motorbike damaged by rescue driver

Fuzzyhead
Fuzzyhead Posts: 11 Forumite
My stepsons motorbike (purchased in late 2016), broke down, battery problems, he has motorbike rescue recovery, so he called them. They came out and advised he would need a new battery so put the motorbike on the back of the rescue truck and drove my stepson and bike back home.
when they arrived back at the house, and was opening the back of the rescue truck, the motorbike was on its side and damaged all of the left hand side of bike. The driver had not secured it properly and during transit had fallen over. The driver advised his company manager of this accident and the company manager advised my stepson to contact his insurance company.

My stepson contacted his insurance company with details and photographs of the bike, as well as the details of the rescue recovery. The Insurance company advised they will collect the motorbike to inspect damage and see what can be done.

They called today to say that the motorbike will be written off, and that my stepson will have to pay excess as it is a claim, and they will come back with a figure to pay him.

This is not a claim from my stepson, as he was not at fault here. and excess should be paid from the recovery company as they have admitted liability for the damage.

What can my stepson do in this case. He paid £2,000 for the bike from new, and the insurance company have advised he will get £500, but £400 because he has £100 excess. He has never claimed on this insurance, doesn't want his premium to go up either due to this, he is 28 years of age, responsible rider.

Any assistance on this would be great, my stepson needs his motorbike for work, and has now been getting public transport to get him to work, so he keeps his job and pays his flat.

Please help thanks

Comments

  • forgotmyname
    forgotmyname Posts: 32,547 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    Fuzzyhead wrote: »
    My stepsons motorbike (purchased in late 2016), broke down, battery problems, he has motorbike rescue recovery, so he called them. They came out and advised he would need a new battery so put the motorbike on the back of the rescue truck and drove my stepson and bike back home.
    when they arrived back at the house, and was opening the back of the rescue truck, the motorbike was on its side and damaged all of the left hand side of bike. The driver had not secured it properly and during transit had fallen over. The driver advised his company manager of this accident and the company manager advised my stepson to contact his insurance company.

    My stepson contacted his insurance company with details and photographs of the bike, as well as the details of the rescue recovery. The Insurance company advised they will collect the motorbike to inspect damage and see what can be done.

    They called today to say that the motorbike will be written off, and that my stepson will have to pay excess as it is a claim, and they will come back with a figure to pay him.

    This is not a claim from my stepson, as he was not at fault here. and excess should be paid from the recovery company as they have admitted liability for the damage.

    What can my stepson do in this case. He paid £2,000 for the bike from new, and the insurance company have advised he will get £500, but £400 because he has £100 excess. He has never claimed on this insurance, doesn't want his premium to go up either due to this, he is 28 years of age, responsible rider.

    Any assistance on this would be great, my stepson needs his motorbike for work, and has now been getting public transport to get him to work, so he keeps his job and pays his flat.

    Please help thanks

    Yes it is a claim, its a non fault claim.... Your stepson will pay his excess and claim and his insurance will seek payment from the 3rd party. Your son will use his legal protection cover to reclaim his excess back also.

    Cancel the claim and repair the bike himself?
    Censorship Reigns Supreme in Troll City...

  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    Fuzzyhead wrote: »
    when they arrived back at the house, and was opening the back of the rescue truck, the motorbike was on its side and damaged all of the left hand side of bike. The driver had not secured it properly and during transit had fallen over. The driver advised his company manager of this accident and the company manager advised my stepson to contact his insurance company.
    It happens. That's what insurance is for.

    My stepson contacted his insurance company with details and photographs of the bike, as well as the details of the rescue recovery. The Insurance company advised they will collect the motorbike to inspect damage and see what can be done.

    They called today to say that the motorbike will be written off, and that my stepson will have to pay excess as it is a claim, and they will come back with a figure to pay him.
    Um, why is he claiming from his insurance? This is for the recovery company's insurance to deal with. Just pass it straight to them.

    This is not a claim from my stepson
    If he's filled in a claim form from his insurer, then it is his claim from his policy.

    , as he was not at fault here. and excess should be paid from the recovery company as they have admitted liability for the damage.
    If and when his insurer are reimbursed in full by the recovery company, then it will count as a not-at-fault claim, and his excess will be recovered. But it's not collision damage, as there is no other vehicle insurance involved. It's a bike that's fallen over, and the claim is against their professional indemnity insurance.

    What can my stepson do in this case. He paid £2,000 for the bike from new,
    That's irrelevant - the relevant value is what the bike was worth immediately before the damage occurred.
  • Norman_Castle
    Norman_Castle Posts: 11,871 Forumite
    Photogenic First Post Name Dropper First Anniversary
    Fuzzyhead wrote: »

    What can my stepson do in this case. He paid £2,000 for the bike from new, and the insurance company have advised he will get £500,
    He can dispute their valuation by providing evidence of higher prices for similar bikes of equal age and milage.

    The damage is very likely to be cosmetic or very minor. Try to buy the bike back and repair it yourself. Cosmetic damage can be very expensive, if you ignore the scratches the repair could be very cheap.
  • Stoke
    Stoke Posts: 3,182 Forumite
    If he paid £2000 and the insurance say it's worth £500 then obviously something is wrong.

    Possibility a: He paid too much for the bike in the first place.
    Possibility b: They're low-balling him and he needs to argue the value.
    Possibility c: They've found some non-accident damage that your son perhaps was unaware of ?

    If the bike was worth 2 grand before the accident, I would find some links to prove that. I did the same thing with my old car. I found auto trader adverts, gumtree adverts, and the like and ultimately demonstrated that to obtain a similar aged car with similar mileage and in similar condition would require around £400 more than they were offering me. We subsequently settled on an increase of £350.

    Like most things in life, you never quite get what you're owed back. That's just life I suppose.
  • MEM62
    MEM62 Posts: 4,746 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    Reading between the lines, it sounds as if this has been handled as a motor insurance claim - possibly against the stepson's insurance. It would be my opinion that this is inappropriate. The claim should be against the recovery company's liability insurance.
  • Norman_Castle
    Norman_Castle Posts: 11,871 Forumite
    Photogenic First Post Name Dropper First Anniversary
    Stoke wrote: »

    If the bike was worth 2 grand before the accident,
    Paid 2k when new in late 2016.
  • AndyMc.....
    AndyMc..... Posts: 3,248 Forumite
    Combo Breaker First Post
    Stoke wrote: »
    If he paid £2000 and the insurance say it's worth £500 then obviously something is wrong.

    Possibility a: He paid too much for the bike in the first place.
    Possibility b: They're low-balling him and he needs to argue the value.
    Possibility c: They've found some non-accident damage that your son perhaps was unaware of ?

    If the bike was worth 2 grand before the accident, I would find some links to prove that. I did the same thing with my old car. I found auto trader adverts, gumtree adverts, and the like and ultimately demonstrated that to obtain a similar aged car with similar mileage and in similar condition would require around £400 more than they were offering me. We subsequently settled on an increase of £350.

    Like most things in life, you never quite get what you're owed back. That's just life I suppose.

    D: It’s Chinese’s and has no used value.
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