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Wed 30 Mar 2016 23:01

VW Transporter T4 2003 2.5 TDI Camper - Non-fault claim Insurance Nightmare Slater Gordon - drmac

HELP!

My wife went into the side of a DPD van that pulled out infront of her. Our much loved campervan was smashed to bits on the front right. She has numerous witnesses (including Police) who support her non fault claim.

Our van cost us 5.5k in 2007, we have put £12k into it, including a 'Reimo pop-top' roof which cost us £4k. We were never intending on selling the van and have many fond memories associated with it and it was coming into it's own with our kids. These vans are now sought after and ones with the specification of ours and condition are going up in value.

This is cutting a VERY long story short:

So Adrian Flux who we pay for our fully comp insurance to advised us to go with Slater Gordon so we could have a hire car.

They offered us £3.5k first off and I phoned to refuse and they said "well it's always worth us trying because some people accept the first really low offer (ha ha ha)"!!! - daylight robbery in my books.

We have spent the last 6 weeks trying to get the valuation to somewhere near where we will be able to replace our van. We have spoken to 6 different organisations, 26 people, 79 phone calls for 27 hours, 2.5 days reseaching prices and e-mailing evidence and have pulled out a valuation of £7.5k when a replacement will cost £15k.

I think this puts us above the small claims limit?

I'm putting a complaint togther to start onbudsman proceedings?

Does anyone have any other advice on where we can turn next?

Adrian Flux advised us today that if we claim on our fully comp with 'our' insurance company (at this point they told us they are only brokers) - Aegis; we would likely have the same outcome.

If anyone could replace our van for 7.5k I would be over the moon.

THANKS A MILLION IN ADVANCE FOLKS :-)

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Wed 30 Mar 2016 23:54

VW Transporter T4 2003 2.5 TDI Camper - Non-fault claim Insurance Nightmare Slater Gordon - RobJP

I assume on your policy you had a vehicle value written down. Every policy does.

What was it ?

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Thu 31 Mar 2016 08:45

VW Transporter T4 2003 2.5 TDI Camper - Non-fault claim Insurance Nightmare Slater Gordon - drmac

I assume on your policy you had a vehicle value written down. Every policy does.

What was it ?

The cover was for £10k with Adrian Flux but this was not an 'agreed value'. I lso informed them of the main modifications 3 years ago.

Thanks for the come back!

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Wed 30 Mar 2016 23:55

VW Transporter T4 2003 2.5 TDI Camper - Non-fault claim Insurance Nightmare Slater Gordon - galileo

The van cost £5k in 2007. Camper vans do not depreciate as much as cars, admittedly, but the fact you spent £12k on it does not increase its value by £12k.

It is much the same as spending large sums on new k******s, conservatories etc and expecting this to increase the value of your house by the same amount, it just does not work that way.

It would seem that £7.5 k is a reasonable offer, unless you specifically had an 'agreed value' written into your insurance policy (as some classic car policies allow, where the normal market value is not applicable due to rarity etc).

What value did your policy quote as covered when last renewed?

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Thu 31 Mar 2016 08:51

VW Transporter T4 2003 2.5 TDI Camper - Non-fault claim Insurance Nightmare Slater Gordon - drmac

UNfortunately we didn't have an agreed value. The policy states £10k. Our insurance broker Adrian Flux sells itself as a go-to for people with modified campervans.

When we try to replace the van - looking on autotrader, ebay, gumtree and a VW van forum, it would cost us at least £13k and even then we would be down on other modifications. OR otherwise we could get a replacement van for around £4k, new roof for £4k, then get it back to 5 seats and the other key modifications ouselves at a cost of around £13k - and a lot of hasssle and running around.

Having a pop top put on gives the van a completely different functionality and value. Not only does it cost £4000 but it also is difficult to get somewhere to do it - so it increases the value incrementally.

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Thu 31 Mar 2016 08:56

VW Transporter T4 2003 2.5 TDI Camper - Non-fault claim Insurance Nightmare Slater Gordon - drmac

Thanks for the response by the way Galiileo!

I think the base line is: it will cost at least £13k to get it replaced (realistically 2k more). How can they offer £7.5k?- half the amount...

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Thu 31 Mar 2016 09:01

VW Transporter T4 2003 2.5 TDI Camper - Non-fault claim Insurance Nightmare Slater Gordon - drmac

I forgot to mention.

Their offer is £5.5k for the value and £2k for the salvage.

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Thu 31 Mar 2016 09:04

VW Transporter T4 2003 2.5 TDI Camper - Non-fault claim Insurance Nightmare Slater Gordon - drmac

Also the van was moved from our local garage in Cornwall to Bristol without our consent - and it still has all our personal belongings in it.

