I assumed the vehicle had been declared a total loss, hence Copart's involvement and the whole issue of the customer retaining the car? But otherwise yes you could well be right.

I didn't mean it in a disparaging way BF; it's just I have 15 years and counting working in motor insurance so I probably looked at the OP a little differently. I completely agree with the above though; obtain written confirmation. I too do not understand why they have said they will wait until the claim has been settled. Providing the police have finished with the car (I presume they have, or Copart wouldn't have it in the first place) and presuming Chaucer have already had the car inspected, there's no reason to wait. It's your car, you can have it back when you want!

Thanks for the quick reply. The default date is definitely listed/recorded as January 2012.

The advice given is pretty heavy going, but I believe it should be very simple. At the moment the car is simply sat in storage at Copart, who are an insurer approved salvage agent. It's not listed for auction (or certainly shouldn't be!) and Copart are just looking after the car whilst waiting for instructions from Chaucer. Chaucer won't (or shouldn't) authorise disposal of the vehicle without your permission. The vehicle is your property. If and when Chaucer pay you out, the vehicle will become their property and they can do what they want with it. However you ALWAYS have the option to have the vehicle back and receive a reduced settlement from Chaucer instead. Insurance companies don't always like vehicles to be returned to customers once they have gone to a salvage agent. The reason for this is that some customers complain that the car has been returned in a worse condition than when it was recovered. Obviously some of these complaints are justified and some are just 'trying it on', but it's a headache for the insurer to deal with. Once a car goes to their salvage agent the insurer would rather it stay there. If you tell Chaucer that you want the car back, and are insistent, they will have to return it to you. They simply cannot refuse. If you have gone to the extra precautions of informing Copart then that's OK but it shouldn't really be necessary. If the car has already been disposed or listed for auction without your permission then that's a different issue, but that does not appear to be the case. Call Chaucer, be insistent and tell them you want the vehicle back. They may charge you for the re-delivery or you can arrange your own. It really should be that simple and the FOS Guidelines further up the thread make it perfectly clear. If Chaucer have refused to return the vehicle to you when you have spoken to them, what reasons have they given? Obviously I can't comment on how the claim itself will pan out or whether you will be paid out, but that wasn't really your query!

Hi CAG people. I would really appreciate any help with this one if someone is in the know! The short story is that Northern Rock have waited 4 years to add a default to my credit file, thus buggering it up for a total of 10 years! A little bit more detail is probably required though: I took out a £10k unsecured personal loan with Northern Rock in 2005 over a 5 year term. Around 2007/2008, I ran into financial difficulty and entered into a Debt Management Plan (not an IVA) with my various creditors. It was reviewed annually. I didn't pay Northern Rock (or any of my other creditors) for 3 months whilst the DMP was negotiated. However since then I have not missed a payment and it is due to be paid off in a couple of months. In the years after the DMP started, Northern Rock recorded against my credit file each month that my payment was 3 months in arrears. Then, out of the blue and for no apparent reason, in January 2012 finally recorded the account as in default. This will stay on my record until 2018! This seems to me to be an abuse of the process. If Northern Rock wished to lodge a default, surely it should have been done in 2008 and should now be off my record? I have read the ICO Principles and they seem to support me: - As a general guide, (a default) may occur when you are 3 months in arrears, and normally by the time you are 6 months in arrears. - There are exceptions to this which may result in a default being recorded at a later stage, such as secured or long term loans e.g. mortgages, or if the product operates in a more flexible way e.g. current accounts, student loans, home credit. - If an arrangement is agreed, a default would not normally be registered unless the terms of that arrangement are broken. I have tentatively raised the issue with Cabot Financial who now report the default on Northern Rock's behalf, but they have told me to take the issue up with Northern Rock. Any advice on a) whether I have a case and b) the best way to go about this would be most helpful. Also, what remedies I might have (legal or regulatory) if Northern Rock play hardball on this. Thanks so much guys!

OK Hazel, thanks. I am aware of some dodgy shenningans in the London area which may have fit the other criteria but the fact that he is of Indian origin doesn't quite fit the bill.Hopefully your insurer/their solicitor are doing their best and won't back down lightly. However you may have to accept that you need to attend a hearing in court to defend yourself. Also, if your insurer chooses to settle the claim, make sure you get a full explanation as to why (unless it is your decision not to go of course!).Good luck!

Brownsword are a claims investigator, so will have been appointed by your insurer or their solicitor. Can I ask whether the other party appeared of White British origin or if not what ethnicity he appeared to be? There is a reason I ask, it's not just pure curiosity!

Hazel - who are the other party's solicitors, where did the accident happen (i.e. what city/town) and who are your insurers solicitors? As been said previously it comes down to the balance of probabilities in court, but how you/the other party/the witness perform in court will be paramount. For example, if your insurer solicitor can discredit the other party and/or witness, prove they know each other etc then it will be a serious help in court. Your insurer solicitor are possibly looking into how they can do this (such as the changes of statement etc) and may even have some ace's up their sleeve so don't be too disheartened yet.

Angus - as previously advised simply ask the insurer for a cash settlement for less than the value of repairs. The only issue here is that the insurer may invoke their right under the policy to settle the claim however they see fit, but money talks at the end of the day. I can't see a problem with you being honest with them and simply explaining that you were planning to sell the van prior to the accident and only expected it to be worth £1000 anyway, so you would happily take that amount in settlement and scrap the car yourself. Bang - little disturbed by that. Did you really hire a car that you owned to your wife and claim off the at-fault insurance? I think you saw an opportunity to make a bit of money - yes it would have cost more money to hire commercially but in reality it should have cost no money at all as the 'hire' vehicle was already available to your wife in the first place free of charge. Correct me if I have the wrong end of the stick but had that been me dealing with your claim I wouldn't have paid a penny.

