Directline !!!!!!?

gebby7323

ok..my 1st post so plz help if u can..my story is:-

10 months ago my daughter passes her driving test..we get her a peugot 106 on an R plate..we spend £800 on a serveice and parts etc..etc..recently 2 new tyres on the rear..BTW my wife is 42 and my daughter is 25 and has a daughter of her own..

so a few weeks ago someone rear ended her.."dont worry" we said,we got fully comp insurance so no worries(so we thought).Now they offered us £960 as the car was a write off..of course you never accept the 1st offer...then the proverbial fecal matter hit the fan.

apparently we didnt tell them about the alloy wheels on the car?? i said why...they came with the car when we brought it and i thought i only had to inform you of modifications I make to the car...apparently not!!??

anyhow.i told the woman who phoned us who appeared to accept our story and we thought thats the last of it.well..yesterday 1/7/08 the MOST rude woman ever rings us..insists my wife pay £189.00 or thet are going to cancel the policy because we didnt tell them about a modification we didnt know about and we never made..any advice on what i do now..i,m going to try complaining to direct but am not hopeful..so where do i go from there??
MIB or financial ombudsman??

thanks in advance for all suggestions

haggisAThome

ahh the old get out clause for the insurance ... are they standard peugeot alloy wheels ? or aftermarket ?

Phlik

If the car didn't roll off the assembly line with alloy wheels as standard then it is classed as a modification, even if the wheels fitted are genuine Peugeot items.

If the alloys are not Peugeot wheels then I'd pay the £189 and be thankful.

If they are genuine Peugeot wheels then you might be able to persuade them otherwise, I wouldn't push your luck though. Trying to get insurance after you've had a policy cancelled due to a fraudulent claim is very difficult, very expensive and will follow her for the rest of her life.

Out of interest, how much did you buy the car for originally?

Phlik

thescouselander

As far as I am aware, if the alloy wheels were an option or standard fit on that specific model and year of car then it is not a modification. If this is the case for your car then its worth arguing the point and threaten to take it up with the FOS - with any luck they will decide its cheaper to concede.


If the wheels are after market ones then it is definately a modification in which case you will probably have to pay up.

AdrianHi

Firstly, if you do feel you need to complain follow the procedure:
http://www.directline.com/complaints/complaintsprocedure.htm
The "FOS" will expect you to have done this before getting them involved.

I am surprised to hear that the person you dealt with was rude, but it is your responsibility to inform them of modifications which is a tough one since many people are not going to know enough about cars to know which wheels are standard and which are not. Under the circumstances, asking you to pay the premium difference rather than refusing the claim is more than they legally have to do.

Keith

thescouselander wrote: »

As far as I am aware, if the alloy wheels were an option or standard fit on that specific model and year of car then it is not a modification. If this is the case for your car then its worth arguing the point and threaten to take it up with the FOS - with any luck they will decide its cheaper to concede.


If the wheels are after market ones then it is definately a modification in which case you will probably have to pay up.

This is the case, I think the rule was established by someone who fitted the old RS 7 spokes to his Ford and the insurance company tried to void his policy for it.

raskazz

thescouselander wrote: »

As far as I am aware, if the alloy wheels were an option or standard fit on that specific model and year of car then it is not a modification.

No, optional extras are still classed as modifications as they do alter the performance / desirability to theives / value of the car and as such also affect the risk to the insurer. It also doesn't matter whether the non-standard wheels are Peugeot or not - what matters is that they have altered the spec of the car from the standard spec.

You have to declare all modifications or extras added, regardless of whether you made the changes yourself or a previous owner did. The onus is on the policyholder to find out if the car is altered and notify the insurer accordingly.

On the facts, the insurer is dealing with the matter in the right way. This is a case of 'inadvertent non-disclosure' and - in accordance with the FOS guidance - they are offering to deal with the claim subject to the payment of the difference between the premium paid and the premium that would have been charged had the modification been disclosed when the policy was set up.

Phlik

raskazz wrote: »

No, optional extras are still classed as modifications as they do alter the performance / desirability to theives / value of the car and as such also affect the risk to the insurer. It also doesn't matter whether the non-standard wheels are Peugeot or not - what matters is that they have altered the spec of the car from the standard spec.

You have to declare all modifications or extras added, regardless of whether you made the changes yourself or a previous owner did. The onus is on the policyholder to find out if the car is altered and notify the insurer accordingly.

On the facts, the insurer is dealing with the matter in the right way. This is a case of 'inadvertent non-disclosure' and - in accordance with the FOS guidance - they are offering to deal with the claim subject to the payment of the difference between the premium paid and the premium that would have been charged had the modification been disclosed when the policy was set up.

Yup, exactly the way I understand it too.

Some of the more unscrupulous insurance companies would have to just thrown your claim out and cancelled your policy.

Phlik

Hintza

OP was your daughter hit or did she hit someone? If the former why is it going through your insurance if she is not at fault?

cajef

Phlik wrote: »

Yup, exactly the way I understand it too.

Agreed, we bought a six month old car from a main dealer which unknown to us had been fitted with optional factory alloys from new, it was involved in an accident and written off.

The insurance, which was also Direct Line, requested an extra payment to cover the wheels as they were considered as a non-standard modification, but this was actually more than recovered as the extra cost of the alloys was taken into account and added to the value of the car in the final settlement.

AdrianHi

When I first took a policy out for my new factory order car back in November 2005 with Direct Line (been with them for years before that) they wanted to know all the additional options I had on the car, these are listed on my policy document.