When it comes to collision repairs, it pays to know your accident repair rights. We are all too familiar with this and we try to make it known that in the event of a crash, it is YOUR legal right to have your vehicle repaired at YOUR bodyshop of choice. Here at DipitAutocare we can manage your claim and recover payment from your insurer if you choose to claim on your insurance.

Remember…

It’s your car and you have the right to choose where to have it repaired. Your insurer is obliged to pay for all reasonable costs of repair. That is the legal position according to the Office of Fair Trading.

Your insurer may try and divert you to a repairer that provided them with special discounts or kickbacks – they may refer to such a repairer as ‘Approved’ or ‘Authorised’, (suggesting that any other repairer is someone ‘Unapproved’ or ‘Unauthorised’). While your insurer may recommend a repairer to you, in most situations it is illegal for them to try and pressure you to use their choice of repairer. The Association of British Insurers, The Director-General of the VBR, The Office of Fair Trading and The Financial Ombudsmen Services have all confirmed their agreement on the point.

If your insurer does try to pressure you into using their choice of repairer, the FOS considers this a significant ethics breach and you can report this matter to them and register a complaint.  They will provide you with a reference number. Immediately after doing this, call your insurer and advise them that you wish to raise a: “Chief Executive Complaint” and that you are expressing dissatisfaction with their service.

When they ask what your complaint is respond with:

“I would like to raise a complaint about the inclusion of an increased excess on my policy in the event that I wished to use my own repairer. I understand this to be a breach of the “Unfair term in consumer contract regulations 1999 which is now Part 2 of the Consumer Rights Act

A quote from DipitAutocare is all you need.

You are not required by law (unless you were explicitly told otherwise when taking out your policy) to use your insurers repairer or to collect multiple quotes that they then choose from. If you want DipitAutocare to carry out your repair, we can forward the quote to your insurers. They are then legally obliged to pay for your repairs unless they can show that the cost of doing so is unreasonable.

If you require any assistance in deciding whether you should claim on your insurance or any help managing your claim, contact use – we can help.