Engine caught fire- Insurance company problem

akahn99

Hi all

2 weeks ago my mum bought a peugeot 206 1999 W reg AUTOMATIC car from a private seller for 1500 which was the cheapest deal we found in london..this car was in very good condition, no dents or scratches, clean interior exterior and tints with CD player etc, until the engine caught fire so the fire brigade had to be called, we have called up the insurance company which is QUINN-DIRECT as we had fire cover, they have taken the car and their mechanic/assessor is valuing the car at 800! They will also take 300 out for fees apparantly which leaves us with just 500 from our insurance company so we are being ripped off, I would like to see them buy me exactly the same car at that price they are valueing it at! We defntly do not accept this price and would like to go against it, any ideas on what to do? Should I email quinn-direct?

steveo3002

my advise when our car got written off was to gather up news paper and autotrader ads for similar cars and submit those to the insurance company

they always try it on with a poor first offer

FlyingDodo

I recently had my car written off, the insurance company made me an offer, which I didn't agree with, so I sent them information on 3 cars that were the same model, same age and similar condition and mileage(which I found on the autotrader website), they then reconsidered their offer and increased it by £160, so def worth haggling with them. I also got to keep the car.:D

flang

steveo3002 wrote: »

they always try it on with a poor first offer

Not always!
I got a very very good offer for my old car that i took the money and ran!!! :j
they do say never accept the first offer

MX5huggy

As said don't accept the offer research on autotrader how much getting a replacement is. Put this forward as evidence.

What do they say the fees are for? Are they to pay for the rest of the policy that you have not paid up as it is on monthly payments?

akahn99

Thanks for all your replies

Okay so I will basically print the pages out, should i write a letter to them or email them?

raskazz

Adverts aren't particularly relevant as the price advertised is hardly ever the sale price, it is usually a point at which negotiation between buyer and seller begins. This is how the Financial Ombudsman Service views motor insurance vehicle valuations (the second article is older):

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/66/66-vehicle_valuation_disputes.html

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/22/issue-22-motorinsurance.htm

FlyingDodo

When I haggled with my insurance company, I emailed them (copied the other cars info and attached it to email) as I was told that the response would be quicker, approx 2 -3 days, whereas if I were to post it, it could be at least a week -10 days before I had a reply!

anewman

raskazz wrote: »

Adverts aren't particularly relevant as the price advertised is hardly ever the sale price, it is usually a point at which negotiation between buyer and seller begins. This is how the Financial Ombudsman Service views motor insurance vehicle valuations (the second article is older):

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/66/66-vehicle_valuation_disputes.html

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/22/issue-22-motorinsurance.htm

Completed listings on Ebay might be a good place to start then as that is the exact amount of money that has been handed over without any doubts whatsoever.

akahn99

They called up today and said they will not change their decision, person over phone was rude too, what is the right procedure for court? dont know what to do now,please help

vaio

I think the next stage is to get a letter confirming they will not re-consider and then take it to the insurance ombudsman or court