Cat A Write Off-Need advice BIG time...-SORTED - THANK YOU
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Cat A Write Off-Need advice BIG time...-SORTED - THANK YOU
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.
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.
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as far as Im aware cat A must be destroyed by LAW ?
if its damage/repairable it should be another catagory?
Im using ? as Im not 100% sure of my facts, but it sounds a tad dodgy to me
Rich
if its damage/repairable it should be another catagory?
Im using ? as Im not 100% sure of my facts, but it sounds a tad dodgy to me
Rich
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Category A
A 'total loss' e.g. burn-out. The only value is the scrap metal.
The vehicle cannot be safely and economically repaired either by the insurer / motor trade or by an enthusiast using cheaper parts and reduced labour costs and there are no economically salvageable parts.
A 'total loss' e.g. burn-out. The only value is the scrap metal.
The vehicle cannot be safely and economically repaired either by the insurer / motor trade or by an enthusiast using cheaper parts and reduced labour costs and there are no economically salvageable parts.
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my mate bought a crx years ago and when he came to sell it, an asian(nothing racist intended) lad came round giving it all the speal and being a bit of a tit basically, and then said the car was worthless as it was a cat b(his mate at keighly trade centre hpi'd it for him)
So the fact he was a tit and keightly trade centre are renowned for there dodge dealing he kindly told the tit "back round your own end2 etc
Anyway it came back as a cat b which is nice
So the fact he was a tit and keightly trade centre are renowned for there dodge dealing he kindly told the tit "back round your own end2 etc
Anyway it came back as a cat b which is nice
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If its been categorised as a Cat A write off then they owe him the full value of the vehicle at the time they inspected it and it is their scrap!
Tell him to call them and give them an ultimatum to either cough up or he will be suing them
Tell him to call them and give them an ultimatum to either cough up or he will be suing them
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it seems that its 'advice' and 'discression' for the insurers to repair vs scrap, I cant see any reference to law, having said that, read this
http://www.ukmotorists.com/insurance%20write%20off.htm
it so happens it uses a £10k valued car as an example.
If I find anything else I will post it up
Rich
http://www.ukmotorists.com/insurance%20write%20off.htm
it so happens it uses a £10k valued car as an example.
If I find anything else I will post it up
Rich
#13
What has probably happened is the car was inspected at the bodyshop and the engineer wrote it off. The bodyshop probably a week or so later has been back in touch with the insurance company saying they can repair it for £XXXX amount. The insurance company probably said ok as the second figure the bodyshop quoted would have been less than them paying out the customer.
Tell him to leave the car and dont sign anything. Also get the original engineer to inspect it, also the AA or RAC.
Tell him to leave the car and dont sign anything. Also get the original engineer to inspect it, also the AA or RAC.
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definately get legal advice, especially as if it is back on the road, its value will be between 0 and 7k and not the 10k it was worth prior to the accident.
(based on the assumption that any damage/repaired car is only worth up to 70% in value to a non damged/repaired vehicle)
(based on the assumption that any damage/repaired car is only worth up to 70% in value to a non damged/repaired vehicle)
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Re: Cat A Write Off - Need advice BIG time...
Originally Posted by frog
-He's had to lease a car for a year while his was being unsatisfactorily repaired.
#18
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Originally Posted by GUZZLER
cat a & b should not go back on the road, as said cat a is normally burnt out, driven off a cliff etc, cat b is to be broke for spares only.
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Hmm,something dodgy here !!
I would tell the insurance company,to either remove the category classification,or you won't accept the car back,at all !!
However,if your not happy to drive the car,knowing the severity of the damage,don't have it back,full stop !!
If you tried to buy a Cat A car from the breakers,they would be after you,no doubt about it....... Sounds like 'Lawyer Time' to me...
I would tell the insurance company,to either remove the category classification,or you won't accept the car back,at all !!
