My car got smashed into while parked. RACV trying to scam me

stumo on 25/05/2016 - 19:29
Last edited 25/05/2016 - 19:36

Our car was parked out on the road at home, when I hear a massive crash sound. Neighbour came over saying our car had been hit. The perp (for lack of a better word) was still there with her car immobile as front guard had crushed back into the front wheel. Our car had a minor dent. Don't buy a brand new honda civic lol.

Anyway she and I are both fully comp insured. yay.

My insurer, RACV, accepted my "claim" (even though technically I'm not making a claim against them), I'm just using them to assist as part of my fully comp policy. Isn't that what I'm supposed to do?. I'm taking it to their assessor soon to find out damage and how long it will take etc.

But then RACV tried to tell me I'd have to pay for the hire car while mine is getting repaired. I have comp insurance with RACV but no hire car option. I said "but won't you just bill the perps insurance company for the hire car, its irrelevant whether or not I have hire care option on my own insurance package." They said no. Seems rather strange to me.

Does this mean I'm better off just claiming against the perps insurer directly? I have her claim number. I thought comp insurance policy was supposed to do all this on my behalf, not to try to scam me out of what I'm rightfully entitled to?

TLDR; Hire car cover on my own policy is irrelevant when the at fault driver has been identified and has full liability. So then why are RACV trying to tell me I can't have a hire car?

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Comments

  • airzone on 25/05/2016 - 19:41
    +3

    You can use the specific hire car companies like right2drive or compass claims and they'll deal with it for you.

  • tomclancy on 25/05/2016 - 19:42
    +4

    Does this mean I'm better off just claiming against the perps insurer directly? I have her claim number.

    Yes. Claim through perp's insurance. Most insurers have a dedicated line for 3rd parties (like yourself) and if you call and give the claim number they will sort everything out. They will cover you hire car with no out of pocket for you (if you go for a Hertz/Thrifty/Avis car rental you will have to put your credit card down for the bond, if you use Compass Claims then you won't have to but there is a very small chance the perp's insurance company won't approve the Compass Claims expense - it doesn't happen very often but sometimes they have refused to pay it)

    • aragornelessar on 25/05/2016 - 22:33
      +1

      This happened to us - our insurer actually recommended we contact the other party's insurer to claim since if we lodged a claim through our own it would affect our excess. They had hire car coverage and I had them confirm that we would be reimbursed. They had a few things that we couldn't claim back, but after it was done, we sent them the invoice and they paid us accordingly.

      One lady did say we wouldn't be reimbursed for the hire car, but that was amended by another phone call to another person, so if you can get it in writing, that wouldn't hurt!

  • tunzafun001 on 25/05/2016 - 19:46
    +2

    I'm guessing by ticking the hire car option your insurance company are saying that they will organise a hire car for you, and then chase up the cost from the at fault driver. If you don't chose that option, then technically you could still get a hire car, but then would need to chase up the compensation for costs from the at fault driver by your own legal means.

    I could be wrong, and I wish you luck. Perhaps when you look for a repairer, look for one that offers a hire car at no extra charge?

  • stumo on 25/05/2016 - 19:55

    ok thanks for the responses guys. I will wait and see what the RACV assessor says first, them probably just contact her insurer. I might actually look into getting some kind of cash settlement anyway, since I can easily fix my car myself.

  • eatwell365 on 25/05/2016 - 20:39
    +1

    no need to claim hire car yourself - notmyfault.com or right2drive.

    • Hellfire on 26/05/2016 - 09:36
      +1

      Be careful using these 3rd party accident hire car companies. They typically have a massive excess on the car they give you that you'll need to pay upfront if you have an accident, regardless of fault.

      I've got a friend who is still tying to get $3000 back, 12 months later, after a not at fault accident despite giving full details of the other party including their comprehensive insurer.

      • eatwell365 on 26/05/2016 - 12:51

        Good point. The two I have spoken to will match the excess of my current comprehensive policy in case accident happens to the hire car.

        I have hire car option covered from comprehensive but choose 3rd party claim because they match the hire car with the same level of your own vehicle and deliver the hire car to you.

  • StewBalls on 25/05/2016 - 22:40

    TLDR; Hire car cover on my own policy is irrelevant when the at fault driver has been identified and has full liability. So then why are RACV trying to tell me I can't have a hire car?

    I got waived off years ago in the same situation by the other party's insurer for the same thing, they reckoned it wasn't part of the real 'quantifiable damages'…I hope you get a better result now than I did then.

  • DarkOz on 26/05/2016 - 06:51

    I don't think RACV was trying to scam you. It's just that they don't want to go the distance with you and for you!

    If your insurance doesn't include a hire car then your insurer doesn't need to provide it. If the perp is legally liable then either the perp or her insurance company is paying for it. You can follow that up personally or through a willing third party representing you.

    Next time. Don't park a tank on the street!

  • Gershom on 26/05/2016 - 09:39
    +1

    I have comp insurance with RACV but no hire car option.

    So where's the beef? Are you gettin upset that they didn't deliver a service you never ordered? Sheeh!

    • Baysew on 26/05/2016 - 12:54

      So where's the beef?

      Pulled Beef is the scam

      RACV is not trying to scam OP.

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