THURSDAY
NOVEMBER 30, 2006
Accident occurred Thursday November 30 at 12 noon, St Georges Rd & Woolton St, Thornbury.
A 1991 Toyota Camry Sedan (FLW 520) drove through a Give Way saign without stopping at the intersection of Woolton St and St Georges Rd, Thornbury and collided with Sue-Anne Ellis driving along St Georges Rd toward Bell St in her Peugeot 307cc Sport (SVC 311). The Camry T-boned Sue-Anne’s car hitting her squarely in the driver’s side door without braking.
The accident was attended by Senior Constable Steve Hall of Northcote Police (9403 0200)
D. Manenti of Summer Hill Crash Repairs was the tow-truck driver on the scene. The Peugeot was towed to Summerhill Crash Repairs.
Ambulance, council workers and fire-brigade all attended the scene.
Tim Ellis called Ansvar insurance when he returned home at approximately 1.30pm and reported the accident. Ansvar Insurance Claim Number 306 679
Later that day Sam, from Summerhill Crash Repairs contacted Bayford Motors (owners of City Peugeot) and arranged for them to come the next day to quote on repairing the Peugeot.
Tim called Ansvar and asked about the possibility of getting a hire car or a replacement vehicle. He was told the crash repairers might offer him a replacement car if he asked them, but if Tim was to get a hire car he must be aware that if the other driver does not have insurance then Ansvar may not be able to recover that cost from the other driver and, in that case, Tim would be liable for the cost of the hire car.
FRIDAY
DECEMBER 1, 2006
The price of Sue-Anne’s car, when new, was $56,990 (add full leather trim at $5,500 and metallic paint at $700) total cost $63,190.
Tim started researching the internet searching used card ads Australia-wide for2004 Peugeout 307cc Sports with full leather trim and metallic paint. He found only five cars in the whole country:
- DEALER AD 1 - $35,550 in NSW. No leather trim or metallic paint. 76,834kms.
- DEALER AD 2 - $44,995 in VIC. No leather trim or metallic paint. 31,240kms.
- PRIVATE AD 1 - $42,995 in NSW. No leather trim or metallic paint. 34,300kms.
- PRIVATE AD 2 - $44,500 in QLD. No leather trim or metallic paint. 26,000kms.
- PRIVATE AD 3 - $37,550 in NSW. No leather trim or metallic paint. 64,000kms.
These prices seemed quite low, so to make a more accurate assessment, Tim researched prices of the less expensive 2005 307cc Dynamic, as more of these were on the market:
- PRIVATE AD 1 - $44,900 in QLD.
- PRIVATE AD 2 - $42,990 in VIC.
- PRIVATE AD 3 - $44,990 in NSW.
- PRIVATE AD 4 - $48,990 in NSW.
- PRIVATE AD 5 - $42,990 in NSW.
Tim was told by Glenn Anderson of Regan Motors that there were no used 2004 Peugeout 307cc Sports with full leather trim and metallic paint available in Australia, and only one 2006 model in the country until May 2007. The price of a 2006 model in 2007 from Glenn Anderson will be around $61,000.
Tim called Kai Smith of Mt Gravatt Peugeot in Qld, who had the 2006 model (black with white leather) and was told it’s price was $65,279.
MONDAY
DECEMBER 4, 2006.
Tim called Ansvar to see if the assessment was in yet. He was told that, at this stage, it looked like the car could be repaired ($20,000 to $30,000 in repairs) and that he would get it back in two to three weeks. Tim asked about the quality of the repairs and was told repeatedly that the repairs were guaranteed for the life of the vehicle. Tim was told the assessor would be looking at the car on Thursday, December 7. No explanation was given for the delay in assessing the vehicle.
Tim called Sue-Anne and told her the good news.
THURSDAY
DECEMBER 7, 2006
Tim called Ansvar around noon but was told the assessor had not been to the Crash Repairs to see the car as yet. Tim again asked about a hire car as it was now known the other driver had insurance with GIO. Ansvar again warned Tim that he could be liable for the cost of the hire car if they could not recover it from the other driver’s insurance company.
Around 5pm the Summerhill Crash Repairs phoned Sue-Anne to let her know the assessor had been and had deemed the car a write-off so they were towing it away. They asked her if she needed to get anything out of the vehicle before it left.
FRIDAY
DECEMBER 8, 2006
Tim called Ansvar to get the assessor’s report, Ansvar told him they hadn’t heard from the assessor yet.
