Unusual car insurance claim

SharanB

Hi,

This is first post on here after being a long term lurker so please be gentle.

I was hoping someone could advise me on what my rights are if any in the following situation. Apologies in advance it's going to be a long one.

On 14th April I had all four of my wheels and alloys stolen off my car when it was parked up at my local train station. The ***holes smashed my passenger side window and used my wheel lock to remove the alloys. The car was propped up using my jack on the one side and my spare wheel on the other side.

Upon returning to my car I called the police to report the matter and was duly given a crime reference number. It turned out a good citizen had noticed the car's state and had called the police already. The car was not in a drive-able condition so I called my insurance company as soon as got home; this was at 6.00pm.

The claims department said that they will arrange recovery of the vehicle as soon as possible and wil arrange to secure the vehicle in the meantime by sending out someone to replace the smashed window. I explained to the claims department that the vehicle was in a precarious position and could be liable to further damage/vandalism. I was assured that a recovery agent has been instructed to recover the vehicle that evening. In order for the window to be replaced I was required to pay £60 excess which I did not question at the time.

Auto windscreens came out at about 7.30pm and replaced the window. The chap said that the ***holes had actually caused damage to the mechanism within the door so that would all need to be replaced. At this point no recovery agent had contacted me. I waited until 9pm and then called the claims department again who said that they have no record of a recovery agent being instructed and that they can't do now as it's not classed as an emergency recovery. If I wished to recovery the vehicle tonight then it would be at my expense!!!!

The following morning I called at the claims department at 8am to again arrange recovery and to question the £60 excess I paid and whether this would be deducted from the overall excess of £450. I was told no that the window excess is separate and I needed to pay that directly to Auto windscreens!!!

The recovery agent contacted me at about 12pm and I met them by the car to hand over the keys. Thankfully the car was still there and intact (minus the alloys). The chap from recovery whilst examining the vehicle lifted it up using one of his devices and unfortunately the jack on the other side gave way resulting the car falling from about a foot high straight on to the chassis and the brake discs.

I again called the claims department as soon as I got back home to inform them of this and mentioned other damage to the vehicle which was caused by the ***holes when attempting to open the window. I questioned whether a courtesy car would be issued and I was told that the car will need to examined first by the engineer before a courtesy car can be issued!

I left it 2 days before chasing it up again and was told that the engineer still hasn't got back to them. On the 3rd day I got a call from the claims department and I was told what I feared. The car is classed as a total loss and for that reason I won't get a courtesy car. I was told that the can offer me £7300 for the car minus the excess. After having consulting my husband (and autotrader) we decided that this figure would leave us out of pocket so rejected the offer. They have since come back with £8500 minus the excess. But again we are not happy. The equivalent spec vehicle is worth in the region £8500-9500 on auto trader.

Wow...that was long! If you managed to read all of the above and digested it:T then my questions are:

1. Are the correct about the £60 window excess that this separate to the overall excess of £450?
2. Were they correct to withhold the courtesy car until it could be determined the cost of repair?
3. We have ended up without a car and the mark of a total loss on our insurance history as a result of their instructed recovery agent. What could have been only £1500 repair and replace has ended up being total loss. Do we have any additional rights in relation to this? The insurance company are refusing to increase their offer and want an answer from us as soon as so that they can conclude this matter.
4. We paid for the initial premium in full on out Barclaycard credit card. Would be covered under the S.75 Consumer Act and would Barclaycard be jointly liable for the claim?

At the end of the day all we want is to be able to go out purchase the equivalent car without having to pay extra from our pockets. The car was in exceptional condition and very well looked after. I had recently had a full service done on the vehicle plus it had a full tank of petrol worth £70. I also don't want my future insurance premiums to sky rocket with a total loss to my name. Any advise or helpwould be greatly appreciated

mills705

I'm sure inside insurance will come along soon and answer more of your questions than I can...
But most companies will tell you that you will get a courtesy car on the commencement of repairs or whilst yours is in for an insured repair. So unless you pay for a hire car circa 30 quid for the year then no you wouldn't get the courtesy car.

The excess is for windscreen or glass damage... Replacing the glass incurs that charge and the other excess is taken off the settlement. I'm not entirely sure in your situation how it would work. If the technician replaced the glass then both excesses will apply as they cover you for differing circumstances .

As for the value take the auto trader ads to them as evidence of the vehicle value and see if they will increase their offer

rs65

SharanB wrote: »

1. Are the correct about the £60 window excess that this separate to the overall excess of £450?
2. Were they correct to withhold the courtesy car until it could be determined the cost of repair?
3. We have ended up without a car and the mark of a total loss on our insurance history as a result of their instructed recovery agent. What could have been only £1500 repair and replace has ended up being total loss. Do we have any additional rights in relation to this? The insurance company are refusing to increase their offer and want an answer from us as soon as so that they can conclude this matter.
4. We paid for the initial premium in full on out Barclaycard credit card. Would be covered under the S.75 Consumer Act and would Barclaycard be jointly liable for the claim?

1. I would say one excess applies (the higher one) as the glass damage is part of the theft claim.

2. Probably. Check what courtesy car cover you have on your policy.

3. There isn't a 'total loss' mark on your record - just a claim. If they have offered £8500 and similar are advertised on autotrader for £8500 then their offer sounds ok. You will be able to haggle the dealer down. It should be what you expect to pay at a dealer - not what they advertise at.

