Admiral and Albany Assistance Complaints Nightmare

Scudgie

Several weeks ago my car, parked at the time, was damaged by someone parking next to it. Damage is light and the repairer said that it would only take a day to sort. Or so I thought.

The third party admitted full liability and my Insurer (Hastings) referred me to Albany who appointed a repair Agent local to me to provide the quote etc. Albany also provided a hire car (via a third party) whilst mine was off the road - bear in mind my car is a Peugeot 308 (there's only two of us), they gave me an Automatic 7-seater Ford Galaxy Titanium X,- otherwise known as the bus.

Next thing I know a few technical issues (owing to what has been described as pre-existing damage - dispute as to liability considerations etc) means that the car has been with the repairer for 3 weeks. No work has been performed as yet despite me saying all along that I wouldn't expect the third party to have to pay for any damage prior to the incident. Lots of frustrating telephone calls - I've done everything to curtail the extent of any delay.

My worry is that I have signed a credit hire contract and, in context, whilst this procrastination takes place, Albany have provided me with a ridiculously expensive hire car. Would the third party contest this and leave me out of pocket?

Does it make a difference that there's only one car in my household and that it's used daily for school runs etc?

Oh how I wish I had taken up the third party Insurance's offer of dealing with all this.

Would you believe it, after my daily telephone complaint this morning I have just received a call saying that the repairer is preparing a final quote (ignoring the pre-existing damage) and the repair work will start soon - but it will still take a week !! Couldn't make this up, seriously !

hollie.weimeraner

You need to contact the 3rd party insurers and tell them you have a credit hire vehicle. If they don't offer you an alternative you will be fine but I am sure they will provide you with another car while yours is in for repair.

Credit hire agreements are a total rip off and I would never agree to one personally.

Scudgie

To be fair to the third party, they contacted me at the start and said their reason for offering to sort everything was the anticipated cost of the hire car (clearly knowing who they were dealing with).

I did say to the TPI at that time to provide me with more details by email but they failed to do this.

Agree about credit hire contracts now. Wish I had read threads like this before I had signed the agreement, Never again !

InsideInsurance

Scudgie wrote: »

there's only two of us

Scudgie wrote: »

Does it make a difference that there's only one car in my household and that it's used daily for school runs etc?

How do these two go together?

If there is no work actually going on why cant you be driving your car rather than a hire car?

As long as they are billing on an appropriate grouped vehicle for your needs it doesnt matter that they have given you a larger vehicle than your own. Sometimes hire car companies dont happen to have a Group X so upgrade to a Group Z but still charge at X rates.

Did the TPI contact you prior to you making arrangements with Albany?

It ultimately will partially depend on the outcome of the "pre-existing damage" argument. Certainly if you lose the argument I would expect the TPI to only offer to pay Albany for the reasonable time estimate at the appropriate vehicle group rather than for what you've actually had and how long. Even if you win the argument then personally as a former claims handler I would have not been paying Albany the full price as your not mitigating your losses driving a credit hire car whilst your perfectly drivable car is just sitting around.

Now, what happens if Albany dont get all their money back is another question and you need to read the terms of your agreement with them to find out. In many cases where you've acted reasonably etc then they typically write it off, its one of the reasons why they charge 2-3 times normal hire costs. If they feel you're the cause of them not making a full recovery you may find your contract makes you liable for the extra charges.

Scudgie

Points noted.

The reason I have been given as to why the car has been taken off the road is because the other driver damaged the rear wheel as well as the rear bumper. It has been necessary for the car to have its suspension geometry tested etc - so I'm told.

InsideInsurance

Scudgie wrote: »

It has been necessary for the car to have its suspension geometry tested etc - so I'm told.

And what was the result of the geometry test?

Given many places will do the test for free it still doesnt sound a reason to keep the car off the road for 3 weeks unless the test showed there is mechanical damage and not just bodywork making the vehicle undriveable.

Scudgie

The car had two tests - the latest being late last week. The first test reported as inconclusive (so I'm told) and the 2nd one reported everything to be within tolerences.

Sadly I'm no professional when it comes to this kind of thing and have allowed myself to be directed by what Albany and the repairer advise.

Auxillis

Hello Scudgie,

If you could email onlineteam@albanyassistance.co.uk with your customer reference number, we can have someone look into your claim and contact you directly.

Kind Regards,

Albany Assistance Online Team

InsideInsurance

Scudgie wrote: »

Sadly I'm no professional when it comes to this kind of thing and have allowed myself to be directed by what Albany and the repairer advise.

Unfortunately both of those organisations have a significant conflict of interest. The longer you are in hire the more money Albany will attempt to recover from the TPI (or you in worst case) and the garage gets kick backs from Albany and so has no interest in getting the job done within the absolute minimum time possible.

Auxillis

InsideInsurance wrote: »

the garage gets kick backs from Albany and so has no interest in getting the job done within the absolute minimum time possible.

We would like to factually correct the above statement.

Our contracted repairers are paid only for legitimate vehicle repairs approved by independent engineers - this is not a ‘kick back’. Any changes to the agreed repair must be approved by ourselves and the engineers in advance. A repairer artificially extending a repair would not be paid any more than the agreed charge. Third party insurers closely monitor repair duration and cost, they would not pay for repairs that they deemed excessive or unsubstantiated.

Kind Regards,

Albany Assistance Online Team