Out of pocket from claim, please help!

Dukebox · 12 April 2018 at 4:55PM

Hello Money Saving Expert people.

I'm in a bit of a pickle, about a month ago, my car was damaged by a large multinational company.

I was parked in a legitimate parking space when a large van from a major multinational backed up and dropped some extremely heavy and large objects onto it from the side.

Needless to say, I've had the damage evaluated and they've put me through their vehicle insurance which have decided that my car is now a total loss.

It looks like they're going to try and pay me about 9k for the car, which, when looking for a car of the same age and mileage etc, leaves me out of pocket by about £2-3k

Realistically, do I have any rights here? Or is this pretty much what I have to deal with? The car was parked, I wasn't in it, the company accepts complete liability and there are multiple witnesses around the area (it was at work). Negligence has caused my car to be damaged and is now leaving me out of pocket, which seems unfair.

I'm only a young man and I don't know much about this sort of thing, I've never had to process a claim before in my life, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

neilmcl · 12 April 2018 at 4:57PM

What's the make/model, year & mileage?

Have you looked on autotrader to see examples of your car and the price they're being sold at, and more importantly the sort of price you would pay?

If you think your car is worth more to replace than they're offering then you need proof of this to back you up.

Dukebox · 12 April 2018 at 5:01PM

Neil, it's a 2015 1.4 Seat Leon with 25k miles on the clock. I've had a look through the forecourts and Autotrader and they're pricing at around 10-11k.

I've taken screenshots etc, I'm wondering if really the company should be paying for this seeing as they didn't have a vehicle run into mine, they didn't follow procedure and caused actual damages to my car.

AdrianC · 12 April 2018 at 6:27PM

Dukebox wrote: »

Needless to say, I've had the damage evaluated and they've put me through their vehicle insurance which have decided that my car is now a total loss.

It looks like they're going to try and pay me about 9k for the car, which, when looking for a car of the same age and mileage etc, leaves me out of pocket by about £2-3k

So your complaint is purely about the valuation. They've accepted liability.

Realistically, do I have any rights here?

Yes.

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/motor-valuation.html

waamo · 12 April 2018 at 6:52PM

Most people haggle over the price of a car. The advertised price may well not be the price a car actually sells for.

Getting £1k off a £10k asking price is possible. You need to bear this in mind when valuing your car and a replacement.

neilmcl · 12 April 2018 at 8:05PM

Dukebox wrote: »

Neil, it's a 2015 1.4 Seat Leon with 25k miles on the clock. I've had a look through the forecourts and Autotrader and they're pricing at around 10-11k.

I've taken screenshots etc, I'm wondering if really the company should be paying for this seeing as they didn't have a vehicle run into mine, they didn't follow procedure and caused actual damages to my car.

Yes, but that's the asking price, with some haggling you'd probably pay in the region of £9-10K, so their valuation is not that far off.

Dukebox · 13 April 2018 at 11:53AM

Surely to expect that I will be able to haggle a price down is folly? I've never actually be able to do it.

It's ridiculous how slimy this whole process is, what's the point in being protected as a consumer if you just get shafted.

neilmcl · 13 April 2018 at 12:05PM

You're not getting shafted, they've offered a reasonable amount it's up to you to counter it if you think it's not right.

almillar · 13 April 2018 at 12:47PM

It looks like they're going to try and pay me about 9k for the car, which, when looking for a car of the same age and mileage etc, leaves me out of pocket by about £2-3k

Treat that as their first offer. You've already found one car *advertised for* £2-3k more - get more evidence together for your counter. It seems quite normal to negotiate a price. Maybe you could check Parkers (or the CAP guide) to find a value for your car? People will say valuations can be inaccurate but it's a start. I don't think you'll be negotiating a £11K car down to £9k!

Nobbie1967 · 13 April 2018 at 1:47PM

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201803264931935?year-from=2015&advertising-location=at_cars&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=New&minimum-badge-engine-size=1.4&maximum-mileage=30000&radius=1500&model=LEON&postcode=sk94bg&year-to=2015&minimum-mileage=20000&sort=sponsored&make=SEAT&maximum-badge-engine-size=1.4&page=1

There you go, £9k for a 2015 Seat Leon 1.4 with less miles than yours. To be fair, most are well over £10k, so yours may be a more expensive model. Need to find some comparable stuff to build a case for the higher figure.

I think some are being unfair is suggesting that big discounts are available on used cars advertised by traders on Autotrader, although private sales are different.

Dukebox · 13 April 2018 at 2:54PM

I think this is the problem I have, that one car is 9k but the average seems to be drastically different, it's also about 200 miles from me which is a colossal pain.

I don't understand this assumption that haggling is something I can reasonably do, all of my experience in haggling have failed miserably. So why would I not go for the advertised price? I appreciate the responses thus far.

Out of pocket from claim, please help!

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