i posted a couple of years back regarding an incident i had where my car (2.2 sxi vectra) was parked on a hill with handbrake pulled tight. and it started to roll down the hill after about 20 minutes of bieng parked! as it was on a main road it rolled into a parked car,cracking the bumper. the car was an s1 elise with clamshell body and it was expensive to put right!
i new it certainly was not his fault and wanted to make sure his car was repaired properly but i was adament the handbrake was on tight and the hill was not steep at all. i had to admit liability and claim on my insurance.
then last friday (2 years later) i got a letter from vauxhall saying my car,and thousands more had to be recalled as the spring in the ratchet mechanism of the handbrake is not strong enough to hold the car when parked. i contacted vauxhall today and they said its faulty and needs sorting,and that i should contact my insurers at the time to seek compensation for my excess and also the increased premiums i have had to pay for the last 2 years as i 'had' a claim against me and lost my no claims! they say that as the insurers admitted liability without checking my car,its down to them to compensate me? any ideas? cheers

I suppose the problem is, proof, you would have to prove that the fault was the cause of your runaway car, even though you are certain you pulled the handbrake right, you can't prove it, so they will always have a get out clause. Also with this type of recall it's normally not every vehicle affected, but they recall them all just to be sure.

Sorry to sounds so negative.

[Edited on 9/2/11 by phoenix70]

Don't know where you stand legally but Vauxhall should hold their hands up and compensate you.

Send all the details from Vauxhall to your insurers, they should claim from Vauxhall (GM) and reimburse you.
Vauxhall have admitted fault, you reported a fault to the insurers when you said thehandbrake was on hard.
An independent court would find in your favour.

both parties will do there upmost to get out of any payment. Vauxhall will test your handbrake and you can be sure that yours will be "within tolorence". The insurers will have a copy of the test and use that to get out of any pay out. Again sorry to sound negative but thats probably what will happen. But hey, Ive been wrong before so what have you to lose? try claiming and see what happens.....

I worked for Vauxhall for years and saw many a recall come and go. Front flexi brake pipes on all Carltons, and the fuel filler neck earth fault on MK3 astra's..... None of the cars that had been involved in "incidents" had happened within the uk but uk cars were recalled anyway.

Good luck......

quote:

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Originally posted by snapper
Send all the details from Vauxhall to your insurers, they should claim from Vauxhall (GM) and reimburse you.
Vauxhall have admitted fault, you reported a fault to the insurers when you said thehandbrake was on hard.
An independent court would find in your favour.

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tell vauxhall you will be writing to watch dog about it and the daily press

What have you got to lose?Make a claim and see what happens would be my advice.cheers r

Definitely give it a go with Vauxhall, though as above you will find it difficult to prove your handbrake was fully on when the car rolled away.

Slightly O/T, but am I the only person who always leaves the car in gear when parked? That way an iffy handbrake need not mean an insurance claim...

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Originally posted by Humbug
Definitely give it a go with Vauxhall, though as above you will find it difficult to prove your handbrake was fully on when the car rolled away.

Slightly O/T, but am I the only person who always leaves the car in gear when parked? That way an iffy handbrake need not mean an insurance claim...

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Why should the insurance company compensate ?? You made a claim and they paid up.

For Vauxhall to tell you to seek compensation from your insurers is rubbish. Even if the accident had been caused by a complete freak event like a meteorite strike you would still lose your excess and NCB.

If you have any recourse, its against Vauxhall.

I thought most Vectras were recalled for this several years ago. I remember finding it mildly amusing that a Vauxhall hire car I had a couple years back had a sticker on the sun visor telling you to ensure you firmly engaged the handbrake and to leave the car in a forward gear if you were facing uphill and in reverse if your were pointing down. When I mentioned this to my old man, he said it was someone had been run over by their own Vectra after parking it on a slope. This must have been getting on for 3 years ago now.

I understand the replys but it put my I durance up from £400 p/a to £780 and I had to pay the £250 excess. It was vauxhall who told me to claim for losses and re- coup my lost no claims. They said they would have admitted liability if the insurers had not already done so!

Do it then. Contact your insurers and tell them GM have recalled the car for the fault, your insurance company will pursue a claim from them and if successful you'll get your NCB re-instated and the excess and any premium increases paid back to you.
Had a similar insurance claim a few years ago. Rear ended another car due to a 3rd car driving like an idiot. I had to foot the claim for 2 years so the increase and the excess, but when it went to court and the judge found the 3rd car driver guilty, he said I can claim my losses back from his insurance. A nice cheque arrived a month or so later which paid for a 2 week holiday all inclusive to Cuba