Autoglass

KAJL

Hi all, Really hoping for some useful advice!

Last week, late in the afternoon, my husband reversed into a lorry in an airport car park and broke the back windscreen of our car. He called me to sort it out with our insurance company as he had to catch a flight.

When I called the insurance co. I was automatically put through to their preferred windscreen company. All they could offer me was a temporary repair the next day and a full repair more than 1 week later. I said that this was unacceptable as the car would be left unsecured in the car park for a number of days until my husband’s return; We live more than 2 hours away from the airport and therefore I couldn’t collect it (small children at school etc.).

I asked my insurance company if I could use Autoglass and was told that I could, but that they would only pay up to £150. I therefore said that I would like a quote. I spoke to directly to Autoglass as well and told them I would like a price. I had a call early the next morning from Autoglass to say that they were on their way to the airport and would meet me there. I said that I would not be there as I was at home 2 hours away. That is the last I heard from anyone until the next day when I had a call to say that the windscreen was fixed and that I had a bill of over £700 to pay!!!

I am unwilling to pay this amount for a number of reasons:

• We pay fully comprehensive insurance to avoid huge repair costs in the event of an accident.

• My insurance company surely must take measures whereby our car is repaired and secure in the event of an accident. They were not able to do this, as our car would have been vulnerable to theft and inclement weather for a number of days before a proper repair was made. Therefore the approved windscreen repairer’s service was lacking given the situation we were in. I have 2 small children and it was impossible for me to go to the airport to collect the car.

• I made it clear that I wanted to know how much the repair would be before I went ahead. I received no word from our Insurance or Autoglass.

• I believe that the temporary repair and subsequent second visit, by my Insurance windsreen department, would have been more expensive than the single visit repair by Autoglass.

Surely it’s more than reasonable that my Insurance company should cover the cost of this repair as the proposed repair by the in house windscreen department was totally inadequate for this particular situation.

Would really welcome any comments. Thanks in advance.

Gene_Hunt_2

So let me get this right.

You chose not to so as the insurance company said by using you prefered company with a £150 limit and when it costs more you complain?


Pay up and move on.

jambo1981

If you asked them for a quote first and they have just gone ahead and carried out the work refuse to pay as it was not authorised. Speak to their head office and explain the situation and see what they say.

adamc260

The thing is, you were offered a repair that, I presume would make the vehicle 'safe' whilst a new screen was on order. You chose to use another company knowing the limit was £150 =/!

globalds

Do you know how they were going to make it safe ( with a temporary repair)?

Did you ask ?

forgotmyname

Your contract is with autoglass, You must have told them to do the work and known what the price was.

Normal policy for the insurance to use their own suppliers, Same with accident repairs for most as wll, Use their repairer
and excess us usually lower.

You could have left it to the insurance then put a claim in for any other damage caused by the delay of fitting the screen.
Probably smallprint somewhere to say you should secure the vehicle.

You need to speak to autoglass though i presume they will file a court claim against you, They wont care about your dispute
with your insurance, You contacted them and agreed the work not your insurance.

gilbert_and_sullivan

Think you've left yourself wide open on this one.

The car was in an airport car park, usually reasonably secure camera'd places, without the keys your car was as safe as anywhere and better than most.

The windscreen company were going to perform a temp repair, which you refused but don't say what sort of repair was offered...i'd guess a sheet of perspex would have been cut to size and temporarily bonded in place, as secure as any sheet of glass given the cars parking area IMO.

As the parking company must have had the keys, they would have had your car available anyway, therefore unlikely to have dumped it in some remote insecure part of the site...with national security so high profile these days i wouldn't want to be a villain trying to interfere with cars parked at an airport, likely to find yourself looking up the business end of a rifle and a serious looking geezer at the other end of it.

Insurance company will have negotiated a good deal with their preferred screen co, likely the temp would have been a freeby due to the fact they didn't have a rear screen in stock.
By insisting on an outside screen contractor they can and probably have charged full retail price, which may be 2 or 3 times the price normally paid by the insurer.

The screen co informed you they were en route, you should have stopped them going to the car at all till you'd negotiated a price.

I hope you manage to get something sorted with the insurer, all depends on the company in question.

dacouch

Sounds like Autoglass have done their old chestnut of going out "Early morning" so they can add an out of hours charge on as well

newfoundglory

Like other posters, I think you have really exposed yourself to paying this large bill.

When in a restaurant and the server comes up to you to ask if everything is okay your meal... you don't think they are being nice do you? No - you are agreeing to pay the bill.

You were called and told you they were on their way - you agreed - despite not knowing the price.

I don't see it as your job to worry out whether the car is secure after an accident. Your insurance company should ask you that, and if its not, they need to sort it out or do nothing. They are the one carrying the risk.

mikey72

If you haven't asked them to, don't pay them. I don't know where the "contract" is coming from, just because they decided to do it when you weren't there does mean you are obliged to pay them. How do they get the keys, did they ask the car park staff for them, and with whose authority?

gilbert_and_sullivan

mikey72 wrote: »

just because they decided to do it when you weren't there does mean you are obliged to pay them.

From the OP...

''I had a call early the next morning from Autoglass to say that they were on their way to the airport and would meet me there. I said that I would not be there as I was at home 2 hours away.''

No doubt all conversations are recorded.

It will be intersting to hear the outcome.