My car was stolen by someone coming to view it

k12479

I would agree that it's hard to argue it was 'unattended', that would be more e.g. a car left idling by itself on a driveway to warm up. But, to be honest, I think it does come under the below. The person gained possession under the guise of being a buyer.

subzero1988 said:

- Loss or damage to your car where possession is gained by any form of deception or fraud.

Make a claim and if rejected, as mentioned by another posted, complain to the insurer and then try the ombudsman.

subzero1988

k12479 said:

I would agree that it's hard to argue it was 'unattended', that would be more e.g. a car left idling by itself on a driveway to warm up. But, to be honest, I think it does come under the below. The person gained possession under the guise of being a buyer.

subzero1988 said:

- Loss or damage to your car where possession is gained by any form of deception or fraud.

Make a claim and if rejected, as mentioned by another posted, complain to the insurer and then try the ombudsman.

Do you think there is something in the fact that he stole a key though? He only gained possession by theft of the key

Sandtree

k12479 said:

I would agree that it's hard to argue it was 'unattended', that would be more e.g. a car left idling by itself on a driveway to warm up. But, to be honest, I think it does come under the below. The person gained possession under the guise of being a buyer.

Its not a great case, and I agree with the next steps you propose, but I would try to argue that whilst the situation was engineered by a deception the actual theft itself was accomplished by the theft of the key and that was gained by more old fashioned theft not deception. A similar situation could have occurred in a petrol station with the perpetrator pickpocketing the key and driving away and in those circumstances the policy would respond. 

subzero1988

That’s quite scary how you both say it’s not a strong case, I just can’t believe how something like this can happen and there is a good chance I’m not covered

subzero1988

Will it help in anyway that I’ve found CCTV footage of him there? Would showing them more evidence to reduce the amount of doubt they have that this is legitimate help?

nyermen

Would it come under car jacking?  Wondering what the policy says about that.

subzero1988

nyermen said:

Would it come under car jacking?  Wondering what the policy says about that.

I’ll have a look and see if there is anything in the policy about that, thanks 

Sandtree

Ultimately submit the claim with as much evidence as you have and make it clear they took a key without permission, see what they say and complain if you arent happy.

The clause is really a fraud prevention mechanism and you will find other examples scattered through policies... so home insurance often has a clause/endorsement that says a theft from the home claim must have evidence of forced or violent entry if people who are not family live in the property (or its on bargain basement policies independent of who lives in the house).

Some terms are applied strictly, some are applied with leniency and are more an easy escape route if there are suspicions of problems... PR can also be a consideration. My Ex used to do ASU claims where the policy terms excluded suicide including attempted however in practice they did payout on all fatal suicide attempts  (did lead to a slightly cold hearted thought of "try harder next time" when survivors threaten suicide over the declinature of their attempted suicide claim - obviously official response was to suggest debt charities or suicide prevention ones)  

subzero1988

Right I get you, I did read about that being fraud prevention. I told them about this already, and gave the name of the shop. I also let them know I acquired this information on my own accord, the police never came back to view the cafe footage and I went over there the next day to get this.

hopefully they can see that there is no foul play on my end 

FTB_crossed

What is your current situation in regards to the claim?
Have you submitted the claim and insurance is making assumptions about the scenario and trying to challenge you?
I am sure the company who had fitted the tracker would have more information about the whereabouts of the vehicle. you should check with them.
Do you mind sharing what car was it and roughly how much was it worth. 
You should have realised the fact if someone had spent almost 3hrs looking at the car with you and never progressed onto buying it, doubts should have been raised after say 45 minutes. You can tell if someone is really interested or just wasting your time.
Why did you come inside the house when he said money will be in your account in 5 minutes. You should have waited and checked your account if it was only 5 more minutes as you had already spent 3hrs outside with him.
Why did you also leave your mobile phone inside the car. If the center console was empty and only had the key that you picked up and came out then where was your mobile phone at the time that you didn't see and forgot to bring back with you.
Which city did this happen as I had a car stolen few months back but from a carpark in Birmingham and then realised the car park CCTv wasn't working although visible so may be there's a trend that everyone out there needs to be aware of.