What made you UNHAPPY today!

[Painterdave]

Feet up Pete have some rest and get well 

 

[C8RKH]

Wishing you a full and speedy recovery. Will miss your posts but focus on your recovery. Xx.

[johnpwalsh]

So sorry to hear this Pete. Get some rest and get well soon bud.

[pete]

Waking up on a hospital ward of old men brings a new meaning to the dawn chorus saying

[Dave Eds]

As long as you keep waking up mate...👍

I'm here if you or Sue need anything mate, don't hesitate to ask..

[pete]

Although no physical signs they are sure I have had a minor heart attack because of the enzymes in the blood. So being transferred to cardiology followed by an angiogram and if a stent is needed it will be done then . Probably be next week now.

[bogle]

At least they know the likely cause, but it still sucks.  I had an Angiogram about 2 years ago but it was for my prostate.  So that's no help to you since you're getting stent work done.  Regardless, I hope the stent takes care of your problem and never experience any cardiac issue again.

[ChrisJ]

You'll be out intime for the October Breakfast fry-up then

 

[Bibs]

Smashed avocado and poached eggs for Pete please

 

[Alfa2Evora]

Email from my insurance (the senior naval officer crowd)

"Dear Mr Boyd

Blah, blah, blah, blah, your vehicle has been declared a total loss.

Blah, blah, blah, blah, your policy on this vehicle has been cancelled.

Blah, blah, blah, blah, a salvage agent will be in contact with you shortly to arrange uplift."

 

Whoa there just a minute. Care to go back and run that past me again?

WTAF!!!!!!  

I've been on hold now for 40 minutes waiting to talk to somebody in their Claims Dept. This is going nuclear!

Nobody's been to look at the car. They've never been sent any photos of it. How can they decide that?

The only reason that I even informed them of the incident was to abide by what's expected of me according to their terms and conditions, i.e. to inform them at the earliest opportunity of any potential claim. It was made abundantly clear at the time that that was all I was doing and that I wanted no further action taken until the police had carried out their criminal investigations.

 

[Barrykearley]

They have absolutely no legal right to uplift the vehicle. End of.

[Alfa2Evora]

@Barrykearley I've taken precautions. My 'family members' are now out patrolling the perimeter and just to keep them on their A-game, they've not yet been fed today, .

[Barrykearley]

The vehicle can be inspected on site with you and a salvage offer made. You simply do not have to hand over the vehicle. It can absolutely go back on the road without issues.

Be firm - they will twist and turn - but it’s your car until they’ve paid for it and only when you accept the outcome.

[pete]

2 hours ago, ChrisJ said:

You'll be out intime for the October Breakfast fry-up then

 

Where is the Porsche car park

[Alfa2Evora]

1 hour and 37 minutes after going in the "Your call is important to us" queue, I finally got to talk to somebody and by sheer chance it happened to be the very person who's name was at the bottom of the 'total loss' email.

After a discussion on the possibility that his prescription medication is requiring a review, and on the subtle differences in value between a 12 year-old (almost) Lotus Evora with all the options ticked and a shed-load of subsequent expensive modifications (all declared) and a similarly-aged base model Fiat Panda, Vauxhall Corsa, et al, he did eventually concede that perhaps they had been a bit rash in applying their universal "if it's over 10 years old it's scrap" policy and that they should reverse all today's actions and await my further communication on the matter.

Both the Alfa and the Saab are off the road at the moment awaiting parts to get them through their respective MOTs so, with the Evora being my only (just) usable means of transportation for the next few days, I've asked that he put it all in another email with special emphasis on the cover not being cancelled so I've got something to produce if I get tugged by our 'friends' in the blue and yellow chequered motors. Still waiting for it to arrive - there's a surprise, .

[C8RKH]

And speaking of the Polis any news or movement there Dave?

[bogle]

David I admire your patience - all 97 minutes of it!  Hell yeah they were rash.  You have so many other things that require attention.  This is just wrong to add crap like this on your already full plate.

 

And speaking of the Polis any news or movement there Dave?

  Is it wrong to think that the X5's BMW owner insurance should cover the costs after Polis review the CCTV footage?  Or is there other process that I'm missing here?

[Alfa2Evora]

Andy, don't be silly when there's all that tea to be drunk and doughnuts to be scoffed back in the office, .

I managed to speak to them, after a fair old wait, a couple of times in the early days on the non-emergency 101 number but I think my number must now flag-up on their 'don't answer' list so I've had to resort to the 'contact us' form on their website. I send a message every other day, giving them details of what new things I've discovered during my sleuthing (so basically doing their job for them) and pressing them for an update on how they're proceeding but all I get back in return each time is a generic "your message has been passed on to the relevant investigating officer" one-liner.