However,if your not happy to drive the car,knowing the severity of the damage,don't have it back,full stop !!
If you tried to buy a Cat A car from the breakers,they would be after you,no doubt about it....... Sounds like 'Lawyer Time' to me...
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Re: Cat A Write Off - Need advice BIG time...
Originally Posted by Rich_w
Originally Posted by frog
-He's had to lease a car for a year while his was being unsatisfactorily repaired.
Thanks for all the advice , deffo sounds like he's got a case, he never wanted the car back in the first place either...
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Originally Posted by dave cos4x4
why did HE had to get a hire car,surely they would have supplied one.
If it's not your fault, they claim the cost off the other company
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Originally Posted by dave cos4x4
would have been cheaper to buy a run about.
He really thought this was pretty much sorted until the HPI report came back
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if the insurance company are repairing the car then it shouldn't have anything recorded against it anyway, they only record when its a TOTAL LOSS, ie they have paid out value of the car-in this case there repairing it so nothing will be recorded against it.
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Originally Posted by TrickyDicky
if the insurance company are repairing the car then it shouldn't have anything recorded against it anyway, they only record when its a TOTAL LOSS, ie they have paid out value of the car-in this case there repairing it so nothing will be recorded against it.
Is that only in the case of a CAT A or B ?
Surely a C or D is recorded
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As said above, a cat a car can only be bought by a regestered breakers yard and has to be crashed end of. A cat b car can be broken and have parts sold but the shell and id must be crushed.
There is no way the general public can buy either an cat a or car b car. Are you sure they defo said it was a cat a and not it was just a writeoff and the school kid sales man did not know what the foook he was chatting about.
Good luck in threating an insurance company too, we still have an on going case where 2 insurance have foooked up and neither of them will admit to it!
There is no way the general public can buy either an cat a or car b car. Are you sure they defo said it was a cat a and not it was just a writeoff and the school kid sales man did not know what the foook he was chatting about.
Good luck in threating an insurance company too, we still have an on going case where 2 insurance have foooked up and neither of them will admit to it!
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Re: Cat A Write Off - Need advice BIG time...
Originally Posted by frog
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.
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.
Hi Frog,
Without the FULL ins & outs of exactly what happened it's going to be hard to give specific advice, but i'll do my best to give a general view.
Firstly, if a vehicle was worth £10k and had sustained £8k damage most Insurers would have written the vehicle off. It varies from Insurer to Insurer but in the main, they usually write cars off at 60% (ie. £6k damage for a £10k car).
The classes of write off are as follows:
A (The worst) - Vehicle must be crushed to a cube, not even available for parts. Cannot be re-registered.
B - Vehicle may be broken for parts only, cannot be re-registered.
C - Damaged/Total loss, but may be repaired, re-inspected by engineer/mod'd & can be back on the road.
D - Uneconomical to repair, which is usually light damage but if an older car (ie. £1000 XR2i, with a damaged wing costing £600 to repair to an insurer). Can may be repaired, re-inspected by engineer/mod'd & can be back on the road.
From what i've seen system wise at Insurers, it is practically impossible to put a category A or B vehicle back on the road. So, i'd get your friend to do a HPI check himself prior to pointing any fingers, or initiating action against anyone.
He will then have the date that the vehicle was written off & by whom (ie. his Insurer) upon the HPI record, which will also act as evidence if required.
If it transpires that the vehicle is listed as a category A vehicle, call the repairing Insurer immediately and ask for either the claims manager or customer service/complaints manager. Explain the situation to them, as if a Cat A the vehicle should never have been put back on the road.
Should things not progress as your friend wishes, he also has a recourse via the complaints section of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).
Then, finally you could involve a solicitor.
What is more likely is that your friend requested to retain the vehicle, the vehicle was taken to a garage of your friends choice and the Insurer paid on a 'cash-in-lieu' of repair basis. Which then puts the vehicle as a Category D, or C total loss.
