Insurance Claim Help and advice please

[Ben_L]

As some of you are aware, my car got damaged last week while being in the garage to have the exhaust changed. The garage have admitted it was their fault and have said that they would get it fixed by their insurance company. I called them today asking for their insurance companies name or number and they wouldn't tell me but instead gave me the contact number of the "owner of the garage". To me it sounds like they are going to fix it up on the cheap and bodge it like they did when they did the exhaust...that still rattles!?!

My question is, should I be allowed to take the car to a different repairer if its being done under insurance. Its going to cause great inconvienience as i'll be doing a total round trip of about 120-150 miles and i'll have to worry about getting a lift back and picking the car up again. Also I dont fancy the prats at Euro Pit tyres in Colchester doing work on my car again. Any1 have any idea where i stand here


Many thanks

[Ben_L]

grr, no1 ever looks in this bloody section and i need an answer thats why i put it in the general section! :@

[laura_g]

Contact your insurance company as they will be like your defender and make sure you car is done to a satisfactory standard

[vidal]

The garage must be given adequate opportunity to repair your car to the standard it was prior to their damaging it.

If in doubt, contact CAB.

V.

[Ben_L]

cheers people. wats CAB, V?

[vidal]

cheers people. wats CAB, V?

This. (http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/)

V.

[Ben_L]

So what happens when the garage say they are gonna fix my car but they havent and say taht its perfectly acceptable for the car to be like it is...


Where do i stand then?

[vidal]

What acually happened? The garage, as I said before, should be given the opportunity to make good any damage. If they are refusing to do this, you may need an independent report and the small claims court may be your new best friend.

V.

[STU_412T]

personally i would give them a chance to get it sorted, make sure its as good or better than it was before they donald ducked it. if they refuse/try to charge you or it isn't up to scratch then take further action. thats what i would do if it was my car.

done a bit of digging on the internet and i cant find a governing body for garages or motor repairers, stuff like that. i will see if i can find anything. :y:

[Ben_L]

So heres whats happened...:

After the exhaust place damaged my car i took it home and i later received a call from their boss bloke. He told me that they would repair the car for me but i would have to take it back to them. I arranged with them a date and they took the car. A week later i had to phone them to find out the progress and they told me that it was fixed. They also said "my boss wasn't to happy about this, and your not going to believe what they have done. Thay have gone and fixed your wing". I thought great, what a result.

When I went to get the car we looked over what they had "repaired" and it didn't look like it had been touched. The 3mm gap on the side skirt was still there and so was the ripples on both sides of the car. After making a fuss about the fact they hadn't done what they said they would do the guy there said ok then i'll call my boss "Mr Duffy" and you can speak to him. I got told that if I took the car to any decent body shop I would be told the same, the fact that its "supposed to be like it" and that the "lift wouldn't have caused the damage" - I have a picture with the car on the ramp still! Unfortunately for them I have a friend who is in that line of business, repairing bodywork for dealers etc , I went to see him regarding the dented wing the day before i dropped the car off at Euro Pit Tyres. He told me that they are talking absolute bollox. This "Mr Duffy" also used the excuse "well mate i have got your wing fixed". I told him well thats not what I asked you to do, so thats not my problem in all honesty. - Even the wing neesds to be resprayed as where they fixed it they have got "fish eye" on the paint (basically silicone has gotten into the paint causing a fish eye like effect) and they have not blended the paint.

(Dent before)
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t146/saxmaniac5/DSC00094.jpg
(Dent "Repaired") - can just about make out a square in the reflection where the patch has been masked off
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t146/saxmaniac5/DSC00107.jpg
^^^Just so its clear, i'm not complaining about what they have done here as i didnt have to pay and still wont as the guy who initially damaged it is paying for a respray on it, just merely showing that even a simple dent repair they couldn't do)
Every person i've dealt with at Euro Pit Tyres, Colchester have been really agressive towards me aswell.

(Pic of car in their garage on the ramp that caused the creases)
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t146/saxmaniac5/Photo-0028.jpg

After talking to "Mr Duffy" (the big boss) on the phone I asked if they had sorted the rattling exhaust that they fitted. "Yeah its all done, well to be honest mate it wasn't even rattling". I couldn't believe it. I told the guy to get in the car and i'd show him. I started the car, put it into reverse and sure enough it was rattling. So i started to get bit stroppy by then as i've been mugged off left right and centre now and he went to put the car on the ramp and then said actually no put it on the pit. So the car goes back in, they get out an angle grinder and proceed to grind something off. Its made it a little less noticeable but it does still rattle. I got told "In all fairness mate, how often do you reverse anyway" - i couldn't believe what i was being questioned tbh!!!!!!!!!

Its been left at them brushing it off their shoulders with the "well thats the best we can do" attitude. I also got told its perfectly acceptable for a car of its age to have these creases. its only a 52 reg, not like its old old!

I feel that if they cant fix the damage they have caused they should replace the bits. Is it worth looking up trading standards?

Thats the story so far...

(sorry its long)

[vidal]

So heres whats happened...:

After the exhaust place damaged my car i took it home and i later received a call from their boss bloke. He told me that they would repair the car for me but i would have to take it back to them. I arranged with them a date and they took the car. A week later i had to phone them to find out the progress and they told me that it was fixed. They also said "my boss wasn't to happy about this, and your not going to believe what they have done. Thay have gone and fixed your wing". I thought great, what a result.