Bill, if they're able to prove 'beyond all reasonable doubt' that the X5 driver was responsible then, yes, their insurance is liable for all the costs and it's their legal responsibility to return my car back to its pre-incident condition i.e. with a new WinAce GTC bumper. If it ends up going through my insurance then that opens up a whole new can of worms because although I declared all the modifications to them and they applied an additional premium as a result, they're now maintaining that they're only obliged to return my car to its 'as it left the factory' condition, i.e. with a standard S1 bumper. So I don't really understand why the extra premium was required if they're not covering its replacement - does the modified bumper (and the other bits like the rear 'big wing') pose an increased risk to other road users for instance? An excuse to screw a bit more cash out of me for nothing in return is looking the more likely answer now to that quandary, .

Things could get messy as I'm not rolling over on this one no matter how many other balls I've got to keep in the air at the same time.

[Rambo]

On 20/09/2022 at 22:27, Rambo said:

I wouldn't bank on PC Plod doing anything anytime soon. After all they have Rangers and Celtic games to officiate, mugs of tea to make, catching people driving 2 mph over the 20 mph limit, going down to the local chippie and Chinese take aways in their Poileas vans etc.... The last thing they want to do is actually catch low lifes and numpties hell bent on destroying carbon fibre or fibreglass

I think I mentioned 9 days ago that the Polis would do sweet FA 😕 

If they haven't done anything in the last 9 days the chances of them doing something in the next 9 are rather remote 😕

I may be proven wrong but don't hold your breath.

[ChrisJ]

3 hours ago, pete said:

Where is the Porsche car park

Ask @Bling

[andydclements]

1 hour ago, Alfa2Evora said:

...... So I don't really understand why the extra premium was required if they're not covering its replacement - does the modified bumper (and the other bits like the rear 'big wing') pose an increased risk to other road users for instance? An excuse to screw a bit more cash out of me for nothing in return is looking the more likely answer now to that quandary, .

That's pretty much it. Fancy bits = you may be a boy racer who is an increased risk, or, it becomes more attractive to thieves.

[calvan]

4 hours ago, Alfa2Evora said:

 

Bill, if they're able to prove 'beyond all reasonable doubt' that the X5 driver was responsible then, yes, their insurance is liable for all the costs and it's their legal responsibility .....

It might be worthwhile to spend a few pounds and consult with a solicitor to clarify just what your legal position is as against the X5 driver.  I know that Scots law has its own idiosyncrasies and won't presume to say what your situation there is. But in other jurisdictions there is a significant difference in the degree of proof that the police would need to proceed with charges and what you would need in a civil action to recover damages from the X5 driver.

Yes, the police will need to be able to establish fault "beyond a reasonable doubt" in order to make charges stick. That can be a tall order. But in many other jurisdictions you would only have to establish the X5 driver's fault on a "balance of probabilities", i.e more likely than not, in order to claim financial recovery for the damages caused. In an extreme position, you might be able to drop your insurance claim, pay for the costs out of pocket and then claim the money back from Mr. (or Ms.) X5.

I'm not recommending that, of course, but I think you will be in a better position to decide on a course of action if you get professional confirmation of your legal rights and the required standard of proof where you are.  

[calvan]

Now I'm unhappy myself.

About half an hour after making the previous post, my wife and I got in the Elise and drove down to the beachfront for fish & chips. I parked on the street, leaving at least 3 feet between us and the pickup truck already parked in front of us. We got out of the car and had walked about 20 feet when we heard a "crunch". The driver of the pickup had decided to back up before leaving his space and put his trailer hitch into the nose of the Elise. He apparently didn't see it because it is too low.

Mow I have the joys of dealing with insurance and arranging the repair.

[bogle]

Mike I'm very sorry to hear that your Elise was backed in to.  And the driver claiming the car is too low to the ground - guess they didn't have RAB (reverse auto braking).  Sorry that you were drafted into the Unhappy thread as an reluctant author.

[calvan]

Thanks, Bill.

This seems to be the summer of the invisible Lotus. Back in July a woman in an SUV "didn't see" my Esprit in a parking lot and backed into it. The ironic part is that when I took my phone out this evening to take pictures of the damage to the Elise I saw that I had an email saying that a replacement wheel arch for the Esprit has just arrived at Dave Bean. It will need to be prepped and painted so maybe I can ask for a two-for-one deal on fibreglass work.