Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Car Chat => Topic started by: Lizzie_Zoom on 25 October 2010, 17:08:49
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Well all went as it should this morning: Garage picked up my car and Enterprise delivered me a lovely new Merc E Class :D :D
Then, early this afternoon THE phone call from Claimfast who are supervising the repairs, loan car, claims, etc:
"Miss Freeman, sorry to inform you that your car has been inspected by the garages engineer and has been classed as beyond economical repair".....................WHAT!!!!!! :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o Those words echo in my mind; not wanting to believe them; not wanting to accept; blood and temper boiling fast, very fast, into a blind rage I MUST control..................!!!!!!!!!!!!!! >:( >:( >:( >:(
I challenge them, fuming, and stressing they must be very mistaken (trying to be very polite!!!); they must be being taken for a ride I say, the damage is cosmetic, just some rubbing down and new paint!!! She answers that the engineers have estimates a cost of £1,700 to repair............WHAT!!!! Don't be so daft I say, what on earth is going to cost that much when only paint and labour is required??????!!!!
Oh, she says, I will ring through to the garage..............she comes back; "oh yes a new door is required, a new mirror frame.........................hang on I say, to start with there is nothing wrong with the door, just the result of the number plate screws running along my paintwork...............and as for mirror surround...........what do you mean?????!!! She says the mirror, the overtaking mirror..........WHAT!!!!!!!!! Don't be so bloody daft I say; no mirror was ever involved in the accident; nowhere near JUST the nearside rear door panel ONLY that had it's paint scored......NO dents, no other damage..........or at least when I last saw my car this morning; has somebody booted the panel in at tge garage I ask, fuming with anger and losing it fast!!!
She says please don't shout at me. I say I want my car back NOW! She says I will have to refer you back to your insurance company (RSA)! I say fine!!! I have to pick my car up from Folkestone (20 miles away), and leave my lovely loan car at the garage. Excellent I say, I leaving now!!
Anyway got my car back, RSA have agreed their engineer will come to me and make his assessment, before a garage collects my car tomorrow. Also they will arrange a hire car (no cost to me) of equal size to my own, plus they will not claim my excess from me, but the other party.
Tomorrow now awaits.....................and so do I!!!!
Bloody, bloody cars and the idiots, simpletons who drive them into other people vehicles, and the morons in insurance companies gggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:(!!!!
Yes I have sweared, yes I am ranting........so bloody what????!! :-/ :-/
Going to lay down now! ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::)
Remember, this is the damage (No Dents; No Rips; No holes, just gouged paintwork!!!)
(http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk247/lizziefreeman/My%20Cars/DSC00175.jpg)
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I'm sure a lot of times insurance companies would much rather write off a car than repair it..
A friend of mine managed to hit the motorway armco with his car recently; initial estimate was ~£8k damage - on a ~£20k car.
The next thing he gets is a phone call from the repair center saying "Er, Mr X, we thought you should know, there's a salvage vehicle here to take the car away.. we told him to poke off"
They hadn't even asked him - the only reason his car wasn't stripped for salvage (or crushed) without his knowledge or consent was the kindly repair place who told the salvage truck driver where to stick it! :o
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Poor Lizzie (http://www.emofaces.com/en/emoticons/h/hug-emoticon.gif)
I hope tomorrow goes a little better. Have a glass or 2 of something strong and have a long hot bath, you'll feel better I promise ;) :-*
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Poor Lizzie (http://www.emofaces.com/en/emoticons/h/hug-emoticon.gif)
I hope tomorrow goes a little better. Have a glass or 2 of something strong and have a long hot bath, you'll feel better I promise ;) :-*
I hope so Welung; your bath idea is a very good one!! :y :y :y :y :y
Running now!! 8-) 8-) 8-) 8-) :D :D ;)
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looking at that level of damage I personally would not have involved insurance, as they are going write a car off of that age.
Can't remember circumstances on you accident who hit you of if you hit them, but if someone hit me, i'd ask them for £200 odd which is most likey what their excess is, and say leave it at that.
Pocket the 200 quid and polish out that scrape yourself :y
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I had a good one once when i had my Mk2 Astra i was parked in a vauxhall dealers car park reading some paper work for a part i had just bought when the drivers side of the car started to rise, looking out my window i saw the rear end of a cavalier pushed right in to my back door, out of the cav a vauxhall mechanic got out ask how i was got his boss who said can we settle this without insurance i said ok. They gave me a brand new corsa to use and two weeks later i got back a now mint looking Astra with a new door and a respray. She looked wonderful untill 3 weeks after and the engine went bang big style ;D
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looking at that level of damage I personally would not have involved insurance, as they are going write a car off of that age.
