Post Crash Insurance Nightmare.......

[Steve - RS125]

I had a crash on my RF600 last October, I was taken immediately to hospital via ambulance.

Crash was completely not my fault.

Insurance claim is still going through as the 3rd party's insurance has a massive back log.

As far as I am concerned all was going through well, I keep in touch with my solicetors on a monthly basis for any updates etc.

I had a call from my solicetors last Thursday saying that they have had an invoice from the salvage company who recovered my bike from the scene for a little over £1500 and I am being charged by the day still.



I asked them why am I still incurring charges and they explained that I never scrapped the bike. Hmmm again.

I asked if these charges were going to be passed across the the 3rd party and they explained that they would but doubt I would get anymore than £400ish for storages charges.

I explained that I have never had an accident before and did not know that I had to scrap my own write off after an accident.

They said you were notifyfied by writing and over the phone, now I aint no mug. Im a 22 year old branch manager of a recruitment company, so I think at worst case scenario I am relatively switched on.

Eitherway I dont think I was advised as I never actioned it, which is completely not me. However I have no way of proving that I was not told.

Ok so pissed off at this point, I trundle off to the salvage yard to scrap my bike and stop storage charges.

I am told I have to pay the invoice to scrap the bike personally.

I advise them I do not have the £1500 to pay this and that I am going through my solicetors who are to pay it and claim it back.

To which at this point they tell me that its not and never has been my responsibility to scrap the bike as the solicetors in effect own the bike until they reclaim the money back from the 3rd party.

Ok kill mode sets in, I go back to solicetors they tell me I am responsible so I go back to salvage yard and they say its not me who should be doing this etc etc back and forth back and forth.

So the current state of play is that I am going to recieve approximately £2000 insurance payout for bike / gear minus storage charges. £500 payout.

I could not afford to replace my helmet and gloves for that never mind 1pce race suit boots and bike.

I have no idea what to do and am at my wits end with it all.

If they dont know who's responsible for things between the 2 companies, how on chuff do they expect me to know?

Any advice / help welcome.

Cheers,

A rather pissed off Steve.
____________________
Suzuki VL Intruder 125cc - September 2004 to July 2005
Aprilia RS 125cc - July 2005 to Present
Suzuki RF600RR - May 2006 to October 2006 (RIP RF600)

[Whosthedaddy]

When I crashed, I had a free tow out of the tunnel (well you cant block one lane of the M25 for too long ) and it was taken to a police stop point car park.

I was told that it would stay there for 48 hours before being transported and stored somewhere else at a charge per day until collected or scraped.

The next day I spent £70 getting the knackered bike delivered back to me.

The thought of having to pay money for it to be locked somewhere else wasn't a consideration when you have found at first hand how expensive it can be.
____________________
Current : MSX 125 Past : CBR 900RR Monkeybike : c50 LAC : ZXR750 H2 : FZR600 : ZX7R P3 : YW100 : TRX850: Trophy 900 T309 : GSXR 600 L0: Monkeybike : XJ6S Whosthedaddy

[Steve - RS125]

[Big Pete]

My wife had a similar deal, her bike was stolen, burnt out, then recovered. The insurance tried to decut the storag ecosts from the payout and she had to send them a highlighted copy of their own terms and conditions in the policy document (which specifically stated that they were responsible for storage costs) 3 or 4 times before she eventually mentioned the insurance ombudsman and things got moving properly.

I am never entirely sure if they are just trying it on or if they have a high staff turnover and most of thier claims staff are just undertrained and ignorant of their own T's and C's.
____________________
Trust me, I`m an engineer
GarageOfPower.co.uk

[Steve - RS125]

I am going to have to sort this out as I cant afford to lose £1500 from any cash I get.

In your experiences who deals with the scrapping of the bike if you are going through the solicetors?!
____________________
Suzuki VL Intruder 125cc - September 2004 to July 2005
Aprilia RS 125cc - July 2005 to Present
Suzuki RF600RR - May 2006 to October 2006 (RIP RF600)

[Ichy]

This has confused me now because I thought it was the insurance company you were claiming from who decided if they wanted to scrap or repair?

Once they pay out the bike ownership passes to them unless they make some sort of agreement?

Unless they made an agreement that you can keep the bike and you then left it at the salvage yard then I can't see how you are liable for any costs. When did you accept the offer?

[map]

I'm slightly confused by the use of solicitors.
My understanding is the insurance company usually looks at the damage within 7 days or so and decides there and then if it's ra repair or write-off. If write-off then effectively ownership passes to them (as they're paying you for the bike). You would need to fill out the correct bits of the V5C (log book) and send it off. Fly in the ointment is that even after deciding to write-off payment can be delayed for months (but that's usual for insurance companies, they have big, huge, gigantic profits to maintain).

