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Hi All, I am new and seeking advice
In October I was involved in a 'no fault' crash with a commercial vehicle (lorry). I reported it to my insurers, as per their terms, but the lorry company, who admit full liability,are dealing with the matter privately to settle the compensation claim to put right the damage to my car pre-accident condition. It was their choice to do it that way and I also felt that it would be better for me too because my own insurance would remain unaffected if I did not use them to mediate compensation even if I was not making a claim.
I am leasing my vehicle on PCP and the terms stipulate clearly that I should ideally get the car repaired at the Dealership's own garage, to ensure warranty approved parts. So I decided to hire Masters to do the work and they assessed the vehicle damage and charged me a £30 Assessment Schedule listing out what needed to be worked on and replaced to make good the vehicle. The lorry's own company also decided to hire a claims assessor to carry out its own inspection of my vehicle too, even though they were not using their own insurance company. I felt affronted by this. It seemed to me that they did not trust my garage to assess the car fairly, even though the garage told me that they had a legal obligation to ensure they did not list anything non-accident related to arrive at an Estimated Cost of Repair.
The claims handlers for the lorry company got back to me and accused me of negotiating with my garage to include in the Estimated Cost non-accident work I wanted done and they would seek to reduce the Estimate. I did not read the estimate nor did I have it in front of me, but I knew this was wrong. I objected strongly to this accusation and when I confronted the garage about it too they told me that the claims handler had negotiated with them behind my back to actually reduce the schedule costings to take off a few items. They ran off a different Estimate of what was now included, and I compared the two of them - they are exactly the same, just some minor adjustments in parts costs and labour costs to save the lorry company £600 pound. Something the garage was not keen on at all. Therefore, both my garage and the lorry co claims handler colluding together seemed willing to assume that I had a hand in asking for non-essential works - becuase one party wanted to reduce costs, the other was affronted that costs were reduced and so were profits. I decided to complain about the protocols carried out because I felt that the claims handler for the lorry company were taking over my garage and making them their client for the repairs not me. The garage seem to agree with that assessment too because I am not paying them directly for the repairs, the lorry company claims handlers are.
I have since complained to the lorry company's own solicitors (acting for the claims handlers too) about these behind the scenes negotiations I was not party to and said it was poor protocol. I was the garage's client, whether I was paying them or not directly. And now that I mistrusted both parties - my garage and the claims handlers - I also told them that I would not accept a repair job in full and final settlement of the claim after the car was returned to me in case problems arose in future - currently unforeseen. So I also mentioned to them that I wanted an independent assessment of the car to be carried out after the car was returned back to me in case the garage tried to cut corners and costs to recoup some of the behind the scenes re-negotiated savings the claims handler had insisted upon to pay the garage - something the garage was obviously not happy with. As an non-expert, I have no way of knowing if the car was repaired properly and come the end of my agreement at PX time, decision to buy, or hand back the car they may value the car lower if the Works Schedule was not adhered to, or the work carried out to a shoddy standard unbenkown to me at the time I got back the car after repairs.
I have told the claims handler / solicitors of the lorry company that I expect the independent assessor to form part of the compensation package, along with the garage repairs to my car and possibly a claim to my own insurance premium rising too, to match any hike over the next 5 years if exclusively to do with reporting this accident. All insurance companies ask if you've had an accident in the past 5 years. The solicitors have flatly refused the premium hike and the post-repairs independent assessment and will only pay for the car repairs.
I don't know what to do now. I have no power on how the work is going to be carried out. My choice of garage has been hijacked by the claims handler for the lorry driver (because they are paying them directly) and I feel at the mercy of all these parties and any attempts I make to cover my own back, and the finance company's too for my PCP deal to maximise the value of my vehicle when my Payment Agreement ends, is being thwarted and undermined.
Where do I stand please? Can I insist that an independent assessment is carried out - at their expense as part of compensation - just after I get back my repaired car to ensure the Works Schedule was adhered to and the work carried out to the right standard to bring the car back to pre-accident condition otherwise I won't sign off any 'full and final settlement' letter. I don't want to cut off any chances of getting more compensation, should I need it if the car was repaired inadequately. Nor do I want to toss away any own insurance premium hike for 5 years (their solicitors have just said that my premium won't rise, but I had read stories of no fault accident hikes quite often).
I feel as though I am being messed around, patronised as a woman, and being potentially treated as a non-entity in these negotiations from all parties, including the garage of my choice. I could go through my own insurers instead, to handle this with their insurers, but a no fault claim through my insurance will more than likely hike my premiums, whereas a straightforward report only might not, and won't necessarily give me any greater power of how things are done and settled.
Is there any advice you can give me on what I can insist upon or not with the lorry driver's company claims handlers/solicitors? I feel these parties are purely acting in their own interests and I have to put up with whatever they decide whether I use my garage or not - now re-cast as the claims handlers / paymasters garage, as far as I am concerned.
