Car stolen,scrapped without knowledge in recovery centre

[Marion]

Hi currymu

First of all, I want to say that I am just discussing this issue with you and others on AAM to try and figure out what happened.

When you rang the insurer (after you disputed the scrappage price with the recovery centre) did they tell you that they had arranged for the car to be sold to the recovery company?

Or, did they tell you that you could do what you liked with the car once they paid you the €1000 and that they weren't involved in the scrap price? In other words, that they weren't claiming ownership of the car.

Marion :hat

 

[Marion]

I've googled the question "what happens if my car is a write off" and the following came up for 3 companies Axa, Quinn-direct, Allianz:

Write Off
This means that the cost of repairing the vehicle is more than it is worth at today's market value. Our assessor will look at the car and work out what it was worth before the accident, taking into account the mileage and condition of the car. The amount we pay you will be what the car was worth before the accident, less its scrap value and any excess that applies to your policy. If we decide your car is a write off, you decide what happens to it, including selling it for scrap.
You should suspend your policy if you are not immediately putting another car on cover.
Axa

What happens if my car is written off?

We will pay you the market value of the vehicle at the time of the accident but not more than the value specified in the Schedule of Insurance.

What happens if my car is written off?

If your car is written off, you will be paid its market value at the time of the claim.

From the above examples,it can be seen that companies approach the write-off issue differently.

Marion :hat

 

[90210]

Value

First of all will you all stop fussing about Joe Duffy , Fraud , Robbery and the lot.


What was the make and model of the car and the litre , i want to get an independent value on this car , you say it was a 1993 and i presume the car has been recently stolen.

Send me the details including mileage and i will get the book price for you.




Firsly all the insurance company and recovery service did was to take your car and assess it.

The came up with a value for salvage and a value on the market price and gave you the lot.

OK , so you then walk away with your money in your pocket thinking my car was stolen and i received the market values.

No problem there as long as you where happy with the market and i say market value.


You then happenchance on someone driving the vehicle , so what , it is not your vehicle , somebody else bought it for a value and that has nothing to do with your situation , sour grapes boy.

The only issue you have is how the insurer conducted the sale of your property and how the signature on the vehicle licensing cert is forged.

That is a criminal offence , but where is the loss , the vehicle has not been stolen , no crime has been commited as you have received payment for you goods and the change of ownership is IMPLIED by your acceptance of the insurers offer.

However i would ask them to clarify the issue about the signature but in essence you have received payment.So what are you looking for ? unless you where not happy with the values on offer in that case you should have lambasted the insurer for scrapping your vehicle , organised your own assessor , and asked the recovery company for a salvage off , written, from the buyer.

 

[currymu]

Hi Marion and all,
I really do appreciate all the discussion and advice re my car and wish I had wrote into this website earlier..

When you rang the insurer (after you disputed the scrappage price with the recovery centre) did they tell you that they had arranged for the car to be sold to the recovery company? No they never told me this....the guy in the insurance company said the assessor should have rang me and the recovery company shouldnt have scrapped car without my knowledge or removed my personal belongings without my permission.....

Or, did they tell you that you could do what you liked with the car once they paid you the €1000 and that they weren't involved in the scrap price? In other words, that they weren't claiming ownership of the car. No this was not discussed either.


I rang the local Garda again yesterday evening and got talking to a really helpful Guard. He said what happened was a "Civil Wrong" and he was going to speak with the recovery company this am. He said they do a huge amount of business with this company as they work 24hr..Nothing will happen out of this but at least it might shake up the recovery company a bit.....

 

[Marion]

Hi currymu

You are probably better off in the long term with your replacement car. You might never have felt safe driving your crashed car and it might have caused you a lot of grief in the long term. Who knows?

Regards

Marion :hat

 

[zag]

90210 - currymu was told her car was scrapped and physically not available any more - presumably because it was supposed to be a cubic meter of metal. She was not given the choice of taking her chances with what remained of her vehicle.

Imagine you give a colleague a loan of a computer or a camera or something. They come back to you and say terribly sorry, but it got broken, it must have been worth maybe €300 here you go, better not give me a loan of anything again. You mumble, grumble and eventually tell them they should give you €400. Settled.

