Posting for a friend of mine, very strange story indeed...

A year ago, his car caught fire, the cost of repairs were then estimated to be £8K, car was worth £10.
The insurance company decided to repair the car, despite Mike saying he didn't want it repaired.
Now, a year later, the car is finally back on the road, it has gone back once already for minor adjustments, and Mike hasn't yet officiallyaccepted it back from the insurance company.

Yesterday, he went into a car dealership to trade it in for a new car and the HPI report came back with - you guessed it:
"CATEGORY A - THIS VEHICLE SHOULD NOT BE ON THE ROAD".

Obviously, the dealership won't take it as part ex. and Mike is now left (if he accepts the car) with a worthless car altogether, who will ever buy it.

He is considering going to a lawer to take the insurance company to court over this for several reasons:
-I believe that a CAT A should be crushed, may well be a case of criminal wrongdoing by the insurance company here.
-He now has a car that is not worth any money.
-The vehicle may be unsafe to drive (he has two young kids), while it wasn't crashed, the fire could have caused stress on metal parts. There may be some civil liability involved here.
-He's had to lease a car for a year while his was being unsatisfactorily repaired.

Does anyone know if he really has a case ?
Has the insurance company done the wrong thing ? Committed a crime even ?

Your input would be much appreciated.