This story may get confusing.

A few weeks ago the road where I live got flooded, the damage has effected a number of houses (luckily where I live escaped any damage) but my dads car was flooded, MK I Octavia GLX TDi 2000 W.

A couple of days later, the airbag warning light came on and stayed on despite drying the carpets out and removing the battery leads for 24 hours so I ended up taking the car to the dealers. They put it on their diagnostics and confirmed the airbag module was faulty, most likely due to flood damage.

Then we made a mistake, we told my dads insurance company who have since picked the car up (what is even more annoying is originally the insurance company were supposed to be picking the car up so the engineer can look at it, however, it appears as though it was actually sent straight to a salvage yard) and classed it as a CAT B write off. My dad isn't happy as he has spent money on the car keeping it in good nick e.g. recently had the air con re-gassed and a few minor electrical issues sorted by the local dealer, 4 new Goodyear tyres with around 1500 miles on them etc.

My dad has asked for the car back saying he will cancel the claim and repair the car himself, but the insurance company are saying they can not give him the car back, even though they have no paperwork relating to the car, is this correct?

They can't take your property, thats nonsense.

Although tbh, if its been flooded then you are better off without it, it will be nothing but problems.

CAT B cars can't go back on the road, they can be used for spares only. :(

Surely the car remains the property of the insuree until a payout figure is agreed

Surely the car remains the property of the insuree until a payout figure is agreed

i think if they see it as unfit for use on the roads they can take it but cant do wnything with it until the claim is settled

They have to give it back, irrespective of the salvage category. They can notify the DVLA that it is category B using DVLA form V23, but that's about it.

Hiya,

I presume the claim is not with us, but iI'm going to ask our claims team to have a look at this and give you as much advice as we can.

Jen

Hiya,

I presume the claim is not with us, but iI'm going to ask our claims team to have a look at this and give you as much advice as we can.

Jen

Many thanks for that. It is really whether we can have the car back and cancel the claim without any problems.

Hi there, my name is Becky, I'm a member of the Flux claims team and I'm logged on as Jenny from Adrian Flux Insurance.

We have spotted your post and would like to help out if needed. When a vehicle is deemed a category B total loss the insurance company is required by law to pass it to a registered salvage agency to be dismantled as they are unsafe to go back on the road, which is why the client cannot have it back. However, I am interested as to how a flood can cause enough damage to deem the vehicle a category B and so if you are happy for me to take a look for you I can have a word with the insurers and see what I can find out if you are one of our policyholders. If not it might be worth having a look into this with them, possibly by reviewing an engineer's report (either theirs or possibly your own as they wont always disclose this to the client). A second opinion, where possible, is always useful if there is a point of contention.

If you are insured with Flux, if you would like to supply your name and address so that we can trace your policy then I would be happy to help.

Regards

becky

Edited 28 October, 200817 yr by Jenny @ Flux

Hi Becky (Jenny) :confused:

My dad accepted the payout this morning of £2300. They deemed it a Cat B write off because the water was dirty and probably contained sewage :eek:, apparently the ABI code of practice states that clean water, ok, car can be repaired, dirty water = Cat B :(.

It just seems a bit strange that an insurance can decide a car is a Cat B write off and refuse to let the owner have it back when they don't own the vehicle.

Many thanks for you interest, I'll certainly be giving you a call come renewal time on my insurance.

Thanks - I thought I'd get one of the claims girls to log on as me as she has more experience on the subject. Sorry to confuse Don't hesitate to ask us if you need any more advice.

Jen