So, ten days ago I got taken out by a dopey school run mum (still in her PJs ffs). Bike smashed, me a bit battered and bruised but nothing broken. Her insurers accepted fault on the spot and took the bike away, replacing it with a courtesy bike. They write a letter explaining what happens next incl. the exact phrase “the courtesy bike is available as long as you reasonably need it”.

Fast forward to today and I get a call: bike’s a write-off, cheque for £x is in the post. Woah, say I – show me where I can buy a similar bike for £x – you’re £400 short.

They say take it or leave it. A lot of too-ing and fro-ing later I’ve gone up the management chain and have got nowhere and we agree to disagree and that I’ll consider my options.

Not 5 mins later, I get another call saying your last day on the loan bike is tomrrow, return it or we’ll report it stolen. Now this is outrageous, not just because it contradicts what they wrote but also because it’s just so plainly
unreasonable.

What should I do? The nuclear option, which is tempting, is to call in the ambulance chasers and let them loose, but if you deal with the devil etc..!

Are your insurance company not advising you?

You pay good money for you own insurance, I’d be letting them take up this hassle for you.

OTOH, the hire bike/car always goes straight back after the vehicle is written-off as the insurance co deem themselves as having done their job

If the claim isnt settled then you should still have the bike. Do you have legal cover on your insurance?

I had similar a few years ago except I never had a courtesy car, make sure you stiff them for your injuries damaged clothing etc.

no no and no.. write.. say thanks for your kind offer but x days ago i had an abc x years old.. until you put me back in those circumstances you cannot consider the matter closed equally how will they be compensating you for the accident caused entirely by their client and the time and distress expences etc etc. if they wish to withdraw their coertsy vehicle thats fine it can be picked up from midnight at xyz you ll post them the keys recorded delivery. in the meantime you have researched bike hire whilst they put you in your original position the daily cost which you expect to be reimbursed will be £efg.

I had something similar this time last year with my car.

Whilst I was successful in negotiating them up from their ridiculous offer for my written off car I was left in a situation where they took the courtesy car back as soon as my car was written off but it took them about 6 weeks after that before I got all the money off them. You couldn’t have made up a longer list of excuses they were giving me. I had one cheque for the write off value, then another for the extra to make up their original offer and then another for the extra for what I negotiated. I couldn’t buy a replacement equivalent car until that final cheque had cleared and it was really difficult to go look at cars without a car!

It was only after all this had actually happened that my insurer where prepared to help me to retrieve any costs I incurred during this time but I needed receipts to prove everything. But I mainly walked, cycled or blagged lifts off mates, which was a massive inconvenience but obviously didn’t have receipts to show for it!

Hopefully sharing my experience will help you avoid some of the pitfalls I fell into.

The claim (and hire bike) ends once you’ve agreed a cash settlement. I think it is 4 days grace you should be given.

So, assuming that they are clearly wrong and you are in the right, you tell them that you’ll be hiring a replacement bike until they agree to a sensible settlement figure and that they are responsible for this charge. You also send them a bunch of evidence.

FOS guide is what you need to follow http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/motor-valuation.html

If you are fully comp, you can always engage your insurer but that doesn’t necessarily give a better outcome.

Ultimately, you can just reject the settlement outright and take the driver to court.

If they carry on being twonks, then I would certainly be advising the driver that there is a difference between your actual loss (including the cost of hiring an alternative vehicle if they take the courtesy bike back) and what her insurance company is offering, and that unless they remedy it, you will be taking her to court instead.

It’s not really a ‘courtesy’ vehicle either, really. Makes it sound like they’re doing you a favour. It’s a temporary replacement which you would be hiring anyway, and therefore a way for them to keep their costs down.

Thanks for the replies! I fear mistake no.1 was to agree that the 3rd party’s insurers should handle it. I work in insurance, this is not the first non-fault claim I’ve made and I actually came out in profit in the past so perhaps I underestimated this lot (Ageas, since you ask). I had exactly the conversation that totalshell describes but have never been faced with such unwavering belligerence! My insurer just said “yeah, bad isn’t it?”

I’ll do them on the injury claim – I’d probably have let it drop if they’d been reasonable. Can anyone recommend a claims-4-U type of outfit?

Dont forget to claim for the gear you were wearing!!

Surely the insurance don’t just pick a figure to offer you . They must have a bike price guide book , like Glasses guide for cars . Ask them how they arrived at that figure , your estimate could be wrong also . Plenty of potential to add to a claim , clothing , helmet , hire bike etc . Injury .

A_A + 1
I’m wearing something n the region of £1200 worth of clothing and apart from my Daytons boots, none of the rest of it is particularly expensive at all.

I would be ringing them up every hour until they bucked their ideas up, creating merry hell with them. They might get away with it if you let them.

Find out their complaints procedure and start with it right now, follow it to the letter. You should be having a hire bike until you get that cheque in your hands or cash in the bank. If you aren’t getting it take the matter further, go to ombudsman if you need to.

