Devitt asking for insurance instalments when bike was stolen and cancelled

[mashmallow]

My sons bike got stolen,

 

 

police have found it and sent letter for collection,

 

 

what are the fees as I don't know if it is worth getting back,

 

 

if they keep it what will they charge him. he

 

Thanks

 

Mashmallow

[MaxxPower]

Do they charge a fee on stolen property like this? I thought if you went for it more or less right away then it was just returned to you. Seems immoral at best to charge you a fee for returning stolen property when retrieving it is their job.

[mashmallow]

Yes I would have thought so, cannot even call tem or e-mail, called police for advice and was told to go down there. They could have called first, but sent a letter. He will have to pay to get the bike back as it is and there is ignition damage, so he does not want to know, no body told them to keep it in their compound so god knows what date they found it? all they could charge me is £75 for crushing it I think, aint got a clue???

 

 

 

 

Mashmallow

[aburobert]

I think you can appeal the fee.

 

My Yamaha FJ1200 was removed from a motor way after I had broken down. This was removed in the time it took me to get to a telephone and call the AA and getting back to the bike. I thought it had been stolen but after a bit of detective work found it had been taken to a police pound where they wanted to charge me for its removal from the motor way plus storage. To cut a long story short I appealed the charge by speaking to the officer in charge of the pound explaining what had happened. He did not argue at all just agreed to release the bike and I took it away on a trailer.

 

In your case - the bike was stolen and you have come to recover your property. If they want to charge you ask under what grounds and plead poverty and ignorance - and surely the person who stole the bike should be charged not the victim etc. If you are calm and reasonable there is a good chance you will retrieve the bike without problems.

[mashmallow]

Apparently there is some damage, he is going tomorrow to see it, if there is too much damage can he leave it with them to dispose of. They will probably charge a disposal fee.

Also further expense of getting back via pick up vehicle.

 

 

Thanks for your reply very useful.

[SabreSheep]

if its too damaged, why pay a disposal fee.

 

Scrap it for cash

[mashmallow]

The police called and said the bike was recovered in my area and taken to Charlton

 

 

apparently I told them to store it in a safe place,

no one called to let me know they had found the bike which was found in my area,

 

 

could have called and told me to deal with it

but no take to a pound and so far the cost is £240.

 

 

Spoke to the pound and told them I did not want to know anyone about the bike

and they said after 14 days after recovery it will be disposed of but could still want costs for storage.

 

 

I reported it to my insurane company when it was stolen and had no response back until

 

 

I called them and they said no call was logged and now wanted details

 

 

I have now told them where the bike was and I was claiming so by rights they should deal with it and any costs am I right or wrong.

 

 

Mashmallow

[mashmallow]

Further to this

 

 

he contacted the insurance company and told them the bike was reported stolen on the 19th December

but apparently the call was not logged,

 

 

so only now they are dealing with the claim,

they are taking the bike from the pound to a breakers/sales company in Canvey Island,

 

 

they are asking for the keys, services history and log book no doubt they are going to auction it off.

 

 

They have not mentioned anything about what actual damage was caused nor what or if they will pay out.

 

 

He was questioned by the assessor like he was in police custody.

 

 

Further to this he has paid his insurance for the whole year up to this month,

they are now saying he has to continue with his policy further until the claim is settled.

 

 

So he has to sign himself to another year of insurance payment even though he has not got the bike anymore.

 

 

Surely this is wrong???

any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

Mashmallow

[ericsbrother]

As long as it was insured at the time of the event that caused the claim the rest is nonsense.

 

 

You can insure with another company or not at all but you will have to go down the SORN route until they decide on what is happening

otherwise they may decide to repair and then have you reported for not having an insured/taxed vehicle and void the insurance.

 

 

Petty, but possible

[mashmallow]

Thanks for that

 

 

but further to this a new story has arisen,

 

 

Insurance company/loss adjusters collected the bike and took it somewhere in Chelmsford

asking for the keys, and relevant paperwork

this was sometime in January,

 

 

since then has heard nothing until contact was made by the ombudsman who he complained to.

Within 4 days finally got a letter from the insurance dept,

saying I owe then £270 which is for a further years insurance

and told me it is illegal to drive a vehicle without insurance.

 

 

He has not got the bike,

does not know who has got the bike,

does not know if it has been auctioned off or sold for scrap,

no mention of any payment coming to me.

 

 

They obviously believe I still have the bike and want to carry on with their insurance policy.

 

 

This is totally unbelievable.

