How insurers and their chosen garage treats us

Casey_Ryback

Hello to all readers and experts!

I am seeking help today as I am speechless about how I am being treated by my insurer and the garage they choose.
I try to strictly tell facts,as by the end you will have your feelings.
-My vehicle suffered damage due to exploded lorry tire on motorway.
( foreign lorry so case is even worse )
-Everything found to be legal so claim starts
-Pictures provided HATO attended scene.
-Spectacularly fast hire car provided ( bonus payed for insurer )
-Steering damaged,wheel wobbly and slight fuel leak.
-Garage chosen car transporter arrives home while I am away at work.
-Man say to wife "no mam we do not give you proof of collection nor pictures!"
-He was told to go away.
-After this garage says we do not want to deal with client!
-A week or so later claim handler tricks me into giving a second chance so professional recovery takes car away for repair.
-A week later my car comes back.
Facts; garage painted half of the bumper
garage swapped front wobbly wheels with rear axle weels so no more wobble...
steering is still pulling to the left...
after a morning test drive the fuel is leaking!
To be continued...

Babbawah

I cannot wait :-)

Casey_Ryback

Insurer organizes my vehicle to be mended once again.
In the meanwhile hire car taken away....courtesy car provided by garage.
Arrives muddy,slipping clutch,screaming alternator or belt. All this after my vehicle is gone...
The revenge of the garage:
After an another week they informed that my vehicle will be ready today.
Insurer calls Only after my email requesting update on delivery time!
Insurer informs that vehicle is Not ready.
Hope you all are sitting:
They have additional delay in painting the bumper as they are unable to remove the reg plate :rotfl:I have offered to go there and remove it myself using a guitar string if I have to. I am BANNED from repairer's premises as advised by insurer. I have never been there...
Also insurer states that in their opinion the fuel leak was there prior to accident and they will NOT fix it. All this after the first failed attempt!
Maybe they have damaged it more and now running from responsibility!

Now is there anyone please who can advise how to deal with these lot,legally?

I mean they are planning to bring me back a vehicle with fuel leak saying it was there before accident and now insurer's complaint manager says I(!) have to prove that it was damaged by the accident!!
What a treatment..insurer turns against the insured in order to cover their incompetent repair garage??
Smells like a bunch of well trained crooks to scam on motorists!

Please kindly leave your comments.
I am planning to contact the local police about being defrauded.

sh0597

I'm not sure why you think the police would be interested. Are you sure the fuel leak is a result of the accident?

dacouch

It's hardly surprising if you Insure with KGM or RSA.

Your Insurer is responsible for ensuring the car is repaired correctly, if you do not agree about the fuel leak you'll either need to go down the "Official Complaint" route or arrange your own proof.

If you make an official complaint, you're more likely to receive a better response if you avoid being confrontational, keep the complaint as concise as possible and remain polite.

Incidently the chances are the other driver won't be deemed liable for the accident which will mean you won't be able to recover your excess

harveybobbles

Dont sign to say you're accepting the car.

Casey_Ryback

Thank you for your replies and advises.
Reading comments on fuel leak issue,here are my comments;
I have strong mechanical background and been servicing my own vehicles ever since...
My vehicle is diesel. If there is an imperfection in the diesel fuel system two things can happen.
1 Air gets into the system and performance decrease or on more moden type engines, the built in protection shuts the engine. Anyhow, but you notice this very fast.
2 Fuel leaks from the system outward and as it is diesel ( non fully evaporating liquid )
it will leave a trace.
Let's pretend if there was a really minor leak and no lake of fuel under vehicle than I might not notice.
However after accident I have taken picture on scene and noticed nothing.
Carried on with my journey as no visible damage but after rejoining traffic noticed the wobbly steering so stopped checked again.
Insurer advised to immobilize vehicle at home so colleague given me a ride next day. Returning from work I have noticed the lake of fuel immediately.
Red stoned driveway...
I hope this clarifies leak issue.
Honestly who on earth would use a vehicle with a fuel leak on it for any period and wait until something happens? Maybe someone suicidal.
Now this claim managing company says the leak was there before accident!
I have asked to tell me on what evidence do they base this statement on?
Answer: you have to prove it sir that the leak was caused by the accident!
??? Anyone could please tell me why do I have to prove myself?
How do you prove that something was caused by the accident?
They accuse me now with this after they have attempted to fix it and failed.
So what if the garage damaged something while attempting to fix it and since it didn't work out they try covering it?
Peculiarly this claim manager was able to tell me that I am looking at a 700 pounds costs as the fuel pump needs to be replaced.
I smell a rat here...they messed up something and they are pushing me to pay for it!
As for liability the hire company took the hire car away because they are unsure to recover costs from third party ( foreigner ).
This sudden turnaround might be because insurers got to the same situation...they do not wish to be out of pocket if they need to fix my car on their expenses so they try to get rid off me or rip off me...
Finally, are we really insured against damages caused by foreign vehicles on UK roads??

Please comment and teach me!

OnanTheBarbarian

Where abouts in the UK are you?

What sort of car was it and where was it hit?

Casey_Ryback

I am in Bedfordshire.
My car is a Hyundai Trajet.
It was hit by a huge chunk and smaller pieces of exploded lorry tire.
Near side front and underneath. It was bouncing everywhere and hard braking saved me from debris coming trough the windscreen,instead run that chunk over,causing steering issue and apparently dislocation of the fuel line pipe from its housing within the fuel pump mounted on engine. They call it fuel pump.
I call it lower pressure fuel intake. The fuel pump is in the reservoir...
As I have had no need to touch that part I just assume there is a plastic clip in system for the fuel line. The garage attempted to fix it the first time but now they say it was like that before..unless they messed it up badly and now unable to sort it out!
Thank you!

rs65

Casey_Ryback wrote: »

How do you prove that something was caused by the accident?

Get an independent engineers report.

Casey_Ryback

Hi OnanThe barbarian,
Now that you know the answer to your questions what do you think?