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Direct Line Car Insurance Fail
abdndamo
Posts: 4 Newbie
Looking for advice and thoughts..
On 25th July 2014 I was involved in a RTA where another individual drove their car in to the rear drivers side of my car and accepted full liability. Direct Line organised for my car to go to their preferred repairer in Keith (L&I Eaton) and when the car was finally returned to me in October, it was evident that some damaged areas had not been replaced (a bent rear seat railing and broken internal plastic fascia). The car was taken back by L&I and in January 2015, my car was returned to me, only for me to discover that the boot door button was broken (and fell out), my alloys had been scratched, the underside of my car was damaged from rolling on and off of ramps and then for the Citroen Engineer to point out to me that my bumper was not straight or the same colour as the rest of my car. Direct Line then arranged for one of their engineers to visit and he agreed that the bumper needed looked at and sent it to a local Arnold Clark Citroen Approved garage in Aberdeen. Upon inspection, they deemed that the bumper had been incorrectly baked and was warped and that some of the brackets had been bent by L&I. Therefore the repair would involve replacing the bumper costing £2000. I wrote to the CEO at Directline and they advised me that if substantial repair work was required, they would replace the vehicle. The vehicle was then returned to me in March only for the bumper to be no better than before (in fact worse, as it detaches from the car) and for further damage (a torn boot seal) and failure to address the scratches on the alloys. I then wrote to the CEO and copied in the Ombudsman and demanded a replacement vehicle. I then waited approximately 4 weeks for DirectLine to provide the ombudsman with my file so that they could make an impartial decision. I was then advised by the ombudsman that DirectLine required an inspection of my vehicle as the evidence I had provided was not sufficient (videos and pictures). So after a lot of confusion between Direct Line and the Ombudsman and promised and cancelled visits from Direct Line, an engineer was sent to my address 26th May 2015. He undertook an inspection and agreed that the car needed looked at. Direct Line have now requested that I either let them repair the vehicle again or that I arrange for my own repairs to be undertaken. I do not find this acceptable. They have had 3 attempts to repair my vehicle, are asking for a 4th attempt and over the past 3 months since raising my concerns with the CEO and Ombudsman have completely failed to treat me fairly and ignored my request based on their failure to repair my vehicle to an acceptable standard.
As this has been dragging on for some time now, Direct Line have actually given me £1200 in compensation (up to February 2015 and their 2nd repair attempt) and paid for various hire cars but still I find that my vehicle is not in pre-accident condition and is not really fit for purpose. My car at the time of the accident was only 4 months old (after buying it March 2014) and therefore literally brand new. Whilst to the passer by my vehicle looks like new, the bumper is lower than it should be, it pops out of position and the alloys are still scratched and the boot rubber liner is torn. I have also experienced problems with the radio, reverse camera and eco mode of the car.
I have spoken to an independent assessor (Elite Inspections) but the report will cost £650 for them to strip back the boot door and bumper to assess the repair work but then I risk being out of pocket as Direct Line may chose to refuse to pay retrospectively. To date the original garage has failed to repair the rear seat railing of the 7th seat, failed to replace broken plastic fascia's inside the rear of the car, fitted and broken the rear plastic floor panel, screwed up the bumper, failed to fit plastic brackets to the boot door (as some of the paneling is loose). This is only the things I have managed to identify as a non mechanic but inquisitive and concerned customer.
I also have concerns that if I get another party to repair this work - where do I stand with warranty. Direct Line are very quick to send me a pointless generic letter failing to address any of my concerns and then think they have dealt with things even at top level when I have raised my concerns with the CEO office.
Any tips/thoughts/recommendations/experience? Sharing this is a huge sense of release for me as I have found this experience extremely stressful and disruptive to my family life. I admit that I have turned in to a bit of a grump at home over the past few months as this has hung over my head for sooo long and I do not know how to get to the end of this.
On 25th July 2014 I was involved in a RTA where another individual drove their car in to the rear drivers side of my car and accepted full liability. Direct Line organised for my car to go to their preferred repairer in Keith (L&I Eaton) and when the car was finally returned to me in October, it was evident that some damaged areas had not been replaced (a bent rear seat railing and broken internal plastic fascia). The car was taken back by L&I and in January 2015, my car was returned to me, only for me to discover that the boot door button was broken (and fell out), my alloys had been scratched, the underside of my car was damaged from rolling on and off of ramps and then for the Citroen Engineer to point out to me that my bumper was not straight or the same colour as the rest of my car. Direct Line then arranged for one of their engineers to visit and he agreed that the bumper needed looked at and sent it to a local Arnold Clark Citroen Approved garage in Aberdeen. Upon inspection, they deemed that the bumper had been incorrectly baked and was warped and that some of the brackets had been bent by L&I. Therefore the repair would involve replacing the bumper costing £2000. I wrote to the CEO at Directline and they advised me that if substantial repair work was required, they would replace the vehicle. The vehicle was then returned to me in March only for the bumper to be no better than before (in fact worse, as it detaches from the car) and for further damage (a torn boot seal) and failure to address the scratches on the alloys. I then wrote to the CEO and copied in the Ombudsman and demanded a replacement vehicle. I then waited approximately 4 weeks for DirectLine to provide the ombudsman with my file so that they could make an impartial decision. I was then advised by the ombudsman that DirectLine required an inspection of my vehicle as the evidence I had provided was not sufficient (videos and pictures). So after a lot of confusion between Direct Line and the Ombudsman and promised and cancelled visits from Direct Line, an engineer was sent to my address 26th May 2015. He undertook an inspection and agreed that the car needed looked at. Direct Line have now requested that I either let them repair the vehicle again or that I arrange for my own repairs to be undertaken. I do not find this acceptable. They have had 3 attempts to repair my vehicle, are asking for a 4th attempt and over the past 3 months since raising my concerns with the CEO and Ombudsman have completely failed to treat me fairly and ignored my request based on their failure to repair my vehicle to an acceptable standard.