Can't remember circumstances on you accident who hit you of if you hit them, but if someone hit me, i'd ask them for £200 odd which is most likey what their excess is, and say leave it at that.
Pocket the 200 quid and polish out that scrape yourself :y
The other guys insurance company have accepted full liability Tunnie, and I want the insurance company to sort the damage out. Failing that I will pocket the whole payout if there is one, but accept an agreement of taking less to keep the car. Then I will sort out the damage (locally I could have it professionally done for about £300) and gain very nicely thankyou! Last year RSA gave me a good payout (£1,650) on my CDX, and my current Elite is in the same, if not better condition).
These buggers are not going to get away with whatever they are trying to do! ;) ;)
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Not so good, insurance companies dont have a clue between them!
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the problem now (if its written off) is the car would be considered a CAT (something) write off, which is really going to harm its value and possibly future insurance?
If it was a clear case of their fault, cash in hand would be way to deal with it, as any damage to an Omega given its age/value is an instant right off. Just forgetting parts, labour is a huge cost, £100 /hr? Easy to be written off in a few hours work...
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and remember you don't have to take it to the bodyshop that the insurance company wants you to use.
I'd shop around and get some quotes from other shops, try some small independents. The insurance company will say no you can't but that rubbish it just means they wont get there back hander.
Only you won't get is a free loan car. If you get stuck i've a couple of very good independents up this way
Cheers
Andy
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The other guys insurance company have accepted full liability Tunnie, and I want the insurance company to sort the damage out. ......
Remind us all Lizzie ::) is this the result of the hire van that was trying to turn in front of you? I thought they were ready to sort it without using insurance :-/ :-/
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and remember you don't have to take it to the bodyshop that the insurance company wants you to use. .....
Apparently you need to be careful of that these days. When SWMBO had her car hit last year, I was taliking to the owner of the local bodyshop where I initially took the car to for his opinion on the damage. He said that a few insurance companies are starting to stipulate their own repairers in the legal small print of their policies. :-? >:(
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The other guys insurance company have accepted full liability Tunnie, and I want the insurance company to sort the damage out. ......
Remind us all Lizzie ::) is this the result of the hire van that was trying to turn in front of you? I thought they were ready to sort it without using insurance :-/ :-/
No, this was the OAP and his slipping foot in the same week as white van man. The company van hire firm whose vehicle the latter was using will still sort out my front bumper! 8-) 8-)
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man not a good week for you, hope all goes better tomorrow, throw away society you gotta love it don't ya!!
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Sorry to read your saga Lizzie.
I am taking my car to an Insurance approved body shop in the morning for them to inspect the cracked chrome V trim on my Irmscher front grille.
Judging by your experience from today,my car will definitely be written off for the extent of damage done to mine.I have been told that the front grille is not available either from VX or direct from Germany and by all accounts when it was availble many moons ago it had a very high price tag so judging that my car is 12 years old and has over 165k could prove quite funny tomorrow.
What they don,t know as yet is as we speak a very helpfull forum member has sold me a near perfect replacement albeit a different colour so I might just let the insurance company buy it from me for full retail price and get it painted.
I told you S/East Kent was a dangerous place for Omegas.
Good luck for Tuesday.
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The other guys insurance company have accepted full liability Tunnie, and I want the insurance company to sort the damage out. ......
Remind us all Lizzie ::) is this the result of the hire van that was trying to turn in front of you? I thought they were ready to sort it without using insurance :-/ :-/
No, this was the OAP and his slipping foot in the same week as white van man. The company van hire firm whose vehicle the latter was using will still sort out my front bumper! 8-) 8-)
Ah! I'd forgotten about him ..... bloody OAPS! ::) ::) ::) I bet it was an auto too! ;D ;D ;D
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man not a good week for you, hope all goes better tomorrow, throw away society you gotta love it don't ya!!
It certainly seems like it!! Whole cars just because of a scratch! ::) ::) ::) The world has gone mad >:(
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The other guys insurance company have accepted full liability Tunnie, and I want the insurance company to sort the damage out. ......
