Dads car pinched from under his nose...

J

JDM

Senior member
Received a phone call off my Dad this afternoon informing me that his car had been stolen from under his nose.. Its a golf 2.0 GT TDI.

He was dropping something off at a house in a quiet well to do area on the outskirts of Doncaster. Parked at the bottom of someones drive, left the keys in the ignition (I know, he was severely repormanded for this by myself) Got halfway up the drive and he heard someone start the car and screech off leaving him stranded.

Called the police obviously and the insurance but its up in the air whether they will pay out with the keys being left in the ignition. They will also not provide a courtesy car in the event of theft so they are left with no choice but to hire a vauxhall corsa 1.2 at £150 a week.

Has anyone had any dealings with an insurance claim such as this or know of anyone who has? Is there any known ways of getting the insurance companies to pay out? Clutching at straws I know but I want to do everything I can to help them out. There is quite alot outstanding on the finance so if the insurance dont pay out they will owe a fairly large debt and have to fund another car..

I tell you now, if I could catch the theiving scum, I would set fire to their heads. :fuelfire:

Thanks in advance people.

J
 
Sorry to hear that JDM.

I worked for an insurer many years ago, in sales. Usually an insurer won't let you claim if the keys are in the vehicle :( At least, the company I worked for didn't.

Of course if the keys were taken from your dad that would be different...


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Thanks Adamksi.. If you are getting at what I think you are he has already made the statement to the police and told them the keys were in the ignition.
 
Unbelievable that an opportunist would be ready to pounce like that. Daft thing to do by your Dad but I feel really sorry for him. The woman that comes to our office everyday to deliver hot food always leaves her 320D with the engine running at the side of the road.....:|
 
It unbelievable too me that insurance companies can get away in the UK with not paying off on a stolen car claim because an individual forgot to take the keys with them. Agree that leaving the keys in the car is a bad idea but that's one of the reasons for insurance to protect you from when you do something that in a perfect world would not happen... :headbang:
 
Damm, sorry to hear that. Can't help on the insurance issue though the b......s will try anything to weasel out of paying.
 
Really sorry to hear about your Dad's misfortune JDM, just hate hearing of these things happening. Can't help with the insurance thing, but I hope it all works out for him.
 
Your best bet is that the police find and recover the vehicle.
Now if insurance do not payout and the car is recovered does it still get catagorised (Think it's C if it's stolen)?
 
Very unlucky and annoying for him.

Everybody does it.
We (not me) left the keys in the Z4 ignition on the street overnight a while back.
It was fine.

I haven't even mentioned it, I just returned the keys with a raised eyebrow.
I think I have a get out of jail free card. :)
 
http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/motor-insurance-keys-in-car.html

Insurers may cover,we had an instance when one of our customers ( roadside repairer ) left keys in ignition because he needed power for rear spotlights on van, someone just jumped in and drove off. Took a good couple months till they agreed

Good luck


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he left the keys in the car by accident, this is why we have insurance

i hate insurance comapanies with a passion :headbang: :headbang: :headbang:
 
sorry to hear about this John.

it is a ridiculous and frustrating situation as technically the car was stolen, and given the ease with which keys can be cloned now, i don't see as it's a technicality that should be upheld by the insurance companies. also, nowadays people seem to break into your house and steal keys anyway.

a lot of fraud goes on, that's the problem.

it may be worth a trip to citizens' advice to see if they can help, cheaper than going to a solicitor and using the insurers' legal cover may see a conflict of interests.
 
If as house is broken in with the window open, I am sure the insurance pays out as well which is pretty similar.

Not that I can quite understand why you would leave keys in a car though ...
 
Slightly off topic but I know of a few situations in South Africa where people have had their remotes blocked while walking away from the car, then someone had entered the car and stolen the contents. Insurance wouldn't pay out because there was no sign of forced entry.

How long before we have that going on in the UK too?
 
Sorry to hear that JDM. Hope they catch the thieving t*at and lock him up.

We all take risks every day. I stopped at a service station today, tomtom on, iPhone in holder, blackberry & iPad on seat. Only stopped for the gents. I thought "I should hide them, ah, sod it I'm only going to be quick". If it'd been broken into I'd be slightly frustrated I didn't spend 2mins hiding them.


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John - sorry to add to the bad news but a mate didn't get paid out on his 5 when he left keys in whilst paying for petrol - fortunately it was found about a month later apparently no worse for wear ( minus his golf clubs and Oldham shirt ).
 
John, this is terrible, really sorry to hear this. Its one of those stories where you just feel gutted and angry at the same time.

I hope things get resolved and he ends up either with the car back undamaged, or the insurance pays out.

Edit: your question about dealing with the insurance company... how far physically was he from the vehicle when it was taken? When does it get classed as being left unattended...? Might be worth trying to get some free legal advice.
 
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