Autoglass Hassle

[biloxi26]

Hi

 

My vehicle was broken into. I called up autoglass. They asked me the type of insurance i had which i told them it was third party fire & theft. They then asked me if i had glass cover to which i said i dont know or i think so as i didnt have my policy documents with me. They came the following day and fixed the glass on the basis that i had glass cover. A few months down the line they contacted me saying my insurance company said i do not have glass cover, which i consequently verified. Now they are chasing me a ridiculous amount of money.

 

I made a complaint to them that when i first spoke to them i told them that i wasnt sure about my cover. I'm pretty certain that i didnt say i had glass cover for sure. Prior to calling autoglass i had called another company who said they's get back to me once i gave them my car details. This company called me back after auto glass had been to inform me that my insurance did not cover glass repair/replacement and advised me of my options.

 

I feel that based on my uncertainty at the time of speaking to autoglass they could have at least verified the details with my insurance company before coming out to fix the glass and then checking later. If i had known i could have repaired the glass independently at the fraction of the money they are now claiming to be owed to them. I have disputed this and they said they have audio evidence. I said fine- send me the audio file to which they said they could only send me a transcript, which i believe will be doctored to suit them. What should i do?

[BankFodder]

If they didn't quote you a price then you are protected by s.15 Supply of Goods and Services Act which basically says that where a price has not been agreed, then a reasonable price will be implied.

 

Get a couple of quotes for the same job - in writing.

Then send them the copies of the quotes plus the average of the two prices and tell them to sue you for the difference if they want.

 

You must pay something - don't withhold it. Pay it now and then let them sue for the difference.

[biloxi26]

Thank you for your reply

 

I paid them the £70 they asked me to pay at the time of repair, which they told me i'd have to pay at the time i called them to come and do the repair. Should i also pay them what i would have paid elsewhere had i gotten it repaired myself. What percentage should i give them at the moment and should i request the transcript of conversation or leave it be

[BankFodder]

Get the two quotes and then pay them the difference between the average and the £70.

Make sure you do everything in writing.

 

Tell them that if they want to go to court for the balance then you'll see them there and that you will be asking the judge to order the transcript.

Make sure that you tell them that you are relying on s.15 and make clear the basis of your calculation.

[aymen_a22]

Hello,

 

I realise that this post is now quite old however I was wondering if you ever reached a conclusion and if so what was it?

 

I ask because I am having the same issue with Autoglass.

 

Thanks in advance.

[unclebulgaria67]

Hello,

 

I realise that this post is now quite old however I was wondering if you ever reached a conclusion and if so what was it?

 

I ask because I am having the same issue with Autoglass.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

On CAG a new post to a thread does not generate an email to the original poster, so unless they visit CAG, they won't respond.

 

As for the general point of this thread, you should have checked with Autoglass the cost of the windscreen, just in case you did not have glass cover on your insurance. You would have signed paperwork with Autoglass saying that you would pay the bill, if it turned out that you did not have glass cover. Autoglass have a link to a central database where they can see who you are insured with, but it does not confirm whether there is glass cover or not.

 

If you fail to pay Autoglass, no doubt they will issue a court claim in due course. You should enter into a formal dispute as Bankfodder suggests above in post #2. This needs to be in writing with Autoglass, so you can evidence in court, if it gets that far. Just tell them that they failed under s.15 Supply of Goods and Services Act to confirm the cost of the work they were undertaking and therefore you had no opportunity to decide whether this was acceptable in the event that your Insurance did not have glass cover. Advise them that you are willing to enter into a negotiation in writing, but this must be on the basis of a competitive price for the work they performed.

[aymen_a22]

Ok thank you, I will look into what you have mentioned and go from there. I have contacted the regulatory body for Autoglass to ask for any help from them. I am unsure if they will be able to help but I hope they can.

 

In the mean time I think I need to get some quotes from other companies and Autoglass and see how much "reasonable" is. Does that sound like the best plan? Also should I request the charge in writing from Autoglass or should i start the paper trail because I have only had a telephone call from them asking for the money?

[JoeyJoeC]

You're usually suppose to go through your insurance company who will make all the bookings with the glass company. When I called Autoglass first, they had told me to go through my insurance company first.

 

Although that seems besides the point since the issue was that Autoglass went ahead assuming you were covered when you wasn't. They should have told you to speak with your insurer first.

[aymen_a22]

Is that something I can use against Autoglass then?

[unclebulgaria67]

Ok thank you, I will look into what you have mentioned and go from there. I have contacted the regulatory body for Autoglass to ask for any help from them. I am unsure if they will be able to help but I hope they can.