You curse your luck, go out to the shops and shell out €800 for a new one because you need to have one.

Next day you see them with your computer or camera . . . would you not feel defrauded ? Would you accept that it was alright because you settled for the original €400 ?

z

 

[fatherdougalmaguire]

What's disturbing to me in all of this is that the recovery yard is the winner through giving false information to both you and the motor tax people. They've made money on your back (whatever about your own pocket situation). I don't think it's a question of whether or not you are out of pocket. The recovery yard is a gangster and if it's a legitimate way to make money (tell someone their car is scrap and then sell it on to somebody else) then I'm packing in my job tomorrow.

Incidentally, my own tale to tell is our car was being robbed and the guys were caught in the act. Gardaí rang the recovery yard to get it towed away, Garda arrives at the door to tell us the story (it was about 1.30am). This was after the car was taken away. They could have told the fellons to push the poxy thing back to our house (about 60 yards) but instead they saw fit to haul someone out of bed and get it towed 1.5 miles away. Then we had to pay €120 because it spent a couple of nights in the yard.

 

[Marion]

You know,

It’s a big bad world out there! Having experienced the nonsense/stress which arises when one attempts to buy a car, I can see how the situation happened. Some salespeople have no integrity whatsoever.


On one occasion when I didn’t succumb to the sale speak of a totally smarmy salesman, he rang and gave me an earful about how I had "betrayed my county" and offered to drop the price - at the time £200 (a substantial sum) to match my better offer. I declined! Why didn't he offer the correct price in the first instance? I don't like playing games and I don't like time wasters.

They will tell you that your car is worth X amount when in reality it is worth X+Y.

Currymu was put in a situation which she hadn’t experienced before. The insurance company telling her it was written off seemed to corroborate the recovery centre person’s story that it wouldn’t pass a NCT test. (She was told this prior to it being assessed.)

Maybe it won’t pass the NCT. Maybe the woman who bought it will find out when it’s to be tested that it is worthless. We don’t know! But, it's irrelevant.

Currymu could have stood her ground and insisted that she get her car back and have it independently assessed and repaired by a mechanic of her choice. But, the reality is - she didn’t. That's history now. She accepted an offer which she was pleased to accept at the time - €200. She had successfully negotiated €150 more than had been previously offered by the recovery centre.

Dougal, I can only suspect that there is some policy in place which required the guards to send the car to the recovery centre. They were probably only doing their job. Most public sector workers are covering their backs these days - there are so many policies in place to prevent litigation!

Marion :hat

 

[90210]

Zag

Zag your logic reasoning and comparison is better left alone.

I think you are all ignoring the fact that the querist is the owner of the vehicle and also most common law principles.

The insurer should have come back to him before they assessed the querist's property. I know if it was my car i would have kicked up a storm and taken the property back , but its a question of character.

 

[zag]

Re: Zag

marion/90210 - maybe there is a fundamental misinderstanding here. I don't know if it is you or me who is misunderstanding the situation. It may well be me.

The way I see it, before being given any choice about what to do with the car currymu was told the vehicle had been destroyed and was no longer a vehicle, but this was incorrect since the vehicle hadn't been destroyed.

If currymu was given a choice and agreed to have the vehicle destroyed then I would accept that a deal was done and currymu should stand by it and if the yard subsequently decided that the vehicle could be made workable again then good for them.

As I understand it currymu wasn't given that choice and was presented with a done deal - car destroyed here's your money.

I see this as fundamentally unjust because the car wasn't destroyed.

I know it's a tough world out there. I don't expect that all traders and retailers are going to be honest. I do think that currymu has been defrauded of her *obviously* working vehicle.

z

[edited to replace typo]

 

[currymu]

Re: Zag

Hi all,

Apologies for not responding earlier....

My biggest issue here is with the recovery company who scrapped car without my consent....They lied to my face and on the phone without any consience and I cant believe the got away with it...

My second issue is with the Insurance company who agreed it was wrong what the recovery company did but did nothing about it with them or the accessor...

Marion - maybe I am better off without the car but it kills me to think the recovery company made at least €700 selling it on..

I have no update from the Guard but will follow up with him...