Get quotes from a couple of bike shops for a direct replacement bike.
If there is any damage to your kit get quotes to have it repaired or replaced to the state is was before the crash.
Does a bike helmet need replacing like a cycle helmet when it is knocked? They need to replace that too.
Document every phone call and letter, ask for everything in writing.
Make sure you get checked out by a doctor and photograph every bruise and cut.

I know it sounds like a lot but it’s not hard to make sure you are treated fairly. Which at the moment you aren’t.

I was treated the same way after a cycle crash and I managed to get what I was due after doing all the above.

That person could have seriously injured or killed you. The insurance company should be glad it’s no more serious than it is, but they don’t care about you and just want to save money by treating you like crap.

Does a bike helmet need replacing like a cycle helmet when it is knocked?

Yes.

this sounds so familiar.

same shit happened to my dad

he went to motorcycle law scotland and is going through the courts to get his shit back.

although slightly different in that he was left in a hospital in another country and neither insurance would take fiscal responsibility so i was left out of pocket.

bike’s a write-off, cheque for £x is in the post. Woah, say I – show me where I can buy a similar bike for £x – you’re £400 short.

When you insure a bike (/car) you declare its value, no? That’s what I’d expect back from a write-off.

If the other party’s insurance is short I’d expect your own insurer to be chasing for that value. Otherwise, you’re over-insured in which case you’d be looking for a refund in premiums.

Might be worth mentioning your injuries if you get stonewalled. How’s your neck? Impact to hands on the bars? Legs and knees under the bike? I’m not for a second suggesting ambulance chasing, but the fear of it might get them to pay attention.

IANAL.

Can anyone recommend a claims-4-U type of outfit?

These people advertise on the radio around here,give them a call.

About Us

FOS guide is what you need to follow http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/motor-valuation.html

This is the single most useful bit of advice on this thread. Write/email them saying you’re fully aware of the FO’s rules on vehicle valuation, and if they don’t give you a reasonable figure you will have no qualms referring your case to the FO. I’ve done that in the past and had a cheque for the amount I was asking for in the post the same day.

http://www.motorclaimguru.co.uk/disputing-the-total-loss-value-from-your-insurance-company.html

Bonus news to make you happy: I’d imagine at this late stage in the year it will cost the insurer £550 just to have the case looked at by the Ombudsman (they get the first 25 disputed cases in the year for free, Ombudsman charge them for the 26th and subsequent referrals) so it’s in their interest to settle for the extra £400 you’re asking for.

The place I always recommend for accidents on bicycles do motorbikes too http://bikeline.co.uk/

Unfortunately, until the point at which you indemnify to point at which I was I’m unable to get to work. Consequently I will be pursuing you for the replacement value of the motorbike, also for the lost wages from my job, also my employers will be claiming the cost of the lost value of work which I’m not able to do. Or give me the money & a bit more for not making life really painful.

Finally getting somewhere… you know that little box you can tick for “legal expenses insurance” that costs £25-£30? Well it seems that’s the magic button in cases like mine… the lawyers have been unleashed, and boy do they seem to love their job… things are now happening!

Basically, the legal expenses policy is called Before the Event (BTE) cover, which obviates the need to call in the odious where-there’s-blame-there’s-a-claim merchants. Their fees are covered by the 3rd party’s insurance if they win, or the legal expenses insurance if they lose, and you keep 100% of any compensation. By contrast, the ambulance chasers work on a no-win-no-fee basis, and usually buy an After the Event (ATE) policy to cover their fees if they lose, the premium for which is deducted from your compensation if they win alongside their “success fee” (typically 25% of the award). Learned something!

just read the above about the legal expenses

Work in insurance myself too, standard practise is to allow someone hire vehicle/bike for 7 days from receipt of cheque, gives them time to pay in, cheque to clear and seek to buy new bike?

I’d agree their figure but purely on an interim basis, then seek to obtain quotes for replacement, look at bike trader website etc, if you can prove bike was worth more, then fight it, do not accept it in final settlement of the pre-accident value.

Make sure you get full price for your helmet that it would cost new, rest of the clothing you’ll get what the item was worth at the time of the accident, so depends upon condition and age.

If i can be of help, email is in profile, was a claimant lawyer for 10 years bringing the claims, and when i lost all faith in that, i switched to a legal team in insurers defending claims

When you insure a bike (/car) you declare its value, no? That’s what I’d expect back from a write-off.

What absolute nonsense…you can put any value you want on it.

Also, values will vary (normally decrease) throughout the term of your insurance.

You need to find 3 or 4 current adverts which show current asking prices.

Finally getting somewhere… you know that little box you can tick for “legal expenses insurance” that costs £25-£30? Well it seems that’s the magic button in cases like mine… the lawyers have been unleashed, and boy do they seem to love their job… things are now happening!

That’s the exact reason I always tick it. There’s more to insurance than getting the cheapest price.

Fyi the osbudsman.

Be very careful who you buy insurance from

As it turns out my dad’s insurance which obviously paid the most to Mcn to get a best in test for euro cover……..are underwritten by a company in Gibraltar and the osbudsman cant touch them.

Markerscummy