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Thu 31 Mar 2016 13:28

VW Transporter T4 2003 2.5 TDI Camper - Non-fault claim Insurance Nightmare Slater Gordon - Palcouk

Unless there is an agreed value clause, which isnt the case, to obtain a settlement greater than offered will require you producing evidence of vehicles of the same year with similar specs, it should be further noted that a retail price is not the same as the insurance/trade price

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Thu 31 Mar 2016 17:44

VW Transporter T4 2003 2.5 TDI Camper - Non-fault claim Insurance Nightmare Slater Gordon - concrete

What a mess! I think it would pay to get an expert to give you a written value of your vehicle as it was, prior to the accident. He may also be able to provide you with a written estimate of replacement on a like for like basis. This may give you some leverage with the insurance company. Use the evidence to have them put you back into the same situation you were in before the accident. If they won't play ball and stick to their original valuation then I am afraid you will have to use the expert opinion to sue the other party for the difference. Sueing for damages is not easy so I hope you have legal cover on your motor or household policy. The small claims is the place to do. It will be a small claim because you are only sueing for the difference between the insurance settlement and actual replacement value. If you have to do it yourself you will need to do your homework thoroughly, but most judges in these courts take a view and apply some common sense to most situations. Best of luck and keep us informed.

Cheers Concrete

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Thu 31 Mar 2016 22:05

VW Transporter T4 2003 2.5 TDI Camper - Non-fault claim Insurance Nightmare Slater Gordon - drmac

Great advice Concrete. I'll look into the legal cover on our policies. Great point about small claims but only for the difference, that is much clearer for us now.

Only this afternoon our insurance brokers have promised to push further to see what we can get - not holding our breath.

My wife has been in touch with DPD one of who's drivers caused the accident. They have been chasing things too and apparently Aviva - who their insurance is with - have opened a case but have not had any infomration regarding valuations and requests. I fear there might be some skullduggery of the highest order at play...

I'll keep the updates rolling....

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Sat 2 Apr 2016 10:04

VW Transporter T4 2003 2.5 TDI Camper - Non-fault claim Insurance Nightmare Slater Gordon - drmac

Yesterdays update:

Phoned ULR (Adrian Flux claims handlers) in the morning they advised to get our own valuation done with our own experts - so we asked for the van to be brought back down to Cornwall. This isn't going to cost us anything and they said they would call back later in the day and let us know when our van would be back - no call was made.... so we need to chase on Monday.

Then about an hour later we had a call from Slater Gordon the 'managers' asking if we gave our permission for the van to be moved - so I obviously agreed to the move as we never asked for it to be taken to Bristol in the first place.

So we have to pay £240 for our own valuation, which we can claim back if it is more than theirs

THEN CHECK THIS HOWLER...

I had a call from TECREPORTS - the valuers. They said "just calling to talk about your valuation because we have been told your van had some modifications"????????? I asked - "have you not had the list of mods and comparable vehicles that we sent on the 1st March?" and they had not been sent them by SLATER GORDON.... WTF - these guys had assured me twice that it had been sent to all relevant parties!!

? I asked if their 'engineer' valuer had actually seen the van for the second valuation and they said - Yes - he noted that it had some "accessories"........

So I sent an e-mail to everyone involved with a list of modifications, scans of reciepts for all the work done (some 10 years old), comparable vans on the market at the moment....

It feels like we are getting somewhere.

I'm hoping to be able to post some positive stuff about people before too long!

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Wed 30 Mar 2016 23:55

VW Transporter T4 2003 2.5 TDI Camper - Non-fault claim Insurance Nightmare Slater Gordon - galileo

Duplicate post

Edited by galileo on 30/03/2016 at 23:57

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Sat 2 Apr 2016 11:57

VW Transporter T4 2003 2.5 TDI Camper - Non-fault claim Insurance Nightmare Slater Gordon - RobJP

Just a quick point :

It appears that Slater gordon are acting as a Claims management company in all of this.

Phone your insurance company, say that you are unhappy with this, and you would prefer to deal with the insurance company directly. Ask if this is possible.

If so, then you can tell SG where to go, and cut out the middleman messing it all up.

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Sat 2 Apr 2016 20:30

VW Transporter T4 2003 2.5 TDI Camper - Non-fault claim Insurance Nightmare Slater Gordon - drmac

Thanks RobJP - our brokers, Adrian Flux, have suggested that we wait for the latest valuation then we do exactly that. This means going via Adrian Flux to Aegis - and starting the whole claim over again as far as I can tell.

I'll keep it all updated on Monday...

I also have a thread on the VW Transporter Forum

www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=844953

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Sat 2 Apr 2016 20:53

VW Transporter T4 2003 2.5 TDI Camper - Non-fault claim Insurance Nightmare Slater Gordon - RobJP

Stop talking to your broker, start talking DIRECTLY to your insurance company.

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Sun 3 Apr 2016 15:34

VW Transporter T4 2003 2.5 TDI Camper - Non-fault claim Insurance Nightmare Slater Gordon - concrete

Great point RobJP. Deal direct, it cuts the middle men out and makes things easier and cheaper. I hate to say it, but I repeat: Slater Gordon are not your friend, they are not doing this because they are nice peolpe, they are doing it for MONEY. You can also set up your e mail to request a receipt when the e mail is opened or deleted without opening. This serves as an acknowledgement of receipt in case of argument later. I hope the valuations go your way and you can prceed toa conclusion swiftly.

Cheers Concrete

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