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INSURANCE COMPANIES THE REAL LOOTERS OF OUR POCKET - maileydog

On the 24th of August at 22:00 hours my neighbours van rolled down the hill onto our parking bays and collided with my Jeep pushing it back into my wifes BMW, the police were called as it was alleged that someone had attempted to steal it.

They took his vehicle away for forensics however they have not found anything so have closed the case, my wife and I have approached our insurance companies HASTINGS DIRECT and esure to claim from my neighbour who is with SAGA, they are saying that because there is no suspect detained for this they are not to blame and we both have to clame from our own insurance companies.

I have today spoken again with HASTINGS DIRECT who's female operative was less than helpfull and continually spoke over me in a very patronising manner and when I asked if you would allow me to speak she said "WELL ITS THE SAME OLD STORY" so much for customer service.

Surely this cannot be right and we must be able to claim from SAGA we are all fully comprehensive and the vehicle they have insured for what ever reason has rolled down the hill and into our vehicles causing damage through no fault of ours.

INSURANCE COMPANIES THE REAL LOOTERS OF OUR POCKET - maileydog

Has any body had a simlar experiance to this or has any usfull advice it would be appreciated

INSURANCE COMPANIES THE REAL LOOTERS OF OUR POCKET - bathtub tom

Perhaps you've a case of negligence against whoever last accessed the van, for not sufficiently applying the handbrake?

INSURANCE COMPANIES THE REAL LOOTERS OF OUR POCKET - ifithelps

It's clear your claim lies with the insurer of the van - SAGA.

It appears they have fobbed you off.

SAGA will need to be reminded they have insured the van for, at the very least, third party risks, you and the Mrs are the third party, and you have both suffered damage to your property.

The accident management companies are regarded by some as parasites, but they do have their uses.

www.helphire.co.uk/helphire/service/servicesformot.../

INSURANCE COMPANIES THE REAL LOOTERS OF OUR POCKET - maileydog

Thanks for the advise I have made contact with them and they do seem to be very helpfull, not sure if they are going to take on the case yet..

INSURANCE COMPANIES THE REAL LOOTERS OF OUR POCKET - ifithelps

My guess is SAGA is clinging to the notion the van was stolen, because that means they can avoid your claim.

Hopefully, Helphire can persuade them otherwise, and the claim will proceed.

If not, you've been hit by an uninsured vehicle, but that may not be as bad as it sounds, because there is a scheme to compensate people in that position.

But let's take this one step at a time by first waiting to see if SAGA will play ball.

Edited by ifithelps on 13/09/2011 at 16:17

INSURANCE COMPANIES THE REAL LOOTERS OF OUR POCKET - concrete
Hello Maileydog, sometimes the insurance companies play a weird game behind the scenes, of 'knock for knock', unforntunately you pay the bill. It may be distasteful, but if the insurer does not accept your claim then you must issue a claim against the van owner for negligence in not ensuring his vehicle was secure and did not pose a danger (ie. faulty handbrake, handbrake not applied correctly, if on slope should have been in gear etc etc). The van owner will then have to pass the claim to his insurer, SAGA, who should then, probably be duty bound to accept the claim from its own customer. You could try to explain this to the van owner and explain it is not a personal vendetta against him but only a way of getting his insurer to do the right thing. It does make you wonder why we pay premiums at all. If there was an alternative that was legal I would use it and put some of these insurers out of business. Good luck and let us know what transpires. Cheers Concrete
INSURANCE COMPANIES THE REAL LOOTERS OF OUR POCKET - dacouch
Insurers have not used "Knock for Knock" for upwards of 15 years