55 replies to this topic

[taffy1967]

Well taking out "Agreed Value" is all very well and good, but it's taken over 4 months for my insurance company to get off it's rear-end and actually send me the confirmation letter.

I'd previously had no end of excuses from "it's being dealt with", to "it's been lost but now found again and it's being dealt with".

The people on the phone at Mini Magazine Insurance (actually Performance Direct) have always been very helpful, but the actual insurance company (Equity Red Star) has sent me right around the houses.

I dread to think what fun I'll get if I'm unfortunate enough to have to make a claim, but at least I've now finally at last got the document that says they have to pay me 5 grand if my Mini does get written off or stolen etc.

Edited by taffy1967, 07 November 2007 - 02:25 PM.

[G.T.M.]

This kinda thing can be fun when you get in to it... its not insurance but I had Pipex ISP after me saying I oewed them £400+ for outstanding debt I havent paid... sure enough a couple of thretts, dodgey phone calls and research it went from £400 to £320 then from £320 to just £180... then I asked them to exsplain how its dropped so much and how they go it wrong 3 times... I havent herd anything from them since and this was nerly 2 years ago.


What you need to do is...

Abandon all the people you have talked to so far, and I mean everyone.

Then go to a soilicitors (I can recomend a few from work who deal directly with insurance) and get THEM to determain who is responsable for all this C**p (both the injury and your car claim)

This will more than likly result in you atending small claims court and cain'in the C**p out of both the driver of the other car (if they werunt insured) and HIC insurance.

In the mean time spread the word as much as you can... Advise them they should look at this forum and all other forums youv posted this on.

Maby even ring your insure'ers back and say something along the lines of...

"Hello there my name is "make a name up" im phoneing on behalf of customer services and tradeing standards, we have at random contacted people who have made claims with you in the past..." then bring up yours.

Also it never herts to get abit angry at them down the phone... threten them abit, tell them your gonner inform tradeing standards and persue legal action against them pushing you in to a corner and getting your pride and joy crushed, get really dirty with them.

If you cain the C**p out of someone on the phone like it, the more u make thretts the more you back them up the higher it will go (and very quickly) and befor you know it youll be talking to someone very high indeed.

Edited by G.T.M., 07 November 2007 - 03:07 PM.

[Bean]

no can do, I'm afraid GTM. I've already had a cheque through from the insurers and have already settled on the car (even though I didn't really want to)

I've also been told that if I go to another solicitor, then I'll be liable for charges incurred by the one that was appointed to me. Although, I've been reliably informed (ta ) that many solicitors do a half-hour consultation, so will be able to give me some advice as to my position and what I can do from here. So I think I'll go along to my family solicitors and talk to them.

to be honest, it's still quite up-in-the-air at the moment, and I wasn't going to post this until it was sorted. But after 3 months of waiting, I'm not even sure when that will be, so thought it best to let people know.


Thanks for your replies everyone, means alot. But the reason for posting is that I just hope no-one else is going through/will have to go through the same ordeal, or worse.

[taffy1967]

I can vouch for the sending threatening letters bit, because I sent a threatening e-mail and put it in writing and sent my insurers the letter, that I wasn't happy with the service and if my Insurance Policy and Agreed Value documents weren't in my possession within a week that I was going to report them to the FSA.

Well I received a pretty bloody quick reply and I didn't have to wait (too) long and I got what I wanted. It still took over 4 months (in total) though, but I bet I'd still be waiting if I hadn't got heavy with them.

>

Edited by taffy1967, 07 November 2007 - 03:21 PM.

[G.T.M.]

As for you incuring charges from the other firm... youll be able to put them down on your claim and details that will be reviewed in court (how are you exspected to pay for something thats not been done properly or at all)

Taffy has the right idear, the full nelson you have on them is the fact they never know wether it is tradeing standards ringing up or not... and they cant afford to take the risk, nore can they risk wether your bluffing or being genuien when u say your taking legal action against them.

I hate the idear of insurance I really do, so many times have I been so close to not bothering, but the things thats stopped me has been the problems I would cause for other drivers if I was to be envolved in an acident, if it wasunt for that I wudunt bother.

Its the fact your paying for the cover of other peoples carelessness or for something that mite never happen. Its also one big money trap, and most of insurance in the end boils down to the 1st and 3rd party just trusting each other to do the right thing, when the time comes.