As this has been dragging on for some time now, Direct Line have actually given me £1200 in compensation (up to February 2015 and their 2nd repair attempt) and paid for various hire cars but still I find that my vehicle is not in pre-accident condition and is not really fit for purpose. My car at the time of the accident was only 4 months old (after buying it March 2014) and therefore literally brand new. Whilst to the passer by my vehicle looks like new, the bumper is lower than it should be, it pops out of position and the alloys are still scratched and the boot rubber liner is torn. I have also experienced problems with the radio, reverse camera and eco mode of the car.
I have spoken to an independent assessor (Elite Inspections) but the report will cost £650 for them to strip back the boot door and bumper to assess the repair work but then I risk being out of pocket as Direct Line may chose to refuse to pay retrospectively. To date the original garage has failed to repair the rear seat railing of the 7th seat, failed to replace broken plastic fascia's inside the rear of the car, fitted and broken the rear plastic floor panel, screwed up the bumper, failed to fit plastic brackets to the boot door (as some of the paneling is loose). This is only the things I have managed to identify as a non mechanic but inquisitive and concerned customer.
I also have concerns that if I get another party to repair this work - where do I stand with warranty. Direct Line are very quick to send me a pointless generic letter failing to address any of my concerns and then think they have dealt with things even at top level when I have raised my concerns with the CEO office.
Any tips/thoughts/recommendations/experience? Sharing this is a huge sense of release for me as I have found this experience extremely stressful and disruptive to my family life. I admit that I have turned in to a bit of a grump at home over the past few months as this has hung over my head for sooo long and I do not know how to get to the end of this.
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Comments
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an engineer was sent to my address 26th May 2015. He undertook an inspection and agreed that the car needed looked at. Direct Line have now requested that I either let them repair the vehicle again or that I arrange for my own repairs to be undertaken. I do not find this acceptable. They have had 3 attempts to repair my vehicle, are asking for a 4th attempt
What is it exactly you want from them? Why is is not acceptable?
You have had compensation, and they are now offering for them to either fix it, or for you to find someone to fix it and bill them.
I cannot think of another solution.Should've = Should HAVE (not 'of')
Would've = Would HAVE (not 'of')
No, I am not perfect, but yes I do judge people on their use of basic English language. If you didn't know the above, then learn it! (If English is your second language, then you are forgiven!)0 -
I can only guess that the OP wants what the Direct Line CEO said he could have:What is it exactly you want from them?
I cannot think of another solution.I wrote to the CEO at Directline and they advised me that if substantial repair work was required, they would replace the vehicle.0 -
I can only guess that the OP wants what the Direct Line CEO said he could have:
Hi, yes, that is correct. I am almost at the 12 month anniversary of the accident and I believe that any reasonable person would find this proposal unacceptable that they should yet again be sending my car back to a garage for repair and into a hire car for 3-4 weeks whilst more salvage work is done to the rear of my vehicle in an attempt to put right/mask the poor quality of initial workmanship (which I have absolutely no faith in). During the period from late July 2014 to February 2015, I only drove the vehicle for about 3 weeks/few hundred miles because it was in their possession for so long. I fully co-operated with attempt 2 and attempt 3 when the CEO office made the promise that if substantial work was required to put things right they would replace the vehicle, now only for me to now find myself in exactly the same position again with attempt 4 pending.0 -
Is DL your insurer or the third parties?0
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InsideInsurance wrote: »Is DL your insurer or the third parties?
Yup, Direct Line certainly is my insurer. Thanks.0 -
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InsideInsurance wrote: »If it is your insurer then register your formal complaint with the insurer. If you arent happy with their response or they dont respond in 8 weeks then you can escalate the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)
Unfortunately that is the process I followed after failed attempt 3 in March 2015. I wrote to the CEO office and then followed this up with a complaint to the ombudsman. 3 months later, i.e. this week I heard from the ombudsman that they couldn't enforce a new car and recommended that I let DL repair my vehicle for a 4th time. This is despite their own engineer agreeing the car should not have been returned to me after attempt 3. Prior to attempt 3 another one of Direct Line's engineers has inspected my vehicle and agreed that my car was not in satisfactory condition and that the previous garage had no attention for detail and had been careless.
So the complaint to the Ombudsman has only delayed things and not really made a difference.0 -
If you arent happy with the first reply from the ombudsman you have the right to ask for it to be reassessed by them which is then done by a more senior person0
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