Insurance - Need Help

[Rik 0]

On 28th Feb this year someone drive into my beloved Peugeot 205 gti (1.6, 90k on clock, completely standard, untouched classic, great condition!),

The accident was completely her fault she cut a corner and drove into me! Front wing, suspension and bumper damaged...

 

Her insurance have admitted liability.

The day after the accident i received a hire car from Albany Assistance (acting on behalf of Admiral insurance).

It was my responsibiltiy to go and get a quote to fix the car.

2 weeks after they called me up saying they wanted the car back as I hadnt filled out the required forms.

I checked that i'd done all the forms they sent me for the hire car (electronically signed via there web portal) and thought nothing of it.

The hire car place tried to contact me a few times but I thought it was just for the forms again, which i had filled out so i ignored the calls.

Plus, it is not in my T&C's to deal with that company.

 

Earlier this month Albany said I would be liable for the additional charges between the hire car termination and the time it took them to recover the car - this amounts to £1200!!!!!

It turns out that these so called 'forms' was the actual quote they wanted for my car and they have said because I was holing up the quote I would be liable. NOT ONCE DID ADMIRAL OR ALBANY SAY I WAS HOLDING UP THE QUOTE, NOR DID THEY CALL ME TO ASK ON THE PROGRESS OF GETTING A QUOTATION OF THE CAR!!!

 

Because i gave them my card details for the 'fuel surcharge', according to my bank they are well within their rights to take the money (£1200) out of my account.

 

At this moment in time i am £1200 out of pocket, and have numerous overdue notices

The insurance are offering £750 for my car as its 'beyond economical repair' (i think its worth well over £1500)

 

I'm still trying to get them to fix the car by proving that its worth more than £750. They even recognise its worth more and they have said this to me!!! But its in my policy that they hold the power to decide how a claim is settled. I want the car fixing as i beleive the damage isnt all that bad.

 

I'm trying to get advice on what to do, I have started a complaint with the Financial Ombudsman and am looking at writing to my MP but i'm going to end up with no car and be £450 out of pocket all because someone else drove into me.

 

This is making me sick now, physically, i cant sleep at night and i feel depressed each day that something like this can happen, can i sue for stress? and is there anything i can do to get my money back?

 

Cheers

Rik

[Anthony 1,003]

There's two seperate issues here:

 

1) The valuation on your car

2) The hire car and costs associated with it

 

The valuation on your car should be easy enough to sort out, and unfortuntately is something that people frequently have to go through when the initial insurance offer is too low - the usual adverts for similar age/mileage/condition cars, reasons why it should be worth more than book price, etc.

 

Whether you'll get them to fix it is another matter entirely though, as mentions of "suspension damage" will usually mean considerable cost. It maybe better to let them write the car off with a decent settlement, buy it back for peanuts and then repair the car yourself - although it will of course always be recorded as a write off.

 

The hire car issue is more problemsome as I know that there are usually some nasty clauses in the small print that you would have signed and agreed to which can mean that you're liable for costs that the insurance company won't/doesn't pay. I don't know enough about the finer details, and if you're registered over there, something like the "S,P & L" section on Pistonheads would be a much better place to ask.

 

Ignoring the calls and requests to return the car wasn't your best move though, as I'm sure you've now realised...

[GLPoomobile 958]

Well if you learn nothing else from this experience, at least learn that it never helps to bury your head in the sand. I have this argument with my wife about stuff all the time. No matter how strongly you feel that you are in the right, don't ignore something and hope it'll just go away.

 

I've also got to say - even if it's not what you want to hear - that I'm surprised you expected to be allowed to keep a hire car for so long

[Rik 0]

Even if I hadnt held the quote up or didnt give the car back I had a right to keep it and thats what i'm sticking too. I held the quote up probably about two weeks if this hadnt of happened I would still have the car now due to the slow progression of the insurance company.

 

I got my money back, 3 days after it left my account they didnt have a leg to stand on.

I buried my head in the sand for a reason and that was because I knew the company had made some significant errors in their process for not properly alerting me that the hire car was terminated, i.e. they had allowed me to drive an un-insured car. Something that i could easily take matters alot further than just getting my money back.

 

Anyhow, after getting my money back they have now offered £750 for the car to write it off as CAT C. The assessors have quoted £1500 to fix the car. My garage had no input to these figures.

 

What i'm going to do is get my own quote, which will be alot less than theres as i have a few parts myself (i.e. a wheel!)

Prove to them the car is worth more than £750 and more than it is to fix it and negotiate with them that its less money for them to fix it as it is to scrap it!

 

Any thoughts?

[bobdylan_55 1]

can you not let them write it off, then buy it back fix it, get a vic check and then get it mot'd?

[Rik 0]

Anthony / GLPoomobile - thanks for your replies.

 

After my last post i said i would get my own quote. I did just that and including the garage bills and my own parts i got the bill down to £1200 to fix my car.

 

I sent the insurance a letter totalling all my losses and threatening action with the financial ombudsman. I've just had a clla back today and the're offering to pay the full £1200 to fix the car. THIS WAS A WEEK AFTER THEY OFFERED £750 TO WRITE TE CAR OFF

 

LESSON LEARNED HERE!!!! Insurance companies CAN be beaten

[feb 47]

Good on you, it is not clear whether you knew from the beginning they had done something wrong (seems not) or you found that out later, but anyhow it shows that without fighting for your rights nothing can be achieved.

So how did you prove to them the car is worth more than £1200 it takes to fix it? Similar advertisemements etc. I guess?

Well done.