My insurer sold my scrapped car

Raynard82

Long story short - I had a car accident back in January 2015, my insurers Directline via their third party Quindell sent an engineers report stating the vehicle was beyond repair and offered an amount to me for the car minus £90 for salvage, i accepted and signed the documents they requested and as per their request sent the V5 and a few weeks later the cheque arrived. Fast forward to today and through the post i have received a fine for not paying a toll on the M50 in Dublin in March 2017 in the very car that my insurers have to my knowledge destroyed.

does anyone know where i stand in any of this, am i owed the £90?, is it legal for my insurers to tell me that it is beyond repair when clearly 2 years later it is still riding strong? Who is liable for all of this?

any ideas would be appreciated i have tried to contact Directline but they say i have to speak to the claims department and they aren't open until Monday.

kingstreet

Was it beyond ECONOMIC repair?

If it was, such vehicles can be repaired and returned to the road with (IIRC) an extended inspection. This is a Category C write-off, I believe.

I did consider taking the vehicle back and a reduced settlement following a write-off in 2007. Didn't go through with it in the end.

Presumably, you accepted the offer made and the case was closed and someone bought the vehicle from the salvor. You should not be named on the V5C now though.

FutureGirl

Yes it's legal (I work for an insurer).

You claimed for your vehicle which was beyond economic repair, they paid you out for the vehicle, as per the policy. They have put you back in the same position you were in prior to the accident by giving you the market value of your vehicle. The vehicle then becomes the property of the insurance company.

If you did not retain the vehicle, then the insurer should be paying you the salvage cost, yes.

When you sent the V5 to the insurer, did you remember to send the little section to the DVLA as well (I think it's S9)? To notify the DVLA that the vehicle was no longer in your possession?

Raynard82

I don't have the engineers report anymore so i cannot be 100% whether it stated beyond economic repair or not but checks on .gov.uk show that it is sorn and has had no MOT since the date i signed it over to Directline.

could this be a clone? am i still liable?

I am going to call Directline on Monday and the DVLA to make checks, i thought that if a car was written off it had to change it's registration to reflect it, i remember my brother buying a Q reg XR3i and not being able to insure it.

Raynard82

Thanks Futuregirl, i have a photocopy of the V5 and the yellow part is missing so with my poor memory i can only assume it was because i sent it to the DVLA

cjmillsnun

If a car is a CAT D or CAT C total loss (ie beyond economic repair) then it can retain its original registration number if repaired. Indeed, if roadworthy CAT D cars can be driven without further checks.


CAT C cars require a VIC and an MOT before going back on the road.

The one thing confuses me, you were charged £90 for the salvage. Did you retain the salvage rights on the vehicle yourself? If so you should've got the car back.

If not, why did you pay that. You normally pay the standard insurance excess and that's the end of it.

Raynard82

No they deducted the £90 from the amount they paid me and never returned the car.

forgotmyname

If you pauid £90 to keep the car why did you not ask them where your car was? Guessing they were waiting for you to collect it and then eventually it went to the salvage auction. Ask for your £90 back.

To fix your car with new parts would have been more than the cars worth or too costly overall. Doesnt mean it cannot be fixed with used parts and by someone with zero labour costs.

prowla

You can find out what insurance category it was written of as by going through the first stages of selling it at autotrader:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/sell-my-car

Enter the details and do next and it'll say "Cat C" or whatever; I just checked against one I used to have.

Note that the insurance company will assess what they think it will cost to repair against it's value and if it would cost more they'll then write it off.

Once that's done, they'll dispose of it as they see fit and if it's a Cat C or D it can be repaired and put back on the road (perhaps bought by an individual or a small garage to fix up).

It's perfectly legal and above board.

One thing that can affect the viability of them repairing it is if it has been customised (parts, paint job, etc.), which would add to the cost of the repairs.

I've no idea why they've deducted the haulage charge, though.