 

 

the bike Is their property until the relevant paperwork is put in place and an offer is made to me for the loss of my bike

as it was covered by a so called insurance company.

 

 

Please advise on what he does not this is total nonsense.

 

He has also SORN it off the road beginning of March when the next tax instalment was due, so he has done everything by the book.

 

Please can someone give us any direction to what to do next.

 

Mashmallow

[mashmallow]

On the 19th December my sons bike was stolen from my drive

he reported it to the police and also to the claims department.

No news at all for about 4 weeks

when he contacted them to be told there was no claim recorded.

had to go through the whole details again.

The beginning of January got a letter from Charlton car pound saying the bike was recovered and kept there, costs have incurred in the region of £270.

My son told the insurance company as he paid his policy

it was down to them to investigate damages etc

and make me an offer as he did not have the money to take it out myself

they removed the bike and took it to their disposal grounds either to be auctioned off or to be sold.

They asked for the keys, log book, proof of licence and policy.

Since then

this was about a month and a half ago

they have not made an offer of any compensation to me or any settlement offer

instead he gets a letter from the Brokers Devitt asking for the next year insurance policy payment.

When the last years policy was paid in full and not renewed obviously because he no longer he no longer has a bike to insure.

You would have thought they knew of the bike being stolen and their claims assessors have possession of the vehicle.

He has no knowledge of where the bike is at present or what is going on.

Not a penny has been awarded.

This is totally out of order and disgraceful.

Please can someone give us any direction to what to do next.

 

 

Mashmallow

[dx100uk]

old and new threads merged for history

 

 

dx

[unclebulgaria67]

Make a formal complaint using their complaints procedure or write a letter to their head office addressed to their Managing Director.

 

Here is a link to their complaints procedure

 

http://www.devittinsurance.com/complaint-procedure/

 

What you want Devitt to do is investigate all the points you are making and to come back with a written response. I think it is time to make a formal complaint in writing.

[mashmallow]

Since my last post I totally had enough and called the insurance company to just return his bike which they did on 24/3.

 

 

Devitt apparently had no knowledge of this, hence

 

 

the 2nd April he went to his bank to draw his benefit out

only to find out that Devitt had taken £124.86 cancellation fee on behalf of the underwriters instructions ERS

who knew the bike was stolen and also up to the 24th March the bike was in their possession at a salvage company.

 

 

How can they just assume he intended to carry on paying for a policy when the bike was going through a claim,

he did not have the bike they had it,

the policy expired on the 6/3/15 all instalments were paid.

 

 

They took the money out without his knowledge and consent and

 

 

the Halifax tells him that the DD was authorised by my son??????????

 

 

Apparently the policy is carried on automatically if done online??

even so they must have had records of the situation of the vehicle and the claim?

 

This has left him with no money over Easter as it was his benefit and also left me out of pocket

not knowing if the money will be returned this is legal robbery as far as I can see.

 

 

I have contacted Devitt and also sent an e-mail but they have told us that we will have to wait until they hear from ERS (underwriters) is this right????

 

Please can someone advise us, this is totally out of control on all parties.

 

 

regards,

 

 

 

 

Mashmallow

[dx100uk]

nope haliprats are wrong [sadly as usual for them]

 

 

they MUST refund under the DD guarantee as the people taking the DD

did not write prior to taking it out.

 

 

under the DD guarantee they must inform you of when and what amount is coming out

 

 

they cannot just take it

 

 

the orginal guarantee would have only been for the duration of the insurance policy

 

 

and he would have gotten a schedule through as well prior to it being set up

 

 

this 'next years' payment will NOT be listed

so is unlawfull under the existing [expired] DD mandate

 

 

dx

[unclebulgaria67]

nope haliprats are wrong [sadly as usual for them]

 

 

they MUST refund under the DD guarantee as the people taking the DD

did not write prior to taking it out.

 

 

under the DD guarantee they must inform you of when and what amount is coming out

 

 

they cannot just take it

 

 

the orginal guarantee would have only been for the duration of the insurance policy

 

 

and he would have gotten a schedule through as well prior to it being set up

 

 

this 'next years' payment will NOT be listed

so is unlawfull under the existing [expired] DD mandate

 

 

dx

 

Agree.

 

Halifax have to refund, as it was not authorised or notified to you. All Halifax have to do, is to return unpaid per the Direct Debit guarantee. And remember to ask them to cancel the DD.

[Mwynci]

As Devitts are only a broker, ERS are calling the shots, make a complaint through Lloyd's ( I think it's the policyholder and market services dept, or it used to be).