car writen off.poor setilment offer

citykid5

hi all.looking for some advise on how to proceed with a insurance claim.details are.my mother in law hit a stationary car and caused enough damage to her car for her insurers to write it off.car was recoverd and consiquently sold by insurance company to a salvage agent.my m i l had no say in this matter.she then contacted the insurers and was asked to send in her v5 mot service history and purchase invoice.which she did.2 weeks later heard nothing so contacted the ins call centre and was told they were sending a cheque for £2800,we questioned why the payment was so low and the call centre advised us to still cash this cheque and then raise a dispute over thier valueation? we asses the car to be worth at least £4000.do you think we should cash the cheque? or do you think this would weaken our dispute.
details of car are as follows
2006 06
smart forfour pure 1.1 petrol
miles 21000
full s/history
owned from new
metalic paint.
any advice much appreciated c.k

tanith

If you don't agree with the valuation then of course you shouldn't cash the cheque, send it back telling them why. Whether it will get you a better price is another matter but you shouldn't usually accept the first offer so I've been told...

citykid5

tanith wrote: »

If you don't agree with the valuation then of course you shouldn't cash the cheque, send it back telling them why. Whether it will get you a better price is another matter but you shouldn't usually accept the first offer so I've been told...

thanks.thats exactly what i was thinking.surely once the cheque been cashed then that is my m.i l excepting thier offer?

Quentin

It's a bit of a grey area, and can be disputed if it hasn't been made clear to you the consequences, but cashing the cheque is usually taken to mean you are accepting the offer.

Definitely don't cash it if the letter says anything like "this is in full settlement of the claim".

citykid5

Quentin wrote: »

It's a bit of a grey area, and can be disputed if it hasn't been made clear to you the consequences, but cashing the cheque is usually taken to mean you are accepting the offer.

Definitely don't cash it if the letter says anything like "this is in full settlement of the claim".

thanks for your info.i suppose the golden rule would be the insurers will try it on,as you would exspect.does anybody know where they get thier valuations from? i can see this takeing a long time to come to a agreement. c.k

Quentin

citykid5 wrote: »

i suppose the golden rule would be the insurers will try it on,as you would exspect.

They are a business with shareholders etc, so are bound to settle at the most economic way.

Your valuation looks high (looking at parkers) - theirs not too bad, (especially if your excess has been taken off) where did you get yours from?

citykid5

Quentin wrote: »

They are a business with shareholders etc, so are bound to settle at the most economic way.

Your valuation looks high (looking at parkers) - theirs not too bad, (especially if your excess has been taken off) where did you get yours from?

parkers is always way off the mark imo.got mine from trying to source a simalar car from the main sites i.e auto trader ebay.i think 4k is a fair settlement.thanks for your view though,much appreciated c.k

oscarward

go to glasses web site and pay for a valuation, costs about £3 ish.

Then if it is above the offer show it the insurers and mention FOS guidelines.

If you go to dispute then eventually the ultimate arbiter is the financial ombudsman service who go with glasses price. They don't take any notice of what the dealers are asking for, unless you only bought the car a few months before and can show an invoice.

There's a link somewhere or just search the FOS web site for their guidance advice about valuation disputes.

jonnyd281

Don't forget the to take off your excess and any outstanding payments for the insurance - if your MIL pays monthly she will more than likely have to pay anything outstanding on her insurance, these would both be deducted from the settlement.

vaio

vaio wrote: »

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/motor-valuation.html#9

covers everything you need on valuations

Also, until the settlement is agreed the car does not belong to the insurance company and can't be sold for salvage

if you were feeling wicked you could tell them you want it back for inspection by your own valuer to examine

citykid5

vaio wrote: »

covers everything you need on valuations

Also, until the settlement is agreed the car does not belong to the insurance company and can't be sold for salvage

if you were feeling wicked you could tell them you want it back for inspection by your own valuer to examine

brilliant piece of advise.will bear it in mind.thanks