Ombudsman's car key decision
I refer to the recent insurance ombudsman's decision relating to keys being left in a vehicle (26 September, Insurance Times) and, frankly, I am amazed that, in effect, the ombudsman has over-ridden the second highest court in the land.
I see no difference between someone leaving their keys in a car on a petrol station forecourt with the car capable of being seen (although there would be times when the owner wouldn't be looking at the car), and someone going into a shop where the vehicle could be seen.
Even in this case there would be times when he wouldn't be looking at the vehicle, such as when making a purchase.
I feel that this is yet another example of how the wrongdoer is rewarded in the modern world and I just wonder whether all these people that leave their keys in their cars, which in many incidences are worth thousands of pounds, would also leave their keys in the front doors of their houses.
I would have thought that if the keys are in a car it renders the vehicle much easier to steal - even more so if the owner of the vehicle is in fairly close attendance as I simply can't envisage a thief attempting to hotwire a vehicle while it is standing on a petrol station forecourt or outside a shop.
I presume that we now have, in orfder of precedence, the House of Lords, ombudsman and then the Court of Appeal.
I wonder when the ombudsman will be the highest court in the land.
D J Miller
David J Miller Insurance Brokers
Accrington
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