barneysfriends Posted October 7, 2007 Share Posted October 7, 2007 take care if you are having work done by an 'Artisan' whose liability insurance is with AREAS. Should you have reason to claim...damage to house whilst work being done, house burns down etc....getting them to cough up is no easy matter. They are not very co-operative. We have received not one reply to our many letters (registered) and even our own insurance agent is at a loss as to how to get them to respond. Has anyone else had this this problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgina Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 You have probably thought of this, but do you think there is a possibility that he wasn't covered? Might be the reason.Georgina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barneysfriends Posted October 9, 2007 Author Share Posted October 9, 2007 well, it has crossed our minds! But surely not...a registered artisan? Siret numbered? We now have our own insurers legal department looking into it...keeping fingers crossed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgina Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 Good luck, there are liars and fraudsters in every country.Georgina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony F Dordogne Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 I know of a Brit, registered plumber, Siret number, properly registered, local to me who doesn't have the insurance because he can't afford it !!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val_2 Posted October 13, 2007 Share Posted October 13, 2007 If he gets caught then he's in deep trouble. We do public works for architects etc and not only do we have to supply our insurance details but our pension, social security and other details via attestations they are paid upto date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barneysfriends Posted November 8, 2007 Author Share Posted November 8, 2007 UPDATE....it appears that our 'artisan' has an excess on his policy, so must pay for our damage himself. This must be common practice. Has anyone experience of this? Is it likely we will ever get our repairs done? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 Could you expand a little on what your claim is for and roughly what value?If it is less than his excess then despite being perhaps low it does not mean that they are not responsible on his behalf for your losses, it is just that they would look to him to reimburse them.Clearly in these circumstances it would be easier for him to pay you direct, is he denying liability?Perhaps because it is a small amount and/or he disputes it he doesnt want to report it to his insurers and pay through the nose in future?Difficult to advise without knowing more of the circumstances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barneysfriends Posted November 9, 2007 Author Share Posted November 9, 2007 Its for 1100 Euros, to repair damage to wooden floors which happened whilst overhead wiring was being done. He has not denied liability...indeed we have a number of letters from him, his debt collecting agency, and his Artisan Association, all telling us to make a claim against AREAS, in order to get the matter sorted quickly. We did, initially, withold part of his payment, hoping to encourage him to help in getting the claim paid. Our insurance agent told us to pay him. We wish we hadn't now! It would have been simpler for all involved if he had paid up in the first place, or offered us a discount on our bill. That would have been the honourable way to deal with it and we would have been content. Out of pocket, but content. As it is, almost a year has passed, AREAS continue to stall, we still have large dents in our floors, and we now are obliged to take legal action. We hope his premiums rocket! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barneysfriends Posted November 13, 2007 Author Share Posted November 13, 2007 The plot thickens....he is now denying liability, so our insurers will send an expert to examine the floors and determine an opinion about how they were likely to have been damaged, with a view to taking legal action. I re-iterate....BEWARE...artisans may be insured, or say they are, but if it goes wrong and your artisan has no professional integrity, you may end up out of pocket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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