Hackney businessman reports his car stolen in insurer dispute
The AA removing Mr Singh's car. Picture: Jagmohan Singh - Credit: Archant
A Hackney man was left searching for answers after the AA took his car for diagnostics and did not bring it back.
When water started leaking through the dashboard of Jagmohan Singh’s Range Rover in July 2019, he called the insurer to get the problem fixed.
The car was taken away for the booking in August - and Jagmohan never saw it again.
Launching his own investigation, the owner of S2 Estates called the AA numerous times to check what had happened but got nowhere.
Eventually, he filed a stolen car report to the Met Police.
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Just over a month later, in September, the AA informed Jagmohan it had accidentally damaged the vehicle’s suspension en-route to the garage and written it off.
READ MORE: Hackney driver left with £3,600 bill after Thames Water tree falls onto his carAt that point they automatically transferred Jagmohan £8,000, for both the car and compensation for “loss of the vehicle”, which he believes is thousands under its worth.
Some 12 months after the incident, Jagmohan was still imploring the AA to return his car and seeking just over £30,000 in compensation and costs, when the Met Police got in contact - they had found his vehicle in Bedfordshire.
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At some point throughout the year the AA had sold his car at auction, but it had never shaken off the ‘stolen’ police marker after that initial crime report.
Jagmohan described the AA’s customer service as “atrocious” and “appalling”: “I had no knowledge of the whereabouts of my car, and believed it had been stolen.
“I had no knowledge of how my car had been kept and maintained during the time it was missing.
“Nor did I have any knowledge of who had taken responsibility of my car. We had been unable to use my mother’s disabled badge or obtain our other possessions from the vehicle.”
A spokesman for the AA said: “Mr Singh claimed for damage to his car, unfortunately in the process of undertaking diagnostic checks we caused further damage to the vehicle.
“Accordingly, we apologised to Mr Singh, reimbursed him for his car, some ancillary costs and the inconvenience, at which point we deemed the claim fully resolved.”
He said the AA has also reimbursed the new owner after the car was impounded by the police.
A Met Police spokesperson said there is no ongoing investigation.
