Consultant Engineer --- Help

[smiley]

Hi all

It never ends I've just said bye bye to the "consultant engineer" from A well known insurance company about my car.

To recap it has been to garage 2 times to have repair done to bumper after accident.. but the list of problems when it came back
was a few. So the engineer agrees that it needs a new bumper.. Well thats good it should have been this in april.....

But and this is where we would like some help, I asked what the procedure would now be the answer I got was " it would go back a third time to this garage and have a new bumper" I said what I had been told by hubby and another garage who deals with ins co's "we have lost all confidence in that garage" engineer " they will do the job and I will oversea it ! But they couldn't do it the first instant and they made it worse.
So more hassle of courtesy cars etc etc again..

Can we insist it go somewhere else or should it go where the ins co wants it to go???? I ask has were not sure about this or how to go about it with confidence and knowledge of dealing with these peeps at ins co. the only thing now is I'm so paranoid that if it goes somewhere else and thats a problem it goes on and on...

your views welcome.. on a technical side the engineer said the bumper would look a different colour because its plastic!!!!! the paint reacts differently and when put on metal it stands up . I will post this on technical maybe..LOL

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Smiley,
I'm sorry to read of your problems, and I have added a comment to the thread about paint colours.

But the issue in this thread is also unclear.
I know that with some policies you can negotiate with the Insurance company about who does the repairs. You will need to consult your policies terms and conditions to see what it says.
Where there is considerable uncertainty with your current plight, is the work has already started, and unless there are very pressing reasons to change repairers, its normal to to allow the repairer to correct faults in their work.- otherwise the you/your insurers end up having to pay two repair shops for the same work.

There is a question about what is an acceptable level of repair. Unless your policy was new for old - which is not likely on a car policy, then the insurance will only pay to reinstate the vehicle to a level that is safe and commensurate with the age and condition of the vehicle. They are not obliged to improve the vehicle, so you need to be clear what your policy actually covers - back to the T&C's.

In your case all you can do is negotiate with the insurers, I can't predict the outcome.

If you don't believe the repair has be adequately carried out then don't sign to accept it. and inform the Insurance company that you have rejected the repair and give reasons.

Ultimately if you are not happy with a repair that's been covered by insurance, then you must complain to the insurance company as they are your contract partner, and if you have no joy with their complaints procedures you then have the right to contact the insurance ombudsman.

 

[smiley]

Thanks Prof..
This isn't our insurance company this is being done by other drivers insurance. (we were told that if we had used our ins co. our ins next year would have gone up) We did complain to them the first time has the garage had taken parts off and not replaced them, this time they ordered the parts to replace but have damaged the bumper and other stuff wrong.
they just don't seem able to repair the car but we drew the line at them pulling the bumper out on the wheel arched just to make them look the same but still did not repairs bumper from impact. but can we trust them to do our bumper a third time. I know the engineer has now said it needs a new bumper but it did the first time!!!!!

I suspected that ins companies need cars to be repaired as cheap as poss but surely if they had done the job first there may not have been a problem?
Going on holiday next week so they could have it then but I would just worry what they've done wrong. so it looks like September 6 months after bump...

 

[Martin24]

I know it's of no help but I was rear ended by a truck back in 1996 when driving my 5 day old brava. The boot lid on those was huge and it took the "approved repairer" 5 attempts at getting it straight. Each time I went in they asked for the courtesy car keys to which I replied that I would let them have them after I had inspected the car. Each time I rejected it left the car there and drove off again in theirs. At the time I was doing quite high mileage and I think I put roughly 4000 miles on their car, which put a small smile on my face despite the hassle.

Good luck and as we've all said already our cars bumpers and mirrors all look the same colour as the rest of the car so no reason why yours shouldn't be returned in the condition it was before the shunt!!!

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Smiley,

As its not your insurance company that's dealing, the contractual arrangements are obviously different.

By offering to cover the cost of repairs to your vehicle, the other parties insurance company has entered into a binding contract where they are a supplier to you. Sale of Goods Act applies, and if they do not provide a service or repairs of adequate quality, they are obliged to remedy the situation. Having now tried twice to repair your car and failed to meet your expectations and standards you are in strong position to make your preferences stand.

BUT - bear in mind my previous comments about the extent of the repairs and the possibility it might represent an improvement, which is not part of their obligation. You have to ask your self "Are your expectations reasonable"?

I suggest you talk to Trading Standards about the quality of the repairs so far carried out. If they cant act on your behalf, they may be able to offer some useful professional advice.

If Trad. Stan cannot help, then I suspect they may suggest you arrange to get an mutually acceptable independent engineers report that covers the quality of the repairs as carried out, and an specification of what is actually required to repair the car to an appropriate standard.

Armed with that report you then have chance to argue the case to have the repairs carried out properly. You could even suggest that you arrange to get the repairs carried out to the new specification provided the Ins. Co agrees to pick up the tab. Get any offer from the Ins Co in writing, so there is absolutely no get out for them.

 

[colin-yorkshire1]

hi Smiley,
I cannot help about the insurance claim, as I have not ever had to make one.
however I do know about paint, without going into technicalities there is no reason the new paint should not match the old, irrespective of where it is. to say it will be different is well er "not true". a new car does not have different coloured bumpers so a repaired one should not either. depending on the age of the car and the type of colour coat used there could be some bleaching of the original paint but there are a mirad of tecniques to overcome this any proffesional should know them all.

just dont stand for substandard work insist it is as good as it was and keep on to them untill it is right,

to give a example without boring you too much we had our car damaged while on holiday

I had it repaired at my own expense as the other car could not be traced and it was cheaper than claiming off my own policy,
the whole of the front had to be straightend and a new wing, front bumper, and grille fitted it took a week to repair and when I went to collect it, it looked "just the same as it did before" the repair was invisible a perfect match on panels and paint.and that was on a ten year old car, any good repairer should be able to achieve the same result.

colin.