Quickfit car insurance nightmare please help

alexander2411

Hi there. I was wondering if any of you could give me advice. About 8 months ago I was dropping my girlfriend off to work; I pulled up outside the shop and turned my engine off. There’s no parking restrictions such as yellow lines or signs to say you can’t stop outside the shop. I was there for about 30 seconds when all of a sudden a big people carrier reversed from its parking spot into the side of me.



I got out and the guy was shouting at me like an idiot, even though I hadn’t moved. He was screaming "I didn’t look behind me because I didn’t expect anyone to be there". Now this is outside a busy retail shop where kids often go to.

kwikfit i meant aswell sorry
Since the accident I have gone from paying £100 a month to £330 which over the past 8 months has put a strain on me. I can’t afford to pay this simply because I’m a student and only work part time. The insurance company is charging me extra because they haven’t worked out whose fault it is yet and they said I can’t change insurance because the claim is still going through. To make matters worse the guy is saying that he had his reverse light on and it wasn’t his fault. Even though I was there even before he started reversing.


My insurance people don’t seem to be bothered and have passed this case from one person to another and I’ve actually been told that one of the people who were supposed to have been looking at my case for the last couple of months doesn’t even work there and no one has been looking at my case. I’m with quick fit by the way and they haven’t helped me one bit.


My question is what can I do. I can’t get rid of my car because I need it for work/uni and I can’t keep borrowing money to pay back my insurance each and every month.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks. Alex

benjaminM

If your vehicle was stationary and he reversed into you it 'sounds' like its his fault. Without knowing all the facts we can only assume it might be his fault.

Your insurers are right on one thing, whilst the claim is still pending your no claims bonus will be withheld. Not sure if they can stop you from changing insurers though. You cannot change in the same insurance year but when your policy is due for renewal you should be able to move to another company and this should not affect the claim. Some brokers/insurers are of the opinion its better not to move insurers when claims are still pending but unless there is something in their terms I'm not sure they can stop you moving.

Did you have legal cover on your policy? Might be worth contacting them if you feel the incident was non fault.

alexander2411

i dont mind losing my no claims bonus i dont even mind if they say it was my fauly because if checked online with various different insurance companies with a new quote and i said on the quote that ive had an accident in the last 5 years and that it was my fault and the quotes came up that were much cheaper than mine.

this accident happened during my first year with kwik fit and they told me i had to go with them for a second year while this claim was going through so it seams they lied to me. i was specificly told that i couldnt go with another compay while the claim was going through.

ive got like 3 or 4 months left with them now so how can i go about changing insurance companies when renewel time is up?

as for legal cover il have to check im not really sure.

thanks.

daveyjp

If your car was stationary it's the other drivers' fault - full stop, open and shut case.

There's no reason why this is dragging on. Time for some serious letters from you to your insurance Chief Exec and legal action against the other driver. You are quite at liberty to go through the small claims court and sue the other driver directly.

alexander2411

thank you davey, i really dont want to sue, but i feel the way the other driver acted at the time and the way he is acting now then maybe i should to teach him a lesson. i just want the ordeal to be over with. i cant afford to go any where and at this time im simply working to pay my insurance.

il start writing letters right away. thanks again guys. this really could be the light at the end of the tunnel for me

alexander2411

any one have any tips on what i should write to the insurance company to get the best results?

Dave101t

kwik fit? really? you must of accepted some liability for it to drag on like this. and premiums shouldnt change during a pending enquiry, all i can say if choose a better insurance company next time, more reputable and learn from this.
if the story is as you said, it was open and shut case as mentioned, stand your ground on these things!
writing to the insurance company now wont do much as you have let it drag on so they know you will cave in to whatever they say, try to get hold of a manager, question the case piece by piece, make a complaint over the case handling and try to get alternative insurance in the mean time.
will a pending case effect new quotes? i thought your premium only goes up once case and fault is finalised?

alexander2411

i didnt accept any liability. after the accident they told me that while the accident was under investigation i had to pay a higher ammount i told them that i wasnt willing to and i wanted to get my insurance else where once my renewal date was up they told me this wasnt possible and i had to go with them for the 2nd year. im not happy with this because obviously from the comments on this board this was a blatant lie.

the worst part is the damage only cost £400 to fix and i didnt realise that i didnt have to claim, i just thought this is how it works. now im paying around £300 each month while kwik fit are in no rush to get the case solved.

alexander2411

sorry for buping thread but does any one have any advice to what i can do? thanks

Quote

From what you say here there is no earthly reason why this is taking so long. Ring them up and cause merry hell. You were hit by a reversing third party while you were stationary. It doesn't get any more straightforward than that. All this nonsense about not being able to move insurers, this claim taking so long to settle. I've never heard such codswallop. Get them on the phone, speak to a manager, get a resolution. This makes my blood boil. It's exactly this type of behaviour that gives the insurance industry a bad name. And you still have problems send me a PM. I'll ring them on your behalf.

Kwik Fit replaced the exhaust pipe on my car. That's where my relationship with them ends. Why on earth would anyone expect them to be able to sort out insurance without making a balls up of some kind?

vaio

Quote wrote: »

.......Kwik Fit replaced the exhaust pipe on my car. That's where my relationship with them ends. Why on earth would anyone expect them to be able to sort out insurance without making a balls up of some kind?

I guess it’s different people do the exhausts/tyres and the insurance.

Having said that the general company ethos of generating as much profit as possible by being “economical” with reality with the intention of generating additional work and/or retaining customers seems to span both divisions.

Couple that with an uncanny ability to balls up even the simplest job (exhaust or claim) and I’d be inclined to avoid them.