Any point complaining to Financial Ombudsman re:Car Valuation?

NurseMoneySaver1122

Hi all

I'm in the process of disputing my car valuation after my insurers said they will write it off as a Cat C. They refused to budge on their valuation so I am now thinking of taking it to the Financial Ombudman Service (FOS), but I'm not sure I can.

In brief:

- My insurers listed the "Valuation Guide Starting Figure" as £1375.

- They added an additional £16 towards value for lower mileage.

- They deducted £376 for condition, listing it as "fair".

- Car Value After Adjustments = £1015.00.

Basically, the part I don't agree with is the condition description (fair) and it's subsequent value deduction of £376. That is a 27% value deduction.

I don't believe my car is in fair condition, to warrent that sort of deduction. Even the chap my insurers sent to collect my car after the accident, stated the good condition of my car for its age. It's an 11 year old car. And I don't believe they've truely taken that into account. I read on FOS website:

"Older vehicles: Some of these guides publish editions specifically relating to older used vehicles. The guide prices and fair market value should take account of fair wear and tear, which over time may include minor damage. The presence of minor rust or dents, or a higher mileage, is less likely to detract from the guide price than with newer used vehicles".

The engineer explained he had put chips and small dents down to age, however he's stated that paintwork is needed to my door and bonnet, which I believe is chips and a small dent.

My discrepancy is with my insurers assessment of the condition of my car as "fair". So my question is, is there any point taking my complaint to the FOS, when surely to establish the condition of my car, they will only be able to refer to the same engineer who already claims my valuation is fair?

Thanks in advance

Joe_Horner

Why is it your insurer dealing with it when you were rear-ended? It should be down to the at-fault driver's insurer, and if they make an offer that isn't reasonable then you don't have to accept (although you may have to fight to get it improved).

If he hapened to be insured by the same company as you then it would certainly be worth referring to the FOS because there's a conflict of interest and they'll be trying to minimise their payout regardless of what you, as their customer, is entitled to.

What car is it? That might let us give a better idea of reasonable value.

NurseMoneySaver1122

Joe_Horner wrote: »

Why is it your insurer dealing with it when you were rear-ended? It should be down to the at-fault driver's insurer, and if they make an offer that isn't reasonable then you don't have to accept (although you may have to fight to get it improved).

If he hapened to be insured by the same company as you then it would certainly be worth referring to the FOS because there's a conflict of interest and they'll be trying to minimise their payout regardless of what you, as their customer, is entitled to.

What car is it? That might let us give a better idea of reasonable value.

In response to your 1st question, I dont really know how to answer that. I reported the accident to my insurers, the third party was actually a staff member of a popular car hire company, driving one of their vehicles. The claim process was started, other side admitted liability. My car went into garage for assessment/repair. That's when they told me it's uneconomical to repair and valued my car.

I paid for a Glass' valuation myself, in addition to looking at local adverts of same make/modal (only ones where my car was better i.e. lower mileage, newer etc. The ads supported the Glass' valuation

The Glass' valuation valued it as:
Dealer: £1550
Private: £1034
Trade In (excellent): £430
Trade In (average): £375
Trade In (below average): £296

So my problem is with how they've rated the condition of my car and the amount deducted for such. It's a Renault Clio X-reg (2001).

vaio

Stick in a complaint & refer to FOS if still unhappy........but get an upside too, go for the dealer figure as the FOS is clear that you should get retail money rather then private or trade.

If it's a bit tatty (for it's age) you'll probably suffer a reduction but argue the stating point should be dealer value

Pragmatically your insurer will have to pay £500 (win or lose) if it gets past the first sift at the FOS and will be able to recover what they pay you from the at fault insurer so I wouldn't expect them to argue too much over a couple of hundred quid

NurseMoneySaver1122

vaio wrote: »

Stick in a complaint & refer to FOS if still unhappy........but get an upside too, go for the dealer figure as the FOS is clear that you should get retail money rather then private or trade.

If it's a bit tatty (for it's age) you'll probably suffer a reduction but it argue the stating point should be dealer value

So are you saying I should say I want £1550 (dealer retail price) as a starting figure?

What about my main concern; that they have deducted £376 due to condition being "fair", which I strongly disagree, for it's age. Should I also mention that in my complaint or leave that?

vaio

I'd go for both, make a formal complaint about being offered less than dealer figure and the 20% plus deduction for condition entirely consistent with the age of the car and which, presumably, is taken into account in the glasses valuation.

Camdoon

Add a few more pounds for the petrol in the tank.

plane_boy2000

I would add some evidence. Find some local dealers selling the same model / mileage to explain why you think its to low as you cant replace like with like.

I've just had a look on autotrader and £700 gets you a reasonably tidy 98/99 clio, and 2002 plate models can be had for 995 from dealers, so perhaps your expectations are high?

dacouch

Camdoon wrote: »

Add a few more pounds for the petrol in the tank.

It's not part of the claim

NurseMoneySaver1122

plane_boy2000 wrote: »

I would add some evidence. Find some local dealers selling the same model / mileage to explain why you think its to low as you cant replace like with like.

I've just had a look on autotrader and £700 gets you a reasonably tidy 98/99 clio, and 2002 plate models can be had for 995 from dealers, so perhaps your expectations are high?

I gave some local adverts to my insurers when I disputed the value. However, I don't think there is much point adding the local ads as evidence to FOS. Their website states:
"We do not usually find advertisements for similar vehicles very persuasive. A vehicle may often be sold for less than the advertised price. And small differences in mileage, year of registration, model type etc - can significantly affect the value".

Regarding my expectations, I have merely gone by the Glass's valuation which I purchased for my car, at the time of the accident, and the ads I obtained at the time also supported that. I havn't merely plucked a value out of thin air. Equally I'm sure if the value of my car is what you have researched, I don't believe my insurer's are that generous to be giving me more than my car's true value.

Although I'm not an expert, by no means

NurseMoneySaver1122

I'm slowly filling out the FOS complaints form and thought I'd post one particular part because a) if it's good, it might help someone else, and b) if it doesn't hit the point, someone else may have a better idea.
Feel free to leave advice.

The question asked is:
How do you want the business to put things right for you?

Answer:
Re-examine the ‘valuation starting figure’, and consider that this figure should represent a dealer retail price, prior to any adjustments being made. Clarity is needed regarding the discrepancy between the ‘dealer retail price’ on my purchased Glass’s valuation, and that of the ‘valuation guide starting figure’ provided by (insurance company).

Re-examine the condition description of my car, taking account of fair wear and tear, and consider that the presence of minor dents etc on older vehicles should be less likely detract from the price than with newer vehicles.