car prang - ** WON **

[gideonssword]

Thank you dacouc

 

The car is on my drive at the moment the Salvage company telephoned to say they are arranging to collect the car but i said put it on hold i need to sort out the insurer first so they have not collected it yet.

 

I did email them and said i want their offer plus the car as my compensation, they telephoned me this morning but i did not answer the phone as i wanted your advice first

 

The Car prang happened on 8th of July so the Claim is about 8-9 weeks old.

 

Thanks.

[dacouc]

I'm guessing that the claim started being unreasonably delayed after week three, if this is the case you could reasonably ask them for £10 a day which would amount to circa £350 plus I would be asking for £50 compensation for the extra work etc they've caused you.

 

Personally I would press for a reasonable amount of compensation say £250 in total and being able to keep the salvage of your car, obviously the Insurer are entitled to deduct the salvage value (What the salvage company would have paid 1st Central).

 

If you allow them to palm you off with no compensation but keep the car then theirs no punishment for them trying to rip you off, do not be scared of them, they've done this before and will only stop when it's costing them money or the FSA stop them.

 

Send them a polite email, stating they would have happily cost you thousands of pounds had you not known your rights, that they've unreasonably delayed your claim and that you've a good mind to report this to the FSA as you've discovered this is not a one off for them. Suggest they settle your claim at with the 20% deduction for the lack of MOT (Which is fair and as per the Ombudsman), mention you feel your entitled to circa £250 compensation for their unreasonable delay plus probably a further £50 for calls and time spent etc but you would settle for £250 and retaining the salvage of the car less the salvage value.

 

See what they come back with, they're on the back foot as they've been caught out in effect trying to [problem] you, they've not made a genuine mistake, they know they're not allowed to do what they've done but still continue.

[dacouc]

Good luck

Edited September 7, 2012 by dacouc

[Mwynci]

dacouc is right, the insurer is really out of order here.

[dacouc]

Here's a similar case dating back to 2010, so it's not like they're not aware what they're doing is wrong.

 

A skeptic would say they're doing it intentionally, how does that fit with the FSA's Treating Customers Fairly?

 

forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=2573777

 

Incidently dating back to 2009 a considerable amount of their clients were receiving IN10 convictions as they did not include Driving Other Cars, however their website did not mention this anywhere and had an FAQ about whether you would be covered to drive a courtesy car from a garage and confirming it was automatically covered.

 

I've seen well into double figures of their customers on one forum receive IN10 convictions due to this, I had quite a battle with them dating back to mid 2009. All they needed to do was make it clear to potential customers they would not get DOC, their rep agreed this needed sorting back in mid 2009 and promised immediate action. It took them two years to correct the issue resulting in many more IN10s and new customers complaining they had taken cover and then discovered via google they were not covered for DOC which they wanted and then being subject to a £50 fee for cancelling in the cooling off period.

 

I've seen so many problems with them, hence why I take no prisoners when dealing with them. The only way they will learn is if their business practices cost them money or the FSA come down on them.

[dacouc]

!!! Result !!!

 

Got a phone call from insurance company they are going to honour the claim and send a cheque out for my car also !!! Yippee !!!

 

Thanks for all your help.

 

Any news?

[gideonssword]

My wife has crashed the car into a post we are fully Comprehensive insured with No claims protection.

 

The vehicle pre crash had a value of £500-£550 it has 2 weeks MOT left.

 

If we go down the insurance route and they write the car off is it possible for us to buy the car back off the insurer?

 

I am currently Bankrupt with no job so my car is my best chance of getting a Job.

 

Any advice please is most welcome.

[renegadeimp]

How bad is the damage?

[letsgetitsorted]

i have managed to buy 2 cars back that we have had written off..the insurance companies normally charge 10-20% of vehicle value to buy back. if you go down the claim route ask the claims handdler/assessor after he/she has valued the car....how much to buy back.

 

hope that helps

[gideonssword]

Thank you.

 

front wheel has completely gone, the handbrake is also busted and there is damage to the door,

 

I would be amazed if they did not write the vehicle off.

[cgg13]

It totally depends on the insurance company whether you get offered the chance to buy the vehicle back. Don't forget that depending on the damage to the car you may be required to get a VIC check done by the DVLA before putting it back on the road.

[Slimm]

The wheel damage could be an issue, especially if it's caused any axle damage. Vehicle write offs are classed as A/B/C/D with (short version) A being not even spares, B being spare parts, C being repairable and D being cosmetic damage only.

 

A lot of insurers will let you retain Cat C and D write offs and then you can, in theory, use the (reduced) pay out to repair it to a road worthy condition. To be honest once excess and a retention fee have gone out of your 500-550 payout you may struggle to repair a wheel, handbrake and door, even using spare parts and doing most of the work yourself. It might actually be better to take the payout and buy the cheapest vaguely roadworthy car you can find and use that until you get a job.

 

Hope it goes well.

[gideonssword]

Thanks everyone for your advice,

 

Its much appreciated.