Deposit for windscreen replacement that is fully covered

miamee

Ho guys,

Just wondering if this is standard practice nowadays. OH has a chip in his windscreen in line of sight so a full replacementwas recommended. His insurance covers windscreen replacement fully.

He contacted Autoglass who took details and said they call him back to arrange it. When they called back they said they'd need a deposit of €100 first which he will get back. Is this normal? He's on the phone to the insurance company now about it, he's been told he'd get it back in 5 days then it was 10 days then it was 'as soon as possible'.

We shouldn't have to pay anything at all if it's covered surely?

coylemj

You're correct, you shouldn't have to pay anything. I'm sure they will refund the money eventually but what's the point? All they're doing is inventing additional red tape where there should be none. If your insurance tells them they will pay, they are giving themselves needless administration in taking your money and then having to refund it. Once they have your money, they will have no incentive to repay you promptly so I would take my business elsewhere.

I checked autoglass dot ie and I ended up on the website of a crowd called Allglass Windscreens who say that they are 'in partnership with Autoglass'. Which suggests that the name had been franchised out in Ireland. And that company may have different procedures. Tell your OH to shop around, there has to be other operators offering a similar service in your area.

There is nothing on their website about paying a deposit, it actually suggests it's a 'hassle-free' process...

https://www.autoglass.ie/autoglassr-quote/hassle-free-claims/

Did your OH use an old Autoglass phone number? I'm wondering if someone has take that number and this is a scam? Try booking an appointment online on their website and see how far you get without being asked for money.

Sarn

In our case the insurance company arranged for Allglass to contact us. No deposit required for a full windscreen replacement.

Jim_Hodge

I've never come across a deposit for windscreen replacement

coylemj

I’m strongly suspecting a potential scam here. OP should try booking the repair on the website. It asks for the name of your insurer, the policy no. etc. Try that and see if they’re still looking for a ‘deposit’.

miamee

Thanks for all the comments. They said the deposit was in case he cancelled the appointment 🤪

He had a number of rows on the phone with both the insurers and the glass crowd but ended up paying it. They have to get the screen from Hyundai now, they don't have it in stock 🙄

coylemj

If it wasn't in stock, it makes business sense to ask him to pay a deposit before they order the item. When you hear about all the 'no shows' for the NCT, you can understand their position.

Sarn

Annoying, but at the end of the day it is only worth fighting so much.

If it is a case that they don’t commonly stock a windscreen then I could understand why they might request a deposit (vintage car, some unusual model). A Hyundai…

miamee

A little update text from Allglass today to say they won't have the windscreen for another 2 weeks. This one could go on and on!

coylemj

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120198406#Comment_120198406

Is it an odd model - an import perhaps?

NSAman

Go to someone else? AAA mobile windscreens?

HeidiHeidi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120201103#Comment_120201103

They've already paid the deposit - presumably to stop this exact thing happening, the company ordering in the screen, and the customer fecking off to some other crowd!

miamee

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120201079#Comment_120201079

No just a Hyundai Kona, nothing out of the ordinary about it.

miamee

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120201151#Comment_120201151

This plus as far as I know, these are the only crowd the insurance company cover (I could be wrong on that though, not 100% sure)

coylemj

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120215179#Comment_120215179

I'd say unlikely that they're the only crowd you can use as you could end up with a broken windscreen in some remote part of the country where they have no local agent or branch. But they could be the only people approved to replace the glass and claim direct from your insurance. You'd probably have to pay any other glass shop after getting approval from your insurance, get a receipt and claim it back yourself.

gipi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120215176#Comment_120215176

For your info, I was waiting 6-7 weeks for a replacement windscreen for my Kona in 2021. The installation had to be done by the glass crowd at a Hyundai garage because the forward facing camera technology had to be recalibrated after the new windscreen went in and only Hyundai can do that.

Check the sides of the car very carefully on the day the windscreen is installed - I only noticed months later that the installers hadn't protected the side pillars and had scratched the paintwork with the zips of their jackets. Too late for me to follow up.

miamee

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120216193#Comment_120216193

This is useful to know, thanks so much for replying. I'm not sure we have any forward facing camera on the car, only the rear parking camera. 6-7 weeks is a long wait 😫

gipi

Do you have lane assist technology? If you do, there's a camera that manages it - that's what had to be recalibrated on my Kona after the new windscreen went in.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120188599#Comment_120188599

Had to pay one over ten years ago. Ended up just covering the VAT element - business policy, VAT wasn't covered as could be reclaimed - so it might have been a business only thing. Only ever had to get windscreens done on company vehicles so far thankfully!

miamee

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120216757#Comment_120216757

Yes we do, OH told me earlier that we do have the forward facing camera for seeing other traffic ahead (for lane assist and cruise control presumably). I hadn't thought of that so we'll have to have that done also. Thanks for the info!

miamee

An update to this, it was done yesterday. As far as we know, Hyundai weren't involved directly, had to leave it to an All Glass place for a few hours. Seems Autoglass farmed it out to them, they'd never heard of the €100 deposit either but OH was the second person to tell the lady on the phone at AllGlass about it recently.

I'll be watching out for our €100 coming back now!

miamee

Final update to this in case anyone is in the same position. OH made a complaint to the insurance company and received a letter back apologising for the €100 deposit we paid which they said was 'an error'.

We received the €100 back a few days after the windscreen was installed.