Chaucer Direct

[Arty dinmore]

Hi hope you can help,

 

I took my car insurance out with Chaucer Direct through the company go compare. I paid extra for a courtesy car if in the event of an accident. I didn't look at the documents when they arrived in the post I just placed them in the filing cabinet. last tuesday evening a lady drove her car into mine while after I had managed to stop but she had continued on a country lane. My car was dented on the front & side panel dented. They now say my car is a right off, I have no courtesy car and I have until tomorrow to remove my personal items out of the car because they are towing it away. If I am not able to get to the car by tomorrow to remove the items they will be removed and held at the garage for me.

 

Can they just do that? Take my car and move my personal items out of it?

[unclebulgaria67]

No you don't have to accept this. If you have AA type cover, you might be able to get the car taken to the nearest garage or back to your house. Or you could arrange this yourself.

 

I suspect that there has been a remote assessment of the damage and likely repair costs. No one has actually been out to see the car. But they know that the repair costs are likely to be uneconomic from an Insurers point of view and in the absence of your instruction to the contrary, they will arrange to take the car to some salvage yard. Your personal items will then be taken out of the car and left for you to collect.

 

If you read about courtesy cars that are provided as you paid for this, there is often policy wording, about when this is provided. They would want a third party to claim the costs back.

 

In regard to the car, you may be able to get the car repaired yourself and not to have to write it off. You need your assessmet by a garage and then you can work out whether it is worth it. The Insurers should pay towards the costs, providing it is no more than the write off cost once the salvage value is taken into account.

 

It is a bit messy and is up to you whether you get involved or let the Insurers deal with it.

 

Nb. If you have traced the third party driver and they are Insured, you can always claim directly from their Insurance. Sometimes people find it easier dealing with a third parties Insurers, rather than their own company.

[Arty dinmore]

Hi, hope you can help!

 

Recently i've been involved in a car accident,

it was on a narrow country road & the other driver was driving so fast she couldn't stop her car hitting me.

 

 

My insurance company collected my car and took it straight to a holding bay.

 

 

Based on two photographs I had taken of the damage done to my car the insurance company decided remotely that the car is a category c total right off.

 

 

They told me if I didn't collect my personal property out of the car by the next day it would be removed and given to the garage to keep for me so that the car could be collected by the salvage company.

 

 

Even though my policy gives me a guarantee of a hire car they have given me no hire car and they have offered to pay out £1000 (less £200 excess) for my car when I insured for £2,500.

I wouldn't be able to get a replacement car of equal value.

 

What am I to do? I am at my wits end,

 

 

I'm having to take an hours bus journey into work (on a journey that usually takes me 1/2 hour), carrying lots of stuff and as I am self employed sometimes it's just for one appointment in the morning and then I have to wait all day for a final appointment at the end of the day.

 

P.s. The insurance company have told me that the incident is knock on knock because there were no witnesses.

[unclebulgaria67]

They won't always give you a hire car, if they cannot claim back the full cost of this from the third party.

 

All you can do is negotiate the correct market value and get payment of this ASAP. Check the market value guides eg. Glass.co.uk

 

Read this from the FOS

 

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/motor-valuation.html

 

The other point is whether the car is actually a write off. If the car is worth more than the amount being offered so far, then an economic repair may still be possible. You could get a garage to inspect and give you a costing for repair. If you have AA cover, they may arrange for the car to be taken to a garage. If you find out a repair can be done, cheaper than the correct write off market value, then the Insurers may pay for the repair.

 

Without witnesses it would be difficult to claim back from the third party. You could pay for a hire car, but then not get your money back, if you took them to court. If you need a hire car, you can one pretty cheap from a company like Enterprise or Europcar.

[Arty dinmore]

Surely the insurance company shouldn't be allowed to state that they 'guarantee' a hire car & charge me extra on my policy for it?

[unclebulgaria67]

Surely the insurance company shouldn't be allowed to state that they 'guarantee' a hire car & charge me extra on my policy for it?

 

Guarantee a hire car, but in what situation. Read the policy and it will state when a hire car will be provided.

[Arty dinmore]

Well it says guaranteed hire car (inc IPT) and in the key facts it states that this extension provides you with a guarantee hire car for 14 days after you suffer an insured claim under the motor policy.

[unclebulgaria67]

Well it says guaranteed hire car (inc IPT) and in the key facts it states that this extension provides you with a guarantee hire car for 14 days after you suffer an insured claim under the motor policy.

 

So get on the phone now and ask why they are not providing a hire car. If the key facts document states that then they should arrange one, as that document should mention important exclusions.

[Arty dinmore]

Hi I already did that at the beginning as I mentioned in my first post but they refused to give me one

[caro]

I have had this situation in the past and the insurance told me that it was because the car's a write off. They usually only provide one while your car is being repaired, but if it's not being repaired you don't get one, but double check the wording on your policy.

[unclebulgaria67]

Hi I already did that at the beginning as I mentioned in my first post but they refused to give me one

 

It is probably because the car is a write off. If you look at some key facts documents, it simply says that this optional cover is detailed in the policy wording. The Insurers would say that you should have read the policy, before buying this optional cover or within the 14 days cooling off period.

 

In some policies it is noted as courtesy car and not hire car. This is probably because the Insurers would arrange for their authorised repairers to provide a courtesy car for a short period, so it would not cost them too much.