Drive assist - what's going on?

[Deleted User]

wantmycarback wrote: »

Hi there,

I am in the same position as you except that I did not take the courtesy car. I want to give a few details and ask a few questions is someone can help.

My car was hit from behind and the entire bumper and bootlid were damaged. I was informed that it is likely to be a total loss after speaking to my local garage owner.

I called RAC insurance who passed me on to Minster Law who passed me onto Drive Assist. Now I have two issues to deal with:

(1) CAR: My car was quite damaged. Motofix took the car and said after a few days that the repairs were authorised by Drive Assist - I thought great, I could keep my well cared for car!

At that point, I did not know where Motofix came from and who Drive Assist were. In my own mind, these were all part of RAC (I know, learnt my lesson now).

Now Drive Assist is gone, my car is sitting in the garage fully repaired but the garage owner will not release it. I spoke to RAC who passed me to Minster Law who said that I just have to wait and watch. Another time I called, they said that I should inform Aviva (underwriters) and another person said that I don't need to inform Aviva. Aviva said that they cannot do anything in this but the next time I called, they said I should make a new claim with them.

I have a morbid suspicion that the repair bill is in excess of my car value and making a new claim with Aviva will only complicate matters. On the other hand, the garage owner is now asking me to sign a credit hire agreement with another company to release my car - which I am not sure I should after this.

I also understand that my insurers are not RAC but AVIVA so RAC don't need to deal with me.

Queries
1- Should I make a new claim with AVIVA, would that really help?
2- Should I sign the new credit agreement with Motofix to get my car back?

Our Christmas shopping is still not done and I dont have a car for the last 2-3 weeks. I have been taxing around on hard cash. We feel so so so so so cheated that we just lost our car in this period - just like that - at no fault of ours. This is so bizarre that it is almost unbelievable.

(2) Injury: I suffered back pain after the hit and Minster Law said that I am entitled to a claim for that. They asked me to retain reciepts of the pain killers I took which are not more than 10 pounds - is this the sort of money these people work for? I am now getting suspicious of Minster Law after the shocking service I got from RAC. I had a physio checkup done who said that it could take a couple of months for pain to completely dissappear, but I guess I can still walk and do my job so what is the claim for?

Queries:
1- What should I do with this? Should I proceed with it just because Minster Law wants me to? Does a couple of week of inconvenience make a valid claim? My cost is probably the hot water bottle and 10 pounds of pain killers. My life has not stopped because of this silly back ache and I don't want to go through any more stress with this entire episode.

Hi there

Sorry to see your post. If you'd like me to look into this for you and see if I can help, please email the following details to [EMAIL="social@aviva.co.uk"]social@aviva.co.uk[/EMAIL]:

- Full Name
- Date of Birth
- Postcode
- Reference Number
- Money Saving Expert Username

Many Thanks

Stephanie Carrington

Aviva UK Social Support

tiredofbeingescalated

our car is also being held hostage by the garage, who apparently are owed thousands by drive assist. our insurance broker budget/minster law, who appointed drive assist to deal with our claim, tell me they are 'waiting for more information' - all thats needed in our case is for someone to do drive assist's job, that is connect the garage with the third party's insurer to collect payment, but budget say the garage should do that themselves. i've tried to get through to thatr insurer, aviva's 'credit hire team' who seem to be another company like drive assist, but i spend 20mins listening to 80s classics before being cut off. i'm sure the garage has the same experience. it seems the whole car insurance system has been contaminated by parasitic companies and when something like this happens it goes into seizure. we have no car for xmas now; drive assist's administrators helpfully suggested i go to the police to get my car back, but its actually not a crime they're commiting because they were given the car by us. any advice would be welcome

tiredofbeingescalated

tiredofbeingescalated wrote: »

our car is also being held hostage by the garage, who apparently are owed thousands by drive assist. our insurance broker budget/minster law, who appointed drive assist to deal with our claim, tell me they are 'waiting for more information' - all thats needed in our case is for someone to do drive assist's job, that is connect the garage with the third party's insurer to collect payment, but budget say the garage should do that themselves. i've tried to get through to thatr insurer, aviva's 'credit hire team' who seem to be another company like drive assist, but i spend 20mins listening to 80s classics before being cut off. i'm sure the garage has the same experience. it seems the whole car insurance system has been contaminated by parasitic companies and when something like this happens it goes into seizure. we have no car for xmas now; drive assist's administrators helpfully suggested i go to the police to get my car back, but its actually not a crime they're commiting because they were given the car by us. any advice would be welcome

correction - the aviva credit hire team are a bona fide part of aviva and having finally got through to them, i have to say they were extremely helpful and effective - a breath of fresh air. they have contacted the garage and agreed payment direct, which they were happy to do as they avoid paying drive assist's mark-up. lets hope that drive assist's demise spells the beginning of the end of 'claims management' companies. next time (hopefully there wont be one) i'll go direct to the other party's insurer rather than report the accident to the broker first.

wantmycarback

redux wrote: »

I don't know the exact solution, but it seems to me you pay for your insurance in order for them to underwrite your losses.

If they've got problems with their agents and contractors they appointed that should not be your problem. If it was me I would ask my insurer when they will be arranging the return of my car fully repaired

But I realise I may be a being a bit naive here.

Why did you call RAC at the start rather than the insurer? Is RAC a broker for your policy?

Hi, thank you for your response.

I reported the matter to RAC as per the instructions on their website. They have a number where one is supposed to call to make a claim. I called them and got transferred to Minster Law and then to Drive Assist.

My underlying assumption was that this was a standard protocol. I have written to Aviva now and lets see what happens.

Many thanks,

wantmycarback

tiredofbeingescalated wrote: »

correction - the aviva credit hire team are a bona fide part of aviva and having finally got through to them, i have to say they were extremely helpful and effective - a breath of fresh air. they have contacted the garage and agreed payment direct, which they were happy to do as they avoid paying drive assist's mark-up. lets hope that drive assist's demise spells the beginning of the end of 'claims management' companies. next time (hopefully there wont be one) i'll go direct to the other party's insurer rather than report the accident to the broker first.

Hi there, this is helpful, could you please let me know the number for Aviva credit hire company?

wantmycarback

Aviva_company_representative wrote: »

Hi there

Sorry to see your post. If you'd like me to look into this for you and see if I can help, please email the following details to [EMAIL="social@aviva.co.uk"]social@aviva.co.uk[/EMAIL]:

- Full Name
- Date of Birth
- Postcode
- Reference Number
- Money Saving Expert Username

Many Thanks

Stephanie Carrington

Aviva UK Social Support

Thanks Stephanie, I have sent my details on the aforementioned email address.