good point mate, forgot about that. First Alt dont supply courtesy cars when your car is a write off i.e when you need it most!! My solicitor used an acc man co and dont settle for a random ford ka or corsa (no offence to people who drive them). The accident management company will assess your risk / cliam i.e likelihood of liability and lend you a car based on your cars spec. And the 3rd party settles this. They are also liable for loss of earning, unnecessary expenses etc so dont let yourself fall out of pocket

Sounds like a similar scenario to mine, but i got a 3rd party solicitor and they have been great and really put pressure on everyone involved and speeded things up..... well as fast as you can do with al the 3 month liability assessment stuff that happens with accidents. First alternative use all different percentages when classifying or trying to resolve a claim - if new car and within 1 year old, 60% repair costs or more damage constitutes a total loss and entitles you to a new car replacement (great feature i thiught). But when it comes to that situation happening they try and skirt round the in's and out's of the policy. They would not strip mine back to see engine damage so claimed damage was less than that %. I argued that how do they know if it isnt stripped back and they came back with " the salvagers wont buy it for as much if it is stripped!!!". And they use the retail value when calculating that % so in most peoples cases the crash would have to be horrific to get near that value in repairs, but are happy to take a massively undervalued figure when calculating a payout!! I think the regulating bodies need to seriously look at this industry and try to build some sort of framework that everyone can understand. I can imagine people who have little experience or are just 'naive' can get absolutely shafted by insurance payouts

First Alternative......no comment!! I have alot of experience with this company and they aren't the greatest insurer I have used. Take as many pictures as you can, use legal protection to speak to someone who can give advice, dont accept anything FA propose to you, obtain as many estimates on value and examples of similar cars as you, you need to iron out the liability issue or you will be left probably out of pocket til it gets rectified.

This may be a little too late but insurance companies are a complete nightmare in their definition of 'at our discretion' and bending rules to minimise their loss. Always look for gap insurance as it bridges the gap between market value and new cost - i.e paying the difference between the two figures. Also contact the FSA as there are strict clauses on new car purchases that state if you were not offered gap insurance by the dealer for the event of a total write off, by the means of a key facts and discovery/needs document then you are entitlted to take action to claim this back. Also check your legal cover if you have it with your policy, as there are laws concerning consumer loss in circumstances such as cat c classifications - which can wipe 50% + value off the vehicle at re-sale. Be thorough as their is protection in place to ensure that when you re-sell the insurer will make up the difference between the price gained and the market value. Hope this helps

Have a look at this link for information relating to the above posts. Hope it proves useful CCCS - The real problem that underlies the whole process of recovery and how it is handled, is interpretation. Different regulators and organisation can interpret the law very differently. Unfortunately it is subjective to the most part which is a drastically flawed approach considering the spiralling debt situation in the UK. But thats UK legislation for you.........

Mike, if you had read the posts that i made after that one, you would see that i did not fully realise the nature of this forum. And to be honest i didnt actually understand the point of your post, plus it makes no sense.

Like i expressed in one of my posts i did not realise this was a purely 'comlaints based' forum........apologies for any offence

fair point,,,,,no offense meant

sorry to disillusion you rob but its actually quite suprising what you can pick up with a few questions when you sign up!! finance is not really my cup of tea...........

To all of those with gripes open your eyes and stop being bitter about something you caused yourselves - I have used this company as a quick source of funds for property deposits with absolutely no problems and would always, and will, use them again. The reps are not sharks or salesmen, quite the opposite in fact. I have dealt with a few different reps...... andy who was really efficient and a nice chap , ged?? i think was a bit of a geezer but helpful, and nick who was new but was really clued up. Any of those ring any bells? So to say they are commision grabbing is unfair...are you sure you questioned the rep fully on any problems or issues you didnt understand? To be fair I think you guys need to look at your reasons for using lbl in the first place - if you cant get finance elsewhere you cannot have your cake and eat it and therefore have to pay over the norm for financial products. They are like ronseal - it does exactly what it says on the tin. And i'm sure the rep didnt hold you at gunpoint and make you sign - you must have been free to read the small print and the T&C's so know exactly what you are entering in the agreement. I agree the action charges are ludicrous but why enter into an agreement knowing you might default or incur such charges??!!. The problem is that we, the good old British consumers, are lazy and want our bottoms wiped and dont use initiative when dealing with matters that we think we understnd but dont. The company with the best will in the world would be foolish and naive to lend at reasonable rates on someone they have no references on. And companies do have objectives to make profit believe it on not - if you dont like the rates then say so,,,,,be proactive and upfront rather than complaining when things go worng. And they do have permission to add an 'interest' on the hpi system, which is removed by lbl once the agreement is clear - i never had any issues with this and needed the logbook back for taxing before the new keeper doc came into place and the girls at the putney office, think thats where it is, were always very helpful and true to their word with timescales. I believe they are run by an ex cash converters director, and financed by a very wealthy property investor / consortium and sure they are coining it in and fair paly!! I would always use them again and have recommended them to friends who have used them as bridging finance in the short term. I agree the rates are high but not having credit scoring and sameday payout in a big plus point over unsecured and secured home owner lending. I would recommend them as an alternative and quite unique way of raising finance - but be sure to question the reps and read all the documents carefully and dont sign if you are in doubt. Sorry to upset the applecart of this forum!! Regards.......a rare satisfied customer!! p.s VJR - try to shy away from quoting off websites and plagerising financial articles..........do you have any original thoughts of your own? A bill of sale for your reference is a cast iron agreement sanctioned and registered by the royal courts of justice. I doubt whether O.J Simpsons lawyers could find a way round shifting ownership of the agreement and lbl having no vehicle rights.................