windscreen Replacement rant

[andyinluton]

I need a new windscreen, should be simple process, log into my insurance company, press make a claim and it transfers me Autoglass to make the booking.

Am able to book the time & date at there centre easily but then comes the fun part, I get a choice of three screens.
1. Premium - costs me £269
2. Standard - cost me £229
3. Economy - Costs me £140

Now I have an excess of £140 so I have a look at the differences between the screens thinking one might be VW glass etc but no, A premium screen just means you get a new set of wipers & some rainX or similar as well as the new glass. Standard is just new wipers + new glass. Economy is just Glass replacement.

Having recently replaced the wipers & being tight fisted I cant see any reason why I would want anything other than the economy screen so thats what I select, I go through to payment & to my surprise they are asking for £179, there's a £39 charge for "your Rain Repel" , There appears too be an option to "change" but going to that screen just gives me the 3 choices as above. There does not appear to be anyway I can have my windscreen replaced without paying more than the £140 standard excess.

When I have calmed down a bit I will no doubt spend an hour or two on the phone trying to get this sorted.

 

[B J G]

Seems the 'norm' now to end up going in circles trying to sort out an option or query online until they win and bill the charge as your time and patience have exhausted or you just cancel and try another source.

 

[JuanVecino2023]

'Economic friction' seems at the core of most businesses' models.

Make everything as opaque as possible, add in administrative complexity and other barriers (eg as above a requirement to go out of website/app and call to resolve), and most people give up out of utter frustration.

Makes me want to downsize, simplify and live off grid!

 

[SusiBus]

I would be talking to a dealer to make sure you get the correct one because of the sensors behind the mirror. I'm interested what you find out .

 

[andyinluton]

I would be talking to a dealer to make sure you get the correct one because of the sensors behind the mirror. I'm interested what you find out .

I’ve never known a dealer fit a screen they seem to call in the likes of auto glass to do it.

They are aware of all the cameras etc that’s why I have to take to a depot rather than have a mobile fitting.
Same depot did a screen on one of our Mercedes last year that had various cameras and sensors on it I understand they got a mobile Mercedes chap to come and calibrate everything once it was in so I have no worries about their capabilities.

 

[dspuk]

Having just booked some BA tickets for work and had to ensure 4 levels of upsell and micro transactions now to get through the booking, it seems all businesses are looking at ways to add in stuff in as opaque a way as possible.

 

[Meoncoast]

If you go for premium surley you would pay the £140 only
Your insurance would pay the balance. Take off your newly fitted wipper blades keep for later.

 

[66tim99]

Little Britain didn’t know the half of it.
“Computer says no…”

 

[Mehdime]

If your excess is £140 and the work is £140, then surely you don’t want to go through your insurance, do you, since you have to pay for it all anyway? That’s just going to get recorded as a claim and impact future premiums.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

If your excess is £140 and the work is £140, then surely you don’t want to go through your insurance, do you, since you have to pay for it all anyway? That’s just going to get recorded as a claim and impact future premiums.

They are just charging the insurance excess for the cheapest option.

If you asked them direct for a quote outside of insurance..the quote would probably be a few hundred £ more.

 

[JuanVecino2023]

Having just booked some BA tickets for work and had to ensure 4 levels of upsell and micro transactions now to get through the booking, it seems all businesses are looking at ways to add in stuff in as opaque a way as possible.

Very much so.

 

[andyinluton]

They are just charging the insurance excess for the cheapest option.

If you asked them direct for a quote outside of insurance..the quote would probably be a few hundred £ more.

They are not just charging the excess, the £140 is the excess, I don’t object to that, but even if you select “economy” which you would expect to only charge the £140 excess you get an additional charge of £39.99 for a screen treatment that I neither asked for or want. There is no way of removing the treatment from the bill.

 

[andyinluton]

If your excess is £140 and the work is £140, then surely you don’t want to go through your insurance, do you, since you have to pay for it all anyway? That’s just going to get recorded as a claim and impact future premiums.

No a screen without insurance is approx £1250. The charge of £140 is just the excess.

 

[Mehdime]

No a screen without insurance is approx £1250. The charge of £140 is just the excess.

