Wife’s PX London Road pinched from central Leeds yesterday … 🙁

Insured via AXA, and Wheelies on board to deal with claim.

Like for like new replacement of the same bike plus rack, pump, pannier bags, tool bag etc comes to around £1200.

Wheelies offer is £1400 in store or £1000 cash.

Am I obliged to accept that as their final offer, or to view it as their opening negotiating point? I don’t particularly object to getting the bike replaced via Wheelies but they don’t actually have a suitable CX type bike, with rack mounts, at an equivalent spec,in her size, in stock.

It doesn’t need to be a PX London Road either, but that ticked all the boxes. Trouble is, with the cash offer, we’d be out of pocket by shopping with PX.

So, can I go back to Wheelies and insist I want another London Road? And that they either need to source that or give the equivalent in cash?

Or even ask for eg Halfords vouchers so I can look at the Boardman CX Team?

That’s a big drop for the cash, certainly I lot more than when I choose that via AXA last year. Mine was the replacement bikes of cash which was 10% less than Wheelies replacement bikes.

I looked into it and the ombudsman apparently doesn’t like the reduction in cash value instead of a replacement via the insurers nominated supplier. I didn’t challenge it because I submitted receipts totalling seven grand and the cash offer was over eleven.

Previous threads suggest you can insist you want same bike and they’ll give you equivalent in cash.

But remember Wheelies can inflate the value of stolen bikes as they are in the dodgy position of being both the valuer and the supplier.

I’d urge you not to take a bike from them. I did and they were agonisingly bad when I needed to warranty a wheel and a frame later on. Incompetent and couldn’t give a shit about it.

Cheers for the advice.

Took it up with Wheelies today who told me there was a limit of £1k cash payout on my policy …

Checked with AXA … No such limit, only limit was £10k on personal items … So I asked for that!

Final deal, the £1400 ish Wheelies put the quote as, less excess = £1260 cash to go and buy the missus a new bike …

As it turns out, found a virtually unused Boardman Team CX in small on Fleabay for £550, picking up Friday … So all good!

How the hell can they reduce the amount, surely wheelies should just give you whatever your bike had cost abnd replace to equal value.

From numerous threads involving wheelies, push for the full cost to reach your account having read the ts and cs of your insurance.

Tell AXA you want the full amount in cash. A quick call to them and a lovely lady sorted it out for me as well as giving me some well needed sympathy for my recent loss.

^^^ … That’s what I got! (Less the excess), so all is good.

Wheelies told me that I was under insured and as such I wasn’t going to get much. AXA out then straight pretty quickly.

I read so many horror stories there was no way I was getting my bikes through them.