URGENT Court help covea car insurance and car hire company claim

anthonydevz

Hi everyone in need of urgent help, I have been back and forth with COVEA insurance about them paying outstanding invoices which I was advised at first that they would be paid and sorted . They settled with the car hire company and made payment for the market value of the car now the hire company is taking me to court the bills owed. These bills were from when the car was in the garage getting repaired under the insurance. Covea claim they do not have to pay but i have never been informed this at any point till now. all email threads below.

from covea

Good Afternoon Mr Gardener,
I write following receipt of your recent email, to which a court summons was attached.
I understand the summons is in relation to the outstanding balance on your rental agreement, which remained unsettled from 31/12/2016, and on each subsequent payment date, amounting to a total of £3342.83.
Additional charges outlined on the summons are in relation to parking penalties obtained whilst the vehicle was in your own repairer. I note from your previous email, dated 06/07/2018, that you are intending to cover these fees yourself.
Your failure to issue payment to the lease company resulted in Autohorn Fleet Services attempting to repossess the vehicle. As your liability to the lease company is for the full outstanding balance, and not the market valuation of the vehicle (the latter being the cover level of your insurance policy) any shortfall remains payable by you, the renter.
As a matter of courtesy, our engineers have again verified the pre-accidental valuation paid for the car, and I can again confirm it to be £28,000. This is secondary, however, as I understand the amount to have been accepted as full and final settlement of your claim.
Because the lease company were looking to repossess the car prior to the vehicle being declared beyond economical repair, it is of no consequence that a marker has been placed on the vehicle, and the market value paid out. The summons would still have been filed against you, the renter, for failure to make payment on the dates outlined on the lender’s invoice. (31/12/2016, 28/01/2017, 25/02/2017, 25/03/2017, 22/04/2017). On the first three dates aforementioned, you were of the understanding that we were intending to repair the vehicle, and payments had no reason, therefore, to not be paid on their regular dates.
I appreciate you have advised previously that, had you been aware before settlement that the costs paid would not cover the outstanding balance prior to accepting settlement, you would have disputed valuation. Again, I must reiterate that the value placed is comfortably within the Glasses’ Guide. In fact, we have raised payment mid-book, close to retail asking price, which is much higher than the amount a lease company would pay. We have also covered the VAT element, which, again, is over what we would ordinarily make payment for.
We trust you will look to settle the summons with the lease company directly, as Covea Insurance no longer have an interest in the matter.

my response

Dear Shannon,
I was advised by a member of Covea (I believe it was Alex Rye) that all costs after the accident were going to be handled by them and the invoices were specifically mentioned hence them being sent to Alex in the first place. I would advise that you listen back to the recorded conversations on the dates around the incident.
Further to this, Alex Rye acknowledged the email regarding the outstanding invoices and stated that he would handle the matter. This was the last conversation that I had with anyone regarding the claim as such leading me to believe the matter was resolved. At no point was I told otherwise that this was not the case.
I am aware that I have grounds to escalate this matter further Under the Consumer Rights act 2015 as well as the Misrepresentation Act 1967. I have been exceptionaly patient regarding resloving this issue and have kept Covea informed continually through every point of contact that I have had with the lease car company, bailiffs to the court letter, which shows a very poor level of service from your staff who represent your brand Covea.
It would be in everyone's best interest to put this matter to bed before this does escalte to court procedings, as such I am willing to make the payment for the outstanding parking tickets and for Covea to make the remaining payment including all fees incurred.
Thanks
Anthony

There response

Thank you for your below email.
I understand the correspondence with Alex Rye to which you are referring was sent on the 31st March 2017, prior to any settlement cheque to your lease company.
Upon reading this, it seems no agreement was made with you to pay the outstanding amount, the email simply stating that we would look to chase Autohorn for the vehicle registration document.
Our position regarding the amount we had settled with the lease company was clearly outlined in your 26/07/2017 conversation with William Bowers.
I have attached, for your reference, a copy of your policy booklet, in which limitations are outlined. Particularly worthy of note is Section 2, Damage to the car.
‘If the insurer’s estimate of the market value is less than the amount owed
you may have to pay the outstanding balance.
By purchasing this policy you agree that the insurer can handle your claim
in this way.’
The contract of insurance is entirely separate to the lease contract you have entered into, to which Covea Insurance were not signatory.
As the summons is against you directly, it would remain your responsibility to settle any legal action brought against you. The reason the action has been brought against your person, rather than Covea Insurance, is because there is a mutual understanding between your lease company and ourselves that our legal obligation to raise payment ceased when the market value was received.
Furthermore, I must reiterate that the action was being brought against you prior to the vehicle receiving the marker, as payment for your lease was not made whilst your vehicle was in your selected repairer.
I hope this clarifies our position.
Kind Regards

old emails to Alex rye there were also conversations had before these invoices were sent were I was advised they would be paid for hence seding them into the insurance company

Sent: 28/03/2017 18:41:49
To: PHClaims@coveainsurance.co.uk
Subject: LP65PFF
hi I have a claim being put through with you for the vehicle listed in the subject line. The lease car company are trying to charge me for the outstanding balance from after the car was crashed. I asked them to speak to you but they have told me that I should contact you instead.
I have attached 4 outstanding invoices as of today.
I am currently on holiday so will most likely not be able to be contacted via phone, please do email me if you need or let me know a mobile or landline that I can call.
I will be returning to the uk on the 18th of April.
Thanks
Anthony

reponse

PHClaims@CoveaInsurance.co.uk
Fri 31/03/2017, 13:48
Dear Mr Gardner,
I emailed your lease company on the 24th March we are waiting for a copy of the vehicle registration document before we can look to raise the payment.
I will carry on chasing your lease company for the document so don't worry and hope you enjoy your holiday!
Yours Sincerely,
Alex Rye

I have asked for an extension on the county court letter and i have to give a response back by the 10/01/2019 should i get a solicitor involved?

Thanks in advanced to anyone who gets back to me you will be considered an :A:A:A

Cetshwayo

Yes you need a solicitor.

From what I can see (not reading too in depth) you stopped payments on the lease whilst a decision was made and you have a shortfall in the settlement amount.

Did you have GAP insurance?

SuperHan

From what I can tell, you have no chance of winning a court case.

"Alex Rye" does not say he will do anything in respect of the outstanding invoices, just chase the lease company for the document so that Covea can release the cash for you to pay to them.


You have been paid the market value of the car. This is less than the outstanding lease amount. If you don't have gap insurance then you have to meet this difference (as that is literally the point of gap insurance).


It looks as though the insurers and lease company have acted exactly as I would have expected them to before I read your post. Unfortunately you can't take them to court and win because you didn't understand how the process worked.

anthonydevz

Hi thanks for getting back to me. I do not have gap insurance the car was a short term monthly lease that you renew every month.

An I not chase covea to pay based on the fact there will be phone conversations stating that they will pay the invoices, I was never told that they would not be paying the invoices, surely I should have been informed that they were not paying the invoices.

Consumer Rights Act 2015, Part 1, Chapter 4
I can’t post a link to the info in this

anthonydevz

Thanks for getting back to me, the insurance has paid out the lease car company in 2017 the lease car company decided to chase me for the invoices a year later.
I have repeatedly contacted coves who have said they will look into it and never have said they do not have to pay it, all the advisors said was that they settled. Sure let it is there job to inform me or at least come to court with me to fight the case saying that they paid over market value based on the invoices maybe? I am covered for legal cover so would that not be part of this claim?

Silent_Dancer

Sorry but you do owe the money as it the difference between the car market value and the outstanding amount on the lease.