and speak to his Independent Insurance broker who gave him cover at a fraction of what he had be quoted by Travel Agent.

I too firmly believe the Insurance Industry is rotten to the core and I work in Financial Services, namely Banking.

Indeed I mean that they will take a share of your claim.. My solicitor stated that this used to be bread & butter work for them until the "Ambulance chasers" saturated the market and ruled out self appointment of legal representation.

Well if they're doing the work why shouldn't they be paid to do it. Would you walk into a high street accountant and ask them to do your self assessment for free, or ring an architect and ask for free plans to be drawn up?

Either they take a share of your claim or you pay out of your own pocket. The costs they can recover from the other side (in personal injury work at least) are fixed (and fixed at a rate so low that your average high street firm would be making a loss running 2 or 3 of these claims a month). In fact any civil claim in the small claims track, if you're using legal representation the costs you incur are almost certainly going to outweigh what you recover from the other side if you win.

And, there is absolutely nothing to stop you appointing your own legal representative for your own losses when you're not at fault. This is what you'd do without legal cover on the policy.

If, in the case of a fault accident, the insurers are paying for the legal representation, they can appoint who they want. Insurers retain a panel of solicitors firms defend/recover their claims.

And in a fault claim, it could be the insurer or the driver being sued. The EU Rights against Third Party Insurers Regs allows an insurer to be sued, but as you have to put extra in the Particulars of Claim most solicitors will just sue the driver. Personally, I leave nothing to chance and always sue both where I can.