Total loss retention value

ba_baracuss

AdrianC said:

ba_baracuss said:

They're not doing me a favour. Insurance companies don't do anybody a favour. It's not really a salvage anyway, it's a minor scrape cat N which they agreed to repair and then reneged on once the repair centre had collected it.

Exactly.

On inspection, they've decided to write it off, because they've deemed it not worthy of repair. The damage is not structural (hence Cat N).
They are paying you the full pre-collision market value of the car, and they are taking ownership of it.

That's what a write-off is. And your policy Ts & Cs gave them the right to decide when you submitted the claim form.

You would have had more flexibility if you were claiming off the other party and they had admitted liability, but you chose to claim from your insurer.

They are obliged to give me a fair price

They are obliged to give you the fair market value of the car, yes. Are you suggesting they aren't?
They are not obliged to give you the right to retain the salvage - and, even if they choose to give you that option, they are not obliged to do so for any set %age.

...so probably not a good idea for them to withdraw the offer. They want 27% of my value, hence I'm not very happy. 9% sounds very nice in comparison.

I'm sure it does. But that's not on the table. Maybe you can talk them into it... Good luck. More likely is that they'll just shrug, say "OK, then", and it'll go to copart.

ba_baracuss said:

Nothing has been agreed or settled. It's my car. But thanks.

You may wish to read the Ts & Cs of your policy about that.

I had no choice. The other party did the damage to my parked car and drove off.
Also, it won't go anywhere until they have bought the vehicle from me. They haven't yet.
Thanks for your replies, nevertheless. It seems clear that they can change everything to suit themselves and I have no right to contest it. That's all I needed to know, and sadly confirms that as expected, and as usual, the consumer gets squashed by the big company in the UK unless he pays big legal fees.

AdrianC

ba_baracuss said:

I had no choice. The other party did the damage to my parked car and drove off.

So it's an at-fault claim.

Also, it won't go anywhere until they have bought the vehicle from me. They haven't yet.

You can withdraw the claim, that's true. Otherwise, your claim is in accordance with the Ts & Cs you agreed to by buying the policy.

Thanks for your replies, nevertheless. It seems clear that they can change everything to suit themselves and I have no right to contest it.

Read the Ts & Cs of your policy. Some policies offer buyback clauses - I guess yours doesn't?

ba_baracuss

AdrianC said:

ba_baracuss said:

I had no choice. The other party did the damage to my parked car and drove off.

So it's an at-fault claim.

Also, it won't go anywhere until they have bought the vehicle from me. They haven't yet.

You can withdraw the claim, that's true. Otherwise, your claim is in accordance with the Ts & Cs you agreed to by buying the policy.

Thanks for your replies, nevertheless. It seems clear that they can change everything to suit themselves and I have no right to contest it.

Read the Ts & Cs of your policy. Some policies offer buyback clauses - I guess yours doesn't?

I will try to dig that out, but I am negotiating a buyback. They first offered me a derisory value, I contested it and they upped it. However the retention value was 22% of the first valuation and 27% of the second, improved valuation. This is the part I am seeking clarification on. They say it's an industry standard. I can't find any information hence asking here.
 As of now your responses suggest they can make the retention fee whatever they like which seems ludicrous to me but as I said, also not a surprise because UK law always favours big companies. Why it's so hard to know what your rights are as a consumer I don't know. 

KimJongUn88

Why are you going on about UK law? There is no law to state that they have to give you the opportunity to buy the vehicle back. 

AdrianC

ba_baracuss said:

AdrianC said:

Read the Ts & Cs of your policy. Some policies offer buyback clauses - I guess yours doesn't?

I will try to dig that out, but I am negotiating a buyback.

Indeed. And, unless there's explicit detail in your policy Ts & Cs covering it, it's all up to negotiation.

Why it's so hard to know what your rights are as a consumer I don't know. 

Your rights are simple.

They have to pay you the full market value of your car immediately before the collision. Full stop. End of.

You have no RIGHT to anything else, including buying the salvage back. If you don't like the price they ask, you don't have to buy it back. They may call a certain %age "industry standard", others may differ in what they feel is "industry standard".

ba_baracuss

KimJongUn88 said:

Why are you going on about UK law? There is no law to state that they have to give you the opportunity to buy the vehicle back. 

If it's in their terms and conditions, they have to abide by it. 

ba_baracuss

AdrianC said:

ba_baracuss said:

AdrianC said:

Read the Ts & Cs of your policy. Some policies offer buyback clauses - I guess yours doesn't?

I will try to dig that out, but I am negotiating a buyback.

Indeed. And, unless there's explicit detail in your policy Ts & Cs covering it, it's all up to negotiation.

Why it's so hard to know what your rights are as a consumer I don't know. 

Your rights are simple.

They have to pay you the full market value of your car immediately before the collision. Full stop. End of.

You have no RIGHT to anything else, including buying the salvage back. If you don't like the price they ask, you don't have to buy it back. They may call a certain %age "industry standard", others may differ in what they feel is "industry standard".

OK, so they can charge whatever they like for the retention fee, and I have to swallow it. That's all I needed to know. It seems ludicrous to me that they have to give me the market value of the car and can then make up a number that suits them for the retention fee to claw a chunk of it back again, but if that's how it is, so be it.
Thanks for your replies - much appreciated.

AdrianC

ba_baracuss said:

OK, so they can charge whatever they like for the retention fee, and I have to swallow it.

No, you don't "have to swallow it".

You don't have to buy your bent car back at all. If you wish to, that's the price they're asking for it.

KimJongUn88

ba_baracuss said:

KimJongUn88 said:

Why are you going on about UK law? There is no law to state that they have to give you the opportunity to buy the vehicle back. 

If it's in their terms and conditions, they have to abide by it. 

Is it in their terms and conditions then? Which insurer is it?

rs65

ba_baracuss said:

It's not really a salvage anyway, it's a minor scrape cat N which they agreed to repair and then reneged on once the repair centre had collected it. 
……...………... 
They want 27% of my value, hence I'm not very happy. 

Its only got a minor scrape and you can buy it back for 27% of payout?  Sounds good to me.