Vauxhall Vectra B - Can my insurance company junk my car wihtout my pe

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Wed 14 Jul 2010 12:00
Vauxhall Vectra B - Can my insurance company junk my car wihtout my pe - Vectraguy

At 11.30 pm on 18th June a drunk driver crashed his car into mine, which was parked (legally) on the road just outside my house,smashing one of the wheels and scraping down the side of the car. The police were involved and all the relevant details were exchanged. The next day I contacted my insurance company (which I understood was the correct thing to do) and they assured me they would handle everything. On the Monday my car was taken away to a garage about 10 miles away for the damage to be assessed. I heard nothing more for a week. On Monday 28th June I phoned my insurance company to ask what was happening - I was promised a call back but never received one. I phoned againa few days later - same result. On Monday this week I received a call from the other part's insurance company confirming that he had admitted liability, that the car was deemed uneconomical to repair and they were willing to settle with me. We agreed a figure and also that i could have the car back. They said that if I contacted the garage where the car had been taken, they (the other driver's insurance company) would foot the bill for getting the car transported back to me. So I rang the garage to arrange this and to my horror was told that it had been taken away by a salvage company a week before. As I had had no information regarding this from my insurance company, I rang them. I was told that the car had been assessed as category B (which I think is a load of rubbish). I understand that this means that only a licensed breaker could break the car, but surely until I agreed terms with the insurance company the car remains my property? they said they ahd sent me a letter on 6th July but that letter (which I only received today) gives me 21 days to confirm that I wish to proceed with the claim. So they sent the car for salvage before I ahd agreed anything with them, and in any case i am not claiming through them but through the other party's insurance company! The latter have told me the car is classed as category C (the category has not yet been recorded with DVLA). So who is correct? Surely if it is the other driver's insurance company that is paying out and not mine, my insurance company should not be doing anything with the car? I'm waiting for them to phone me back as I type this, but it seems to me that there has been a cock-up somewhere. What does anyone else think?

(changed the word that was inserted with stars, Boris (Mod)

Edited by BorisTheSpider on 15/07/2010 at 22:54

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Wed 14 Jul 2010 14:09
Vauxhall Vectra B - Can my insurance company junk my car wihtout my pe - SlidingPillar
It all depends on what you signed.

When I was run into at a roundabout, I struck out all the bits on the claim form that gave the insurance company rights and specifically said I would arrange all transportation and storage.

Not an eyelid was batted but people do sign away their rights as a matter of course.

(Car was my vintage one, still drivable and I have a landrover and trailer)
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Thu 15 Jul 2010 13:42
Vauxhall Vectra B - Can my insurance company junk my car wihtout my pe - Vectraguy

Thing is, I didn't sign anything! I've now learned that my car is in a holding area at the salvage yard awaiting instruction from my insurance company. I originally went through them (as you do) because I didn't know to begin with whether the otehr party was accepting liability, so at that stage my insurance company were purely acting as a go-between. But they seem to have got it into their heads that I am claiming through them, when in fact the other party's insurance company have made me an offer re the car, which I've acepted (cheque received and everything). They've confirmed in writing that I can have the car back at no cost to me - they've even offered to pay the cost of transporting it back to my house! yet my insurance company are hanging onto the car. They keep babbling on about their engineer's report - not interested - the other party's insurance have classed the car as category C and said I can have it back. The car is therefore still my property and I can't see how my insurance company can justify hanging on to it when it's not theirs! Trying to get them to understand is a nightmare - I keep getting passed from one person to another, who says sometone will ring me back - except that they never do. I feel like going down to the salvage yard and blocking the gateway until they get someone from my insurance company to release the car to me - won't do it of course but it certainly gets you thinking that way!

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Thu 15 Jul 2010 16:49
Vauxhall Vectra B - Can my insurance company junk my car wihtout my pe - SlidingPillar
Strikes me you need to talk to someone in really in charge at your insurance company to sort the mess. Someone has wires crossed. Long phone call time.

It does sound to me as if you started claiming on your insurance company and then dealt and settled with the other company outside the knowledge of your company. So I can see how confusion started, but ending it is not rocket science!
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Thu 15 Jul 2010 17:17
Vauxhall Vectra B - Can my insurance company junk my car wihtout my pe - bonzo dog

"The next day I contacted my insurance company (which I understood was the correct thing to do) and they assured me they would handle everything"

At this point your insurance company would likely look to pay you & recover their costs from the third party. But as has been said, it shouldn't take much common sence for them to realise the situation has changed & to give you your car back.

Good luck

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Thu 15 Jul 2010 17:40
Vauxhall Vectra B - Can my insurance company junk my car wihtout my pe - Vectraguy

I didn't actually start a claim through my insurance company - I did what they tell you to do in their literature - I rang them to report the accident. They were only acting as intermediaries between me and the other party's insurance company until it was clear whether he was admitting liability (not that he could have got out of it because there were witnesses!) and that his insurance company were going to pay out. They contacted me and said he had admitted liability and they were ready to settle. we agreed a figure and in fact I received the cheque yesterday. So my insurance company should have simply bowed out. Instead they are proceeding as if I've claimed through them (which I haven't). I've rung them numerous times and asked to speak to someone in authority, but each time I get fobbed off with 'someone will ring you back' - except they never do. I'm so sick of it now I'm just about to write a letter of complaint to their head office. Trouble is they employ numpties who are only trained to answerstandard questions - when you throw anything different at them they're flummoxed, so you get nowhere. I've just spent 10 minutes trying to prise out of them the address to send complaints to - I just kept getting daft questions about the claim. Now to write a very stern (though perfectly polite) letter. %$&*^+*!

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Thu 15 Jul 2010 22:50
Vauxhall Vectra B - Can my insurance company junk my car without permission? - Avant

Vectraguy - I think you'd get more replies if you used paragraphs: something as long as this makes people lose the will to read right through.

A firm, polite letter may do the trick, although it might equally fester in some pen-pusher's in-tray. An alternative might be to ring again and refuse to be fobbed off with an offer to ring you back, explaining that no-one ever does. You might get through to a manager as the clerk who first answers you will want to get rid of you!

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