Driver denied having an accident

[king12345]

I just found out I have family legal protection on my home insurance.

Looked at the t&c and it doesn't exclude motoring litigation.

Fingers crossed they can help

[Bazooka Boo]

It's simple really.....if his Insurance company don't want anything to do with it, and I really cannot see that happening,

then you get three estimates to repair the damage, send him copies of the estimates, give him a timeline by which to respond and agree which estimate he

is happy to pay for.

Then get the work done, you pay for the work, and then send him the bill.

If as I expect he claims he doesn't have to pay it, then you go through the small claims court, and all charges and interest will be added.

 

But I feel I'm jumping the gun a little here, see what the Ins coys say first.

[Conniff]

Simple to do a claim for money, it can be started on line at https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome

 

 

The initial cost to you, which you claim back, will not be much.

 

 

Mind if you have legal cover then let someone else do it if there are any problems with a straight claim.

[king12345]

My wife has taken a week off work on doctor's advice as she got the scare of her life and her legs went like jelly.

She went for a scan today to check that the pregnancy is ok, fortunately everything seems in order.

But at this point we 're talking more than just the car damage.

My son is also refusing to get into the car seat, he kicks and screams like crazy.

So my wife has got to sit next to him, otherwise we don't go anywhere.

This presents a real problem because when I am at work she can't go out.

Hopefully he'll forget about it very soon.

I spoke to his insurance today and apparently he's now claiming of not been at the scene of the accident!

The insurance guy on the phone used the word "dodgy" and said that it's hard to believe he wasn't there given that i have pictures of him and his car next to mine and also pictures of his driving license.

A bit difficult to obtain all of this without having never seen him.

[Slimm]

Sounds like they're taking you seriously which is good. At a guess they'll give him a fortnight or so to explain the discrepancies before they get fed up and consider sending someone to take his statement face to face, or examine his car.

 

 

If you can spare the time it's well worth making sure you keep on top of them, call every 48hrs or so and ask what progress has been made since the last time you rang. Often the squeaky wheel does indeed get the grease.

 

 

Like Bazooka says, now would be a good time to get 2 or 3 quotes.

[king12345]

Sounds like they're taking you seriously which is good. At a guess they'll give him a fortnight or so to explain the discrepancies before they get fed up and consider sending someone to take his statement face to face, or examine his car.

 

 

If you can spare the time it's well worth making sure you keep on top of them, call every 48hrs or so and ask what progress has been made since the last time you rang. Often the squeaky wheel does indeed get the grease.

 

 

Like Bazooka says, now would be a good time to get 2 or 3 quotes.

 

Thanks.

I thought that if I left them alone they would not get angry (one of their agent did).

I call again on Monday and will get the quotes.

I haven't washed the car even if it's a Friday ritual.

Sad, I know, but I really like my Passat.

[king12345]

Hi guys, just an update.

I spoke to the insurance again today and they have changed there story again; apparently the driver was at the scene but didn't have an accident.

They still haven't been able to contact him.

I wonder why they would be interested in contacting him, after all they'll be better off not sorting this out.

My home insurance legal protection said that they can give me advice but they won't cover me because motor accidents are excluded.

I asked where the exclusion was on the t&c and they didn't know, so I'll have to call back tomorrow.

Is there anything I can do to get the third party insurance to investigate this thoroughly and quickly?

As I said, why would they be in a rush?

[king12345]

Hi Everyone,

I drafted a quick letter to send to the insurance, could you have a look and let me know if it's ok?

Also, should I send Mr XXXX a copy?

Thanks

 

 

RE: RTA 01st March 2015

 

Registration Number: XXXXXXXX

Policy holder: XXXXXXXX

 

Dear Sir or Madam,

With regards to the above Road Traffic Accident, I am disappointed to report that no progress has been made since it was reported to you over a week ago.

I have been informed by your claim representatives that you are having difficulties in contacting Mr XXXXXX and therefore cannot proceed with the claim.

Accordingly to your records, in his initial report Mr XXXXXX denied having had the accident.

I was then informed by your agent YYYY that in fact Mr XXXXXX had denied being at the scene of the accident.

Today your agent ZZZZ told me that again he denied having had the accident.