Edited by G.T.M., 07 November 2007 - 03:24 PM.

[Ethel]

I would defo be sending the details of this to the insurance ombudsman.

Sod cashing the cheque that proves nothing. I'd say you have a good case to sue them.

They could subpoena you, in which case you would be obliged to go to court. I would hope they do as it'd give you a chance to point out what a bunch of hand shandy merchants they are. Not that you could give any relevant evidence, all you can say is that she drove in to your car you cannot possibly know about her insurance.

Did you ever get to see the engineer's report ?



I think the main lesson here is never let the toe rags take your car if you can help it - possession really is nine tenths of the law.

[Bean]

I haven't seen the engineers report yet, no. Its part of what I've asked for in the email, but never received.

To be honest with you, I've had to cash the cheque... I need the money! I didn't get to work over summer because of it all (I hadn't got an official contract, annoyingly, so I can't claim for loss of earnings. I have a sort of 'open job', for the holidays)...

I'll be writing to someone (god knows who) at HIC and I'll definitely bring all of this up. Thank you.

I know people have said that you 'have to do this and that' when it comes to insurance, and now I know that yes you do. But you kinda presume that they know what they're doing, so you don't need to keep tabs on them as much. But now I've seen it, if I ever have to go through anything like this again, I'll be getting names, numbers and full transcripts of everything said to me. I'll make sure I have copies of all phone conversations.

It's been a hard way to learn a lesson that shouldn't even exist in the first place.

[Bean]

Its the fact your paying for the cover of other peoples carelessness or for something that mite never happen.

Could be said for all insurance really. But I do know what you mean.

The thing that has really got to me, is that she wasn't insured (possibly. who knows?). I've paid to be on the road, I'm the one who's fully legal.... yet I'm the one who's having to go through all this!!? What the hell does my insurance pay for if it doesn't pay for a proper service when I need it.

I can't believe its been let to go on for 3 months, I really can't!

[Ethel]

Bean,

The point I was making is that cashing their cheque doesn't mean you have accepted their offer of settlement - and even if you did there is plenty to suggest their behaviour has been far from fair which would make any suchagreement questionable.

[Bean]

I've accepted because I've sent them the V5 tho?

s'all too confusing


But all their behaviour throughout has been acceptable.

I have only held things up for about a week. This was when I moved up to Uni and the postal strikes meant that I couldn't have the settlement offer forms sent to me straight away. But even then, I told the insurance company this and spoke to them over email

[Ethel]

I suppose if you transferred the V5 - not just posted it to them then I suppose that would give them some right to your car. Even then, a registered keeper is not the owner, they would need some sort of contract between you to establish that.

I'm really having great difficulty believing they would have crushed your seats and wheels. I wonder if we have a TMF member close enough to go and sound out the yard, see if there is any evidence of vehicles being dismantled?

[Bean]

i seriously wouldn't want anyone to have a wasted trip. To get there and find out that nothing's there. But equally, I've always been interested to see the place that Charlie was But I couldn't justify driving all the way up there

And when I rang them, the woman on the phone was almost laughing at me She seemed to think I was stupid asking about retaining things from my car and getting my property back


i have accepted that Charlie's gone, though if there were anything, it would be a little bonus to have a piece of him back.

[taffy1967]

You've been treated appallingly though Bean, so you must report the whole incident to the FSA. Unless their told, insurance companies will continue to treat people like this and you might even get something out of it in the end.

So I'd send a letter and keep copies now.

[Bean]

Yeah, Jammy mentioned the FSA the other day, cheers Taffy - I'll be getting in touch with them.

I think I'll be heading home on the weekend and I'll go through it all with my dad. He's a company secretary and book-keeper... so he deals with all sorts of financial and legal companies. Plus, i really want to go home!

The whole thing's really got me down lately And a massive apology to everyone who's had to listen to me whinge and also to the lovely people who've not run a mile when I've gone off on a huge rant And to everyone who's helped me to understand.

[Ethel]

I think the whole point of TMF is so we can help each other out Bean, so don't apologise for 'whinging'. You're helping others yourself just by airing the problems you've had so others can benefit from your experience.

I wasn't suggesting someone would find any parts off Charlie (be great if they did) but if they have sheds of stripped parts for sale then you were lied to and that's going in the direction of fraud.

I reckon the issue with the other driver will be that there was insurance but for some reason it was invalidated - possibly she didn't declare something to her insurers.