by Richard Robins
26 November 2010
A Blackpool mother has described her fury at being told that her ‘beloved’ car had been erroneously crushed after an accident.
Deborah Lane’s 12-year-old Volvo S40 was involved in a minor crash in September, in which it sustained damage to the rear end.
Ms Lane was told by assessors that her car was worth £1400, but the accident damage her car had suffered meant that repairs would cost £1700, which meant that the car was written off by insurance assessors.
She was given the option to buy her car back from the insurance company for £200 and make the repairs herself, which she decided to do.
However, when she went to the Fylde Motor Company in Kirkham, Blackpool, to reclaim the car, the assistant to whom she spoke merely clapped his hand over his mouth when she asked to have her vehicle returned.
In their defence, the garage claim that Ms Lane took longer than the maximum 21 days to let them know that she was coming to collect the car. After that period, the car has a final week before it is crushed.
The garage’s Steve Weare told the Blackpool Gazette that he believed a breakdown in communication was responsible.
Ms Lane has received a refund of the £200 salvage charge she paid, as well as compensation of £200 and the £1400 which the car was apparently worth. She is still unhappy, however. She says, “I have been given the money for my car but it's not really about that.
"I want to understand how this has happened; I've spoken to my solicitor about it."