MOT and then some.....

Great advice from shifty, and don't forget there's loads higher you can go within the organistion

You've got them talking, thinking and realising - just keep steadily plugging away

Be absolutely sure what it is you want

Excuse me if I'm teaching you to suck eggs, but I do this shot for a living

Work out (and write down) what is your Must, Intend, Like position

Must is the very minimum you'll accept

Intend is what you'd be satisfied with/expect/want

Like is Christmas with all the bells!

Once you are clear on that, you're in a great place to know your negotiating points

Just found this which may be useful in your negotiations.

Insurance Loss Categories - In detail

Category A The vehicle may not be resold it must be crushed. Severely damaged, total burnout or flood damage with no serviceable parts, or already a stripped out shell. DVLA will require a Notification of Destruction.

Category B The vehicle may not be resold. It will have been damaged beyond economical repair, usually with major structural damage. The DVLA will require Notification of Destruction but parts can be removed and sold on.

Category C Repairable salvage. Usually applies to vehicles with significant damage and where the cost of repairs exceeds the book value. It can be sold for repair but must have VIC(Vehicle Identity Check) inspection before returning to the road. V5 documents are returned to DVLA and recorded as category C vehicles. You can re-apply for registration on the original identity once the VIC inspection has been done. VIC inspection and re-registration removes the Category C classification, but evidence it was at one time Category C remains on the vehicle's record at the DVLA and so will appear on a vehicle data check.

What is a Vehicle Identity Check and how does it work?(taken from the VOSA's site) The Vehicle Identity Check (VIC) has been introduced to help reduce car crime. It is intended to deter criminals from disguising stolen cars with the identity of written off ones. When an insurance company ‘writes off’ a car, (Category A, B or C) they notify DVLA and a VIC marker is placed on the DVLA record. DVLA will not issue a Registration Certificate (V5C) or a Vehicle Licence Reminder (V11) to a car with a VIC marker against it. In order to remove the VIC marker the car needs to be inspected by VOSA to confirm its identity. When the car passes the VIC, the marker is removed. The VIC will be carried out by VOSA. It will involve comparing the car against information held by DVLA, such as the vehicle identification number, make, model, colour and engine number. The VIC will also compare the record of previous accident damage with evidence of damage repair as well as checking other components to confirm the age and identity of the car.

Will the VIC confirm that the vehicle is roadworthy? No. The VIC is designed to confirm the identity of the car and does not assess the quality of the repair. You should seek independent expert opinion as to whether the car is roadworthy. If whilst carrying out the check the inspector notices a serious defect which would make the car dangerous to drive, then they will issue a notice which prohibits the car being used. Once it has been made roadworthy the prohibition can be removed.

Note: I understand motorbikes falling into this category do not have to undergo a VIC inspection so will warrant close investigation and clarification of identity.

Category D Repairable salvage. Minimal damage, probably not structural, but insurer does not want to repair, even though it might be economic to do so. Often stolen and recovered after claim has been paid. Or it maybe a vehicle where parts are difficult to obtain so a quick repair is unlikely. Does not need VIC inspection to return to road. Notification will appear in your vehicle history check

Category X has been the subject of a claim but minor or very lightly damaged and required minimal repair work. It would not be recorded with the DVLA so would not appear in any Vehicle Data Check

not recorded - Not an official category, it simply means that there has not been an insurance claim, possibly only had third party insurance and damaged the vehicle themselves or don't know who caused the damaged so can not make a claim or may not even been insured, either way the DVLA will not know in these cases so will not be recorded and will not show on any Vehicle History Check

Thanks Shifty and SH.

Realistically I'm after a cat X, however, I think they will offer a cat D.

The christmas solution would be a new galv chassis, door and wheel carrier. But I would settle for just the chassis and sort the rest out myself. This would leave me a couple of hundred out of pocket but I would have gained a new chassis (and galved at that).

bluehaze said:

Thanks Shifty and SH.

Realistically I'm after a cat X, however, I think they will offer a cat D.

The christmas solution would be a new galv chassis, door and wheel carrier. But I would settle for just the chassis and sort the rest out myself. This would leave me a couple of hundred out of pocket but I would have gained a new chassis (and galved at that).

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id probably be happy with that too.. may as well keep pushing tho, you shouldnt be out of pocket at all!

Thanks Karlos

bluehaze said:

Thanks Shifty and SH.

Realistically I'm after a cat X, however, I think they will offer a cat D.

The christmas solution would be a new galv chassis, door and wheel carrier. But I would settle for just the chassis and sort the rest out myself. This would leave me a couple of hundred out of pocket but I would have gained a new chassis (and galved at that).

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Why not consider paying the difference between a galvanized and a regular chassis

I'll see what they come back with tomorrow, but I totally accept you point.

Update Wed 30:

Well, not such a bad day. The repair centre called first thing to inform me that the senior assessor had reviewed the quotes, that I had sent in, and said that the estimate had gone been raised to £5,250. As such they were happy to meet the quote given by an approved Richard's chassis fitters. Therfore, the salvage catagory is reduced to a cat D. Once the other damaged parts have been replaced, I think I'll be about £200 out of pocket. However, considering I'll end up with a new chassis I think that is a fair amount.

That said, it's not over until my landy is parked outside my house in a road worthy condition and all the bills have been settled.

Thanks to everyone for the advice and kind words of encouragement, especially Shifty, SH and Karlos.

getting there - just hold out for the £200 plus inconvenience or a hire car .

