Insurance companies

[Grim 0]

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.

 

On April 3rd i managed to bump my C. ok, my fault (although ABS didn't kick in), i bumped into the back of a Subaru Legacy at 40 mph.

 

Anyway, i got home and staright away called my insurance company, Direct Line. They started off well, sorting my courtesy car within an hour. I was told the company that would collect my car for repair/inspection, would call that day or the next.

 

Wednesday came, my C still sat on my drive. So i chased collection.....it happened on the thursday.

 

I didn't expect a call back on the friday, so left it a few days. I hadn't heard anything by the following wednesday, so chased it. the guy called me back and confrimed my C had been written off :( , and promised an engineer would call the following day to make an offer. No call backon thursday.

 

As they do not open bank holidays, i had to chase on tuesday........and had no joy (at this point the courtesy car was returned already). after repeated phone calls on wednesday, i eventually got told an enginner would call me back......did it happen? No.

I chased yesterday and was given an offer for my '94 red C 2ltr 16v of £1300. No way i told them, and proceeded to go through 5 ads from auto trader stating the prices (1600-1900quid).

To take the piss, they called this morning and offered £1100, and when upped it back to 1300. What also takes the piss, is the fact that according to direct line, i never informed them about alloys etc, so they're trying to sting me for an extra £108 for premiums and an increase in the excess from £300 to £450.

 

Oh, and i had to chase the sales people for call records to prove i stated about mods.......and i'm still awaiting the call to confirm this.

 

To me, this is crap service. and the fact that a main VW Dealer has valued my C at a minimum of £1850, direct line aren't the least bit interested.

despite their messing about, they refuse to come to an agreement over the use of a courtesy car.

 

I will not be recommending direct line to anyone.

 

Has anyone else ever had this kind of service from insurance companies???

[ben16v 0]

pretty much standard Schitty service as far as i`m aware mate, had the same.

 

are you gonna buy it back and fix/break? i found if you did then the higher the payout the higher the buy back!

 

gutted for you mate

 

ben

[bristolbaron 10]

Has anyone else ever had this kind of service from insurance companies???

 

yup, i have, with direct line. :mad:

 

sounds like a real sh!tter bud. good luck with it all. whatever they tell you though, all calls are recorded, so they must have a record of the conversation if you did have it.

 

They have a legal obligation to let you have a copy of every phone call youve had with them if you request it. i believe they have the right to add a nominal charge for CD etc.

[Grim 0]

cheers guys. doubt i'll buy it back, they quoted £2k of damage. but i'll get another one if i can afford it.

 

They're gonna get so much grief though!!!

[crdo16v 0]

Robbers (Insurance Co.- not direct line) offered me £800 to start with, held out & eventually got £2,500, they certainly like to take the proverbial & are more than happy to take your money in exchange for a piece of paper.

When the s*it starts flying when you have to make a claim they start messing you about & try to wear you down.

It would be refreshing to find one that actually played it straight- I assume some of the agreed value policies may be worthwhile. They don't actually say how c*p they are when they are touting for your business.

[Storm77 0]

I'd keep hassling them, and letters tend to be more effective than phone calls for any correspondence.

 

I'm a bit p*ssed off with Direct Line at the mo. This time last year I told them about my modifiactions, and although i only had 4 months left on my premium, they were quick to rob me of another 100 quid. Then, today I phoned to inform them that I was going back to standard spec and they said that because there was only 4 months left, there would be no change to my policy!!!!!....cheeky barstewards!! I argued for a while and as I wasn't getting anywhere just told them i'll go with Elephant next!

[G60SC_Stoney 0]

think yourself lucky mate, my previous corrado G60 (grey, with grey leather, 96k spankingly perfect-no dents scratches or anything i.e showroom!) was valued at £1500. and the insurance for it cost me £2000!! with a £600 excess. and someone on here bought the charger for £550 from the guy who was breaking it! i must be a Bl*ody MUG !!

[-Neil- 0]

I''ve always got the insraucne company to send to me in writting the modifications i've stated so there is no confusion.

[Storm77 0]

I''ve always got the insraucne company to send to me in writting the modifications i've stated so there is no confusion.

 

All of the insurance companies I've been with send written confirmation as standard practice. They send an updated motor insurance schedule which lists them all out. Still doesn't protect us from being grabbed by the short and curlies!....they'll wriggle out of anything given half a chance.

[cymru-corrado 0]

guess im lucky as im with Brentacre and only live 20 odd miles from where they are based so if i had any problems (which i havent, so far they've been good) i can literally meet them face to face.

[TomB 0]

Just keep at 'em. As Storm77, says, letters are a very effective as they tend to go to the organ grinder. Especially true if you use the http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk/ Companies House Website to find the name of the director, and send all your corespondence to them...

Don't forget the principle of indemnity, which is to leave financially you in the same position you were in before the accident (minus excess). When they start offering you rubbish money, tell them to go out and find you a Corrado of exactly the same spec for that price.

You can always (if things get really bad) report them to the Financial Services Authority who may investigate them.

 

Not that I've had something similar happen to me, oh no...

Just keep at it, they expect 99% of people to roll over and it may be a fight, but you can get a fair(ish) deal in the end.

You should have seen the stink Norwich Union kicked up when Network Rail claimed £12 million for a new bridge that a lorry that they insured had damaged... :-)

Good luck,

Tom

[Grim 0]

Cheers guys. Some good advice n tips there. If they think i'm just gonna roll over and accept the £1300, then they have another thing coming, especially now i'm armed with some extra ammo.