Remind us all Lizzie ::) is this the result of the hire van that was trying to turn in front of you? I thought they were ready to sort it without using insurance :-/ :-/
No, this was the OAP and his slipping foot in the same week as white van man. The company van hire firm whose vehicle the latter was using will still sort out my front bumper! 8-) 8-)
Ah! I'd forgotten about him ..... bloody OAPS! ::) ::) ::) I bet it was an auto too! ;D ;D ;D
Ohhhh yessssss!! ::) ::) ;)
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Sorry to read your saga Lizzie.
I am taking my car to an Insurance approved body shop in the morning for them to inspect the cracked chrome V trim on my Irmscher front grille.
Judging by your experience from today,my car will definitely be written off for the extent of damage done to mine.I have been told that the front grille is not available either from VX or direct from Germany and by all accounts when it was availble many moons ago it had a very high price tag so judging that my car is 12 years old and has over 165k could prove quite funny tomorrow.
What they don,t know as yet is as we speak a very helpfull forum member has sold me a near perfect replacement albeit a different colour so I might just let the insurance company buy it from me for full retail price and get it painted.
I told you S/East Kent was a dangerous place for Omegas.
Good luck for Tuesday.
Thanks amba, and best of luck for you :y :y
I wonder if there is a Kent repair shop that will do two for the price of one? ::) ::) ::) :D :D :D :D
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Ohhhh yessssss!! ::) ::) ;)
According to one of the Stop Police Camera Action TV programmes, the Plod have a term for it .... can't remember it now. :-/ :-/ :-/
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Sorry to hear of your trouble lizzie. Have a cuddle from all the oof peeps. :-* :-*
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watch these garages aswell. A few years back now my dads senator got nicked. The police found it and rang us. We went along and saw it before it got recovered. Usual damage, locks, barrel, seat, thrashed etc.
Later that day once it had been recovered it also had smooth clean dents all over the body work, exactly the same size and shape as the peoples feet who worked in the garage.
You should've seen the garage manager trying to worm his way out of that one.
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I'm not sure some bodyshops actually want the work .. not sure how they make their money, presumably on 'storage fees' but..
I took a car to a bodyshop once; asked how much it would be to take care of some rust in the arches (weld in repair panels, respray, etc). "Ooh that's rust. We don't touch rust." was the response. ::)
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Sorry to hear of your trouble lizzie. Have a cuddle from all the oof peeps. :-* :-*
:y :y :y :y :y :-* :-* :-* :-* ;)
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watch these garages aswell. A few years back now my dads senator got nicked. The police found it and rang us. We went along and saw it before it got recovered. Usual damage, locks, barrel, seat, thrashed etc.
Later that day once it had been recovered it also had smooth clean dents all over the body work, exactly the same size and shape as the peoples feet who worked in the garage.
You should've seen the garage manager trying to worm his way out of that one.
Well of course that is what I accused them of doing over the phone, and especially once they mentioned previously non-existant wing mirror damage! But when I collected the vehicle all was as before, even the wing mirror that they said they had to replace!! ::) ::) ::)
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I'm not sure some bodyshops actually want the work .. not sure how they make their money, presumably on 'storage fees' but..
I took a car to a bodyshop once; asked how much it would be to take care of some rust in the arches (weld in repair panels, respray, etc). "Ooh that's rust. We don't touch rust." was the response. ::)
I find that also, from quite a few businesses, unless it's easy and straightforward they're not interested. Took my senny to car and bike magic with minor surface rust on arches and he made on like it was the end of the world!
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man not a good week for you, hope all goes better tomorrow, throw away society you gotta love it don't ya!!
It certainly seems like it!! Whole cars just because of a scratch! ::) ::) ::) The world has gone mad >:(
The world has gone mad
Sadly, you're not far wrong there Lizzie.
Irrespective yet more unbelievable news, I hope tomorrow brings something better. :-* :y
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man not a good week for you, hope all goes better tomorrow, throw away society you gotta love it don't ya!!
It certainly seems like it!! Whole cars just because of a scratch! ::) ::) ::) The world has gone mad >:(
The world has gone mad
Sadly, you're not far wrong there Lizzie.
Irrespective yet more unbelievable news, I hope tomorrow brings something better. :-* :y
Thanks Zulu, so do I otherwise a certain insurance company engineer is going to get it in the neck!! ::) ::) :D :D ;)
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Best of luck Lizzie, I'm sure you will put them straight, and help them to see the error of their ways !.
