Very poor service from insurance company.

[John]

So I have a colleague at work who discovered damage to his car but no details left. Huge surprise.

Luckily he had a dash cam and was able to spot the number plate and proceed through his insurance company who I know are an absolute shower of brown water.

I advised my colleague that it was his choice as to where the car was repaired but unfortunately he already sent the car to the "approved repairer".

They had the damage attempted to be repaired twice. First time was awful and badly done. Second time still over-spray everywhere.

The insurance company are rude, not interested, are not willing to pursue the third party (so my colleague will lose his excess). I have another colleague who is assisting him at this stage as he knows more about UK insurance than my first colleague with these issues.

They also advised him they only have to repair 75% of the damage (he has this in writing). That's very creative of them!

Where does he stand and what does he do now in terms of:

1) Getting the car repaired properly - can he simply take to MB to fix properly even though he started the ball rolling with the insurance company approved repairer? They are refusing to pay out if the car goes elsewhere...
2) Where does he stand in terms of his insurance company not acting on his behalf to recover from the third party - which he has clear video evidence of? What is the next step...

I'm thinking involve ombudsman and motor legal solicitor but I've never had such a ridiculous experience before so a bit new to this game...

 

[flowrider]

I would get advice from the insurance ombudsman, it's likely the insurance company act this way all the time so the ombudsman needs to know.

The next thing you need to do is tell us who the insurer is.

 

[jpwilliams]

I would get advice from the insurance ombudsman, it's likely the insurance company act this way all the time so the ombudsman needs to know.

The next thing you need to do is tell us who the insurer is.

plus 1 to the above.

 

[John]

Hastings Direct.

They once got in touch with me many moons ago to go and head up their support but after dealing with the guy I spoke to via email and their reviews online - I decided I'd rather cut my man servant off with a rusty blade than insure my car there let alone work there.

 

[bob6600]

As said, Ombudsman is the best option. Give as much information as you can, time, date etc and any proof you have (pics).

 

[anglaslt]

Might be worth checking if he has separate legal cover to pursue the third party perhaps under his household policy or a motoring association.

 

[markjay]

It seems that your colleague claimed off his own motor insurance policy?

If so, then what he should have done instead is claim directly against the other driver's policy (and not his own policy).

He should have contacted his own insurer and report the incident to them, but insist that it should be recorded as 'notification only' and not as a claim.

If he has proof he should have reported it to the police and then try and obtain the other party's details through the police and the DVLA, and proceed with claiming off the other party's policy.

It won't help him now, but for future reference.



On the same note... you have very little leverage against your own insurer, other than 'threatening' them with the Ombudsman. However, when claiming off the other party's insurer... just mention to them that you are considering going to an 'accident management firm' and be prepared to be inundated with telephone calls from the insurer trying to resolve each and every issue you may have.

 

[grober]

IIRC failing to stop and give insurance details after a collision- however minor is a criminal offence.
Car accident advice - don't get caught out | RAC Drive

 

[Oldbarrack]

On the same note... you have very little leverage against your own insurer, other than 'threatening' them with the Ombudsman. However, when claiming off the other party's insurer... just mention to them that you are considering going to an 'accident management firm' and be prepared to be inundated with telephone calls from the insurer trying to resolve each and every issue you may have.

markjay makes a great point here, usage recommended with toady insurers (actually secondary re-insurers - in many cases)

 

[John]

It seems that your colleague claimed off his own motor insurance policy?

If so, then what he should have done instead is claim directly against the other driver's policy (and not his own policy).

He should have contacted his own insurer and report the incident to them, but insist that it should be recorded as 'notification only' and not as a claim.

If he has proof he should have reported it to the police and then try and obtain the other party's details through the police and the DVLA, and proceed with claiming off the other party's policy.

It won't help him now, but for future reference.



On the same note... you have very little leverage against your own insurer, other than 'threatening' them with the Ombudsman. However, when claiming off the other party's insurer... just mention to them that you are considering going to an 'accident management firm' and be prepared to be inundated with telephone calls from the insurer trying to resolve each and every issue you may have.

Yes indeed. He's not from the UK so doesn't understand how it works over here. Sadly he just got on with things before asking as we could have told him to do it this way. Over-complicated the whole thing but I can see logically why he did what he did.

