Merc A-Class windscreen cracked by stone from grass cutter, owner claims damages from PLUS – here’s how

Accidents happen all the time, but sometimes your car may be damaged by things that are beyond your control, such as running over debris left on the road. You would imagine that in situations like this, your only recourse would be to make an insurance claim, but did you know that if such an incident happened on the highway, you can actually claim damages from the concessionaire itself?

That’s exactly what X user Nur Iylia Malek (@nurilyamalek) managed to do through PLUS Malaysia. In January, while driving on the North-South Highway, a stone kicked up by a roadside grass cutter cracked the windscreen of her Mercedes-Benz A-Class Sedan. She immediately pulled over, retrieved the contractor’s name and phone number from the grass cutter, and took a photo of the scene of the incident (including the kilometre marker) before proceeding to make a police report.

Shortly afterwards, Iylia submitted the PLUS claim form (you will need to submit this within 24 hours of the incident), which can be obtained through the official website. The said form allows you to input your details and those of your car, plus a description of the incident. A scanned copy of your IC/passport cover, driving licence and the aforementioned police report are required, as are photos of the damaged vehicle. The form can later be appended with the repair bill or invoice once you get it, which Iylia did a couple of days later.

There are a few things you will need to be aware of. Firstly, you will not receive the damages immediately – it took five months before the money was banked into Iylia’s account in late May – so you will in all likelihood need to either pay for the repair yourself or make an insurance claim first. In some cases, it may be quicker to contact the contractor directly to make the claim, as they will often be insured against such incidents.

You may also not be reimbursed the full amount of the repair, as PLUS itself told Iylia when she called. She did, however, eventually receive the exact amount of the windscreen replacement cost, which amounted to over RM6,000.

Do also be warned that while you can claim damages resulting from road debris, you won’t be reimbursed if it came from the car directly ahead of you, as Iylia herself found out when her car was hit by a steel bar in April. PLUS rejected her claim the second time around, telling her that they would only honour the claim if the company found it had not properly inspected the highway before the incident.

Lastly, the instructions listed above only apply for highways operated by PLUS. For other highways, you will have to contact their respective concessionaires for information on claims.

Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.





Source link