Following an accident our car was destroyed without us being informed - should we be asking for more compensation?
Our car was involved in an accident and after informing the insurance company they arranged for their recovery team to remove the car. But the recovery team could not remove the car in time, and as the car was blocking one side of the road, the police removed it, about six hours after the accident happened.
The recovery company were supposed to pick up the car from the police pound and although they tried to contact them, they could not get the pound to agree to a time. Then as the car had not been picked up for almost three weeks, the police destroyed the car without informing anyone.
The car post-accident may have been written off, but no-one has pictures of the damage. It was a second hand, low mileage 2007 Nissan Note. The insurance company have acknowledged this is their problem, so I asked for compensation for the hassle, and the fact we are incurring costs (such as taxis). They initially offered £100, but I rejected this and they have reconsidered to £350. We have also been been given market value for the car + costs for items the were left in the car (under £100).
Given we are without a car since early December, and are incurring costs daily and there was chance we could have had the car repaired, should I be entitled to a higher amount or should I be going to the Financial Ombudsman.
The recovery company were supposed to pick up the car from the police pound and although they tried to contact them, they could not get the pound to agree to a time. Then as the car had not been picked up for almost three weeks, the police destroyed the car without informing anyone.
The car post-accident may have been written off, but no-one has pictures of the damage. It was a second hand, low mileage 2007 Nissan Note. The insurance company have acknowledged this is their problem, so I asked for compensation for the hassle, and the fact we are incurring costs (such as taxis). They initially offered £100, but I rejected this and they have reconsidered to £350. We have also been been given market value for the car + costs for items the were left in the car (under £100).
Given we are without a car since early December, and are incurring costs daily and there was chance we could have had the car repaired, should I be entitled to a higher amount or should I be going to the Financial Ombudsman.
Asked on 8 January 2020 by Rahul Shah
Answered by
Honest John
In short no. If they have bourne all of the cost already, then the compensation is measured against the level of "emotional distress" rather than loss of business. It's not great I know, but I would suggest that is as much as you will get from them.
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