He has reported it to the police. On a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is the most interested they could ever be, and 1 is they couldn't be more disinterested, can you guess where they sit on this scale?

IIRC failing to stop and give insurance details after a collision- however minor is a criminal offence.
Car accident advice - don't get caught out | RAC Drive

You know what people are like these days... "Oh, did I? I didn't notice".

We all know when we've hit something, even if it is a hunch, so I would be amazed if they didn't know (also having seen the footage) - but morals are light these days it seems.

 

[markjay]

Yes indeed. He's not from the UK so doesn't understand how it works over here. Sadly he just got on with things before asking as we could have told him to do it this way. Over-complicated the whole thing but I can see logically why he did what he did.

He has reported it to the police. On a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is the most interested they could ever be, and 1 is they couldn't be more disinterested, can you guess where they sit on this scale?



You know what people are like these days... "Oh, did I? I didn't notice".

We all know when we've hit something, even if it is a hunch, so I would be amazed if they didn't know (also having seen the footage) - but morals are light these days it seems.

What he needs from the police is a Crime Reference Number, this should allow him to get the other driver's details of the DVLA, and then contact the other driver and his/her insurer.

(In addition the police might or might not pay a visit or write to the other driver)

 

[John]

What he needs from the police is a Crime Reference Number, this should allow him to get the other driver's details of the DVLA, and then contact the other driver and his/her insurer.

(In addition the police might or might not pay a visit or write to the other driver)

We're helping with that now.

Thanks all.

 

[Rory]

Over-complicated the whole thing but I can see logically why he did what he did.

It should be most straightforward to claim off your own insurance and sit back and let them take care of it. To my mind, that's a big part of what having fully comp insurance is about.

Daughter's car was written off a few months ago by an Argos van. You'd think that would be simple, but their insurer is not responding and her's is about to take legal action against them. So you could be really up against it with a driver who fails to stop - if they won't report the incident then some insurers won't deal with it, so your only option is to sue the driver directly.

I appreciate the point that was made about threatening an Accident Management company but they won't take it on if it looks iffy. Lastly, you can also find the repairer awkward if you go to the third party insurer as they have no relationship with you, and neither does the repairer as you're not paying the bill. It's all a right pain!

 

[John]

Yes, he's stuck between a rock and a hard place using a shyte insurance company.

I've recommended to a decent one and then he can either approach direct or do what he did this time with some confidence!

 

[AMGeed]

My 55K was insured with Hastings Direct for the first couple of years. Luckily no claims made as they don't appear the best of companies to deal with.

 

[oldguy57]

So I have a colleague at work who discovered damage to his car but no details left. Huge surprise.

Luckily he had a dash cam and was able to spot the number plate and proceed through his insurance company who I know are an absolute shower of brown water.

I advised my colleague that it was his choice as to where the car was repaired but unfortunately he already sent the car to the "approved repairer".

They had the damage attempted to be repaired twice. First time was awful and badly done. Second time still over-spray everywhere.

The insurance company are rude, not interested, are not willing to pursue the third party (so my colleague will lose his excess). I have another colleague who is assisting him at this stage as he knows more about UK insurance than my first colleague with these issues.

They also advised him they only have to repair 75% of the damage (he has this in writing). That's very creative of them!

Where does he stand and what does he do now in terms of:

1) Getting the car repaired properly - can he simply take to MB to fix properly even though he started the ball rolling with the insurance company approved repairer? They are refusing to pay out if the car goes elsewhere...
2) Where does he stand in terms of his insurance company not acting on his behalf to recover from the third party - which he has clear video evidence of? What is the next step...

I'm thinking involve ombudsman and motor legal solicitor but I've never had such a ridiculous experience before so a bit new to this game...