It would appear that you have managed to contact Mr XXXXXX on more than one occasion.

You are in possession of all the photographic and corroborative evidence of the case which I duly emailed to you upon request, proving without doubt that Mr XXXXXX was indeed at the scene of the accident and hit my car with the front of his car.

I request that within 14 calendar days you conclude your investigation and accept liability for this accident.

Should I not receive a positive response within this timeframe I will have no other option than start legal proceedings against you and Mr XXXXXX.

All related legal expenses will be invoiced to you.

 

Regards

My Name

[Bazooka Boo]

IMO I wouldn't send them anything, just yet!

 

Have you got any estimates for the repairs?

[king12345]

I have an appointment at VW on Wednesday for the estimate and tomorrow I will go to a local body repairer.

VW will probably give a crazy price in excess of £1000.

Why wouldn't you send anything yet?

They're giving me the runaround and clearly they'll be financially better off if they never get in touch with their policy holder

[Slimm]

Insurance is based on risk. Say your repairs cost £1000, they'd rather pay that than £1000 repairs + £250 court costs. Of course, they'll not do that until they're fed up with their client and satisfied that he's a liar, as opposed to merely being on holiday in Malta.

 

 

Letters pretty reasonable, you can't sue without having incurred a loss so as Bazooka says get at least quotes first. I'd avoid the use of the phrase 'proving without doubt' as there can almost always be a slight degree of doubt. Civil cases are 'on the balance of probability'. I would end that paragraph with something like 'I am confident a court will find your clients denial of involvement to be lacking in credibility.'

 

 

I'd drop the bit about them concluding their investigations and admitting liability, that's not really a realistic timescale. I'd add the '14 day' limit into expecting a positive response and invite them to deal with your claim on a 'strictly without prejudice to liability' basis. This means they still pay, but gives them some wiggle room if, for example, your son puts in a claim for personal injury in 9 years time.

 

 

If you haven't already done so offer them the chance to send an engineer to inspect your vehicle. Naturally this will be at their own expense and at an agreed place/time.

[Bazooka Boo]

Agree with the above except DO NOT use without prejudice, it means nothing.

[Slimm]

I complete disagree, an admission of liability means you accept responsibility for an an accident. On the other hand dealing WP aka 'without prejudice' aka 'strictly without prejudice to liability' means you are willing to deal with the immediate consequences of an accident, but without taking ownership of any future risks. It's a extremely common insurer position when faced with a client who may be innocent but is not co-operating.

 

 

For example if a vehicle is damaged and credit hire is building up daily an insurers will sometimes pay for repairs 'without prejudice' just to stop the hire building up, even if they think in the long run they can get a 50:50 liability split.

[king12345]

Bazooka and Slimm, thanks for your input, I will amend accordingly and repost.

But you lost me on the "without prejudice"; can you give another example, the one with my son claiming in 9 years time doesn't light my tunnel

 

Also, my wife scare needs to be compensated, she lost 3 days work and don't forget she's pregnant and had to see a&e and gp next day.

My son has kicked up a fuss about getting back in that child seat.

We had to move the seat to the other side of the car and my wife has to sit next to him to keep him calm.

He's been a pain in the backside all week, waking up at night and getting into our bed.

Gp reckons it will settle down and I hope he's right.

In any case, I intend to claim for the distress caused.

[Slimm]

In insurance claims dealing WP just means 'We're going to deal with this (repairs in this case), but no promises about anything else in the future'. Whereas an open admission of liability means 'Yep, we accept total responsibility for anything that can be traced to the accident now and in the future'. It's common for situations where a client doesn't or cannot respond for some reason, or where fighting a minor claim will cost more than it's likely to save.

 

 

In relation to distress that's not really something you'll be compensated for I'm afraid. Scottish Law allows a claim for inconvenience but the awards are pretty trivial. In England & Wales a claim needs to be for something more substantive than just feeling bad after an accident - for example if a car was coming head on and you were in genuine fear of your life then suffered PTSD, that would qualify. Frankly it sounds like most of the distress had little to do with the accident and more to do with the other driver being unpleasant. You did however state your wife was in physical pain, that and any loss of income suffered can be claimed for - either directly from the insurers or via solicitors if you really feel the need.