Keep on em blue the point of insurance is they give you money or repair not the other way around ,glad to hear you're getting sorted eventually though.

bluehaze said:

Update Wed 30:

Well, not such a bad day. The repair centre called first thing to inform me that the senior assessor had reviewed the quotes, that I had sent in, and said that the estimate had gone been raised to £5,250. As such they were happy to meet the quote given by an approved Richard's chassis fitters. Therfore, the salvage catagory is reduced to a cat D. Once the other damaged parts have been replaced, I think I'll be about £200 out of pocket. However, considering I'll end up with a new chassis I think that is a fair amount.

That said, it's not over until my landy is parked outside my house in a road worthy condition and all the bills have been settled.

Thanks to everyone for the advice and kind words of encouragement, especially Shifty, SH and Karlos.

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Are you able to take the driver/owner of the truck that hit you to court for anything not covered by the insurance. And out of pocket expense's?

The brokers didn't call back; suprise! I've run up a hell of a phone bill and the wife was unable to go to work on the day of the incident. I'll be pushing for compensation.

Phone the brokers and tell them that you dont like being lied to. Say it how it is. Ask the manager to explain why you were not called back and tell him you want him to personally intervene in the case as his staff are obviously not to be believed. Dont beat about the bush with them and dont take any crap. Point out to them that any compromise on your part depends on a quick and fair settlement offer that leaves you with no costs. You are not saying you will compromise but if they think you may then it will focus their minds and may result in a revised offer. If its still not what you want then you dont have to accept it.

Instruct your insurance company to start proceedings against the driver immediately and to tell you when it has been lodged with the courts. It takes a few hours so dont let them tell you to wait. You can always cancel if things go your way and at the very worse it will cost you the £75 fee which you can add to your expenses.

I'd also make a complaint to the police alleging "undue care and attention" against the driver. Its a matter of fact that she drove into an unattended legally parked vehicle. It may not go anywhere but it piles the pressure on as the police are duty bound to go and have a word with the driver.

Keep records of all telephone calls, who you spoke to, and a summary of what was said.
In future tell them to call you back. Failure to do so can work in your favour when you then complain about willful obstruction. Obviously keep a record of every time they promise to call but dont.

You can charge them what you like for your administration but I'd advise keeping it simple and charge them say £15 per call to cover your time as well as the cost. Charge them the same for any correspondence and send everything recorded delivery. Ever had a solicitor's invoice where they charge a minimum £30 per call no matter how long it was or £25 per letter?

Also keep any receipts for taxis etc. Make sure any settlement includes your out of pocket expenses as well as any loss of earnings.

This is the part where it gets a tad wearing on your patience as well as inconvenient in terms of time and money. Dont lose your temper or be rude to anyone. Just tell them what you want and when you want it.

Thanks again Shifty. I've got an electronic log of all my calls - the broker will be getting those with a claim for distress. This isn't me getting gready rather reclaiming the wife's loss of earnings and communication fees.

bluehaze said:

Thanks again Shifty. I've got an electronic log of all my calls - the broker will be getting those with a claim for distress. This isn't me getting gready rather reclaiming the wife's loss of earnings and communication fees.

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Agree 100% there mate. You aren't being gready at all, as mentioned the point of insurance is so that you DON'T have to pay ANYTHING incase some tit drives into your nice innocently parked landy! It's not fair that you/we pay insurance every month for a service which they do not want to provide when it comes to it.

Is the chassis galv? If it is you can sort of justify the 200 there. But you definately need to sort your phone bills, loss of earnings any time. I bet it will be a right ball ache to get it! But as said above, stick with it if you can! Let's hope the next phone call is better news also!


P's, I totaly don't agree/understand how the category of write off can change... Surely that is wrong as the insurance company could bully you arround with that in the right(/wrong) circumstances!

You must be well pleased there was a fresh ticket on it, good timing, well done Blue.

Lee

Glad you've made such progress - really good news

Update Fri 1:

Less stressful day with no phone calls. Received the paperwork from the brokers to initiate the complaints procedure - I'll send that next week with a bill for the phonecalls etc.

Thanks for all the comments - hopefully we can use this information to help others who might fall short with their insurance companies.

When you send in the claim for your expenses give them a settlement date - say 7 days. Tell them you'll charge interest for every day it is overdue. I charge 2.5% per day on unpaid or late settled invoices. You can charge what you like so long as you tell them in advance. Invoice them weekly until its paid. Dont forget to add the cost of postage for each invoice. I also charge a one off 12.5% admin fee for each invoice I have to chase. That is standard procedure for most businesses. No accountant wants to see outstanding invoices when they do the accounts as they have to declare them on their returns along with the reasons why they have not been settled..

Still no word from the manager then? Try and find out who his boss is and get on their case. Hang on in there.

Oh and you are pefectly entitled to take the driver and/or owner to the small claims court for any shortfall once its all settled. If you have "fully comp" or have paid extra for legal protection tell your insurance to sort it.

bluehaze said:

Thanks guys - encouraging words.

Update Wed 29:

He then asked if I'd be prepared to accept a lowr write off catagory (cat D) in return for a higher vehicle estimate - .

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Do not under any circumstances allow the insurance company to record your landy as being any category of write off. You have your car back, don't let the insurance company any where near it or the log book again. You are now in a position to negotiate a cash settlement for your loss, the write off status of the car is no longer relevant. Keep at it and you will win, There has been some good advice in this thread, follow it and stick to your guns.
Its nearly 20 years ago I had my Landy stolen, ins' co's first offer was £1200 which was what I paid for it, we settled on £5500 5 months later. It was a real struggle to get them to accept Landrovers are not like normal cars and need to be dealt with by people who know what they are doing not just some kid on a computer who calls himself a claims assessor.


Edit

Just read some more of the thread and it seems as though the ins' co' are going to repair your Landy so much of the above isn't relevant, however I would strongly advise you fight them over the write off category. you really don't want it recording, it will lower the resale value and it can make insurance renewal complicated, some insurers won't touch write offs of any category.