As said by Big Pete might be worth looking through the fine print on your policy. It's a pain and often depressing reading but there might be some gems in there about storage costs.
____________________
...and the whirlwind is in the thorn trees, it's hard for thee to kick against the pricks...
Gibbs, what did Duckie look like when he was younger?

[Steve - RS125]

[Steve - RS125]

[gmanxiii]

Do you have your bike in storage with your insurers or just some random garage? When i had my accident the police took the bike away and i got various letters in the post to get my bike back from them. Spoke to the insurance company they told me to get the bike out of storage and i left it at home till they came to pick it up.

They eventually did and I got a letter through the post saying my bike had been assessed by the third party insurance and it was worth xxx amount. I was then told to write back to them to let them know if i accepted or not (i said no) and also give them the go a head to dispose of my bike as it remains my responsibility to get rid. This was confusing as I assumed that the bike wouldnt be mine anymore when being written off and effectively be owned by the insurers so why i had to pay to get rid of it I dont know. Anyways i just took the scrap back in the end.

Anyways near enough every conversation i had with my insurers and solicitors (i spoke to someone different each time ) ended with 'have you got your bike out of storage?' Sounds like youve been let down by your insurers and someones not pulled their finger out of their arses.

Im still waiting for any offer on the bike from the insurers but have been told the reason for the delay in offering anything is because liability is being disputed (how an idiot red light jumping drink driver can do that i dont know).

Are you using solicitors provided by your insurers? Most of them are poop. T.C on here has a lot of advice on various legal issues regarding insurance etc maybe worth checking out his previous posts?
Im currently sacking my insurance provided solicitors and switching to a better solicitor because of him. Makes me wonder why i bothered taking out legal cover.
____________________
I kills hondas

VFR400NC30 > ZZR600 > CBR600FX > CBR1000rr

[Steve - RS125]

Gman,

I was in no fit state at the time of the accident to sort anything out so the coppers sent the bike straight to a garage about 10 miles from me.

I had a similar letter from the 3rd party assesers saying that my bike was a defo write of and worth £995.

It mentioned nothing of me disposing the bike etc etc, I just had to write back to confirm the assement seemed accurate / fair. I did this.

As for the solicetors, they are supplied already by the insurance company.

The solicetors have said from day one I dont need to pick up the bike, it is fine their and will be disposed of where it currently is. So I have never felt the need to action anything unless otherwise advised.

The bit that winds me up is the garage have said its 100% not for me to deal with as in effect I no longer own the bike as the solicetors are to pay the invoice and its their dealings not mine meaning they would not let me scrap it unless I paid up. I have the solicetors telling me I need to scrap it and it is and has been my responsiblity from day one.

I think I am going to seek legal advice elseware, gawd help em if I get stung for this cash.

Heads will role and Molotov cocktails will be used.
For any fuck wit reading this who thinks I have just admitted to commiting a serious crime before its due to happen, fuck off!! Its frustration talking, I aint actually gonna do it!! lol
____________________
Suzuki VL Intruder 125cc - September 2004 to July 2005
Aprilia RS 125cc - July 2005 to Present
Suzuki RF600RR - May 2006 to October 2006 (RIP RF600)

[Jackyboy]

check your PM's - call me
____________________
Insurance Beehatch Supremo- Direct any grumbles about repudiated claims my way
Yamaha SR125 - Scrapped 13/06/2006. Hyosung GT125R - Totalled 18/11/2006.
Honda VFR400R NC30 - Totalled 09/02/2007. CBR600F - currently in 1 piece...

[gmanxiii]

Yeah my bike ended up somewhere random too as I also had a free ride in an ambulance.

Do you have all the letters/correspondance from your solicitors and third party still? If it hadnt of been said in the letter that my bike needed to be disposed of i would never of known either. In fact i was even given a form to sign that gave them the go ahead to dispose of the vehicle.

I think in this case it is the solicitors or the third party at fault for not notifying you, or your insurers for not letting you know you needed to take it out of storage.

Personally I have yet to be impressed by any of the services provided to me by my insurers, i dont even know who is supposed to be recovering the value back for my bike now as the accident management company has appears to fobbed it off onto my solicitors but they dont know anything about it.

theres a few links here to T.C 's threads on solicitors and stuff if it helps

https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=118104&highlight=
https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=118105&highlight=
https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=118106&highlight=
https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=118115&highlight=
https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=118107&highlight=
____________________
I kills hondas

VFR400NC30 > ZZR600 > CBR600FX > CBR1000rr

[T.C]

If you have been given conflicting or bad advice by your solicitors, you may well have a case of negligence against them.

