Car Insurance - Without Drive Assist!

Crowmanuk

Well in the 25 years i've been driving i've never had an accident so i've never had to use the services of a hire company, if only i'd known eh?

PTU

Hi Folks

I have now received their letter. Damage Value £345 and a letter in response to my dispute of the damaged. I now have to fill out their dispute questionnaire from the conversation I had with them and have to circle most relevant options. I will also sent them letter and let them know that the FSA is involved.

I am now awaiting the FSA to call me back. I will fight this. I can't believe sharks like this operate in this manner. Furious!

Is there anything we can do collectively to raise awareness of how DA operate on a wider scale? At least this will prevent others from having to go through the anxieties and that we've been through? Perhaps see we can get it back on watchdog? or something similar

P

dacouch

They have already graced Watchdog once, if enough people complain to Watchdog then they may revisit Drive Assist as it would become a good story again.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog

Unfortunately stevie19uk seems to not be posting on MSE anymore although I would lay a pound to a penny he still reads the forum. Although if you read his posts its evident he does not see there are any problems and that any problems are because a) They are such a big company and problems are inevitable b) The customers have not read the terms and conditions etc.

PTU whatever you do don't keep posting updates on this thread as otherwise it keeps getting bumped to the top of the Forum and more people will read about it...

Reeny27

Hi PTU

Just wanted to say good luck with your dispute. I had the exact same thing happen to me last year (I posted my tale of woe a few pages back) and finally got a full refund and a letter of apology. I let rip with my final email after a few emails back and forth and told them amongst other things I wouldnt be using any firm of car insurance that used them and also cc'd all my emails to watchdog which seemed to do the trick and they finally relented.

Don't let them wear you down as they nearly did with me, keep fighting your corner and don't let the bad guys win. They need to realise they can't keep doing this to innocent parties and get away with it!

I still have the letter of apology which I feel like framing, as the whole debacle caused me a lot of anguish.

Good luck and keep us updated.

PTU

Hi Reeny27

I won't give up. Whether or not I win in the end. I think a couple of BBC producers, perhaps some of the most well known car mags Evo, Car Magazine, Top Gear Mag etc might do the trick (as many of the insurance companies also advertise through these means), among others to generate awareness of how companies like these think they have a license to just take money from innocent people, by accusing them of things they haven't done. This little lady will not give up. The battle may be lost (or may not be), but it won't be over.

It seems like they do this to a lot of people, many won't want the aggrovation of having to deal with them or go through the process, so many will accept. Or perhaps they operate to everyone in this manner as standard policy, knowing that some will debate but 90% won't and therefore with that 90% they get their additional revenue streams.

My fuse is very long and I haven't yet exploded. The inadequate way in this company operates will be revealed very publically. Whether its down to the way individual depots operate or the company as a whole, I don't know. But it will come out.

I will keep you all updated.

P

Crowmanuk

I got in touch with the Financial Ombudsman yesterday as I hadnt heard anything for 10 days ish and they are currently processing mail from the 30th March so theyre a few weeks behind, unfortunately this means it'll be dragged out more than we'd both like.

donzlouise

i have been having trouble with this company since end feb. they provided me with a hire vehicle after my car was written off by a third party, when the driver delivered the car he told me about the dashboard alerts and they non key ignition then told me to sign to say i had received the vehicle and then left. when i finally got it collected again, the new driver scanned the car inch by inch and founf scratches that were so shallow you could barely see them and reported them as being down to metal, and also a collision damage to the front bumper which was there before i had the car. i refused to sign and disputed that i had caused any of the damages which they claimed were £818 worth. immediately "out of good will" they reduce this cost to £195 - shot themselves in the foot eh? i still disputed the charges and even pointed out how they copied and pasted my signature 6 times on their paper work - aspparently this is how they work, so they told me, as they trust thir drivers to do their jobs properly. i never signed the terms and conditions when the car was delivered or agreed to their being no damage ont he vehicle when it was delivered - this is where my pasted signature appears. i contacted fso - but they are backed up so will deal with my case as soon as possible, and i contacted local newspapers and watchdog - watchdog have said they will look at my case asap. drive assists "final letter" detailed someone elses case and not mine, cant even write to the correct person about the correct vehicle and correct damage. i closed my bank account down so they could not take any money from me and have now told them to take me to court. a credit collection company has now written to me to ask me one more time to pay - which i wont, and in their paper work have included a letter from drive assist addressed to me that i never even received. these guys are complete cowboys - SEE YOU IN COURT DRIVE ASSIST!!!!!!
sorry my rant is now over and i feel much better now - thanks.

they have caused me so much stress and upset i nearly caved a couple of time just to end it but i found the strength and carried on fighting.

x

donzlouise

sorry about the bad spelling, type too quickly!!

Crowmanuk

And thats another carbon copy case added to the list, even down to the letter that was never received, this company needs to seriously look at the way they're doing business. Get the FSO involved though, while theyre handling the case drive assist cant take you to court and they'll just have to wait till the FSO get through to processing your case.

dacouch

Crowmanuk its amazing how the cases are all very similar isn't it...

What amuses me is Stevie19uk aka (allegedly) Mr Stevie Binch who is a director of Drive Assist states in his posts that its the customers fault for not reading the terms and conditions. Where as it seems Drive Assist manage to not read complaint letters...Not reading things seem to be a problem (Not the only problem) where Drive Assist are concerned.