I need advice with regards to a potential complaint against my Car Insurance company?

Question

May 2009 Car Passed MOT (I have receipt). I drive car from the garage, 1.5 miles to my work accommodation.
2 days later I begin to drive it to my home address, however 10 minutes after getting on the motorway the bonnet flew up and crushed the windscreen and the entire front of the car.
The car was written off by my insurer and they eventually paid out £2000, I informed them about the MOT and that I didn't think the garage returned the car to me in the same state that I had handed it over, i.e. with the bonnet secured. In the meantime I went out and bought a new car on finance, and my insurance policy was resumed, at a slightly more premium due to the different car. After the insurance investigator had concluded his findings I was informed the conclusion was that it had occurred due to a rusted bonnet latch. Nearly a full year later when my policy was renewed in April 2010, my premium sky-rocketed as I had no 'no-claims' and I had a claim against me as 'Driver Hit Third Party & At Fault'. I was informed that this is the standard definition for the accident I had, and at this point I realised that my insurers had not chased the garage to recover the cost of writing the car off, instead they just put it against me. The way I see it, either they didn't return the car to me in the state it had been handed over, or they passed my car's MOT when it shouldn't have, either way they're in the wrong, and the insurers had this proof. Last year I questioned my insurance company and all they did was forward me a grainy photo of the bonnet latch. 

So my question is do you think I have a case to complain to my insurers to reinstate my no claims bonus and remove the fault from me, and paying back any premiums that i've overpaid since?

Or, should I chase the garage for compensation for the added premiums i've suffered because of their incompetency in either handing the car back in an un-roadworthy state, or passing an MOT when it shouldn't have.

Or should I give up?

Regards

? · Accepted Answer

This is all unfortunate, and very vexing for you.

I think there are too many variables and uncertainties here for you to take any effective action.

The insurers are not at fault- why should they pursue the garage? It's nothing to do with them.

You are looking to blame someone (other than yourself- that point seems to escape you), but your chances of successfully blaming the garage are very small.

I agree it's not satisfactory at all, but do consider knowing when to stop wasting your own time, effort, stress and yes even more money.

Neil B · Answer

If the bonnet catch was in good condition, then the bonnet will NOT have come up!  Even if it had somehow come unlatched, there is a secondary catch which is designed to stop it doing what you have described, so the garage should not have passed it for MOT with it in the state it was in.  Problem is that it's now been so long there is basically nothing you can do about it other than find a better garage, and check your own car occasionally.  I can't believe you've never opened the bonnet of your car to fill the screen wash or something, and honestly if you'd done that you should have noticed if the bonnet catch was that damaged or rubbish that it would fail!

Timbo is here · Answer

The MOT pass applies at the moment it passes - 2 days or 2 hours later it does not guarantee that the car is still roadworthy. The bonnet catch could have been fine when the car passed and not 2 days later and neither you, the insurer or the garage have means to prove anything one way or the other.
One of the terms and conditions of your insurance policy will have been that the insurer gets the last say on whose fault anything is - in this case, unfortunately they have decided it is your fault for using a car with a rusty bonnet catch.
Save yourself anymore time and expense by dropping this as you will get nowhere.

Anonymous · Answer

You have no claim against your insurer because you did have an accident causing them to pay out on a claim. It wasn't their fault.
The garage should have checked the bonnet catch - the reasons for failure are;
 
A bonnet that cannot be safely secured in the closed position
An excessively deteriorated, ineffective or insecure (bonnet) retaining device

If it failed due to rot two days after an MOT, it looks like this could mean the garage is liable.
If the bonnet catch was just stiff, this would be difficult to pin on the garage.
However, bonnet catches have a two part mechanism, and I suspect the bonnet wasn't closed properly before you drove, allowing the safety catch to be put under stress & fail.
It would be your responsibility to notice this prior to driving.

The biggest issue is the timescale: You should have pursued the garage yourself to recover any 'out of pocket' expenses, and surely you would have realised some time ago that your insurer would have no financial interest in doing this - especially if you don't have legal cover on your policy to pay for your insurer to pursue any uninsured losses.

From your question, you were told this in April two years ago, so why the two year wait before attempting to reopen this case?

Chris · Answer

Yo, I suggest you do both - that is chase the garage and the insurance company. That way you may have a chance but never ever give up. Its your cash and someone is stealing it .

The bonnet catch should have been inspected it is part of the mot = check for correct function and wear and tear.

boy boy · Answer

i have to agree with evelyn on this one ..you may think im biased ..i own an mot station ..you have no proof against anybody ..and the accident was your fault ..you drove away from the station and two days later the bonnet was still down ..when a car is serviced the bonnet catch is normally greased ..try sueing the garage you had it serviced ..you can even blame me if you want

Anonymous · Answer

It's up to you as a driver to ensure your car is roadworthy, not the garage. 

The bonnet catch isn't tested specifically for the MOT so they wouldn't have been looking for it within the remit of an MOT test.

Forget it, there is no case.

Pauline · Answer

It's down to you to check over your vehicle before driving off. 
If the bonnet wasn't fully latched it wouldn't sit correctly, and would look odd.

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I need advice with regards to a potential complaint against my Car Insurance company?

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