Jammy007 Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Called in to see a local guy yesterday who sorts out chips, scratches & cracks on windscreens. Works for a company called optic-kleer which are a franchise. This guys been about for about 3-4 years now I believe. Now I wasn't sure if free was actually free. So beforehand I rang my insurers up (Admiral) to ask for their views on the "free" windscreen repair and the lady on the other end of the phone informed me that it doesn't affect my no-claims, there's no excess to pay and will not show up anywhere on my insurance records. I also done a check on the internet to see other peoples experiences. Showed him the small chip I had in the windscreen and he said it was repairable so stood talking to him for 20 mins while he sorted it. Before he started he asked which insurance firm I was through and if I was fully comp. He said most insurance firms let him bill them direct but as you're with Admiral then I have to charge you and you claim it back from your insurers by sending off a receipt i'll give you and they'll send you a cheque out, usually within 30 days. The price is just shy of £49. The reason for this, which didn't surprise me, was that people who have these franchises in cities had cottoned on to how easy it was to put multiple claims through for a previous customer. Therefore only carrying out one repair but then putting 2 additional claims in for the same customer at later dates which means another £98 in the opti-kleer reps back pocket!! He thinks most insurers will eventually follow suit with Admiral as charging the customer up front stops any false claims being processed. He then started talking about Autoglass (sorry if there's any guys on here who work for them) but also applies to any larger firms who repair windscreens but also replace. He said that a guy who was on his way to Autoglass, but had just nipped to do a little bit of shopping with the missus, had brought his van to him (he was at a stand in our local supermarket carpark) with a 2-3 inch crack in his windscreen and asked if it was repairable. It was repairable and he said that Autoglass would have told the customer that it wasn't repairable and that he'd have to have a new windscreen fitted. The reason they do this is because its more profitable to them to replace a windscreen than it is to fix a small chip / crack. Another customer overheard this and asked him to look at a small chip he had in his windscreen, which again the Optic-Kleer guy said he could fix. The customer then stated that Autoglass told him they couldn't fix it and a new windscreen was required. Now thats all fine and dandy but that would have cost the customer his £50-70 windscreen excess rather than having the chip fixed for free. I would have been wary about how honest that story was, but I'd just been on the internet 30 minutes before and had seen similar stories where people are advising customers to stay away from Autoglass as they try and push for a new windscreen fitted rather than repair the problem. I just thought I would pass this on for reference to anyone on here who's likely to be getting this done in the near future. On a lighter note............ I did see a brand spanking new white Evo while talking to him. Those are some seriously nice cars!! HTH someone and sorry the novel!! Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Yes its good what they can do these days. One bit I am dubious about though, is your story of the crack. I've always been told they can only repair chips no bigger than say a £1 coin, as the windscreen is an intergral part of the saftey structure of most cars and anything bigger than a sligh chip can comprimise its strength. Thats not to mean that Autoglass dont try and get people to get a new screen when they dont need it, they probably do. But anything more than a chip and I'd want a new screen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jammy007 Posted February 6, 2009 Author Share Posted February 6, 2009 Agree with you totally Chris, I always though they could only repair chips and buff scratches out. I'd want a new screen in the zed, but for a works van thats probably ran into the ground anyway and is only used locally then would it make much of a difference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Agree with you totally Chris, I always though they could only repair chips and buff scratches out. I'd want a new screen in the zed, but for a works van thats probably ran into the ground anyway and is only used locally then would it make much of a difference? If it's part of the structure then yes it would...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Agree with you totally Chris, I always though they could only repair chips and buff scratches out. I'd want a new screen in the zed, but for a works van thats probably ran into the ground anyway and is only used locally then would it make much of a difference? If it's part of the structure then yes it would...... +1 - although I could see on a van that it might not be and it might be ok to repair. For the sake of £70 I'd have it done to be sure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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