4. No


Hopefully your insurer will be able to recover some costs from the recovery company so the claim on your record is less.

[Deleted User]

If the recovery guy damaged the vehicle then you have a claim against him. To be honest I'm not sure how it would work exactly, but his commercial insurance would cover the damage. That being the case you should tell your insurance company to start a new claim against him. His insurance company might make a better offer or even decide to get the vehicle fixed. They should provide you with a courtesy car while they do their evaluation, or you can add hire costs to your claim against them.

Aretnap

Not sure about the single/double excess; it would depend on the small print of the policy to some extent though my gut feeling is that it would only be "fair" to apply a single excess to a single claim.

Most car insurance policies don't actually provide a courtesy car at all; rather the garage which is doing the repairs provides one as part of its normal customer service. Obviously that only works if there actually is a garage doing repairs... so you don't get one if the car is stolen, written off or sitting by the roadside waiting to be assessed. You can get a "guaranteed courtesy car" policy which will provide a courtesy car in those situations as well; usually it's an add-on for which you have to pay extra rather than something which is included as standard. Check exactly what your policy says about courtesy cars, but don't be too hopeful unless you took out the optional extra.

As for the valuation, see what the Ombudsman says on the subject here

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/motor-valuation.html

Note that AutoTrader isn't the best source of information on valuations, as actual selling prices are often lower than advertised prices. to be honest, if you're seeing similar vehicles advertised for £8500-9500 then £8500 is likely to a reasonably fair valuation.

Aretnap

DELETED USER wrote:

If the recovery guy damaged the vehicle then you have a claim against him. To be honest I'm not sure how it would work exactly, but his commercial insurance would cover the damage. That being the case you should tell your insurance company to start a new claim against him.

You can't tell your insurance company to start a claim against them; you either claim against them directly (complicated as the car was already damaged at the time they damaged it, so you'd still have to claim from your own insurer for the first lot of damage) or you claim against your own insurance policy and let them worry about chasing the breakdown guy for his share of the damage (which doubtless they'll do anyway).

His insurance company might make a better offer or even decide to get the vehicle fixed. They should provide you with a courtesy car while they do their evaluation, or you can add hire costs to your claim against them.

Why would they have to provide a courtesy car given that the car was already undriveable at the time of the accident? It's not as if the OP has lost the use of it because of the recovery company... and providing a like for like replacement would mean providing a replacement with no wheels and a door which doesn't lock....

oldbaldman

I would get a coy of the engineers report from the insurer. It may help to know how much more cost and or damage was done to the vehicle when it was dropped by the recovery agent? You need more information in my view.

Withe regard to getting an increased payout, you need to build a case for the value you are asking for. It is possible, but you have to be able to justify your claim. It has got me 15% extra in claims I have dealt with, so can be done. Just need to be persistent.

obm

eddddy

Aretnap wrote: »

...
Why would they have to provide a courtesy car given that the car was already undriveable at the time of the accident? It's not as if the OP has lost the use of it because of the recovery company... and providing a like for like replacement would mean providing a replacement with no wheels and a door which doesn't lock....

It sounds like the car just needed replacement glass and replacement wheels to get it back on the road, before it was further damaged by the recovery firm.

So it would have been back on the road within, say, 2 days.

As a result of the recovery firm's negligence, the OP has been without a car for longer than 2 days. So it would be reasonable to claim hire car costs from day 3 onwards from the recovery firm

InsideInsurance

SharanB wrote: »

The equivalent spec vehicle is worth in the region £8500-9500 on auto trader.

If you say the car is worth the above what is wrong with their £8,500 offer?? Its the bottom end of your range but is within it.

In answer to your questions you really need to read your policy wording as each one is unique. Below however is the normal answers to the questions:

1) No, a single incident attracts a single excess. In my experience in these cases the £60 is paid to the glass company and the residual paid to the repairer or deducted from a cash settlement

2) It depends exactly what you have on your insurance. For a classic courtesy car yes, its only available for car repairs and not for total losses. Many insurers now offered an enhanced/ guaranteed courtesy or hire car as a paid for upgrade and this would be given in a total loss situation. The downside of this enhancement is that you get it for a maximum duration unlike a traditional courtesy car which is for as long as your car is being repaired

3) Total loss is marked against the car not you. You simply have a claim for ~£9k against you (when you add on glass, recovery, storage etc). As per the above, I dont understand your dispute on valuation when its within the range you are seeing. Ultimately however register a complaint and threaten the FOS if you arent happy

4) Yes, technically a credit card company would be jointly liable however given both are regulated by the same people, both go to the FOS etc I am not seeing what benefit you'd have of making the claim against your credit card instead

[Deleted User]

You definitely need to contact the recovery company's insurance and make a claim for the damage they did. You can of course claim on your own insurance and have them chase the third party, but I'd say you are more likely to get a courtesy car and a quick resolution if you do it yourself.

More over it reduces your "at fault" claim from 9k to maybe 1500 max. Plus if you have a courtesy car it puts the pressure on them to settle quickly with a good offer.