My insurer told me my car was being repaired but it's now a write off - what should I do?

I recently damaged the front end of my car, it was my own fault. My insurer verbally said, on three separate occasions, that the car has been authorised for repair and that it has not been written off. The repairing garage said that they had received authorisation to repair and told me, in writing that, "repairs are now underway to bring your vehicle back to its original standard". Three days later, my insurer tells me that the car is beyond economical to repair and that it has to be written-off. I would be very grateful if you could advise as to what my position should be, as I believe that the insurers should stand by their original statements and have my car repaired.

Asked on 27 February 2018 by Malcolm Alcock

Answered by Honest John
What has actually happened is the insurer's approved repair has assessed the damage and, following the insurer's directives, find it uneconomical to repair. This does not mean your car is a total loss. Go back to your insurer, raise a complaint, and ask them to listen to the previous phone calls where they have said the car is not a total loss. Then ask for a "full engineers version of their Audatex estimate". Advise that as long as repair costs are less than the market value, that you insist on them fulfilling their contract of indemnity. Do not take no for an answer.
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