MONDAY
DECEMBER 11, 2006
Assessor Trent Kendall called at 8.30am and spoke to Tim Ellis. He explained he would call Tim with a valuation later that day. Tim asked why it was taking so long and Trent explained he had no idea. He was told to value it on December 7 and explained “Peugeots take a while to price.” He also asked Tim “Did the car have a 6 stacker CD?” Tim replied “Did you actually look at the car?” Trent explained he was unfamiliar with Peugeots. He said he had looked up a price on Glass’s Guide on the internet and it was around $46,000. He said he had called Peugeot and was waiting for them to call back. Trent explained the car could not be repaired because “the driveshaft is broken and it’s dripping oil.”
TUESDAY
DECEMBER 12, 2006
Trent Kendall phoned Tim at 8.30am and apologized for not calling last night as he said he couldn’t get to a phone. He said he had not completed the report and would get back to Tim by the end of the day. He explained how he was having trouble getting information about the car as he was unfamiliar with it. Tim gave him websites where he had found similar cars for sale and the phone number of Glenn Anderson at Regan Motors Peugeot who would be able to answer any questions.
7.45pm Trent Kendall called Tim from his carphone and told him he’d done the valuation decided the market value of the 2004 Peugeout 307cc Sport with full leather trim and metallic paint was $44,650.
WEDNESDAY
DECEMBER 13, 2006
Tim called Ansvar and they said they hadn’t received the assessor’s report yet, but would call him when they did. Tim explained his concerns about the apparent lack of expertise of Trent, the assessor. He also asked why the assessor hadn’t attended the car sooner than December 7 and he was told that the delay was caused because the Crash Repairers took so long in getting their quote together. He was told that, with an expensive car like the Peugeot quotes can take several hours. Tim replied that he could understand several hours, but not an entire week.
THURSDAY
DECEMBER 14, 2006
Tim called Ansvar (spoke to Matt) and they said they had received the assessor’s report and were satisfied with it’s thoroughness. They said it consisted of a Glass’s Guide valuation and several ads for similar cars from the internet. (These ads are the ones that Tim pointed out to Trent on Monday the 11th).
Tim paid $11 for a Glass’s Guide report and got the same “report” that the assessor had presented to Ansvar. He emailed this to Matt together with the ads for similar cars from the internet. Tim pointed out that the Glass’s Guide did not take into account the condition of the car, which was excellent, and it was intended as a guide only. He also pointed out that in the general Glass’s guide it suggests that a 2004 Peugeout 307cc Sport which had done 44,000kms (Sue-Anne’s had done 34,000kms) would sell at a Dealer Price between $42,000-$51,240. This was inconsistent with the rest of the Glass’s Guide:
|
General Glass’s Guide |
Specific $11 Valuation |
Dealer Trade: |
$30700-36300 |
$37,275 (Above top price) |
Personal buy/sell: |
$32670-39930 |
$41,002 (Above top price) |
Dealer retailer-franchise: |
$42700-51240 |
$44,650 (Well below top price) |
Tim also spoke to Nick, the owner of Glass’s Guide who explained that the assessor should have been using the more detailed ‘commercial’ section of the guide which industry professionals subscribe to. This more detailed assessment would have given a higher price for the car.
Tim spoke to Ansvar and explained his concern with the inconsistencies of the assessment and they offered to have the car valued again by an independent assessor.
FRIDAY
DECEMBER 15, 2006
Tim called the Insurance Ombudsman who gave him the Ansvar Complaints number. Tim called Russell Spencer at Ansvar and explained the situation.
Around 5pm Tim was called by the Ansvar State Manager, Cam Bradford, who said he was looking into the complaint. He said the car had been reassessed and he was just waiting for the report. He said he would get back to Tim first thing on Monday morning.
MONDAY
DECEMBER 18, 2006
After 5pm the State Manager called back and said that he had the second assessment and the assessors had used the Glass’s Guide and come back with a lower price of $44,590 He said that they had spoken to a dealer (Regan Motors) who said that they would sell a 2004 Peugeout 307cc Sport with full leather trim and metallic paint for $40,000-$42,000. (Tim later called Glenn Anderson at Regan Motors and discovered that it was Matt from Ansvar who called, not the assessors, and spoke with David Regan who is not a valuer. Matt called three times, finally describing the car correctly on the third call),
The State Manager offered Tim a price of $45,000 including GST and asked Tim what he wanted to do. Tim explained that he was still not happy with the price or the way the who claim had been handled. Tim asked if the car could be repaired as Trent had told him it was a write-off. The Manager said it could be repaired, but as the initial quote was $37,000 it was deemed too expensive to repair. They would instead, pay us $45,000 and sell the body of the car for scrap at $6,500. (Later that week, Tim was told by another source that Fowles said they would give Ansvar $8,000 for the car, not $6,500). Tim said that it was still cheaper for the insurance company to do repair it rather that pay $45,000, but the State Manager said the repair cost was just an estimate, and not a quote, and that the repairs would most likely be more expensive. Tim asked for a full quote as Sue-Anne would much prefer the car repaired than have to find an extra $15,000 to buy a replacement vehicle. The State Manager said he would send it back from Fowles to Summerhill Crash Repairs for a quote.