Firstly, the common rule is that the bike is your responsibility until you are told to the contrary. It is very uncommon for a solicitor is their responsibility unless they have agreed to pay the recovery and storeage charges as part of your case and paid it as a disbursment, but none the less it is usually down to your insurers to get the bike removed to somewhere where costs will be kept to a minimum.

The bike is still your property until you receive a cheque from your insurers, and only then can you declare it as either a write off or total loss.

Your solicitors should certainly seek to recover your charges which go down as uninsured losses, and there is no limit provided it was out of your control.

The only time you would or could be deemed liable for the recovery charge along with the storeage fee is if you were told within a couple of days and you ignored the letters and failed to arrange disposal.

If you are unhappy with what you are being told by your solicitor, then under Financial Ombudsman Rules you need to get them changed to someone you can trust.

Either way, you should be able to recover ALL your out of pocket expenses including this cost!
____________________
It is better to arrive 30 seconds late in this world, than 30 years early in the next

[Crazy Iron Horse]

The same thing happened to me after some wally whacked me off my RGV250 on the motorway. It was a great deal off hassel and stress, especially as i was immobile and couldnt do any running around or chasing up. In the end, the insurance company of the driver who hit me eventually payed. It was close to £1000 or something.
I did find it strange however that the bike was stored, yet I recived absolutely no correspondance as to which firm had custody, or the price it would incur whilst in storage. I had to repeatedly ring the solictors who also told me I shouldnt have to be chasing up this issue. I suspect its a sneaky trick of the recovery yard to gain more revenue by failing to notify the owner that they have possesion of their vehicle. [/i]

[stinkwheel]

They are stalling and blustering in the hope you'll get totally fed up and go away. Don't.

Ride their arse constantly. Stop doing stuff by phone and put it in writing. Write them a letter describing the story so far, why you think this is unacceptable and what you want them to do about it. Give them a time in which to reply.

Contact your local citizens advice or trading standards, they will help you to write your letter with some choice legal phrases.

If they don't reply, send another. Send them recorded, keep copies and attach the receipt to the copy.

If it comes to it and you land up taking them to court, a good paperchase is worth its weight in gold, especially if they haven't challenged your version of events as laid down in your letters.

Also, if you are claiming as a third party you should not be left out of pocket at all, if they have made you a derisory offer, send them away to sharpen their pencil. Arm yourself with receipts for consequential losses and list-prices for the vehicle to back yourself up.

If you still aren't satisfied, something I have found effective before is to take the third party to the small claims court independantly of the insurance company. A summons landing on their doormat gets them poking their insurance company from the other end too. You don't need a solicitor to do this and it costs around £40.

Another tack is to mention in passing (don't do this over the phone where you are being recorded) that all this hassle is making you remember how sore your neck has been since the accident.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[iooi]

[T.C]

[Steve - RS125]

Cheers for all the tips and advice folks, I am trying to read up on all the T&C's to gain some sort of sense from it all.

A special thanks goes out to Jack Holroyd, he contacted me via BCF and I spent nearly 30 mins talking to him on the blower yesterday!!

So thanks to all, I will keep you all informed.

Cheers.
____________________
Suzuki VL Intruder 125cc - September 2004 to July 2005
Aprilia RS 125cc - July 2005 to Present
Suzuki RF600RR - May 2006 to October 2006 (RIP RF600)

[Jackyboy]

always a pleasure mate - Insurers are bastards and i'm always free to help out a biker in need.
^(bit cheesy i know)
____________________
Insurance Beehatch Supremo- Direct any grumbles about repudiated claims my way
Yamaha SR125 - Scrapped 13/06/2006. Hyosung GT125R - Totalled 18/11/2006.
Honda VFR400R NC30 - Totalled 09/02/2007. CBR600F - currently in 1 piece...

[Steve - RS125]

[js]

If liability as been admitted by the 3rd party then you will not have to pay anything, I would see about getting a new solicitor?

A car pulled out on me April 1st 2007 and I had free lift to the A&E,
I made sure the bike was taken to my home address by the recovery, and it never let it leave until I was paid out, the bike cheque was in the post within 2 weeks, and had a call from my solicitor yesterday and there is a nice cheque in the post for my losses and injury, not bad only 3 months of consent phone calling .
My advice would be to keep ringing your insurance and solicitor make a nuisance of your self, it worked for me
____________________
Ducati Hypermotard