Garage Report? WTF?

magpie

A new one on me, an insurance company looking for a Garage Report owing to 'the age of the car in question' which is 1 '94, not a Ford Model T. Anyway, doesn't having an NCT demonstrate roadworthiness? Anyone else come across this? Is it the latest installment of the govt/insurance/dealer cartel wanting you to buy new cars?

While I'm at it, I had someone from Hibernian phone me up asking for my drivers licence number (I have a policy with them ATM) so I can avail of a 'further discount'. AFAIK the max discount you can get is 17.5%, have they changed it, or are they just trying to get more lead in time to check your points status before you renew your insurance?

Silvera

Some insurance companies used to require a garage report on older vehicles prior to the introduction of the NCT. (I had to get such a report on a few occassions. Very basic test, just an engineer looking at the car and taking it for a short drive).

I don't understand why an insurance company would now ask for a garage report for a vehicle which is NCT-compliant ?!

De Hipster

magpie wrote:

A new one on me, an insurance company looking for a Garage Report owing to 'the age of the car in question' which is 1 '94, not a Ford Model T. Anyway, doesn't having an NCT demonstrate roadworthiness? Anyone else come across this? Is it the latest installment of the govt/insurance/dealer cartel wanting you to buy new cars?

While I'm at it, I had someone from Hibernian phone me up asking for my drivers licence number (I have a policy with them ATM) so I can avail of a 'further discount'. AFAIK the max discount you can get is 17.5%, have they changed it, or are they just trying to get more lead in time to check your points status before you renew your insurance?

On the Hibernian collecting licence numbers thing...ring them back & ask what they're using the info for...

Dad got a call last week about the same, rang back & got dippy lass on phone who said 'we use that info to ring the council motor tax office to check for points &/or disqualifications...'

Dad rang motor tax office, where another dippy lass confirmed this info, even when put over it several times still didn't understand his outrage.

Hibernian Gen Mgr rang, apologised & promised that this info would not be used...serious breach of data protection act uncovered me thinks!

unkel

De Hipster wrote:

serious breach of data protection act uncovered me thinks!

Nope, Hibernian have negotiated access to penalty points data in a deal with the government where they promised to dramatically reduce rates for people with low / no penalty points.

For a quote, they will ask you the number of penalties on your license. They then verify this (probably randomly) with the driving license database

magpie

It's not so much a breach of the data protection act, as taking the p1ss out of it.

Rather than saying 'we won't insure you if you have penalty points' which is illegal, as its between you, God and the DOE how many points you have, they offer a 'discount' to people with no penalty points and set their usual, non-discounted rate high enough to deter those that have them.

Plus they have that galling, smug, 'we reward safe drivers' ad with the guy flapping his wings out of the side of his convertible saab as if some mucker van driver will know what the f uck he's on about.

They're not breaking the data protection act per se as you have to give them permission to check first.

Dades

I doubt the people on zero points who are getting cheaper insurance are bitching about the invasion of privacy.

Seems perfectly reasonable to me.

:eek:

magpie

Apart fromthe fact that penalty points where not insituted in order that people who received them would have to pay higher insurance, as this is in fact illegal. Hibernian have basically found a way around it, and tbh, even with no points you're not paying a great deal less than with any other insurance company, Allianz for example.

Have you seen those ads on the back of buses about 'know your rights under the data protection act?' issued by the Data Commissioner? One of the topics it specifically mentions is penalty points.