[king12345]

Ok, got the without prejudice, thanks.

My wife had pain in her legs and around her waist/back, not because of the impact, but because she got so scared I suppose the adrenaline made her legs shaky.

She felt like she had run 3 marathons, to use her own words.

Got to speak to an injury lawyer and see what they think.

I'll get the quotes asap.

Thanks

[Ganymede]

Your child would have a better claim than your wife. My concern would be her injuries are too remote.

[Conniff]

Can you post up the pictures you took please King ?

[king12345]

Can you post up the pictures you took please King ?

 

I will do when I get home, on mobile I can't see the attach button.

[king12345]

Hi guys, got the first estimate from a local body repairer and it comes to £750.

I wonder if they would pay that given age of the car (17 years) despite having been kept in very good conditions and having done only 100k miles.

Is there any way to check the value that the insurance will give to a car?

And at what point they will deem the repairs to be not worth?

50%, 75%, 100% of value?

[Bazooka Boo]

Law phrase: Without abandonment of a claim, privilege, or right, and without implying an admission of liability.

(1) When used in a document or letter, without prejudice means that what follows (a) cannot be used as evidence in a court case, (b) cannot be taken as the signatory's last word on the subject matter, and © cannot be used as a precedent. Contents of such documents normally cannot be disclosed to the courts but, when a party proposes to settle a dispute out-of-court, it is the genuineness of the effort that determines whether the proposal can disclosed or not, and not whether the words without prejudice were used.

(2) When a court case is dismissed, or a court order is issued without prejudice, it means that a new case may be brought or a new order issued on the same basis as the dismissed case or the original order.

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/without-prejudice.html

 

Yes apologies, still had my 'DCA bashing' head on......

[Bazooka Boo]

And at what point they will deem the repairs to be not worth?

50%, 75%, 100% of value?

 

Not sure, have you tried looking online for cars the same age model as yours and see what the going rate is?

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/prices/used/

 

As for what they would deem uneconomical to repair would be down to the Insurance i guess?

[king12345]

Not sure, have you tried looking online for cars the same age model as yours and see what the going rate is?

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/prices/used/

 

As for what they would deem uneconomical to repair would be down to the Insurance i guess?

 

 

My particular model, the 1.8 turbo charged 150 bhp B5 is one of the most wanted by the Passat enthusiasts.

I have tons of receipt for service (every 6 months) and major maintenance like cam belt, pulleys, water pump, suspension arms, brakes, new tyres in February, auxiliary belts, fluid replacements, gearbox oil replacement etc.

I really didn't spare any money keeping this car perfect.

I guess that, looking at similar cars of similar age and mileage, if I had to sell it I would ask the higher price bracket, around £1500, but I wouldn't sell it.

In the past 3 months alone I spent around £800 for full service, two suspension arms, new Good Year tyres, tracking and front bearings.

My fear is that the insurance will offer scrap money for it because of the age.

 

 

I attached a few pictures so you can see that the guy was there (I covered the faces).

The picture taken with my car next to his was taken after he had reversed into his parking lot and I moved my car to show the matching damage.

One thing the body shop made me notice is that the all door has gone in and is not aligned with the front one anymore, so it's a door off job.

[king12345]

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201402061612182/sort/default/fuel-type/petrol/onesearchad/used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew/usedcars/model/passat/transmission/manual/radius/1501/page/1/maximum-age/over_10_years_old/engine-size-cars/1-7l_to_1-9l/make/volkswagen/maximum-mileage/up_to_100000_miles/quicksearch/true/postcode/tw33aa?logcode=p

 

 

This is very similar to mine, I don't have alloy rims but mine is an estate, so it compensate for it.

This is 2 years younger than mine but same mileage.

[king12345]

Hi guys, strange thing happened today.

I got a call from a law firm instructed by my insurance to take our case on because I have some sort of legal protection on my policy.

They will look at the distress part of the claim, but they said that I still need to pursue the car damage myself.

They said they are sending all the paperwork so I can look at it before I sign.

I asked a dozen times if there was any cost involved, but as I have paid extra for this legal thing, it is free.

Is it too good to be true?