Insurance woes

[Clum]

I'm posting this as a bit of a therapy session / for confirmation that I'm not insane...

Some of you will have seen that my bike was stolen early in the month - the red street triple. The first point to note is that within an hour of it being taken, I phoned the insurance (Hastings Direct) to notify them of the theft; emphasis on the word 'notify'. I was very clear that I wasn't initiating a claim. Just over two weeks ago, the bike was found and I had it forensically recovered by the police at a cost to myself, payable on collection after they were finished with it. It's also worth noting that I did this purely to help catch the thieves. The bike was found just around the corner from home and could have been back in my garage after a 5 minute push if I had just taken it away.

Fast forward to today, I receive a recorded delivery letter from Police Scotland through the door saying that the bike was in storage with a company called 911 RECOVERY, about 20 minutes from home. A somewhat threatening letter I might add, obviously a standard template for people who have had cars towed. Threats of legal action and the like. Keen to get my bike back, I went straight down to their yard. When I got there I was told it had been collected by my insurance company the previous day, and all fees paid!

Now I'm really, really annoyed by this. At no point did I instruct the insurance company to take action and recover my vehicle. At no point did they contact me to advise that they were doing so. How did they even know where it was, and a full 24 hours before I did, apparently? Phoning them up eventually reveals that it has been taken to another yard about 25 miles form home, and I am told to contact them directly to arrange getting the bike back. When I attempt this, I'm told that they won't release the bike without authorisation from the insurance company! They have agreed to do this, but have said I will have to cover all fees and pick it up half way across the country. I don't even know if the thing runs. The place it was originally stored was a 30 second walk to the bike shop I originally bought the triple from. Kerry from Hastings doesn't understand what the problem is, and as far as she is concerned, the Police authorised them to collect the bike. Rubbish.

I'm now left in the position that Hastings Direct have initiated a claim on the bike, and recovered it without my consent. In my mind, my bike has been stolen again, and I am honestly considering phoning the police to notify them of the theft. Would this be ridiculous? Anyone faced a similar situation?


Edit: oh and the cost of recovery and 1 days storage was £180. Profiting from crime?!

 

[Clum]

Report it TWOC as that's exactly what's happened.

It may seem a bit extreme and petty but it's the only way insurance companies will learn they can't just do as they wish.

That's actually a good idea, and the way I feel at the moment it doesn't seem extreme at all. Perhaps I'll wait until tomorrow and see if they sort it out, or just keep being difficult.

The insurance girl kept rabbiting on about how they have saved me money by recovering it. That's just total crap as I went down to pick it up straight away. Obviously just a standard manoeuvre they do to save themselves money on storage in the event of a claim.

 

[Clum]

I've gone through the policy documents and can't see anything relevant. It seems quite obvious to me that they have either maliciously, or negligently initiated a claim without my consent. Everyone I've spoken to, from the recovery people to the Police have said that they've never heard of anything like this. The Police in particular have said that as far as they are aware, nobody should have been able to collect the bike from the original recovery company without ID and a copy of the V5.

I'm going to pursue this as far as I can, as it's just not on. These insurance companies just hide behind the security of people being legally required to have insurance, and make their own rules up.

Going to be Monday at the earliest before I get the bike back now, so another week of taxi/bus fares to add to the cost of this. Incredibly frustrating.

 

[Clum]

Managed to get the bike delivered back to me today. The state it's in is unreal! It was virtually immaculate when it was found, with the exception of the fuel cap and ignition damage. Now the police are finished with it, it's covered in printing dust, and I mean covered (fair enough), but it's also been stored outside in a puddle apparently, and is covered in dirt and mud. Also one of the rear fairings has been snapped, as has the left mirror stem. These were 100% not damaged before it was recovered, and I have the pictures to prove it.

Stay well clear of Hastings Direct, 911 Recovery and Copart Direct, people!

 

[Clum]

I imagine since the people handling the bike are expecting it to be repaired at the insurer's expense they don't even try to be careful with it.

I suspect you're right there. I've learned from the mechanic I took it down to, that if it goes through the insurance, it'll likely be written off due to the steering lock being part of the frame. If they thought it was a write off then ye, they probably just left it on its side in the mud!

Such a shame because the bike really was in showroom condition before it was taken.

 

[Clum]

In the thrilling conclusion to this saga, I found out yesterday that Hastings did inspect the bike while they had it, after collecting from the Police. They've listed it as a CAT D with £3200 damages, despite the bike sitting with my mechanic just now being repaired for £390. They won't remove the write off.

So now I'm forced into making a claim, losing several years no claims, paying £450 excess and suffering drastically increased premiums for however many years.

They should never have even had my bike. Beyond angry.