Court Summons for No Continous Insurance
Discussion
Any one out there suffered the same treatment, due to an Insurance Company Administration error....
Here is the background,
15th December 2013, I was involved in a rear end collision that wasn't my fault. Exchanged all details and my vehicle was assessed by a third party agent. In short the Towbar had taken the impact and subsequently fractured the chassis.
An amount was agreed for my Mercedes E270 estate on the basis that I send them all Service History, full V5 document and any additional keys. This was sent to the them recorded post. A week later I was paid in full and claim settled.
Then in February after applying for a Tax Disc refund I found myself having to explain to the DVLA why I required one..... So I wrote to them with the details of the accident and where the vehicle had been recovered to. A breakers yard as a total loss was deemed due to un economical repair.
A refund however was never issued due to the time taken to process this and there only being less than a month of tax left after the correspondence presumably.
At this point I'd forgotten the accident had ever occurred until.... I received a £50 fine through the post from DVLA stating my vehicle had been checked against the MID and on a date in June 2015 I was the registered keeper and had no insurance. I Informed the Insurance company who agreed this was their error and was asked to pay the fine and be reimbursed straight away. This was done and I was forwarded a copy of a letter written to the DVLA explaining the accident and total loss to the effect that I hadn't been the keeper since the date of the accident.
I was satisfied with this so far as to say that on the 2nd October 2014 I received a Court Summons to appear at a local court to answer to a charge of " No Insurance ". Apparently my vehicle was checked on the 2nd September 2014 and again being the registered keeper and having no insurance.
Again another call to the insurance company who again have provided me with a copy of the letter they sent informing them of the total loss etc. The insurance company are now looking to use their own Solicitors to look in to the case on my behalf at no cost to me to assist me in court. I have ben advised to plead not guilty via post which automatically means a local court will be booked for a trial date for clearly something that as far as I can see means if convicted, a blemish on my unblemished Insurance record and Conviction that will be entered on to the Police National Computer. Not a criminal Conviction but non the less a record....
Any advice ???
Here is the background,
15th December 2013, I was involved in a rear end collision that wasn't my fault. Exchanged all details and my vehicle was assessed by a third party agent. In short the Towbar had taken the impact and subsequently fractured the chassis.
An amount was agreed for my Mercedes E270 estate on the basis that I send them all Service History, full V5 document and any additional keys. This was sent to the them recorded post. A week later I was paid in full and claim settled.
Then in February after applying for a Tax Disc refund I found myself having to explain to the DVLA why I required one..... So I wrote to them with the details of the accident and where the vehicle had been recovered to. A breakers yard as a total loss was deemed due to un economical repair.
A refund however was never issued due to the time taken to process this and there only being less than a month of tax left after the correspondence presumably.
At this point I'd forgotten the accident had ever occurred until.... I received a £50 fine through the post from DVLA stating my vehicle had been checked against the MID and on a date in June 2015 I was the registered keeper and had no insurance. I Informed the Insurance company who agreed this was their error and was asked to pay the fine and be reimbursed straight away. This was done and I was forwarded a copy of a letter written to the DVLA explaining the accident and total loss to the effect that I hadn't been the keeper since the date of the accident.
I was satisfied with this so far as to say that on the 2nd October 2014 I received a Court Summons to appear at a local court to answer to a charge of " No Insurance ". Apparently my vehicle was checked on the 2nd September 2014 and again being the registered keeper and having no insurance.
Again another call to the insurance company who again have provided me with a copy of the letter they sent informing them of the total loss etc. The insurance company are now looking to use their own Solicitors to look in to the case on my behalf at no cost to me to assist me in court. I have ben advised to plead not guilty via post which automatically means a local court will be booked for a trial date for clearly something that as far as I can see means if convicted, a blemish on my unblemished Insurance record and Conviction that will be entered on to the Police National Computer. Not a criminal Conviction but non the less a record....
Any advice ???
had this recently with a total loss claim back in February.
insurance co dealt with it all after much shouting and swearing down the phone at them and accusations of being useless monkeys.
certainly doesn't help that the dvla wont let you speak to anyone in regards to no continuous insurance and all correspondence must be in writing.
get the insurance co to set their lawyers on it, that's what I ended up doing.
insurance co dealt with it all after much shouting and swearing down the phone at them and accusations of being useless monkeys.
certainly doesn't help that the dvla wont let you speak to anyone in regards to no continuous insurance and all correspondence must be in writing.
get the insurance co to set their lawyers on it, that's what I ended up doing.
Send a stinking letter to the DVLA, making sure every other word is a swear word in true PH style. On a more serious note, this is a classic fault with computer based data bases. Garbage in, rubbish out. If the dam thing isn't updated, then the computer says 'NO', and you're screwed.