Thanks
In October I was involved in a 'no fault' crash with a commercial vehicle (lorry). I reported it to my insurers, as per their terms, but the lorry company, who admit full liability,are dealing with the matter privately to settle the compensation claim to put right the damage to my car pre-accident condition. It was their choice to do it that way and I also felt that it would be better for me too because my own insurance would remain unaffected if I did not use them to mediate compensation even if I was not making a claim.
I am leasing my vehicle on PCP and the terms stipulate clearly that I should ideally get the car repaired at the Dealership's own garage, to ensure warranty approved parts. So I decided to hire Masters to do the work and they assessed the vehicle damage and charged me a £30 Assessment Schedule listing out what needed to be worked on and replaced to make good the vehicle. The lorry's own company also decided to hire a claims assessor to carry out its own inspection of my vehicle too, even though they were not using their own insurance company. I felt affronted by this. It seemed to me that they did not trust my garage to assess the car fairly, even though the garage told me that they had a legal obligation to ensure they did not list anything non-accident related to arrive at an Estimated Cost of Repair.
The claims handlers for the lorry company got back to me and accused me of negotiating with my garage to include in the Estimated Cost non-accident work I wanted done and they would seek to reduce the Estimate. I did not read the estimate nor did I have it in front of me, but I knew this was wrong. I objected strongly to this accusation and when I confronted the garage about it too they told me that the claims handler had negotiated with them behind my back to actually reduce the schedule costings to take off a few items. They ran off a different Estimate of what was now included, and I compared the two of them - they are exactly the same, just some minor adjustments in parts costs and labour costs to save the lorry company £600 pound. Something the garage was not keen on at all. Therefore, both my garage and the lorry co claims handler colluding together seemed willing to assume that I had a hand in asking for non-essential works - becuase one party wanted to reduce costs, the other was affronted that costs were reduced and so were profits. I decided to complain about the protocols carried out because I felt that the claims handler for the lorry company were taking over my garage and making them their client for the repairs not me. The garage seem to agree with that assessment too because I am not paying them directly for the repairs, the lorry company claims handlers are.
I have since complained to the lorry company's own solicitors (acting for the claims handlers too) about these behind the scenes negotiations I was not party to and said it was poor protocol. I was the garage's client, whether I was paying them or not directly. And now that I mistrusted both parties - my garage and the claims handlers - I also told them that I would not accept a repair job in full and final settlement of the claim after the car was returned to me in case problems arose in future - currently unforeseen. So I also mentioned to them that I wanted an independent assessment of the car to be carried out after the car was returned back to me in case the garage tried to cut corners and costs to recoup some of the behind the scenes re-negotiated savings the claims handler had insisted upon to pay the garage - something the garage was obviously not happy with. As an non-expert, I have no way of knowing if the car was repaired properly and come the end of my agreement at PX time, decision to buy, or hand back the car they may value the car lower if the Works Schedule was not adhered to, or the work carried out to a shoddy standard unbenkown to me at the time I got back the car after repairs.
I have told the claims handler / solicitors of the lorry company that I expect the independent assessor to form part of the compensation package, along with the garage repairs to my car and possibly a claim to my own insurance premium rising too, to match any hike over the next 5 years if exclusively to do with reporting this accident. All insurance companies ask if you've had an accident in the past 5 years. The solicitors have flatly refused the premium hike and the post-repairs independent assessment and will only pay for the car repairs.
I don't know what to do now. I have no power on how the work is going to be carried out. My choice of garage has been hijacked by the claims handler for the lorry driver (because they are paying them directly) and I feel at the mercy of all these parties and any attempts I make to cover my own back, and the finance company's too for my PCP deal to maximise the value of my vehicle when my Payment Agreement ends, is being thwarted and undermined.
Where do I stand please? Can I insist that an independent assessment is carried out - at their expense as part of compensation - just after I get back my repaired car to ensure the Works Schedule was adhered to and the work carried out to the right standard to bring the car back to pre-accident condition otherwise I won't sign off any 'full and final settlement' letter. I don't want to cut off any chances of getting more compensation, should I need it if the car was repaired inadequately. Nor do I want to toss away any own insurance premium hike for 5 years (their solicitors have just said that my premium won't rise, but I had read stories of no fault accident hikes quite often).
I feel as though I am being messed around, patronised as a woman, and being potentially treated as a non-entity in these negotiations from all parties, including the garage of my choice. I could go through my own insurers instead, to handle this with their insurers, but a no fault claim through my insurance will more than likely hike my premiums, whereas a straightforward report only might not, and won't necessarily give me any greater power of how things are done and settled.
Is there any advice you can give me on what I can insist upon or not with the lorry driver's company claims handlers/solicitors? I feel these parties are purely acting in their own interests and I have to put up with whatever they decide whether I use my garage or not - now re-cast as the claims handlers / paymasters garage, as far as I am concerned.
Thanks
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