General Scumbag hit my car and took off!
- Thread starter martwho
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General Scumbag hit my car and took off!
OP
OP
Cheers, might well do that.
Have managed to find a previous thread with a similar repair job and the garages details.
Phoned them up and the w/shop engineer said he would be more than happy to speak to the insurance company and explain to them how flimsy these straps are and how they would in his opinion as a Fiat engineer break given any sudden impact.
Hope it works, if it does a bottle of whisky will be winging its way to him! :idea:
Have managed to find a previous thread with a similar repair job and the garages details.
Phoned them up and the w/shop engineer said he would be more than happy to speak to the insurance company and explain to them how flimsy these straps are and how they would in his opinion as a Fiat engineer break given any sudden impact.
Hope it works, if it does a bottle of whisky will be winging its way to him! :idea:
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Insurance companies engineer just called. They have spoken to the engineer I quoted. However he confirmed to them that the repairs they had made to skydomes previously were done due to wear and tear but they also explained that the mechanism is particularly flimsy and prone to breakage.
Because they repair was not caused by a similar incident they are not prepared to progress the claim. They did say though that they are arranging an independent assessment of the sunroof with one of their other approved repairers.
Still don't think i'm going to get a positive outcome as they also will have no experience of this mechanism and make assumptions!
Because they repair was not caused by a similar incident they are not prepared to progress the claim. They did say though that they are arranging an independent assessment of the sunroof with one of their other approved repairers.
Still don't think i'm going to get a positive outcome as they also will have no experience of this mechanism and make assumptions!
It may be interesting to see what HonestJohn.co.uk have to say, they've given me some brilliant advice before now.
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/askhj/makes/Fiat
If you sign up, assuming you aren't already a member you can ask them for advice. They usually reply within 24 hours.
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Have asked for some advice on 'Honest John' :idea:
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Ah bloody hell just got an email from Honest John saying that he doesnt answer technical questions and that I should post my question in the back room.
That means my 1000 word essay was a waste of time!:bang:
The insurer is Highway part of Liverpool Victoria.
That means my 1000 word essay was a waste of time!:bang:
The insurer is Highway part of Liverpool Victoria.
Only 2 stars out of 5, can see why now by the looks of it, the joys of budget insurance
http://www.defaqto.com/star-ratings/car-insurance?Search=highway
Was that the automated reply...
"Please note that Honest John does not answer DIY or mechanical questions. Please refer mechanical questions to our Back Room technical forum:"
I think this means they don't answer "how do I?" Questions. I've asked technical questions before and they/he replies and advices on legal points especially with your kind of questions.
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Reply from Honest John:
Simply tell the insurers that if they don't fix the sunroof that was obviously damaged in the crash, then you will have it fixed professionally and will sue them in the small claims track of the county court for the bill because they have breached the "absolute good faith" term of your insurance contract.
Unfortunately this would involve me shelling out for a very expensive repair, something that I wouldn't be able to do normally let alone just before Christmas!
Guess I will just have to see what happens with this independent assessment. :idea:
Simply tell the insurers that if they don't fix the sunroof that was obviously damaged in the crash, then you will have it fixed professionally and will sue them in the small claims track of the county court for the bill because they have breached the "absolute good faith" term of your insurance contract.
Unfortunately this would involve me shelling out for a very expensive repair, something that I wouldn't be able to do normally let alone just before Christmas!
Guess I will just have to see what happens with this independent assessment. :idea:
Make and official complaints and then write to the ombudsman, even if they don't rule in your favor it'll cost the insurer about £500
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Thought i'd take a punt:
Here's what I sent -
Hi Steve,
Firstly can I just say I am sorry to be troubling you with what might seem like a minor niggle.
I have been given your email address by a resourceful chap on ‘Fiat Forums’ and thought it is worth a shot.
My issue is I have a 2009 Fiat Grande Punto Abarth that was involved in a what my insurance company is calling a low speed rear end shunt.
The Skydome sunroof was fully open and extended at the time and was damaged to the extent it will not close electrically or manually.
Prior to this incident it was fully working and opened and closed perfectly.
My insurance company sent the car to Meridian Milano Abarth in Portsmouth Hampshire for an assessment and the result of this is that they suggested that the roof be replaced. My understanding of this is that the glass comes with the 2 vessels attached and as such is replaced as a whole.
They did also say in their opinion that the damage is unlikely to have been caused by a collision!
Here in lies my problem!
My insurance company is now refusing to repair my sunroof unless they get a confirmation from a Fiat dealer stating the damage was caused by the crash.