Bernie, FOS guidelines dictate that insurers should be using Glass's Guide. Every engineer's report I have seen, be it from insurers, credit hire companies, accident management companies etc all use the Glass's Guide to assist with the valuation. They may use other guides too, but the Glass's Guide is the constant. Glass's Guide is used predominantly as evidence in court when valuation is being contested. Furthermore, I would say that establishing pre-accident valuation is not an exact science. But it is clear that the pre-accident value is just that - the value the vehicle would have fetched on the open market immediately prior to the accident. It is not the cost of purchasing a replacement from a forecourt. However, there are situations (such as with a newer vehicle or a vehicle recently purchased from a forecourt) when it would be unreasonable for an insurer not to pay forecourt price. Higsta. I doubt that you're vehilce has been disposed of, unless it was a category A or B salvage. Their policy is clear in that they will hold the car in free storage until the claim is settled. Find out who took your car, call them and chances are they will still have it in storage and it can still be inspected.

OK let's clear up a few things. 1) As gyzmo said, the like for like price is NOT showroom price with tax. You are entitled by the indemnity provided under the policy to be placed into the same financial position as you were in prior to the accident. This means, therefore, that the amount you should receive is how much it would cost to buy a vehicle exactly like yours on the market. This is NOT an exact science. If the vehicle was not under warranty, for example, the insurer would argue that it is within it's rights to offer private sale value. 2) In order to establish market value, the engineer should use glass's guide along with market research. It is highly unlikely that there will be another car on the market EXACTLY like yours, but by researching similar examples on the open market, along with the use of the guide, the engineer should then come up with a price which is reflective of how much your vehicle would have been worth on the open market. 3) If you disagree with the price, you are entitled to dispute your offer in any way you consider necessary. They cannot refuse adverts for similar vehicles because this is good evidence - it's what the engineer should have done anyway. They cannot demand only a full service history, and certainly not a dealer service history (as per per EU legislation previously mentioned). 4) Send them the adverts. If they refuse to acknowledge it, put in an official complaint. If they still don't budge, take them to the FOS. I can tell you that the FOS will take into account adverts for similar vehicles. It's the most standard form of dispute evidence across the entire industry. Any insurance company trading in England can be taken to the FOS. 5) They cannot take title of the vehicle until you accept settlement. However, the payment they sent you may be on an interim basis. This means that you can cash the cheque and it cannot (by law) prejudice your right to dispute the offer. Make sure you put it in writing that you are cashing the cheque withour prejudice on an interim basis only, and are continuing with your dispute. It is up to you whether you let them take ownership of the car now or after settlement is accepted; it should not affect your dispute. A lot of info there, but hope it helps in some way.

I have discussed this in the past with the Department of Transport. The salvage categories are only guidelines used within the salvage industry. There is no law against repairing and re-registering a category 'b' write-off, subject to a VIC test. It is illegal for a breakers yard to sell a Cat 'B', but not for you personally to repair and re-register. This was 3 or 4 years ago but I checked it out with VOSA, DVLA and ABI who all confirmed the same thing. Unless the law has changed, there is nothing stopping you repairing the car. You'll have problems selling it though! Suggestion - if you can afford to, pay for an engineer's report and see if they agree with the original engineer. If your engineer states it is a cat 'c' then send it onto the insurer with a letter of complaint. I would also demand they pay your engineer's fee.

If he comes back to you to settle privately, just ask him politely to sign a letter stating something like: In relation to the accident which occurred on (date) at (location), and was caused by the negligence of (you) driving (vehicle make/model/reg), which collided with vehicle (his make/model/reg) which is owned by myself, casuing loss and damage. I accept payment of £x from (you) in full and final settlement of all damages and/or losses I have incurred as a result of the accident. Sign his name Print his name Then make sure you pay him by traceable means, for example, by cheque. I would also go to the length of asking for some ID and his vehicle registration document before you pay him, to make sure he is who he says he is, that his signature is genuine and that he owns the car, or at least has an interest in it. The amount of customers who have settled privately only for the third party to claim on the insurance as well. Without any evidence of the private payment the insurance has to pay them too.

Like the money supermarket website states, car insurance doesn't work like that. You enter into a 12 month contract but choose to pay that contract in instalments. You do not actually pay for cover month by month. A lot of people don't realise this! It's no different to a phone company. You enter into 12 month phone contract, cancel after 6 and they want you to pay the remaining 6 months.

It's all pretty standard, yes. It looks like your legal expenses company are taking the third party insurer to court. They have instructed a solicitor and the cost of this is included in your legal protection policy. As such you won't have to pay anything towards the legal cost, even if you lose. Your insurance company have asked the solicitor to include their outlay in the proceedings. They have to do this, otherwise under civil law they may be unable to issue proceedings for their own losses in future. It is quite normal that you will have to attend the hearing to give evidence. You need to speak to the solicitor to discuss the possibility of moving the hearing to a court nearer to you, or alternatively including a fee for travel expenses (this may be included in the 'incidental expenses' they have already claimed). If you win then the court will decide how much the solicitor is entitled to ('costs to be assessed') and the third party insurer will need to pay this on top of the other heads of claim. The cheque for the total sum will be sent to the solicitor. He will then allocate the payments accordingly (i.e. he will send you your £335, your insurer their £1613). The solicitors costs are added on top of the heads of claim and are not taken from the amount you win. Hope this helps. If I was in your position I would definitely go along with it. Not only have you got your £300 to think about but your no claim bonus if your insurer don't get their outlay back. As long as you don't say that your are attending court but then change your mind, there will be no risk to you by going ahead.