The shop seem a right bunch of idiots. There's a one man shop up the road who did a door for me for £60 a couple of years ago, no messing around, just got on with the job. I suspect a lot of places have been learning lessons watching Kwickfit on Watchdog.
I think the write off class Tunnie was after was Class D, uneconomic repair. Shouldn't they invent a new class, Class E, for "we can't be bothered, just sign the cheque".
Ken
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Sorry to hear about you being messed around , Hope all get,s sorted out :y :y. All the best for Tuesday :y
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It ticks me off to no end that i pay around £400 for my insurance each year in the knowledge that if it ever ends up in an accedent now it wil be wrote off. >:( >:( >:( >:( But around 5 years ago it would have had a fighting chance of getting sorted.
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It ticks me off to no end that i pay around £400 for my insurance each year in the knowledge that if it ever ends up in an accedent now it wil be wrote off. >:( >:( >:( >:( But around 5 years ago it would have had a fighting chance of getting sorted.
Know what you mean >:( >:( Not looking forward to the day that i need to make a claim :'( :'(. Think i will have to start to make a collection of body panals just in case.
Hope you and yours are well Lee :y :y. Long time no see :)
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It ticks me off to no end that i pay around £400 for my insurance each year in the knowledge that if it ever ends up in an accedent now it wil be wrote off. >:( >:( >:( >:( But around 5 years ago it would have had a fighting chance of getting sorted.
Know what you mean >:( >:( Not looking forward to the day that i need to make a claim :'( :'(. Think i will have to start to make a collection of body panals just in case.
Hope you and yours are well Lee :y :y. Long time no see :)
And there are many of us on here paying even more than that, the sad fact being that the average miggy worth 1000-2000 will be wrote off or at least classed uneconomical with surprisingly little damage. As tunnie said before bodyshop labour rates alone will do it in most cases :'( :'(
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Thats why i do all my own bodywork apart from shooting the top coat.
Just done a roof skin on a Manta Coupe and the guy came down from Scotland to have it done,
Just leaves three more cars to do :o
Andy
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This morning I decided to use some T-Cut Scratch Remover on the damage. The result is:
(http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk247/lizziefreeman/My%20Cars/DSC00182.jpg)
Do you think this can be classed as "beyond economical repair"????? ::) ::) ::)
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More like "Needing an £80 blow-over" ..
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....Do you think this can be classed as "beyond economical repair"????? ::) ::) ::)
It looks like you need a new door, trim and door mirror to me!! ::) ::) ::) ::)
* quickly runs away & hides! *
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Well, after looking at the "damage" again, and realising I do not want any more unnecessary hassle with insurance companies/ garages / 'engineers', I have lost my temper and closed down my claim with RSA. They say they completely understand, and I took the opportunity of describing how I, and other motorists, feel about these freely given "beyond economical repair" statements with still very good cars being scrapped! I explained the real damage to my car and what the so called engineers had reported yesterday, with them even trying to replace a wing mirror neither broken or affected by the accident.
The RSA guy said he fully understood what I was saying, but noticably held back from saying more! ::) ::)
I already have the paint and all materials for doing the repair, so when the weather is suitable that is my next job! :D :D :D :D ;)
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....Do you think this can be classed as "beyond economical repair"????? ::) ::) ::)
It looks like you need a new door, trim and door mirror to me!! ::) ::) ::) ::)
* quickly runs away & hides! *
Cheeky bugger!! ::) ::) ;D ;D ;D ;)
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Follow up from my visit to the Gravesend approved body shop for Direct Line....following a consultant surgeaon deciding to reverse into me last wee whilst in a queue of stationary traffic.
The damage is minor and to be fair to the repair assessor he didn,t try and inflate the work...bear in mind that the total extent of the damge to my car is a cracked chrome centre trim on a irmscher m/f front grill.
He said they would need to get a price for a new grille as doudted they could get just the centre bit...I politely advised him the part was not available from either UK or Germany but he said he would have to confirm that first.He also said I would need both headlights to be removed along with all pipes from lamp washer etc and then have a recoat across the front..seemed abit excessive to me but as I explained if cots got anywhere near write off value to STOP !!
We eventually agreed I would get the bits and give them the bills for parts..they would spray as required and settle all cots with his insurance company.
