Thursday, June 12, 2008
12th June Sammy arrives with a sting in the tail.
Today we collected our new car - well, almost new. It was registered in March and has done 1300 miles thus far in its life.
The sales manager stopped using it as soon as we were able to put down a deposit.
The sales manager, Andrew, is a very pleasant man and we warmed to him as we shared tales of this and that.
This all felt very good and the new car feels good.
And for a while we felt very good indeed because it looked like there may be more money due to us.
We had not exactly forgotten an extra insurance policy that Bill thought was a good idea when we bought Ruby the Red; but we had dismissed it.
I had never wanted the policy because we were told it was valid for 1 year only - and Bill and I are both sure that we had been given that information.
The policy was for just such an incident as we had. It would top up the amount we would be paid for the written off car up to the original invoice amount that we had paid for it.
I guess Bill was anxious to protect his brand new baby and I let him do what he felt he needed.
In my view most insurance companies are little more than parasites, preying on our fears of untold disasters that might come our way; and they know that some insurance is unavoidable.
Anyway Andrew was surprised that we thought the policy was now null and void and brought up details of the previous transaction on the computer - no, it was definitely for the first 3 years of the life of the car.
So, when we got home Bill immediately phoned that company to see about making a claim.
But no - we can't do that!
Because we didn't do it at the start of proceedings we have not followed their small print procedures and therefore there can be no pay out.
I was so cross!
It wasn't just the money because we had known of the possibility of that for such a short time (but hey! It would have helped a lot!). I was cross because an insurance company had found a way of wriggling out of their commitment.
If nothing else, I suppose, I had the satisfaction of being right!
Andrew got told of this and advised a letter be written to that company and to send a copy to him also.
We also asked the solicitors who have been negotiating on our behalf what their opinion was. The reply was to send a copy of the letter to The Financial Omudsman.
So I concentrated my emotion into something positive and wrote a fair and well written letter explaining everything. It is so good to write things down to alleviate stress!
I wrote on Bill's behalf and in the letter he explains about the problems after an accident 300 miles from home, the trauma and the paperwork which one is not trained for and above all his poor wife's pain and his worry about the wife so soon after major surgery for bladder cancer.
I will sprawl myself prone on the ground and bare my soul to get Bill's just deserts! So, a bit of emotional blackmail to them won't come amiss.
These letters have now been sent.
Of course I doubt whether anything will come of it, but one has to try.
The reader will have a heart and express regret for our difficult situation - but no, we can't have the money!
Who knows?
It has taken the edge off our new acquisition just a bit. But I am pleased with Sammy the Silver - a Berlingo is just right for us.
I am not sure if I ever felt completely at home in Ruby - but then I hadn't yearned for a brand new car like Bill.
Bill has been pottering about putting things into the car that we would normally carry and checking one or two different switches and gadgets.
I had the job of sorting out a bouquet of flowers that I was given by Tates.
I think they have changed their staff and approach just a bit - there were no flowers when we bought Ruby and I just know that Andrew would not have allowed us to leave without fully knowing what all the paperwork was all about.
We will actually use the car very little over the next few days because of things we have to do, and the annual mileage will drop without the two or three journeys to and from Ardingly each week.
And of course, with the price of fuel - we use diesel - cutting mileage is a worthwhile aim, where possible.
So, now - a couple of pictures of the silver Berlingo and the proud owner.
The sales manager stopped using it as soon as we were able to put down a deposit.
The sales manager, Andrew, is a very pleasant man and we warmed to him as we shared tales of this and that.
This all felt very good and the new car feels good.
And for a while we felt very good indeed because it looked like there may be more money due to us.
We had not exactly forgotten an extra insurance policy that Bill thought was a good idea when we bought Ruby the Red; but we had dismissed it.
I had never wanted the policy because we were told it was valid for 1 year only - and Bill and I are both sure that we had been given that information.
The policy was for just such an incident as we had. It would top up the amount we would be paid for the written off car up to the original invoice amount that we had paid for it.
I guess Bill was anxious to protect his brand new baby and I let him do what he felt he needed.
In my view most insurance companies are little more than parasites, preying on our fears of untold disasters that might come our way; and they know that some insurance is unavoidable.
Anyway Andrew was surprised that we thought the policy was now null and void and brought up details of the previous transaction on the computer - no, it was definitely for the first 3 years of the life of the car.
So, when we got home Bill immediately phoned that company to see about making a claim.
But no - we can't do that!
Because we didn't do it at the start of proceedings we have not followed their small print procedures and therefore there can be no pay out.
I was so cross!
It wasn't just the money because we had known of the possibility of that for such a short time (but hey! It would have helped a lot!). I was cross because an insurance company had found a way of wriggling out of their commitment.
If nothing else, I suppose, I had the satisfaction of being right!
Andrew got told of this and advised a letter be written to that company and to send a copy to him also.
We also asked the solicitors who have been negotiating on our behalf what their opinion was. The reply was to send a copy of the letter to The Financial Omudsman.
So I concentrated my emotion into something positive and wrote a fair and well written letter explaining everything. It is so good to write things down to alleviate stress!
I wrote on Bill's behalf and in the letter he explains about the problems after an accident 300 miles from home, the trauma and the paperwork which one is not trained for and above all his poor wife's pain and his worry about the wife so soon after major surgery for bladder cancer.
I will sprawl myself prone on the ground and bare my soul to get Bill's just deserts! So, a bit of emotional blackmail to them won't come amiss.
These letters have now been sent.
Of course I doubt whether anything will come of it, but one has to try.
The reader will have a heart and express regret for our difficult situation - but no, we can't have the money!
Who knows?
It has taken the edge off our new acquisition just a bit. But I am pleased with Sammy the Silver - a Berlingo is just right for us.
I am not sure if I ever felt completely at home in Ruby - but then I hadn't yearned for a brand new car like Bill.
Bill has been pottering about putting things into the car that we would normally carry and checking one or two different switches and gadgets.
I had the job of sorting out a bouquet of flowers that I was given by Tates.
I think they have changed their staff and approach just a bit - there were no flowers when we bought Ruby and I just know that Andrew would not have allowed us to leave without fully knowing what all the paperwork was all about.
We will actually use the car very little over the next few days because of things we have to do, and the annual mileage will drop without the two or three journeys to and from Ardingly each week.
And of course, with the price of fuel - we use diesel - cutting mileage is a worthwhile aim, where possible.
So, now - a couple of pictures of the silver Berlingo and the proud owner.