When I went to get the car we looked over what they had "repaired" and it didn't look like it had been touched. The 3mm gap on the side skirt was still there and so was the ripples on both sides of the car. After making a fuss about the fact they hadn't done what they said they would do the guy there said ok then i'll call my boss "Mr Duffy" and you can speak to him. I got told that if I took the car to any decent body shop I would be told the same, the fact that its "supposed to be like it" and that the "lift wouldn't have caused the damage" - I have a picture with the car on the ramp still! Unfortunately for them I have a friend who is in that line of business, repairing bodywork for dealers etc , I went to see him regarding the dented wing the day before i dropped the car off at Euro Pit Tyres. He told me that they are talking absolute bollox. This "Mr Duffy" also used the excuse "well mate i have got your wing fixed". I told him well thats not what I asked you to do, so thats not my problem in all honesty. - Even the wing neesds to be resprayed as where they fixed it they have got "fish eye" on the paint (basically silicone has gotten into the paint causing a fish eye like effect) and they have not blended the paint.

(Dent before)
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t146/saxmaniac5/DSC00094.jpg
(Dent "Repaired") - can just about make out a square in the reflection where the patch has been masked off
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t146/saxmaniac5/DSC00107.jpg
^^^Just so its clear, i'm not complaining about what they have done here as i didnt have to pay and still wont as the guy who initially damaged it is paying for a respray on it, just merely showing that even a simple dent repair they couldn't do)
Every person i've dealt with at Euro Pit Tyres, Colchester have been really agressive towards me aswell.

(Pic of car in their garage on the ramp that caused the creases)
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t146/saxmaniac5/Photo-0028.jpg

After talking to "Mr Duffy" (the big boss) on the phone I asked if they had sorted the rattling exhaust that they fitted. "Yeah its all done, well to be honest mate it wasn't even rattling". I couldn't believe it. I told the guy to get in the car and i'd show him. I started the car, put it into reverse and sure enough it was rattling. So i started to get bit stroppy by then as i've been mugged off left right and centre now and he went to put the car on the ramp and then said actually no put it on the pit. So the car goes back in, they get out an angle grinder and proceed to grind something off. Its made it a little less noticeable but it does still rattle. I got told "In all fairness mate, how often do you reverse anyway" - i couldn't believe what i was being questioned tbh!!!!!!!!!

Its been left at them brushing it off their shoulders with the "well thats the best we can do" attitude. I also got told its perfectly acceptable for a car of its age to have these creases. its only a 52 reg, not like its old old!

I feel that if they cant fix the damage they have caused they should replace the bits. Is it worth looking up trading standards?

Thats the story so far...

(sorry its long)

Looks like a case for the CAB to be honest, or find a solicitor that offers a free legal clinic. Don't speak with the garage, write to them giving them a fixed term to repair the car to an acceptable standard (usually 14 days) and back this up with the option of going to the small claims court.

V.

[Ben_L]

So i write a letter to the garage or to a solicitor for advice?

[vidal]

So i write a letter to the garage or to a solicitor for advice?

To the garage, keep a copy for yourself. Tell them you are unsatisfied with the workmanship and damage caused. List the damage caused (do NOT try to get anything extra off them). Explain you wish for the car to be brought up to its pre-damage condition within 14 days. List exactly what this entails (again, don't add anything).

Keep all copies of any correspondence and if the car is not repaired, seek legal advice.

V.

[Ben_L]

Mr Vidal. I thank you for your time. Have some rep

[vidal]

Mr Vidal. I thank you for your time. Have some rep

Would it be better if I put a paypal button in my sig?

V.

[JC-Furio]

Sounds like the garage is full of a load of tossers.

Same thing happened to my dads car when he took it in for a service like 2 years back, they damaged the door up on the ramp somehow. They repaired it but he still wasn't happy with it... and they came to some deal on exchanging that car for a new one at a cheaper price.

But think it's law that they have to repair any damage they caused to how it was before. If it isn't done to how it was before, or if it's unsatisfactory you can take it further if they're not willing to comply/repair it.

As Vidal said, send the garage a letter and don't have any other contact with them. And inform your insurance on what's happened and go from there.

Hope you don't have many more problems getting it fixed mate and let us know how it goes :)

[Ben_L]

thing is if i le tmy insurance know will that affect my premium? i'm always bit weery when phoning my insurance just in case.

This place is a chain of 3 or 4 garages. Dont know if this makes any difference? Think i'm gonna crack on and write a letter to them anyway.

[matthewslee]

thing is if i le tmy insurance know will that affect my premium? i'm always bit weery when phoning my insurance just in case.

This place is a chain of 3 or 4 garages. Dont know if this makes any difference? Think i'm gonna crack on and write a letter to them anyway.

send it recorded delivery mate so they cant say they have not recived it :y:

[JC-Furio]

thing is if i le tmy insurance know will that affect my premium? i'm always bit weery when phoning my insurance just in case.

This place is a chain of 3 or 4 garages. Dont know if this makes any difference? Think i'm gonna crack on and write a letter to them anyway.

There's no reason why it should, nobodys claiming off your insurance... your just simply notifying them of whats happened, not sure if they'd be of any help or not, but can't harm.

If anything because they have other garages i'd have thought they would of been primarily concerned with customer satisfaction, but thats obviously not the case. And nope shouldn't make any difference if they were a single garage or had 100's across the country.

Again good luck with getting it all sorted mate :y:

[CJ_Saxo]

I feel for you mate, sounds like an absolute mess you have gone through. Really hope you get it all sorted, that garage needs to sort itself out, what happened to professionalism?

Surely they can't be happy leaving it, as your blatently going to tell people how bad their business is....

LIke others above say, really take this further mate, you can't take a car to a garage and it come out worse off than it was before.

I know you will get it fixed free of charge in the end, its just the hassle and the stress waiting got it to get done.

[Ben_L]

cheers mate. tbh i think its a good job it didnt happen to my old car. i would have gone absolutely spare! my exhaust sounds like its going to fall off still too lol. think the rubbers might be shot. dont think i'll bother taking it back to them though. tossers tbh.