 

In the mean time I think I need to get some quotes from other companies and Autoglass and see how much "reasonable" is. Does that sound like the best plan? Also should I request the charge in writing from Autoglass or should i start the paper trail because I have only had a telephone call from them asking for the money?

 

Important to have a paper trail of dealing with this in a reasonable way. Getting atleast one other quote, so you have a comparison would be useful. This would obviously be a quote to supply and fit the glass.

 

Autoglass will no doubt send you a bill in due course, so no need to phone them to ask for this.

 

Check with your Insurance company that you don't have glass cover. Most people have glass cover, so this may be why Autoglass make the presumption.

[unclebulgaria67]

You're usually suppose to go through your insurance company who will make all the bookings with the glass company. When I called Autoglass first, they had told me to go through my insurance company first.

 

Although that seems besides the point since the issue was that Autoglass went ahead assuming you were covered when you wasn't. They should have told you to speak with your insurer first.

 

Depends on the Insurance underwriter as what the procedure is. When I used Autoglass and told them the Insurers, they just said ok no problem, arranged an appointment to fit the glass. It was a cracked windscreen so it was not urgent. If it had been a smashed windscreen, when Insurers would be closed anyway, then phoning Insurers to check may not be an option.

[aymen_a22]

It was in the day that I called to get the screen done so I would have thought they would have checked prior to completing the work.

[unclebulgaria67]

It was in the day that I called to get the screen done so I would have thought they would have checked prior to completing the work.

 

After the event now. You did not check the price, they did not tell you. Presumption was made that you had Insurance cover, which turns out to be wrong.

 

Now up to you to negotiate in writing, the reasonable cost of the work. So getting other written quotes from other companies will help you do that.

 

If it had been done properly, you would have been made to check with your Insurers, because you were not sure about having glass cover. They would have then quoted a price and you might have made a few phone calls to check.

 

So you really are not in a worse position. It is a bit back to front, but you will be able to get it sorted out.

[JoeyJoeC]

Worth mentioning that they are likely to inflate their prices for insurance companies. They might also be trying to pass this cost on to you since it was assumed to be an insurance job.

 

I would personally double check by phoning the same center as a new customer and getting a quote for replacement.

[aymen_a22]

Yes I know that I should have checked however unfortunately I was away from home and didn't have my insurance documents with me so gave the details to Autoglass hoping that they would have told me if I was not covered.

 

I do have cover, however because autoglass is not my insurance companies "approved dealer" then they will only pay a limited amount.

 

As it stands the cost is as follows:

 

I paid £75 when the replacement was fitted.

Insurance are saying I need to pay another £50 towards my excess (£125)

Autoglass are asking for another £242

Insurance will pay £150 max.

 

So the screen will cost £467 in total. That cannot be right.

Autoglass have said they would give me a different price if I do not go through the insurance however they will not give me that number until I have cancelled the insurance claim.

[JoeyJoeC]

That's what happened with me almost. I called Autoglass, they asked who my insurer were and after telling them, they told me that they don't think that they deal with them and they told me to call my insurer first to check.

[unclebulgaria67]

Yes I know that I should have checked however unfortunately I was away from home and didn't have my insurance documents with me so gave the details to Autoglass hoping that they would have told me if I was not covered.

 

I do have cover, however because autoglass is not my insurance companies "approved dealer" then they will only pay a limited amount.

 

As it stands the cost is as follows:

 

I paid £75 when the replacement was fitted.

Insurance are saying I need to pay another £50 towards my excess (£125)

Autoglass are asking for another £242

Insurance will pay £150 max.

 

So the screen will cost £467 in total. That cannot be right.

Autoglass have said they would give me a different price if I do not go through the insurance however they will not give me that number until I have cancelled the insurance claim.

 

But the price includes fitting costs and a callout, if it was done away from an Autoglass centre.

 

I think you should do homework on what other companies would charge for the work and try to negotiate. I don't accept what Autoglass have said that they have a cheaper price, when it does not go through Insurance. That is a bit dodgy, unless they are saying that they charge Insurance companies more to cover additional admin costs.

[JoeyJoeC]

I don't accept what Autoglass have said that they have a cheaper price, when it does not go through Insurance. That is a bit dodgy, unless they are saying that they charge Insurance companies more to cover additional admin costs.

 

No they havn't said that, but something I heard from another company suggested it. I was suggesting getting another quote from the same branch to see if the price matches what they are trying to charge.