Insurance Refusing To Complete Car Repairs

Colossuss

Hi All,

This has been a major headache, I'm just looking to find some ideas to help me resolve this issue and get my car roadworthy as I really need it for commuting to work.

At the beginning of the month I was turning right into a junction, a car was waiting to pull out from the junction I was turning into. They turned out too eary, driving into my offside rear quarter/wheel. Now I have no problem with the guy that drove into me. In fact he was a generally nice old guy, we exchanged information and had a chat. He admitted fault, and all that (as far as I know) which is normally the most complicated part of making an insurance claim, has gone by pretty simply.

However, the repairs to my car havnt.

DF Crash Repairs collected my car a couple of days after the accident, and I recieved a courtesy car from Fleet Services (A nice new Megane, which was a pleasure to drive for two weeks and probably the newst car I've ever driven). Upon collection I told them that there was a very loud droning sound coming from the rear of the car, and told them it sounded like a wheel bearing. Despite me trying to help they just ignored me.

2 weeks later, on a Friday, I received a call during the morning. It was the garage, telling me that the car would be repaired and availible to collect that evening. So after ringing the hire car people to tell them the work on my car had been finished (To avoid any charge on myself), they told me to leave the car and the keys with the garage so it could be collected. Later that day it became evident that I wouldn't be able to leave work at a reasonable time, so I rang the garage to confirm their closing time and asked how it was going with my car. They told me that they were currently doing a 4 wheel alignment check, and it was taking longer than they had hoped. Because of this, it would be ready Monday instead. Leaving me then to call the hire car company and rearrange the collection for Monday.

At first, this didn't really bother me as I had "accidentally" (Day dreaming) put £50 of petrol in the hire car the day before. So I was quite glad that I'd be able to use that petrol up.

On the Monday, after work, I went to collect my car. I (Stupidly) signed the collection form before test driving it, argh. Anyway, I got in it and drove it just down the road and the noise was still there. So I immediatly returned it to them, telling them the issue (again). A mechanic took it out for a drive (Despite telling me it had already been road tested) and on his return he told me that there was indeed a loud droning noise coming from the rear offside wheel, but it wasn't the wheel rubbing so must be the wheel bearing (Sounds firmiliar, no?). They agreed to do the work and check it all over again ready for me to collect it the following evening. So I rang the hire car company again to inform them I would need the car for another day.

I returned on the Tuesday. Before I went to the car I asked the mechanic what they had done. He informed me that they had changed the rear offside wheel bearing. I asked about the nearside, as wheel bearings should be changed in pairs. He told me that because the collision was to the offside that they weren't allowed to change the nearside. I tried to discuss it more with him, to which he out right refused to comment anymore on it. I even asked him "Do you think wheel bearing should be changed in pairs, because I'm pretty sure they should" for him to simply reply "I can't say". What sort of mechanic "Can't say" on something that is meant to be their profession?

So I drove my car back to my house, fortunatly only a couple of miles away. The droning noise that was originally still there is still there, however before it was around 35mph and now its around 45mph and coming from the nearside rather than the offside.

I've rang Albany Assistance to tell them how disatisfied I am with the work and that I want the car to be analysed by another garage, which they outright refused. They told me I could get another garage to look at it, and if the garage make a writen report saying that the acident caused whatever problems then they would investigate it further, but I'm concerned that they will continue to refuse to do the work. Leavinig me with a car that wont pass a MOT and is completely unroadworthy. I also tried to talk to them about the work that was doen to my car, and they seemed to have no idea about what had been done. They knew that the offside rear wheel had been refurbished and that the rear quarter had been repaired. But had no idea about the offside rear wheel bearing until I told them. So I think the garage has made a complete balls of it; not road tested the car when they first got it, not checked it over to find any underlying issues and only reportedthe cosmetic issues to the insurance company. And now after writing this I'm wondering what other issues they might have missed, as anything could have gone wrong and they would have missed it.

Anyway, to try and be somewhat productive with getting my car back on the road I have booked it into my regular garage (Owned by a friend of a family friend) for them to write a report and change the nearside wheel bearing (As I can't afford to not be able to get to work, which is 25 miles away from my home). That'll be done on Friday. I've emailed a complaint to Albany and Admiral (My insurer). And I'm planning on ringing Admiral today to have a moan about it some more.

Any thoughts on what I can do if Albany refuse to pay out for the work that need to be done?

vax2002

Just issue them a letter (IN WRITING) , stating that your vehicle has not been rectified to pre accident condition and you are dissatisfied with the service of their agent, that you will be taking yourself up on your legal right to be compensated and have your vehicle returned to pre-accident condition.
You shall be soliciting and engineers report upon what is required to return the car to pre- collision condition and issuing an invoice for the work, which due to your obligations to reduce costs of hire cars ect will be carried out at the earliest opportunity.
If that invoice is not paid, you shall seek legal redress via the small claims court.
That you have given the insurance company enough opportunity to instruct its agents to complete the work and the garage has also been informed of outstanding work.
that you hold the other driver and his contracted insurance liable for all costs in doing so as well as preparing the report.
The report will be forwarded in due course.

InsideInsurance

Colossuss wrote: »

I've rang Albany Assistance to tell them how disatisfied I am

Ok, so you are going through Credit Repairs and Credit Hire? This makes things more complex and certainly credit repairs is something I would always avoid.

Who passed you on to (aka sold your details to) Albany to deal with the repairs to your vehicle?

Colossuss

Yeah a ltter was the next thing to go later today, I'll make sure to cover the points you mentioned, cheers

Admiral are my insurers, Albany are the company making the claim for Admiral

InsideInsurance

Also take the matter up with Admiral. They have sold your details to Albany and your contract of insurance is with Admiral not Albany so have an obligation to assist. Plus you can complain to the FOS about your insurers, you cannot complain to the FOS about accident management companies.