However, your friend would have to have been advised by his Insurer that this (ie. total loss/cash-in-lieu) was happening at some stage.
Kind regards
Tony
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Frog,
Another course of action would be to call your broker (if you have one), they should help you sort this.
If you're direct, you'll need to do the leg-work yourself.
Just for curiosity sake, who is the Insurer?
Kind regards
Tony
Another course of action would be to call your broker (if you have one), they should help you sort this.
If you're direct, you'll need to do the leg-work yourself.
Just for curiosity sake, who is the Insurer?
Kind regards
Tony
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Tony,
Thanks for the input, it is nice to have some information from someone "in the know" and I am not even one of your customers
He showed me a document printed off the web with the www.hpi.co.uk address at the bottom
That's the wierd thing, since day he has asked NOT to have the car back, but the insurance company have insisted on repairing it
It would appear this was not the case, or, if it was, he wasn't informed of it in a crystal clear fashion.
I will try and find out for sure
Thanks again
Thanks for the input, it is nice to have some information from someone "in the know" and I am not even one of your customers
So, i'd get your friend to do a HPI check himself prior to pointing any fingers, or initiating action against anyone.
What is more likely is that your friend requested to retain the vehicle, the vehicle was taken to a garage of your friends choice and the Insurer paid on a 'cash-in-lieu' of repair basis. Which then puts the vehicle as a Category D, or C total loss.
However, your friend would have to have been advised by his Insurer that this (ie. total loss/cash-in-lieu) was happening at some stage.
Just for curiosity sake, who is the Insurer?
Thanks again
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Now, the insurance company is claiming that the CAT A recording isn't their doing Mike is the first owner of the car, it couldn't be CAT A before he bought it, WTF is going on
What is the process for a car being recorded and hpi being aware of it ?
I would have thought the insurance company informs DVLA and job done
What is the process for a car being recorded and hpi being aware of it ?
I would have thought the insurance company informs DVLA and job done
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Originally Posted by frog
Now, the insurance company is claiming that the CAT A recording isn't their doing Mike is the first owner of the car, it couldn't be CAT A before he bought it, WTF is going on
If Mike's the first owner, unless its a DVLA error. Other than the Insurer im not sure how else the vehicle would be registerred as a write off?!!
What is the process for a car being recorded and hpi being aware of it ?
I would have thought the insurance company informs DVLA and job done [/quote]
I'd get him to check the HPI, call them and ask HPI specifically who put the "category A" onto their register.
If it was your Insurer or an agent of theirs - call them immediately (as per my prior post on this thread).
If it was DVLA - call them and request they remove as is an error.
Let me know how you go.
Kind regards
Tony
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As above I would imagine ha now has to pay for a HPI check, then get onto HPI to see who and when it was recorded... (they may not speak to him about it right now as he hasnt paid for the check) OR the DVLA should be able to tell him surely...
He is in a whole shit of trouble here (Not least because he drives around in a Hyundai) but if plod ever do a straightforward PNC check, for whaever reason! they will give him all kinds of grief over it as the car was declared unroadworthy and cat A, and in the put back on the road instance, would more than likely be a ringer..... Infact I wouldnt be suprised if he got plod knocking on his door next time he taxed it!!!
He is in a whole shit of trouble here (Not least because he drives around in a Hyundai) but if plod ever do a straightforward PNC check, for whaever reason! they will give him all kinds of grief over it as the car was declared unroadworthy and cat A, and in the put back on the road instance, would more than likely be a ringer..... Infact I wouldnt be suprised if he got plod knocking on his door next time he taxed it!!!
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For those who want to know who the insurance company is....
It is an RAC policy underwritten by Hastings Insurance.
The insurance company is claiming an admin error and are trying to get the categorisation removed... We'll see...
It is an RAC policy underwritten by Hastings Insurance.
The insurance company is claiming an admin error and are trying to get the categorisation removed... We'll see...