Tesco van damaged gates

zooankski

We recently had a Tesco delivery. Long story short, the van has damaged our automatic wooden gate.
It’s all on CCTV and Tesco admitted liability.
Their insurer asked for 2 quotes, which I got from 2 gate installation companies.
Both quotes are around 10k as not only is the gate damaged, the motor box now has a lot of play, the top hinge moves in and out of the brick work and the face of one brick has detached due to the pressure placed on it.
I have just however received an email from a company called The building repairs network who sent the following-

We are contacting you today regarding the damage to your gate, we have reviewed the quotation you have provided which we do believe to be excessive for the works required.  We have asked one of our contractors to provide a comparative quotation which is more reasonable and they would be more than happy to undertake the repair works at your property if you wish.

Alternatively, we can offer you a cash settlement sum of £1,700.00 and if you accept this one of our claim concierges will continue to send a mandate to you today.

I am not sure where I stand here? One of their contractors? Sounds like an attempt to bodge up the damage! 2 separate companies who specialise in gates have quoted so I don’t get it.

Any advice on where I go from here? 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Hard to say without knowing a breakdown of the 10k quotes. 

How much is the gate repair?

How much is the motor box repair?

How much is resetting the hinges and brickwork? 

Undervalued

zooankski said:

We recently had a Tesco delivery. Long story short, the van has damaged our automatic wooden gate.
It’s all on CCTV and Tesco admitted liability.
Their insurer asked for 2 quotes, which I got from 2 gate installation companies.
Both quotes are around 10k as not only is the gate damaged, the motor box now has a lot of play, the top hinge moves in and out of the brick work and the face of one brick has detached due to the pressure placed on it.
I have just however received an email from a company called The building repairs network who sent the following-

We are contacting you today regarding the damage to your gate, we have reviewed the quotation you have provided which we do believe to be excessive for the works required.  We have asked one of our contractors to provide a comparative quotation which is more reasonable and they would be more than happy to undertake the repair works at your property if you wish.

Alternatively, we can offer you a cash settlement sum of £1,700.00 and if you accept this one of our claim concierges will continue to send a mandate to you today.

I am not sure where I stand here? One of their contractors? Sounds like an attempt to bodge up the damage! 2 separate companies who specialise in gates have quoted so I don’t get it.

Any advice on where I go from here? 

A qualified independent expert who can advise on what needs doing and what is a reasonable price for carrying out the work.

On the face of it £10K sounds excessive for the work you describe. However maybe there are good reasons why a lot of expensive work is needed?

Some specialised contractors can be notorious for repair prices, seemingly feeling that they have the client / insurance company "over a barrel". Certain larger alarm / security company were particularly bad at this.

In any claim you have a duty to minimise your losses as far as reasonably possible. Just because somebody is at fault doesn't mean they can be ripped off. 

If there are sound reasons why £10K is a fair price for what is needed to do this work properly then so be it, they will have to pay. If however their quote is nearer the mark there is no reason why they should be £8K out of pocket.

zooankski

I fully understand what you are saying. My understanding is that the quotes for replacement have to be to current regs.
I would be happy with replacement motors and gates but a little bit of research tells me I am looking at £1300 for a similar set of underground motors and about 3-3.5kfor gates themselves. Then Labour etc. 

Is it worth pointing this out? Their quote is so low I can only assume they would fill the damaged wood, ignore the massive amount of play in the motor now it’s been for forced and just bodge the top hinge? 

I really just want it all sorted. The delivery driver didn’t even tell us he had done the damage and just did a runner, even after getting out of the van and seeing what he had done! 

IvanOpinion

Did you tell the people giving a quote that it was an insurance claim against a big corporation? 
If so it is possible that they may have added a whack of gilding and replacing parts that are quite serviceable - not an uncommon practice.  I would be inclined to let the insurance company fix it but make sure you get a guarantee on the work and if you are not happy then get on the phone to them straight away.

davidmcn

zooankski said:

Their quote is so low I can only assume they would fill the damaged wood, ignore the massive amount of play in the motor now it’s been for forced and just bodge the top hinge? 

It would be reasonable for you to ask them for a specification so you can check exactly what they are proposing.

pinkshoes

Hmmm... I know someone who had some wooden automatic gates fitted and I'm sure they said they paid about £4k for them...

What is their breakdown of the £10k?

How much did you pay to have the gates to install? How long have they been there?

zooankski

davidmcn said:

zooankski said:

Their quote is so low I can only assume they would fill the damaged wood, ignore the massive amount of play in the motor now it’s been for forced and just bodge the top hinge? 

It would be reasonable for you to ask them for a specification so you can check exactly what they are proposing.

Sounds like a very good idea! Will see what they say.

mattyprice4004

The problem may be proving the motor didn't have play before - if they still work, they could just say they could have already been like that beforehand and as such they won't cover this cost. 
They have to put you back in the position you were in before, but personally I'd entertain them and allow their repair company to do the work, and then complain if it's not up to scratch afterwards. 

greyteam1959

As other people have asked please tell us what you paid for the gates when they were installed.
I just cannot believe that £10 000 quote for a repair.
Ludicrous.

zooankski

I agree with you! It is crazy money and my wife and I were shocked at the cost, but having had 2 quotes, both companies saying beyond repair and a new install required I just don’t know what to do! 

All I do know is £1700 won’t get me  even a set of gates.

Gates were installed when we moved in 5 years ago so no idea of initial cost. 

What I do know, having researched more this evening is that the cheapest  pair of motors that are similar are £1300  which is bonkers too if you ask me. 

Found somewhere that makes bespoke gates and a similar set came in at £2200. They are not fancy, in fact almost identical.
is it worth pointing these things out now or just wait to see what they come back with?