Just a few points from someone who was in the game for 25 years.
1. Hastings Direct are NOT an insurance company- just an intermediary. The staff in most of these companies have no knowledge of insurance contracts or law. It is pointless speaking to anyone in their call centres or even emailing them - your friend will get fobbed off. Writing a firm but polite letter is much much better and is more likely to get results.
2. Putting the thing in perspective Hastings had 29000 complaints in 6 months last year. 70% were upheld.
3. Going to the Ombudsman is a long and time consuming process. Pressing the right buttons will achieve quicker and better results.
4. Did your friend sign up with one of those accident management companies? You do not have to deal with them despite their insistence that you do. I ask this because your friend's experience smacks of the low balling tactics they use.
5. Ask Hastings to point out precisely which condition in the policy allows them to repair 70% of the vehicle. Sounds utter garbage to me.
6. I would simply write to Hastings indicating that their repairer has been given 2 opportunities to repair the vehicle satisfactorily and has failed to do so and that the vehicle is being taken elsewhere to complete the work at their cost. See what their response is but only give them 10 days to respond. You are entitled to do that under both Common and Consumer law apparently. Be aware however that going to an MB dealer won't necessarily get you better work!
Hope your mate gets it resolved quickly.

 

[John]

My 55K was insured with Hastings Direct for the first couple of years. Luckily no claims made as they don't appear the best of companies to deal with.

A few people within my team and that guy have all heeded my previous warnings about "automatically using the cheapest quote".

It's their choice but at least they are aware!

Just a few points from someone who was in the game for 25 years.
1. Hastings Direct are NOT an insurance company- just an intermediary. The staff in most of these companies have no knowledge of insurance contracts or law. It is pointless speaking to anyone in their call centres or even emailing them - your friend will get fobbed off. Writing a firm but polite letter is much much better and is more likely to get results.
2. Putting the thing in perspective Hastings had 29000 complaints in 6 months last year. 70% were upheld.
3. Going to the Ombudsman is a long and time consuming process. Pressing the right buttons will achieve quicker and better results.
4. Did your friend sign up with one of those accident management companies? You do not have to deal with them despite their insistence that you do. I ask this because your friend's experience smacks of the low balling tactics they use.
5. Ask Hastings to point out precisely which condition in the policy allows them to repair 70% of the vehicle. Sounds utter garbage to me.
6. I would simply write to Hastings indicating that their repairer has been given 2 opportunities to repair the vehicle satisfactorily and has failed to do so and that the vehicle is being taken elsewhere to complete the work at their cost. See what their response is but only give them 10 days to respond. You are entitled to do that under both Common and Consumer law apparently. Be aware however that going to an MB dealer won't necessarily get you better work!
Hope your mate gets it resolved quickly.

He's actually been quite fair with them but they are taking the piss out of him - mainly because English is not his first language so they probably think they can fob him off.

The current situation is an assessor has been sent to investigate the bodged repair.

I've now seen the damage repair and there's over-spray, obvious masking tape marks all over which have not been gritted down to polish, the silver used is not blended and stands out like a sore thumb - not sure if they have used the wrong silver.

HD also keep losing the evidence he sends them of the third party crashing into his car.

We will see what the outcome is of each of these things and progress accordingly.

 

[oldguy57]

I've now seen the damage repair and there's over-spray, obvious masking tape marks all over which have not been gritted down to polish, the silver used is not blended and stands out like a sore thumb - not sure if they have used the wrong silver.

Sounds like someone bought some tape and generic silver spray cans from Halfords and sprayed it outside over the Easter Bank holiday....

 

[John]

Sounds like someone bought some tape and generic silver spray cans from Halfords and sprayed it outside over the Easter Bank holiday....

Yeah, that's exactly what it looks like!

 

[johnsco]

Daughter's car was written off a few months ago by an Argos van. You'd think that would be simple, but their insurer is not responding and her's is about to take legal action against them. So you could be really up against it with a driver who fails to stop - if they won't report the incident then some insurers won't deal with it, so your only option is to sue the driver directly.

Some years ago, I was shunted by a driver aggressively pushing his way in in heavy traffic.
A low-speed scrape - No one hurt.
I pulled onto hard shoulder ... The other driver simply drove off ... But not before I'd got his registration and car model.
I reported the incident to the police.
They provided his name and address.
I completed the repairs myself and claimed for a bumper part and paint materials.
I sent the culprit an itemised bill - materials only - no labour cost.
He ignored me several times.
I threatened him with the small claims court - and was ignored.
I lodged a claim in the small claims court.
He ignored it and did not enter a defence.
As a result, I got a default judgement in my favour - including my costs of the repair, the court fee and costs.
I didn't make anything out of it - I got my money back.
But it was worth doing just to stick it up his nose.
[if you follow my drift !!]