Oh I see.

 

[PugmeisterCali]

Similar position here. I went through an extensive email exchange with Autoglass querying whether they would fit a VW stamped screen or their recommended screen. Ended up with a phone call where they were pushing new wiper blades and the hydrophobic spray. Declined both repeatedly (‘are you absolutely sure?’). Text message link to payment is for £137.50. Mobile job on Monday so we’ll see how it goes. They’re confident of no issues with cameras, calibration etc.

 

[soulstyledevon]

Didn’t windscreen excess used to be a flat £75 and didn’t affect NCB.
I had 3 screens replaced on two vehicles a couple of years ago and when it came to renewal time. They took the claims into account.
One insurance company refused to quote because I had 3 screens replacements logged within a 12months period from the same property…..

 

[Drpps]

I had to replace mine recently. I started the process throught the insurers online. The paperwork quoted a similar excess to OP. multiple redirects to different fitting companies too far away or inconvenient times so I went direct to auto glass website. They charged a more standard excess but dealt direct with the insurers instead. I rang to check that it was heat insulating with light and rain sensor. It was a mobile fitting.
On the day a genuine VW windscreen came. The fitter said they must have had a cancelled or delayed fitting as they were usually a good quality pattern. He said the newer cars with radar cruise, cameras etc can still be done as a mobile fitting but he has to drive it around for about 15-30 minutes to recalibrate the sensors. He steers well clear of any of the coatings they upsell. He had quite a few years in the business and said he preferred doing the mobile fittings as you have more time to get it right.
VW quoted around £500 for the T5.1 screen alone without the seals/fitting trim components or the fitting cost.

@andyinluton It may be worth going direct to the Autoglass website to see if that improves things. I didn't have any difficulties when declining all the upselling.

 

[The Tall Luthier]

I did mine last month. Autoglass did a cracking job.

It's a third party screen thats indistinguishable from the OEM version. You will have to take your van to them Andy, they have an awful lot of calibration to do once they have fitted the screen to make sure that all of the sensors and cameras line up as required by the system.

Mine was completed faultlessly first time. Good value for money I think, given the tech. That said, I went for the new wipers option, I can appreciate the annoyance of the compulsory upsell

 

[Resfeber]

Seems the 'norm' now to end up going in circles trying to sort out an option or query online until they win and bill the charge as your time and patience have exhausted or you just cancel and try another source.

You should try recovering a Norton anti virus subscription. Payment Taken 6 weeks before due date but warning is given 60 days before this and takes 45 mins bouncing around “help screens” before virtual assistant and then as soon a refund mentioned, a 15 min wait for a “human” to be involved who tries to dissuade you from seeking a refund.

Good luck

 

[Agnes_Cali]

I just called Autoglass directly and told them I want OEM screen, because my van is less than 3 years old. That's Admiral T&C. You can get OEM under 3 years old. They dealt with everything and didn't try to sell me anything. My van has no sensors, so it was done quickly without any calibration.

Regarding excess, it's getting more expensive. It used to be £75, then £90 and now £115. And Admiral definitely lists it on your history and it will be gone after 2 or 3 years, I don't remember now. But once it dropped, my policy went down by £100.

 

[The Tall Luthier]

You should try recovering a Norton anti virus subscription. Payment Taken 6 weeks before due date but warning is given 60 days before this and takes 45 mins bouncing around “help screens” before virtual assistant and then as soon a refund mentioned, a 15 min wait for a “human” to be involved who tries to dissuade you from seeking a refund.

Good luck

Completely off topic but…… buy a Mac. I’ve used one since 2010 and never once needed to buy expensive, machine hogging, resource hungry anti virus software.

 

[Almost bought a california]

It won't help most but my heated screen was not clearing a section about 200mm directly in front of the driver - I took a picture and got the screen replaced under warranty just before it was 3 years old no quibbling at all so very happy.

 

[PugmeisterCali]

My windscreen was replaced yesterday by Autoglass. 22 plate Ocean. The guy did it on my drive. Took about 30 min. He said VW, Audi and BMW are all easy as everything behaves and fits as it should (not so Fords). Non OEM glass but all seems fine. Very happy with it.