Insurer has lowered my car's write off valuation due to the dealer's mistake. What do you suggest?

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Insurer has lowered my car's write off valuation due to the dealer's mistake. What do you suggest?

I bought a Ford S-MAX Titanium Sport 210hp from a Ford dealership four years ago. It was unfortunately written off recently and the insurance company phoned to advise that the model was not the 210hp version that I had purchased and registered with them but in fact the 180hp version. It seems that the car was registered as new by Ford as the 210 version and all subsequent paperwork, insurance etc shows up as a 210 version when entering the registration number. The insurance company then lowered its valuation by around £3000 because of this. They have, however, refunded £160 for the overpayments of insurance for the past 4 years. All my dealings with Ford prior to the purchase and subsequent receipts etc show that I purchased a more expensive 210hp version. Finance arranged also. I’m thousands of pounds out of pocket and looking to recoup. I have fired an email off to the sales controller and am waiting for a reply. What should I request as compensation for this?

Asked on 14 July 2021 by Tim Williams

Answered by Dan Powell

This is very unusual. I think you need to speak to the dealer and ask them to investigate. I have never heard of this happening in my 15-years as a motoring journalist. If a mistake has been made, I would expect Ford to either make up the shortfall in the insurance payout or source you a discounted replacement car for the new insurance valuation. Ford may ask to inspect the car, as it's possible your insurer has made an error.

That said, I think the £3000 deduction from your insurer is a tad unreasonable. The 210PS version of the S-MAX didn't command a £3000 premium when it was new, I'm a little confused why they feel it affects the market price so much now.

Tags: insurance write offs

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