I've never had to deal with an insurance claim so it's an area I'm not too hot on.

 

Three weeks ago my father-in-law was sat stationary in traffic on the motorway and was lightly rear ended by a van. The driver was apologetic and accepted responsibility. The damage is minor and seems to comprise a couple of ripples in the rear bumper plastic including one where the paint has cracked. The tailgate, light clusters and tow bar bracket are unscathed. Ordinarily he wouldn't do anything about it but he's only had this Tiguan a couple of weeks and is quite proud of it as it's quite an upgrade from the cars he's had before.

 

My father-in-law and the van driver exchanged details and continued on their way. My father-in-law hasn't contacted his insurers, but keeps talking about the damage so he's clearly not going to be happy if he leaves it. The van driver seems to have contacted his insurer (AXA) despite there being no visible damage to his van as my father-in-law received a letter last week (attached to this post) from a company called Action Assistance (www.action365.co.uk) who claim to be working on behalf of AXA. There are few bad reports about this Action Assistance on Google reviews and other sites, e.g. https://www.tellows.co.uk/num/01614867770, http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1304658.

 

Have you dealt with this sort of situation? How should I advise my father-in-law to proceed?

 

Thanks for any advice.

Edited 10 July, 20169 yr by Nick P

I would think the best thing your F i L could do is contact his own insurance company and let them deal with it.

 

 

After all, not his fault by the sound of it and he's obviously thinking about it

He should now declare the accident to his own insurance company as it is likely logged on the CUE database now and if they find out he was involved in an accident he didn't declare by them self they may take a dim view of this.

He can go via Albany Assistance directly if he wishes. He should be entitled to a courtesy car whilst his is being repaired. If he goes this route, he only needs to declare the accident to his insurance company for recording purposes only.

He can claim via his own insurance also. If he has legal cover they will recover his excess also. Depending on his policy, he may or may not get a courtesy car.
 

Go to the 3rd party's insurer if you can. Saves lots of hassle. If he's admitted an accident to them they should sort you out.

 

Rather than your insurer doing it then claiming back from the other. Takes ages and is often screwed up.

Get him to contact his insurer and let them deal with it.

 

3rd party insurers if you go direct will be after the cheapest, quickest way to get rid of you.  This may also include dealing with a non manufacturer approved bodyshop for your make of vehicle which will void any anti-corrosion warranty on the vehicle.  Let alone actual warranty.

 

Dealt with a 3rd party before and it was an absolute nightmare to get the car right again.  In the end had to go through my legal cover to sort

IMHO all insurers 'recommended' bodyshops are bargain basement.

 

My insurers chosen shop did more damage to the car than the 18 wheeler that clipped it (overspray, damaged alloy, burned paint, ruined rubbers). Took 6 months to get sorted and ended with the whole car getting resprayed to correct the damage done by the first bodyshop.

 

So make sure it's going to get fixed where you want not where they want.

Edited 3 August, 20169 yr by Aspman

Just thought I'd follow up on this in case it helps anyone in the future. He got the repair done by Action Assistance and the work looks good. They were just very persistent try to get the people who were in the car to say they had whiplash.

Just thought I'd follow up on this in case it helps anyone in the future. He got the repair done by Action Assistance and the work looks good. They were just very persistent try to get the people who were in the car to say they had whiplash.

 

He'll get those calls forever more.

 

It's 6 (nearly 7) years since that lorry clipped my Octavia and I still get calls from them "I believe you've been in an accident...."

 

I've tried telling them it was a wing mirror and door so they've no chance of claiming an injury.

I've tried telling them to **** off

I've made up stupid stories about how the accident involved irate zoo animals, a rolled tanker that killed thousands, aliens, a goat was driving not me.

Nothing makes them bugger off.

 

Blocked a few numbers, gone TPC (numerous times) threatened them with the ICO etc etc.