Windscreen replacement!

Apodemus

Car is insured with Direct Line, who use Autoglass for replacement windscreens. Autoglass claim the soonest they can do a replacement is three weeks! MOT is due before then so waiting is not an option. Autoglass promised three times to see what they could do and repeatedly failed to phone back.

Phoning around I found that a small local company will do it for £175 tomorrow. I will pay the same excess and the balance is within the amount that Direct Line will reimburse. But I was only able to find this out by getting past the front-line call handlers at DL and speaking to the claims people, the initial info was wrong and would have left me at the mercy of Autoglass.

So what is with the tie up between Direct Line and Autoglass? What benefit is there to the the user? Does this not breach some form of competition rules - like when Windows only linked with IExplorer?

InsideInsurance

Apodemus wrote: »

So what is with the tie up between Direct Line and Autoglass? What benefit is there to the the user? Does this not breach some form of competition rules - like when Windows only linked with IExplorer?

Doesnt breach any terms. Microsoft made both Windows and IE. Direct Line and Autoglass are two independent companies. Every couple of years the contract comes up for renewal and all windscreens companies are able to tender for the job.

Benefit for the insured is (1) all claims via the approved supplier are auto approved so no waiting for a quote to be checked out as reasonable etc (2) by pushing volume through a single supplier massive discounts are achieved and process efficiencies giving a lower cost and so lower premium etc

forgotmyname

The benefit is that autoglass give DL a discount or charge a set amount and they only have to pay one company not have to deal with 100's of different companies.

Also if your screen turns out to be substandard then they may say not their problem you sourced it.