He called Tim back an hour later and expressed concern saying the Crash Repairers said the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) had been damaged in the crash, and because of that the car was not considered roadworthy and may not be worth repairing. He said they would contact VicRoads and find out if it could be re-issued with a VIN and then repaired, or not.
TUESDAY
DECEMBER 19, 2006
At 3pm the State Manager phoned Tim to tell him that the VIN issue had been sorted out and the car was on it’s way to Summerhill and the quote would be done within 24 hours. Tim expressed concern that he had initially been told the reason for the delay in the first assessment was that Ansvar were waiting for the Crash Repairers to get their quote together – that’s why the assessor had to wait until December 7 – but the repairers were ready for him on December 1. The Manager said he would look into it.
WEDNESDAY
DECEMBER 20, 2006
At 5.45pm Cam Bradford, the State Manager of Ansvar phoned Tim to tell him that the Crash Repair quote had come in at $33,040 but that quote would have to be assessed as some items had question marks against them. He hoped the assessment would have been done today, but the assessor was unable to get to the car in time, but he assured Tim he would be call him with a final figure within 24 hours.
THURSDAY
DECEMBER 21, 2006
9am and Sam from Summerhill Crash Repairs phones Tim to let him know that the assessor has been and the repair has been approved at $35,000.
5.45pm and Cam from Ansvar calls Tim to let him know that the assessor has been and the repair has been approved. Cam asks if Tim would like him to email him with the options, the car could be repaired, or it could be written-off and Sue-Anne would get a $45,500 cheque. (Note, the figure has now gone up by $500). Tim said to repair the car and Cam hesitated, explaining he wasn’t sure what the next stage was, whether a verbal assurance was enough, but he’d look into it. Tim asked Cam “Will Ansvar or Summerhill let us know when the car is ready?” Cam replied “Yes. It will either be us or Summerhill.”
FRIDAY
DECEMBER 22, 2006
Sam spent all day faxing and phoning Mat at Ansvar to get authorization to begin the repair. At the end of the day he finally made contact and was told that Mat was on leave. He asked to speak to anyone who was able to authorize it and was told that Cam could, but he had left and would be back on Wednesday. Sam said he would phone first thing on Wednesday.
Sue-Anne ordered a new numberplate for her car to celebrate it’s “rebirth from the ashes” – PH3N1X
SATURDAY
DECEMBER 23, 2006
Sam called Tim Ellis to let us know what was going on. (Note: Ansvar are not keeping us informed).
WEDNESDAY
DECEMBER 27, 2006
Sam tries calling Cam with no success. Another Ansvar assessor arrives at Summerhill Smash Repairs to look at the Peugeot.
Sam calls Tim again to let him know the repair is still not authorized.
FRIDAY
DECEMBER 29, 2006
Sam receives verbal authorization from Ansvar. He lets Tim know that he still hasn’t received anything in writing yet, but the repair is finally underway… almost a month after the accident.
THURSDAY
JANUARY 4, 2007
Sue-Anne’s new numberplates arrive in the post today.
Tim calls the Ansvar complaints department to update Russell Spencer, only to be told he no longer worked there. Tim emailed the full story (as you read above) to his replacement Trudy Reeve. She phoned back quite promptly, apologizing for the way things turned out, but clarifying that we were happy with the outcome. Tim explained that though we were happy the car was being repaired, the whole process was stressful and handled badly. Trudy explained that she had forwarded the report to Cam and he would call Tim back later today to explain why things took so long… She explained that Ansvar had a commitment to handle claims quickly and efficiently. Tim asked what happened if they failed to meet that commitment, did they compensate the customer or penalize the people who caused the delay? Trudy said no. “So,” said Tim, “That’s really more a goal rather than a commitment.”
Will Cam call back with some viable explanations for the delays and other problems over the last month? Stay tuned!