Firstly this dealer has no experience of what effect a rear end collision would have on this type of sunroof when deployed, also when speaking with the this garages service department the guy that I spoke to and explained that the sunroof was working perfectly prior to the incident was very dismissive bordering on rude and said that the assessment stood.
So currently my insurance company is repairing the rear end of my car and will return it open to the lovely british weather and without a garage to store it in I am in quite a predicament.
I have phoned many, many Fiat garages this morning trying to find someone with some experience of these roofs, but the only opinion I get is that these roofs don’t break! Which begs the question how is mine broken after a collision. You would think this information would be enough for my insurance company.
I have done some homework and it would seem the design of these vessels isn’t that great with the glass being held on to the vessels with a piece of plastic something akin to a watch strap and it would seem many other people have had them fail for no reason at all.
However my insurance company would not look for this info or care about it unless they receive something official.
I need a speedy resolution to this and you in your capacity could do me a great service and issue me with some sort of statement as to the fact that absolutely this sort of damage could occur during a collision.
I look forward to your response if it is possible.
Kind Regards,
Martin Hughes
And the response -
Re: Fiat Grande Punto Abarth
Dear Mr Hughes,
Thank you for your email to our Managing Director, Mr Steve Zanlughi. Due to the nature of Mr Zanlughi’s role, he unfortunately is unable to respond to you personally. Therefore all customer correspondence that comes into our office addressed to him is passed to our team to investigate and respond. However, please be assured that he is made fully aware of the situation.
I would like to investigate this matter further and I would kindly request if you can provide the following information:
• Vehicle registration number
• Vehicle chassis number
• Mileage
• Your full address
I look forward to receiving this information as your earliest convenience, so that we are able to offer you a full response.
Assuring you of our best attentions at all times.
Kind Regards,
Pam Nagra
EMEA Region – Directors’ Office
Fiat Group Automobiles UK Ltd
Fiat House
240 Bath Road
Slough
Berkshire
SL1 4DX
Office: +44 (0)1753 519 431
Email : [email protected]
I have replied and I will wait to hear what they say.
I dealt with Pam before when my steering wheel split open exposing the air bag out of warranty. She sorted it for me and was helpful.
I think I know who you are referring to at Meridien, an extremely rude and arrogant person clearly in the wrong job. My complaint ended with them asking me to take my custom elsewhere.
I think I know who you are referring to at Meridien, an extremely rude and arrogant person clearly in the wrong job. My complaint ended with them asking me to take my custom elsewhere.
It may be worth escalating your case to management level at the insurance company.
That Pam or another Pam? I wonder if they're all Pam, my heart skipped when I saw pam, as I thought it was the same Pam I'd dealt with, but alas that was Pam Kaur
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The independent assessor is viewing the car tomorrow, I have asked if I can attend. He is going to ring me when he is on his way. Fingers crossed he has a brain.
Anyone dealt with a situation like this before - advice?
Anyone dealt with a situation like this before - advice?
That Pam or another Pam? I wonder if they're all Pam, my heart skipped when I saw pam, as I thought it was the same Pam I'd dealt with, but alas that was Pam Kaur
You're probably right. Contacting them did get things resolved though however the case was quite different. I've found with 3 different brands that going to the top got things sorted though but obviously got a few backs up down the chain but if they done their job properly then I wouldn't have had to..
I have recently had a similar experience with an independent assessor, details of which I can't disclose unfortunately. Despite supposedly being independent they sided with the party who were paying (not me). When they visited me they seemed to have a relatively clear cut view of what was what and I thought it would all be resolved however that wasn't the case. Basically don't trust them! But that's only my experience so maybe yours will be completely different.
Keep us updated and good luck!
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Complete waste of time, met the guy who had done his assessment prior to me getting there.
He hadn't touched the car or tried to trace the nature of the fault. He did however say that he hadn't seen anything like it and that his assessment would be based on Meridian Milano Abarth's assessment! F**kin great!:bang:
He hadn't touched the car or tried to trace the nature of the fault. He did however say that he hadn't seen anything like it and that his assessment would be based on Meridian Milano Abarth's assessment! F**kin great!:bang:
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Just spoke to Pam Negra at Fiat U.K (Directors Office) very nice lady!
She is currently waiting from a call back from Meridian Milano Abarth so she can figure out whats going on. Fingers crossed.:worship:
She is currently waiting from a call back from Meridian Milano Abarth so she can figure out whats going on. Fingers crossed.:worship:
