I was knocked off my BMW motorbike by a motorist in October.I'm a photographer and use the bike to get home from late-night events in London to my home in Sussex. Thankfully I was not seriously injured, but the bike was badly damaged. I have insurance through the broker Bikesure with Ageas, although I first decided to try and claim from the other party's Direct Line insurance via the motorcycle claims manager, 4th Dimension.Seven months have now passed and, thanks to a string of delays on behalf of all the firms involved, I still haven't received a penny. I've missed out on work because I can't get home late at night without my bike. I anticipate the claim will be worth about £10,000. Can you help? M.C.,Mid-Sussex Claim: This reader was thankfully unhurt when he was knocked off his bike last year, but it led to an insurance headache Helen Crane, This is Money's consumer champion, replies: Motorbike insurance is designed to get you back in the saddle when the worst happens. However in your case, the road to getting your payout started to feel very long indeed. You missed out on work as you weren't able to get around, and the constant delays stared to get you down. While 4th Dimension provided you with a replacement bike, you said this was a much lower-spec model, wasn't comfortable and ended up damaging your back. Instead of approaching an insurer, some customers use claims managers such as 4th Dimension because they act as a 'one-stop shop' and handle the storage, recovery and repair of the bike in one place, as well as organising a temporary replacement and claiming the money back from the other party.In your case, a substantial initial delay was caused by the fact the third party involved in the accident did not admit liability until January 2026. This effectively held the claim up for three months. CRANE ON THE CASE Our weekly column sees This is Money consumer expert Helen Crane tackle reader problems and shine the light on companies doing both good and bad.Want her to investigate a problem, or do you want to praise a firm for going that extra mile? Get in touch:helen.crane@thisismoney.co.ukBut once they had done so, you rightly hoped that the process would pick up some speed. In February, Direct Line arranged an inspection of the bike - although this was 117 days after you first claimed, which seems to be another unacceptable delay. After some back and forth between 4th Dimension and Direct Line, your bike was deemed beyond economical repair, being four years old with 61,000 miles on the clock. According to 4th Dimension, the bike would be written off and the third party's insurer would have to pay you £1,800 for the salvage value of the bike, and £4,300 in uninsured losses. These are out-of-pocket costs arising from a motor accident that aren't covered by a standard vehicle insurance policy, such as loss of earnings, car or bike hire charges and medical fees. In March 2026, 4th Dimension sent your bank details to Direct Line to arrange payment. However, it sent the wrong details, which caused more delays.The situation still hadn't been rectified by mid-April, with 4th Dimension telling you that Direct Line was not responding to its requests. Frustrated, you decided to shun 4th Dimension and hand over management of the claim to your insurer, Ageas, directly. You contacted me shortly after, and I asked Ageas what it would do to rev things up and get your claim on track. A spokesman said: 'M.C. initially used an alternative company to handle his claim against the insurer of the third party and we understand they have had difficulties getting a response on his behalf. 'He's since let us know he’d like us to manage the claim instead. We’ve called him to confirm we’re happy to do so and have explained what we’ll do next to get this moving.'A couple of weeks later, your total claim of around £10,000 was paid. I approached Direct Line and 4th Dimension to ask why it had taken so long to pay your claim.Direct Line laid part of the blame at your door, for using a claims manager. Direct Line said: 'We have a duty to fully investigate all aspects of a claim, including establishing liability, to ensure a fair and accurate outcome for everyone involved. 'This is an important part of the claims process and may extend timescales in some cases.'Claimants can choose to progress a claim through their own insurer, which is a standard route that can often support a quicker resolution. 'Where this is likely to be the fastest option, we make this clear to credit hire organisations managing the claim at the earliest opportunity.'Meanwhile, 4th Dimension blamed Direct Line. A 4th Dimension spokesman said: 'While we accept responsibility for the delay caused by the incorrect [bank transfer] information, we do not believe it is accurate to characterise that issue as the primary reason the claim remained unresolved until April. 'The broader and more significant delays arose from Direct Line’s handling of the claim and their failure to progress settlement despite repeated chasers and an admission of liability.' In my opinion, neither firm has covered itself in glory. If there is a lesson to be learned, perhaps it is to go directly to your insurer in situations like this rather than using a middleman, as Ageas did manage to sort the problem far more quickly.I'm glad you can now buy a new bike and get back on two wheels. Phone palaver: Virgin customers were deliberately obstructed from ending contracts, an Ofcom investigation found Virgin Media rapped for contract extension traps I was pleased to hear that Virgin Media has been handed a record £28million fine by the regulator, Ofcom, for trying to prevent customers who wanted to leave from ending their contracts. Back in 2024, I wrote about a customer who was offered a special deal by Virgin if she agreed to renew her contract - but was told she needed to get a 'free' Sim card with sister phone network O2 to be eligible. It turned out the Sim wasn't free at all, and worked out she had been charged £650 for it over several years through higher monthly payments. Offering freebies is just one way phone and broadband firms try to persuade customers not to leave. Ofcom's investigation said Virgin had put those trying to cancel through 'excessive and unnecessary' transfers on the phone, put customers on hold 'for no reason' and used 'deliberate call-dropping tactics'. It's not clear whether affected customers will be paid compensation, but if you think you have been affected it is worth lodging a complaint with Virgin via its website at virginmedia.com/help/complaints.