GAP Insurance not activated by Garage... TWICE

[T9537K]

Hey Everyone!

Apologies if this is the wrong place, i found a similiar thread here so thought this would be the best place to start.

Background:

I have a longstanding relationship with a dealer where I live. Used them for 3+ years for everything - new cars, used cars, servicing, bodyshop, etc etc. Spent more than £200K with this dealer, which in turn naturally gets me some good relationships with managers etc. The Director even came down once to congratulate me on another new car i brought.

I brought a used car from them in Jan 2020. Never had issues with it.

Brought a new car from them in Dec 2020. Everything was smooth and i ended up forming a personal relation with the sales guy. Really nice chap. Key part: I paid for Tyre & Alloy insurance, Smart Insurance (Chips, paint scuffs etc) and GAP insurance. I received all the paperwork to sign and then got paper and email copies of all the stuff i needed (Policy numbers etc). Car was £39,990. We'll call this car, "Car A"

2 Months later (March 2021), this car brand refreshed the car i just brought (The day i brought it was release day so this really annoyed me). I bit the bullet and ordered a factory specced version of the car i brought in December. Every pack, feature etc, i had it. Put deposit down, ordered all the insurance products with it and waited for delivery. Got all the initial paperwork through email. Car was £43K. We'll call this, "Car B"

1 Month later (April), I brought another new car from this dealer to the tune of £49K (Same sales guy so i managed to get a £9K discount). I paid the initial deposit and the rest of the car value and took a similiar car for test drive while they registered the car etc. Few hours later, I made a card payment for my Tyre & Alloy insurance, Smart Insurance and GAP. Signed all the paperwork and left the dealership happy. (We'll call this car, "Car C")

My usual sales guy resigned and we kept in contact, bearing in mind my car order from March still hadn't arrived. Fast forward to May, and my car ordered from March arrives; I pay the outstanding amount, sign the paperwork with my new sales guy, and everything was sorted. (This is "Car B"). I also PX'd my new car from December, Car A, for this car. So now i have the car from Jan 2020, and Car B and C.

Everything was fine for months.

One day, while Car B is at the bodyshop having an entire body kit fitted by this brand (It was a very limited edition car with a special body kit) - i get a phone call on the way to work. It's the new cars manager. He informs me they're really sorry, but none of my Insurance Products for this car was activated even though i paid for it. I went nutty, realising i've potentially lost out on 10's of thousands of pounds. They inform me they're trying as hard as they can but it's outside of the window to put GAP on so they're in contact with the brand themselves. At this point, my body kit work is complete and they want £4K from me. Days pass by and they can't do anything, and as this is the first issue i have with them, i give them the benifit of the doubt and allow them to buy the car back and paying my bodyshop invoice in full. So i get back £32,500, losing £10K. Car B is no more.

This now forms a long running joke between me and my new sales guy. Time goes past and i factory order another new car that was just announced (I was the first in the UK to get a confirmed build slot). Everything's smooth, no problems.

Car C however, is now turning out to be a lemon. Issue after issue after issue. Keys randomly stop working, ECU bricked itself, Car battery is randomly dying and / or car isn't charging it. This dealer is making me jump through hoops left right and cetre to get warranty claims to go through and half my issues still aren't fixed to this day. I'm getting to the point of demanding they buy it back as it isn't fit for purpose and these issues started within 6 months of buying the car. I'm losing patience. To top it off, my new car has been delayed 6 months.

Then today. I go over a pot hole and get a tyre bulge bigger than i've ever seen. Cords are showing and ripped. I think "Ha! i've got tyre insurance, time to put this to use as i have expensive sport tyres". Check my emails. No Policy documents. I have all the pre-sales stuff, receipts and invoices showing i paid for it all, but no policy docs. I do some further digging and i didn't have the email i got in December 2020 with Car A confirming my GAP cover and certificates etc. It finally dawns on me, it seems none of my Insurance Products were activated for Car C. So that's Car B & C that didn't have the insurance products activated, and the market value of my car is now £13K less than what i paid. So in total, potentially, i've lost out on £23K from this dealer.

I'm ready to go down to this dealership tomorrow and start ripping limbs off. I'm fhuming. I've told my sales guy that if this is the case and i'm not mistaken, i'll be cancelling my new car order and taking my business elsewhere. At the very least, they'll be buying back this car at the exact price I paid for it. I've never been so angry in relation to a car.

I've got all the paper trail i need. Bank statements, invoices, pre-sales documents, confirmation from my sales guy that i did definitaly order GAP.

What do i do?

[Sam101]

Do what you said, cancel your new car order and take your business elsewhere. That is unless you obtain some other agreement.

You are the one who is in charge and the only one who can decide the way forward. Unfortunately that's life.

[T9537K]

Do what you said, cancel your new car order and take your business elsewhere. That is unless you obtain some other agreement.

You are the one who is in charge and the only one who can decide the way forward. Unfortunately that's life.

Of course - but i need to figure out how i'm going to be compensated for this mess, as now that's £23K between two cars i've lost out on. I've also got the first build slot in the UK for this car so i'm a little hesitant on cancelling it when i could end up waiting twice as long.

[des8]

just because you have a dispute with the trader over two contracts doesn't mean you can just cancel a third contract without penalty.
Be aware and read your order contract first.

If the trader was responsible for not registering your insurances after you had ordered and paid for them they are liable for any of your (now) uninsured losses.
They are either your agent, or the insurers.
If they are yours they have been negligent and their Professional indemnity policy will kick in. If they don't have PI that's their problem.
If they are the insurer's agent, the insurance companies are ultimately liable.

[T9537K]

just because you have a dispute with the trader over two contracts doesn't mean you can just cancel a third contract without penalty.
Be aware and read your order contract first.

There is no contract. I've not paid for it yet. I've got a £1K refundable deposit.

If the trader was responsible for not registering your insurances after you had ordered and paid for them they are liable for any of your (now) uninsured losses.
They are either your agent, or the insurers.
If they are yours they have been negligent and their Professional indemnity policy will kick in. If they don't have PI that's their problem.
If they are the insurer's agent, the insurance companies are ultimately liable.

I believe the dealership just simply hasn't activated / registered the insurance. But I don't want to risk writing off my car now for that battle. I want the problem solved, before the problem arrises.

I'm going down there tomorrow. My 4 options to them will be

1) pay / refund me the difference between my market value now and what i paid for the car, then call it quits (And refund me my other insurance policies)
2) Get a written contract saying they'll pay out in the event of a claim for tyres, paint or GAP.
3) Take it to FOS / MOS / Court.
4) "Buy" back the car and refund me the full invoice value originally paid.

[des8]

There is no contract. I've not paid for it yet. I've got a £1K refundable deposit.
Great it's refundable as often when ordering a car on dealer's premises the dealer is within their rights to keep the deposit – or at least any monies that they have spent on the order


I believe the dealership just simply hasn't activated / registered the insurance. But I don't want to risk writing off my car now for that battle. I want the problem solved, before the problem arrises.

I'm going down there tomorrow. My 4 options to them will be

1) pay / refund me the difference between my market value now and what i paid for the car, then call it quits (And refund me my other insurance policies)
2) Get a written contract saying they'll pay out in the event of a claim for tyres, paint or GAP.
3) Take it to FOS / MOS / Court.
4) "Buy" back the car and refund me the full invoice value originally paid.

I was just indicating your final position if 3. becomes necessary
good luck with negotiations