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advice please: esure, helphire and fix auto birmingham south: who will be liable?
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Pangloss_2
Posts: 18 Forumite
To save you reading to the end, the question is, who will be liable if this all goes wrong? My insurance company: esure?, my claims handler: helphire, or helphire's nominated repairer: Fix Auto Birmingham South?
I have a fully comprehensive insurance policy with esure. I was rear ended at a round-about twice by the same car. The first time when she hit me. The second time when the car behind her hit her car.
When I informed esure of my claim they immediately referred me to Helphire. Not having read the comments on this forum I reluctantly agreed to sign their car hire agreement and in the process agreed for them to handle the repair. I was not aware I could have insisted esure dealt with this in-house.
Fixauto Birmingham South collected my car and Helphire's hire company delivered a hire car. 2 weeks later my car was delivered to me. The paintwork didn't match properly and it wasn't smoothed off. Fixauto Birmingham South had damaged the electrics as well. The car locked itself with the engine running and the key in the ignition when I got out to check the lights were OK. The reversing lights didn't work and the audible warnings didn't work.
I complained to esure, who informed me that Fixauto Birmingham South were not an approved repairer. They referred me to Helphire, who got Fixauto Birmingham South to contact me. Their manager denied any problems but agreed to collect the car again and provide a courtesy car. Because Fixauto Birmingham South are not an approved repairer it was a struggle to get esure to cover the courtesy car under my policy foc but eventually they did it free of charge.
I will be pleasantly surprised if Fixauto Birmingham South succeed in re-doing the paintwork properly and in rectifying the damage they have done. In case they don't, would anyone care to advise me how to proceed? I think I should be asking esure to sort this out because my insurance policy is with them.
I have a fully comprehensive insurance policy with esure. I was rear ended at a round-about twice by the same car. The first time when she hit me. The second time when the car behind her hit her car.
When I informed esure of my claim they immediately referred me to Helphire. Not having read the comments on this forum I reluctantly agreed to sign their car hire agreement and in the process agreed for them to handle the repair. I was not aware I could have insisted esure dealt with this in-house.
Fixauto Birmingham South collected my car and Helphire's hire company delivered a hire car. 2 weeks later my car was delivered to me. The paintwork didn't match properly and it wasn't smoothed off. Fixauto Birmingham South had damaged the electrics as well. The car locked itself with the engine running and the key in the ignition when I got out to check the lights were OK. The reversing lights didn't work and the audible warnings didn't work.
I complained to esure, who informed me that Fixauto Birmingham South were not an approved repairer. They referred me to Helphire, who got Fixauto Birmingham South to contact me. Their manager denied any problems but agreed to collect the car again and provide a courtesy car. Because Fixauto Birmingham South are not an approved repairer it was a struggle to get esure to cover the courtesy car under my policy foc but eventually they did it free of charge.
I will be pleasantly surprised if Fixauto Birmingham South succeed in re-doing the paintwork properly and in rectifying the damage they have done. In case they don't, would anyone care to advise me how to proceed? I think I should be asking esure to sort this out because my insurance policy is with them.
La luta continua!
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Comments
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This is just my opinion but I say the garage is responsible.
We have had 2 accidents where repair was needed and both times the car involved went back to the garage until we were satisfied with the repairs.
Don't accept shoddy work, make them keep taking it back until you are happy.:heart2: Love isn't finding someone you can live with. It's finding someone you can't live without :heart2:0 -
I don't think it's anything to do with Esure.
You haven't had your repairs done by esure, you've gone with Helphire who are a 3rd party.
You had 3 choices - 3rd party, your insurer or claims management company and you've "chosen" the latter albeit by not unsderstanding the options and arrangments properly).
Get the garage to sort it and if they don't then escalate to helphire.0 -
Thanks both. esure didn't offer me any option other than Helphire. At the time I had the impression of having been rail-roaded. I will raise a complaint with esure once this is over.La luta continua!0
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Garage is responsible, if they fail to fix it, go back to Helphire as they referred you to them.... a guarentee is provided on any insurance approved body repair. If Helphire refuse to help (which they probably will, useless company!)... complain to eSure as they referred you to Helphire (basically continue along the chain etc)0
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"When I informed esure of my claim they immediately referred me to Helphire. "
I think that's the important bit.
If esure referred you to helphire, and you didn't refuse to let esure handle it and appointed helphire yourself, you can argue esure appointed a claims handler who didn't liase with them, and didn't use the correct garage, not that you decided it.
So speak to esure, tell them it was their agent, not yours, and let them earn all the referral fees they have put in their pocket for doing nothing.0 -
Just spoke to the insurance ombudsman's office. Their representative was categorical that because the insurance contract is with esure, they are responsible for getting the repair done correctly. She said some insurance companies deal with all their claims through a claims handling service. She advised us to ask esure in writing whether this is how they deal with all claims on their insurance policies. If they do then helphire are simply acting as an agent for esure. I think other users might benefit if there was an FAQ somewhere on this website about how to deal with accident claimsLa luta continua!0
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Surprised someone would randomly phone the FoS for a forum post!
You ultimately need to look at who you have the contracts with; in this case both esure and HelpHire and therefore you would be able to chase either of them for the issue.
Given that esure is an insurer and therefore you have the benefit of the FoS for resolving the complaint it would be sensible to take the arguement through them however a quicker resolution would most likely be gained by either going directly with the garage or HelpHire.0 -
InsideInsurance wrote: »Surprised someone would randomly phone the FoS for a forum post!
You ultimately need to look at who you have the contracts with; in this case both esure and HelpHire and therefore you would be able to chase either of them for the issue.
Given that esure is an insurer and therefore you have the benefit of the FoS for resolving the complaint it would be sensible to take the arguement through them however a quicker resolution would most likely be gained by either going directly with the garage or HelpHire.
It seems an excellent idea.
Given the esure wanted to wash their hands of any responsibility, and use the excuse the claim management company they have contacted, taken the referal fee from, and passed their client to didn't use an approved repairer, they need to get their act together, and the FOS are the organisation to make them.0 -
If the car needed extra repairs that the garage had missed that were deemed accident related then Helphire would continue with your case and rearrange further repairs and another hire car. If it's just that the repairs have been completed badly or not to your satisfaction then I'm pretty sure that HH will tell you that they can't get involved with this and that it is something that the repairer needs to resolve with you - whether or not your insurance company will help though is another matter. Who told you to take it to this particular repairer? If it was Helphire then they must be one of their approved repairers... They would only select repairers off their system and couldn't just pick a repairers name at random.
Marc0 -
If it was Helphire then they must be one of their approved repairers... They would only select repairers off their system and couldn't just pick a repairers name at random.
Yes, but it's not one of Esures approved repairers, it's helphires.
The chain seems to be Garage->Helphire->Esure->FOS.
But the OP is entitled to have this sorted and fortunately there is an independent and free seriec at the end of the chain, so I'm sure they will get it sorted even if it takes some time.0
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