Scratching my head

Sprinkly
Sprinkly Posts: 93
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edited 27 September 2017 at 6:28PM in Motoring
I am still standing scratching my head and can't help feeling hard done by and just need to explore this situation and ask is there anything to be done or just walk away.

My NHS lease car was totaled on 12th of this month when it was parked.

I signed a 3 year nhs lease contract. I got the car in October 2016 after a 4 month wait for it. However because of a clause in the contract that says if the car is written off then the contract terminates. It wasn't my fault. The contract also states you will not be provided with a replacement car. I then discovered on investigating I can't get another car with NHS fleet because I don't now earn enough as it would have to be a new contract.

So, someone smashes into my car. I lose the car. Find I can't get another one. Ive lost out on salary sacrifice with tax etc, not to mention the major inconvenience I and my family have suffered as a result of the loss of the vehicle and that's it.

Shouldn't I be being put back to where I was pre accident by someone but who? :( I just feel like my situation is just a case of oh hard luck and I appreciate this might be the case at the end of the day.

Trying to look at the positives of being released from the contract but I would prefer to have had my car back or a car back.

However until the claim is complete I have been provided with a substitute courtesy car by NHS fleet because I'm still paying for the totalled car from my salary until claim completion then my car payments cease being taken from my salary and I have to give the courtesy car back but not knowing from one week to the next how long I've got this courtesy car. Then after that no car at all.
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  • Sprinkly wrote: »
    I am still standing scratching my head and can't help feeling hard done by and just need to explore this situation and ask is there anything to be done or just walk away.

    My NHS lease car was totaled on 12th of this month when it was parked.

    I signed a 3 year nhs lease contract. I got the car in October 2016 after a 4 month wait for it. However because of a clause in the contract that says if the car is written off then the contract terminates. It wasn't my fault. The contract also states you will not be provided with a replacement car. I then discovered on investigating I can't get another car with NHS fleet because I don't now earn enough as it would have to be a new contract.

    So, someone smashes into my car. I lose the car. Find I can't get another one. Ive lost out on salary sacrifice with tax etc, not to mention the major inconvenience I and my family have suffered as a result of the loss of the vehicle and that's it.

    Shouldn't I be being put back to where I was pre accident by someone but who? :( I just feel like my situation is just a case of oh hard luck and I appreciate this might be the case at the end of the day.

    Trying to look at the positives of being released from the contract but I would prefer to have had my car back or a car back.

    However until the claim is complete I have been provided with a substitute courtesy car by NHS fleet because I'm still paying for the totalled car from my salary until claim completion then my car payments cease being taken from my salary and I have to give the courtesy car back but not knowing from one week to the next how long I've got this courtesy car. Then after that no car at all.


    But you knew that when you took out the contract.
  • flashg67
    flashg67 Posts: 3,993
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    'lost out on salary sacrifice' - haven't you gained (paid less tax) or are you referring to the fact you can't now have this facility?
  • Castle
    Castle Posts: 4,158
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    Have you spoken to your insurance company; and did you have legal expenses cover?
  • Was this really worthy of another thread on the same subject?
  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189
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    Sprinkly wrote: »
    My NHS lease car was totaled on 12th of this month when it was parked.

    I signed a 3 year nhs lease contract. ... However because of a clause in the contract that says if the car is written off then the contract terminates. ... The contract also states you will not be provided with a replacement car.

    So everything is as per the contract you agreed to when you took out the lease.

    You would have had the car for three years, but the lease has been terminated early - rather than a replacement car provided - because the car no longer exists.
    I then discovered on investigating I can't get another car with NHS fleet because I don't now earn enough as it would have to be a new contract.

    Right. And?
    Shouldn't I be being put back to where I was pre accident by someone but who?

    Insurance has paid out the pre-collision value of the car, and the car's owner is not out of pocket.
    Your lease has conformed to the contract you agreed to.
    What else is missing...?

    The question I think you're really wanting an answer to is actually one you have the answer to already - why you are no longer eligible for a new lease. Has your salary dropped because you changed jobs or reduced hours? Has the scheme changed, so the eligibility is now higher?
    However until the claim is complete I have been provided with a substitute courtesy car by NHS fleet because I'm still paying for the totalled car from my salary until claim completion then my car payments cease being taken from my salary and I have to give the courtesy car back but not knowing from one week to the next how long I've got this courtesy car. Then after that no car at all.

    Yep, that's the way it works with a write-off. You get a car provided until the claim is settled, then everything is... settled.
  • unholyangel
    unholyangel Posts: 16,863
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    Quite simply if you have suffered a loss due to negligence of another party, then you should have a claim against them - its not just limited to the value of the car. The innocent party are entitled to be indemnified by the negligent party for their loss 100%. The general rule is that they need to take their "victim" as they find them.

    However its only for actual losses that are a direct result of their negligence. So you'd need to be able to quantify that loss. Theres also no entitlement to betterment.

    Theoretically, if you could show that to get the exact same car (same model, age, mileage etc) but you would have to (for example) pay £1000 more over the course of the new agreement than you would have had to pay under the old one, you might be able to claim that amount. As above though, if you have legal cover on your insurance speak to them and see if they can help.
    You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means - Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride
  • I'm no longer eligible for salary sacrifice AdrianC and therefore wont be considered for another vehicle because of the rising cost of their cars on offer and a government law to do with the national minimum wage in calculating your car quote. Unholyangel I had full comp cover. Thanks for your helpful answer I'll speak to the insurance. company.
  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189
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    Quite simply if you have suffered a loss due to negligence of another party, then you should have a claim against them - its not just limited to the value of the car. The innocent party are entitled to be indemnified by the negligent party for their loss 100%. The general rule is that they need to take their "victim" as they find them.
    What other losses has the OP suffered?
    Theoretically, if you could show that to get the exact same car (same model, age, mileage etc) but you would have to (for example) pay £1000 more over the course of the new agreement than you would have had to pay under the old one, you might be able to claim that amount. As above though, if you have legal cover on your insurance speak to them and see if they can help.
    Nope, doesn't work like that.

    The insurance contract to pay out the pre-collision value of the car. No more, no less. If that had left the OP in negative equity on finance, then that's what a separate gap policy is for. The insurer do not have to replace it - if there's no equivalent available, that's impossible. The fact that the OP is no longer eligible for the deal on which that car was obtained is not the insurer's problem, bluntly.
  • custardy
    custardy Posts: 38,365
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    I dont understand. Total loss by other party at fault.
    Surely that parties insurance company should be replacing the car?
    The lease company isnt going to write off the value of the car,so somebody got a payout?
    If we forget its a lease then it would be a straight forward deal.
    Was the insurance part of the lease arrangement?
    Ive never taken these deals via my employer.
  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189
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    custardy wrote: »
    I dont understand. Total loss by other party at fault.
    Surely that parties insurance company should be replacing the car?

    No, they should be paying out the pre-collision value.
    The lease company isnt going to write off the value of the car,so somebody got a payout?

    Yep, the lease company have had the value of their car paid to them.
    If we forget its a lease then it would be a straight forward deal.

    Yep, the OP would have the pre-collision value of their car paid to them, ultimately by the other driver's insurer. That might leave them in negative equity on finance, if they didn't have a gap policy.

    There are three questions here, and they're completely separate.

    The first is the payout for the written-off car. That's all sorted.

    The second is the termination of the lease - which is as per the contract the OP signed. That's all sorted.

    The third is the OP's non-qualification for a new lease. That's nobody's problem but the OP's. Everything else has been sorted, according to contract.
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