Hello all,
In Sept, 2022 I was involved in a non-at-fault crash that caused minor damage to my vehicle. My Insurer sent the car to be stored at a location near the Perth airport.
In Oct I visited the storage place to collect a few items from my vehicle as my vehicle had not yet been assessed for damage as the insurer was investigating my claim due to the circumstances surrounding the claim. When they brought my vehicle to me on a forklift (Remember, very minor damage) I noticed there were not license plates on the vehicle.
The staff onsite stated that all vehicle they receive have their plates returned to the Department of Transport if the vehicle is held longer than one week. I reached out to my insurer who assured me that the vehicle is not written off and is still registered in an e-mail.
I logged onto my DoT portal and my vehicle was nowhere to be seen. I then call DoT who advised me that the vehicle plates had been returned the week prior and the vehicle was now delicensed. I reached back out to my insurer who now says the plates are removed and returned to the DoT at the request of DoT. I reached out to DoT again who told me the plates were returned as part of a bulk delivery and they never requested my vehicle plates. I forwarded the deregistration notice to my insurer who now states the plates were returned to prevent them from being stolen while in storage. My Insurer then completed their investigation and determined that my claim is valid and will move to have the vehicle assessed for damage (More than two months after the plates had been returned)
My insurer is stating they are not liable or responsible for re-licensing my vehicle and are willing only to pay for the inspection and temporary license to drive the vehicle to the repairer. The repairer also now states the vehicle was towed to this particular storage facility as they believed the claim may have been a total loss. (Had yet to be assessed)
My real question is, who is responsible for relicensing the vehicle, and did the insurer have any legal right to delicense the vehicle in the first instance?
I do have an outstanding complaint with the AFCA but they say it will take 12-13 weeks before a case manager can be assigned. My position is that I never authorised the vehicle to be delicensed and the vehicle should be returned to me in its pre-crash state that includes the vehicle being registered. (The reason insurance exists).
Being told I must accept a repaired but unlicensed vehicle is not the outcome I expect.
I appreciate your input.
In Sept, 2022 I was involved in a non-at-fault crash that caused minor damage to my vehicle. My Insurer sent the car to be stored at a location near the Perth airport.
In Oct I visited the storage place to collect a few items from my vehicle as my vehicle had not yet been assessed for damage as the insurer was investigating my claim due to the circumstances surrounding the claim. When they brought my vehicle to me on a forklift (Remember, very minor damage) I noticed there were not license plates on the vehicle.
The staff onsite stated that all vehicle they receive have their plates returned to the Department of Transport if the vehicle is held longer than one week. I reached out to my insurer who assured me that the vehicle is not written off and is still registered in an e-mail.
I logged onto my DoT portal and my vehicle was nowhere to be seen. I then call DoT who advised me that the vehicle plates had been returned the week prior and the vehicle was now delicensed. I reached back out to my insurer who now says the plates are removed and returned to the DoT at the request of DoT. I reached out to DoT again who told me the plates were returned as part of a bulk delivery and they never requested my vehicle plates. I forwarded the deregistration notice to my insurer who now states the plates were returned to prevent them from being stolen while in storage. My Insurer then completed their investigation and determined that my claim is valid and will move to have the vehicle assessed for damage (More than two months after the plates had been returned)
My insurer is stating they are not liable or responsible for re-licensing my vehicle and are willing only to pay for the inspection and temporary license to drive the vehicle to the repairer. The repairer also now states the vehicle was towed to this particular storage facility as they believed the claim may have been a total loss. (Had yet to be assessed)
My real question is, who is responsible for relicensing the vehicle, and did the insurer have any legal right to delicense the vehicle in the first instance?
I do have an outstanding complaint with the AFCA but they say it will take 12-13 weeks before a case manager can be assigned. My position is that I never authorised the vehicle to be delicensed and the vehicle should be returned to me in its pre-crash state that includes the vehicle being registered. (The reason insurance exists).
Being told I must accept a repaired but unlicensed vehicle is not the outcome I expect.
I appreciate your input.
