Hastings Direct won't let me buy my van back

[SNewton]

Someone went into the side of my work van a couple of weeks ago whilst he was pulling out of a junction. It was his fault. There was some cosmetic damage, scratches etc. and the passenger door wouldn’t open. So I decided to put a claim in through his insurance company.

 

I was given a courtesy van whilst mine was taken off to be assessed. A couple weeks later I received a telephone call to say my vehicle had been written off Cat C. I was offered a settlement and the option to buy my van back. However the offer was way below what it would have cost me to either repair or replace the vehicle so I declined it.

 

I have now been told that as I declined the offer my claim has now been transferred back to my insurance company Hastings and the other drivers insurance company would no longer be dealing with it. I would no longer be able to buy my van back. The rental vehicle will need to be returned and I will lose my no claims.

 

At no point was I told by Albany the implications of me declining the first offer. Otherwise I may have reconsidered taking the offer.

 

Now I’m going to lose out. I have 3 options:

 

 

· Withdraw my claim, keep my van and pay for the door to be repaired myself.

 

· Settle the claim for below market value and buy my own van back from auction and hope that the settlement cost will cover the cost to buy it back and do the repair work.

 

· Or Settle the claim for below market value and having to get some sort of finance to replace the vehicle.

 

 

My van is sign written and has been fully fitted out for my work needs with a reversing camera so the cost of replacing all of this will be well in excess of what I will receive. And most of this would be removed before it is auctioned off.

 

All I want is my van back and some money towards the repair cost. I don’t understand how this was an option when I got my first offer but Hastings are now saying I can’t get my van back.

 

Poor customer service all round and the accident wasn’t even my fault.

[unclebulgaria67]

It is your van, until you accept a settlement offer. So they have to let you have it back, but you might have to pay some storage and recovery costs.

 

Once you get it back, you can get your own assessment of repair costs and pursue Hastings for this. As long as the repair cost is less than the amount Hastings would have paid for the write off taking into account salvage value then Hasting should pay. If not, you can take the third party driver and Hastings to court. If you have legal cover on your van policy, they might help you.

 

So there is another option than going through your own policy to pay repair or write off.

 

Insurers can be quick to write off, as the salvage value might make it a cheaper option. But sometimes the assessments are not accurate. Some are done on the phone and not by an engineer in person.

 

Personally, i would get the van back, get your own assessment and then see the way forward. Hastings are just doing the same as any company, by trying to keep the claim cost as low as possible.

[dacouc]

Option 4 - Go back to the other Insurers, either accept their offer or negotiate on it and keep the salvage