Breakdown Cover Cancelled with fees to pay.

carlandjulie

Hello all ,hope everyone is well.
I am having a problem with a Breakdown recovery company and looking for a bit of advice.
(Company names available on request).
Last year I took out Nationwide van breakdown cover for my own van.
The van is registered to me and only used for carrying my stuff around.
All good until I broke down recently in London.
I rang the recovery number and arranged to be picked up at an address in Wandsworth and taken to Manchester.I got picked up and despite being taken to Birmingham dropped off then changed to another recovery truck then taken from there to Stafford services then dropped off again left for an hour then picked up again by another truck to finish the journey eventually getting to Manchester 10 hours later.
Oh well atleast im home and safe and van is in for repair.
Then about 3 weeks later I get a phone call from the recovery firm I used saying they have reviewed the breakdown and because the van is used for work related work I am not covered and im being invoiced £655 for the recovery.
I spoke to the firm to justify this and they said the van had some tools in the back and when I booked the recovery I said the word "site" when giving the address which all constitutes to the van being used for work related situations.
I use the van to get me about,as I would a car,carrying my equipment to accommodation around the UK and we use a pool van to get to our work locations.
On the particular day In question I was calling at an address to drop someone off on the way back from Woolwich which was the place I was working.
Im now told that I have had my policy cancelled and owe another £98 because ive not paid in 7 days and the next step will be to hand it over to a well know Debt collectors in Stockport.
Do I have grounds to contest this and refuse to pay?
They say I only took out SDP when I took out the policy on Compare the Market,but the policy schedule only says Nationwide UK on it.
They say they have listened back to the recovery booking phonecall and they have made their own decicions.
How can they prove I was doing anything work related?
Surely they knew this when booking the recovery firm to get me and should have offered me an upgrade or something surely.
There policy states "Our expert staff will assess the situation and give the best appropriate service".
Has anybody been put in this situation or could anybody offer what my next steps should be.


Thanks in advance for any help or advice.
Carl

Bigphil1474

Carl, sounds like a T&C's issue. I have break down cover for my car which is limited to SDP and commuting. Fortunately, when I last used it whilst I was at work, I just told them I was on my way home, so they didn't query whether I was covered. They couldn't really question that as it's just a car.
I suppose from their point of view, if you are driving round in a van with tools in it, that does appear to be using it for work purposes, and I expect there's a premium to pay for covering work vehicles as opposed to just SDP. Is your motor insurance for SDP as well?
Could you get anything from your employer to state that they provide work vehicles to get you from accommodation to site, and that you were travelling home via Wandsworth i.e. not at work, and basically anything that supports your side of things?

carlandjulie

Thanks for the reply bigphil,
Yeah I can understand where they are coming from,
but without some form of proof not just what they think,surely they cant just cancel the cover then demand fees.
The tools were in the van because I had to get my things together and take everything home with me.
If this was the case should the cover be canceld at the road side and not after the recovery,this to me was not my best option,

sheramber

carlandjulie wrote: »

Thanks for the reply bigphil,
Yeah I can understand where they are coming from,
but without some form of proof not just what they think,surely they cant just cancel the cover then demand fees.
The tools were in the van because I had to get my things together and take everything home with me.
If this was the case should the cover be canceld at the road side and not after the recovery,this to me was not my best option,

Cover for S, D& P does not cover commuting to and from work, which you seemed to be doing.
.

Car_54

If I were the OP I'd ask the company to put all of this in writing, and then raise a formal complaint in response. He can then go to the ombudsman in due course.

AdrianC

carlandjulie wrote: »

The van is registered to me and only used for carrying my stuff around.


I get a phone call from the recovery firm I used saying ... because the van is used for work related work I am not covered
they said the van had some tools in the back and when I booked the recovery I said the word "site" when giving the address which all constitutes to the van being used for work related situations.

I use the van to get me about,as I would a car,carrying my equipment to accommodation around the UK and we use a pool van to get to our work locations.
On the particular day In question I was calling at an address to drop someone off on the way back from Woolwich which was the place I was working.

How can they prove I was doing anything work related?

You have "your stuff" (including tools) in the van, and you travel around the UK for work. When you broke down, you were coming from a location you were working...

But you aren't using the van "for work". Just to get to and from it.

What do you do for a living? Were these tools related to your business or trade?

Sorry, but unless I'm missing something fairly key, then I think they've got you bang to rights. And I strongly suspect your insurance would see it as you requiring business cover, too, because you certainly aren't just using it for social and domestic purposes, and you're not commuting to a single permanent place of employment.

The only get-out I can see is if the tools were something utterly non-work-related, and you could quite easily perform the same business travel and functions in a car, but have the van (and tools) for utterly non-business reasons.

carlandjulie

Thanks for all your replies.
Please allow me to explain myself,,
The van was bought to be used for a delivery business I was going to start up,but this never happened so I was stuck with the van.
I got offered unrelated work in London and need hand tools,drill jigsaw etc taking down when I start the job and brought home anytime from weeks to months later when finished.The only reason the tools were in the van that particular day was because I was being sent somewhere else while the van was fixed.
We rent a house in Wandsworth and the van is left here and we travel in 1 van to work then on the Friday i come home in it.
Does anybody else consider their cover if breaking down in a car that has say a lawnmower and gardening tools in the boot because they could be a gardener and using their car for work?
Nowhere on my policy does it state SDP and i cant carry personal belongs with me,yes work related but not on a regular basis and definitely not a daily necessity .
Also have i been misled into the recovery?
Is the operater who took the recovery call supposed to check these things to offer the appropriate service and accept or decline the recovery like stated in the policy "Our expert staff will assess the situation and offer the best service for you".
I just feel stitched up and threatened,i avoided basic cover for these reasons and seems ive paid for cover that allows me to drive around in my van all day,go nowhere and carry nothing but i am allowed to do it anywhere in the UK and not happy with the £655 bill they now are going to hand to a ten bob debt collectors so they can have their share of me also.
Thanks again

DoaM

10 bob debt collectors can't do anything other than make threats - send scary letters, some even with BOLD RED TEXT IN CAPITALS.

IF the company takes the debt through court, wins, and you don't pay then:

a) you end up with a CCJ (If they win and IF you don't pay)

b) the company engages a high court enforcement officer to enforce the debt

A debt collector can't do anything.

carlandjulie

Thanks Doam,
Im thinking of a negotiation with the firm tomorrow for a quick settlement, I can understand why they are saying it but can't prove anything and they seem to have an answer for everything

System

Was the van sign written? It won't help your cause.

carlandjulie

No it wasn't Tarambor