Might have to stump up cost for windscreen fitted in 2010...

stephy.patience_2

Hey all,


I had a windscreen fitted by AWG in October 2010. I paid my excess there and then, and was under the impression the insurance company and AWG would do the rest, as I was told.

However, I had a phone call a week or so ago from AWG saying that the insurance company never paid them and that I needed to sort it out. I'm no longer with the insurance company I was with at the time, but I rang them anyway. On the phone, they said it had been a long time since the windscreen was fitted and the company or myself should have taken it up with them sooner, so they wouldn't pay out. According to AWG, the insurance company should have paid me and then I should have paid AWG. I wasn't informed of this.
I told AWG what the insurance company had said, and they said they had sent me 2 letters in 2011 about not having the money. However, I'd changed address so I didn't get them. They told me to explain this to the insurance company, which I did, but to no avail.

Where do I stand with this? Do I have to fork out for the 125 pound windscreen myself? I'm concerned that AWG will keep chasing me for the money even though the insurance company has said they won't pay now. I don't feel as if AWG made enough effort to contact me during the period since October 2010...they had my phone number the whole time, why not call me sooner than last week to discuss it when I didn't reply to the letters I never recieved?!
Do I have a leg to stand on here? Is there any maximum time companies have to claim back money etc? And will this give me a bad credit record?

marlot

They have six years to chase debts.

I would be chasing your ex-insurer rather more strongly.

s_b

at £125 i would pay because lets be honest they arent going to write the debt off and they know where you live

john;)

pendulum

If they queried the claim with your insurer, confirmed only the excess was due from you, which you paid, then I would think that any behind the scenes problem they have had collecting the money from your insurer is down to them. You did all that you were asked to do at the time and only agreed to the work on the basis that the excess was all you'd pay - if you had known it would be more than the excess, you wouldn't have had the work done.

It may depend on any T&C's you agreed to though - ask them for copies of what you signed, if anything.

Personally I think I'd be stringing this along for as long as possible, and in the end, maybe just let a court decide whether I was liable or not. I doubt they'd go to all the effort of a court case.

s_b

pendulum wrote: »

If they queried the claim with your insurer, confirmed only the excess was due from you, which you paid, then I would think that any behind the scenes problem they have had collecting the money from your insurer is down to them. You did all that you were asked to do at the time and only agreed to the work on the basis that the excess was all you'd pay - if you had known it would be more than the excess, you wouldn't have had the work done.

It may depend on any T&C's you agreed to though - ask them for copies of what you signed, if anything.

Personally I think I'd be stringing this along for as long as possible, and in the end, maybe just let a court decide whether I was liable or not. I doubt they'd go to all the effort of a court case.

the problem here is that the windscreen company will have got OP to sign a form where he was responsible for payment if all other avenues failed
or it will do if windscreen company on the ball like they usually are
so OP would end up needing to take insurer to court but still be liable in the meantime to windscreen company that if i owned i would escalate

my advice is still pay and learn a lesson

pendulum

They may have got the OP to sign something along those lines, but then
1) they might not have
2) they might have mislaid the paperwork in the last 18 months
3) what they got the OP to sign may not pass the fairness test

I think it is far too early at this stage to consider paying anything.

What are they going to do if the OP doesn't pay?
- Would they really file court papers (and pay the court fees up front) to try and reclaim just £125, when it is not even guaranteed they would win?

Extremely unlikely.

Even if they did, and they won, the OP is hardly going to be left without a shirt.In the worst case, we're talking the £125, plus about £50 in court fees and a few hours of time down the drain. But the chances of that happening are very low.

Most times, letters like this are designed to scare people in to paying, and nothing happens to those that don't. The OP should keep their insurer at the time informed and sit tight.

fred7777

marlot wrote: »

They have six years to chase debts.

I would be chasing your ex-insurer rather more strongly.

Couldn't agree more, they have six years to chase you for the debt and you have six years to chase the insurance company.