Another Hastings total loss problem

[beela.1]

Hi

i am in the same boat i have been with hasting since 2010 never claimed or had any problems untill january the 12/1/13. i reported a claim as my mini one 1.4 had broke down on me. it took the insurance company one wek to collect my car due to the snow and yet when they did collect it, it took them over 2weeks to decide what is wrong with it.

i purchased my 57 plate mini 1.4 in black for £8,000 in 2010 and its mileage was 16,666 the current mileage was only approx 49,000 the insurance company stated that i it will be atotal write off as my water pipe has been leaking for so long that the oil leeked out that this caused the engien to seize, this could not of be aproblem from awhile ago as my partner serviced it and had it mot and it passed, i am annoyed as i have been cjasing them up non-stop as i have not been hearing from any body or been contact in regards to what is happeining with my car in total i have spend £350 in phone calls on my contact phone bill and also £567.00 in getting taxi's as i was promised a courtesy but never got one, in the end i took out a rental on 14/2/13 which cost an additional out of my own pocket £700.00 for the month, its been nearly 3months for my claim goin through and i wanted to buy my car back but the insurance company was not having it and said they will be selling it in auction. i have not received a pay out and they value my car only at £5,800 and estimate repair cost at £5,200, i am totally offended as they valued the vehicle at £400 after repairs and don't forget they take out £195 for there excess charge and i loose my 4years no claim bonus dispite i did not hit anyone my car just broke down on me, i have not been refunded any money apart from being given a £50 cheque as i put in aformal complaint which i found disappointing, we pay insurance for a reason but its all acon and a money scandal to them , i am phyiscally am struggling to eat and go work and it is disppointing dispite i have argued about my value of my vehicle they managed to agree at £6300. it is disppointing as it was esitamated at £6950, and i am disappointed they will not agree in me buying my car back but yet have the cheek in taking it to auction and getting more for there money back when i have loss out in all the way around. if i was going to buy a like for like car i would phyiscally have to fork out the money from my own pocket again which is not acceptable

[Hastings Direct. Joe - Soc]

Hi beela.1, Thank you for taking the time to post about your experience. I am sorry to hear you are unhappy and I would like to help you get this matter resolved. Can you please contact me directly at [email protected] with your policy details and I will make sure that this is followed up for you and resolved. Many Thanks, Jamie

[lmeister]

Hi Beela,

 

Sorry to hear about your situation seems you have been very unlucky with your car. I sympathise with your situation and think Hastings have dealt with this like other insurance companies do. Saying that they could have helped you out by dealing with this very quickly and efficiently. That would have avoided the delays, hire car and phone call costs. I agree totally that insurance is a bit of a scandal and hope you get this sorted out quickly and back on the road asap.

 

I don't think you will lose all your NCB. It's usually a step back scheme so your 4 years will go to 2. Check your policy documents it should be on the back of them. Defiantly query this if you can’t find that information.

 

You didn’t get a hire car because Hastings don't provide them the repairing garage do. So unless your car is being repaired you don’t get a hire car. I know this stinks and when you look at the adverts for most insurance companies they are clever how they word this "courtesy car whilst yours is being repaired". The exception is if a third party crashes into you then a hire car will be provided as it's not your fault and costs can be recovered from the third party.

 

People often think the MOT test checks everything on their car. It's really just a basic test to make sure your cars not going to fall apart. Would they spot and tell you about an oil leak?....Maybe. It would have to be large enough to be a concern. The problem it's not uncommon for cars to get tiny oil leaks and MOT testers are not allowed to remove things like under trays which can hide most of the engine from view.

 

 

This next bit is me just trying to explain why things have happened. It's not having a go but it might help others understand how things work in this industry.

 

You have not received the 'red carpet' treatment because there was no other party involved. That means the insurance company cannot recover costs from a third party. To be fair I think you have done well getting insurance to pay out for mechanical breakdown. Not sure if your failure was a water leak that caused overheating then engine seizure, or oil leak that caused seizure. Either way if you put yourself in the assessors shoes you start to ask questions like:

- What caused the water or oil leak.

- When was the car serviced and by who. How often was the water and oil level checked.

- Did the servicing cause the water leak e.g. Is the garage liable

- Was the leak caused by road debris

- Was the car being used when the oil temperature was shown to be high

- Did the oil light come and was the car stopped immediately to prevent damage.

- Did the engine start to sound rough over time as the oil level dropped. Or did the car overheat as the water leak developed e.g. fan running on for long periods of time.

 

As you can see those sort of questions could lead to many avenues of blame which is what insurance is all about. It's like the whole debate of should we check our cars over before every use. It would be highly impractical and take too much time so like everyone else I too just get in and drive. I check my oil and tire pressures once a month but some people would argue that's not enough . Once you get a good payout try to just chalk it up to very bad luck and try and move on. Hope you find a worthy replacement for the mini and buy a lottery ticket, your overdue some good luck now!

[honeybee13]

Hello Beela.

 

I've started a new thread for you. Please let us know how it goes, we like to hear the outcomes and you could help someone is future who reads this.

 

My best, HB

[unclebulgaria67]

Don't think this needed a new thread. It was a post commenting about the situation of the OP on the other thread.

 

I can only presume the case concerned a car fire, where the Insurers were considering whether their Policyholder was to blame for the fire, as they had not maintained their car. Without seeing the engineers report into the damage, it would be difficult to comment. As with all Insurance issues, Policyholders have to understand that they are responsible for minimising the risk to their Insurers, by taking measures to avoid any loss happening.

[unclebulgaria67]

Is this in relation to a Hastings mechanical breakdown policy ?

 

Normal Car Insurances don't cover mechanical breakdown, so I am not sure why Hastings have become so involved with a broken down car, unless it is for Car Breakdown cover.

[beela.1]

my policy is fully comp, and it does cover break down and repairs, nationwide stated my leakage was the water pipe and the piep was leaking fior a while and you could not miss it

i was driving on the a38 when i heard a click and them when i got to birmingham i heard a knock which made me loose control of the car and then the steam started coming out this was not a fire to the it was seize/cooked.

i am a freak in checking the oil and water on the car aswell as the tyres and this i used to do every sunday once a sweek.

the most disappointment is that i can not buy my car back from the compnay its not in there policy but my mini was a sentimental value to me n was a birthday present, it would be nice to have some sort of goodluck i seem to be kirst with threads of badluck

[beela.1]

my policy is fully comp, and it does cover break down and repairs, nationwide stated my leakage was the water pipe and the piep was leaking fior a while and you could not miss it

i was driving on the a38 when i heard a click and them when i got to birmingham i heard a knock which made me loose control of the car and then the steam started coming out this was not a fire to the it was seize/cooked.

i am a freak in checking the oil and water on the car aswell as the tyres and this i used to do every sunday once a sweek.

the most disappointment is that i can not buy my car back from the compnay its not in there policy but my mini was a sentimental value to me n was a birthday present, it would be nice to have some sort of goodluck i seem to be kirst with threads of badluck