Enterprise hire cars still wants me to have a hire car whilst repairs are done so will see how cots stack up and decide...all seems a total farce this insurance lark.
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Follow up from my visit to the Gravesend approved body shop for Direct Line....following a consultant surgeaon deciding to reverse into me last wee whilst in a queue of stationary traffic.
The damage is minor and to be fair to the repair assessor he didn,t try and inflate the work...bear in mind that the total extent of the damge to my car is a cracked chrome centre trim on a irmscher m/f front grill.
He said they would need to get a price for a new grille as doudted they could get just the centre bit...I politely advised him the part was not available from either UK or Germany but he said he would have to confirm that first.He also said I would need both headlights to be removed along with all pipes from lamp washer etc and then have a recoat across the front..seemed abit excessive to me but as I explained if cots got anywhere near write off value to STOP !!
We eventually agreed I would get the bits and give them the bills for parts..they would spray as required and settle all cots with his insurance company.
Enterprise hire cars still wants me to have a hire car whilst repairs are done so will see how cots stack up and decide...all seems a total farce this insurance lark.
It certainly seems that way now Amba! ::) ::) The rules changed somewhere, but why do they want to write off perfectly good cars when there is another option? Is there a hidden agenda? The commercial concerns in my case though have not, and could not gain out of their strange decisions. Why price yourself out of a job unless you do not want the work........................??!! ::) ::)
It will be interesting to see what happens next in your case Amba. We'll keep our fingers crossed for you! ;) ;)
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Gotta drive new car sales to keep the economy growing somehow...
Plus all those new cars are so much greener!*
(*If you ignore the environmental impact of manufacturing them, which so many 'green car' campaigners seem to do..)
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Lizzie.
Are you agreeing a price for your repairs direct with the log g...t that drove into you or are you issuing him with a invoice for the parts and your labour /assuming that you are now not going via the insurance route.
I didn,t suggest to my "crash test dummy"that he paid direct but think that would be a course of action if repairs get close to write off point.
You should not be out of pocket and should have your proery rstored to it condition prior to the damgae caused by a third party..my advise is take him to task about your costs as it is not your fault.
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Lizzie.
Are you agreeing a price for your repairs direct with the log g...t that drove into you or are you issuing him with a invoice for the parts and your labour /assuming that you are now not going via the insurance route.
I didn,t suggest to my "crash test dummy"that he paid direct but think that would be a course of action if repairs get close to write off point.
You should not be out of pocket and should have your proery rstored to it condition prior to the damgae caused by a third party..my advise is take him to task about your costs as it is not your fault.
Yes, it is certainly a thought at the moment ;) ;)
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Gotta drive new car sales to keep the economy growing somehow...
Plus all those new cars are so much greener!*
(*If you ignore the environmental impact of manufacturing them, which so many 'green car' campaigners seem to do..)
oh, DELIGHTED to see Im not the only one that thinks so! A 10year old 3.2 MV6 is a VERY green car. If more people spent more time having a quick nosey at their cars, keeping them and maintaining them properly, and not just binning them and buying new every five minutes, there'd be a lot less carbons in the atmosphere!!
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It ticks me off to no end that i pay around £400 for my insurance each year in the knowledge that if it ever ends up in an accedent now it wil be wrote off. >:( >:( >:( >:( But around 5 years ago it would have had a fighting chance of getting sorted.
Know what you mean >:( >:( Not looking forward to the day that i need to make a claim :'( :'(. Think i will have to start to make a collection of body panals just in case.
Hope you and yours are well Lee :y :y. Long time no see :)
Hi steve,
Yes mate we are well the little one is doing great 1 month old today. Will you be at the checster services meet mate? Would be great to chat with you again. Hope you and yours are all well. :y
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And don't forget a "formal complaint" against your insurance company.
If they employed an engineer who told you lies about the amount of work needing doing - then they're liable.
You should be able to screw them out of talk them into to some compo for you.
A report to the FOS (insurance ombudsman) will cost them 800 quid for investigating, so they'll settle up to save them that.
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And don't forget a "formal complaint" against your insurance company.
If they employed an engineer who told you lies about the amount of work needing doing - then they're liable.
You should be able to screw them out of talk them into to some compo for you.
A report to the FOS (insurance ombudsman) will cost them 800 quid for investigating, so they'll settle up to save them that.
Good point! Thanks :y :y :y :y