Edited by robinessex on Wednesday 8th October 11:44
I was persued recently by the DVLA for having no insurance on a car i'd sold 6 months previously - there's a thread on it somewhere here.
I was happy for them to take it to court as i would have like the chance to show their many, many failings. My correspondence grew more concise each time, with the last letter explaining in bold type:
'HERE'S WHY YOUR ENTIRE CLAIM IS WITHOUT MERIT' (I'm paraphrasing but it was very short and to the point).
A couple of weeks later I received a letter informing me they were taking no further action.
Call their bluff, they'll maybe see sense once their legal people are given the facts (or lack of) to base their case on.
I was happy for them to take it to court as i would have like the chance to show their many, many failings. My correspondence grew more concise each time, with the last letter explaining in bold type:
'HERE'S WHY YOUR ENTIRE CLAIM IS WITHOUT MERIT' (I'm paraphrasing but it was very short and to the point).
A couple of weeks later I received a letter informing me they were taking no further action.
Call their bluff, they'll maybe see sense once their legal people are given the facts (or lack of) to base their case on.
The insurance company have contacted me today to say that they are considering compensating me for the inconvenience and stress. Not really sure what in monetary terms this means but is further evidence to support my claim to the DVLA that I am not at fault.
Thanks for the replies, I am still not sure if I should use the Insurance companies Solicitors, as I am questioning as to there impartiality. I may seek legal advice elsewhere to be certain my interests are the priority. Maybe a Barrister.....
The insurance link is
http://www.markerstudy.com/policyholders/products/...
Please DO NOT use them under any circumstance, sometimes it is worth paying that bit extra.
( Buy cheap, Buy Twice )etc
Forgot to mention, my employment means I have to declare any Legal proceedings issued against me and I am therefore under an obligation to disclose this, which I have now done, but further causes issues as I am now being investigated for any wrong doing by my employer and could lead to possible suspension pending further investigation at worst.
Thanks for the replies, I am still not sure if I should use the Insurance companies Solicitors, as I am questioning as to there impartiality. I may seek legal advice elsewhere to be certain my interests are the priority. Maybe a Barrister.....
The insurance link is
http://www.markerstudy.com/policyholders/products/...
Please DO NOT use them under any circumstance, sometimes it is worth paying that bit extra.
( Buy cheap, Buy Twice )etc
Forgot to mention, my employment means I have to declare any Legal proceedings issued against me and I am therefore under an obligation to disclose this, which I have now done, but further causes issues as I am now being investigated for any wrong doing by my employer and could lead to possible suspension pending further investigation at worst.
Drumroll said:
What I don't understand is they seem to chase people where they have made an error. Yet there are still thousands of drivers going around with no insurance, No road tax or no MOT (often all 3) yet they don't seem to do much about that.
Ahh but they (the uninsured) probably don't have the car reg in their name or even registered in some case - so this would require a lot more effort - chasing soft targets for low hanging fruit is easy B'stard Child said:
Drumroll said:
What I don't understand is they seem to chase people where they have made an error. Yet there are still thousands of drivers going around with no insurance, No road tax or no MOT (often all 3) yet they don't seem to do much about that.
Ahh but they (the uninsured) probably don't have the car reg in their name or even registered in some case - so this would require a lot more effort - chasing soft targets for low hanging fruit is easy hutcho2659 said:
Forgot to mention, my employment means I have to declare any Legal proceedings issued against me and I am therefore under an obligation to disclose this, which I have now done, but further causes issues as I am now being investigated for any wrong doing by my employer and could lead to possible suspension pending further investigation at worst.
Forgive me for asking but, given that condition of your employment, why did you accept the previous fine?skwdenyer said:
hutcho2659 said:
Forgot to mention, my employment means I have to declare any Legal proceedings issued against me and I am therefore under an obligation to disclose this, which I have now done, but further causes issues as I am now being investigated for any wrong doing by my employer and could lead to possible suspension pending further investigation at worst.
Forgive me for asking but, given that condition of your employment, why did you accept the previous fine?That is a good question. I genuinely didn't realise at the time the repercussions this would have and just wanted to resolve the issue as quickly as possible without the fine increasing any further.
UPDATE
I have just spoken to the Insurance Company who have come back and said that they believe the DVLA had lost the Change of keeper section of the V5, but could not prove to anyone if the DVLA actually received the documents as they do not send them under a Recorded delivery option through Royal Mail.
My response to this was how could you possibly deem yourselves not to be at fault. If you had given me the option to send my own documents to the DVLA ( Recorded Delivery ) without withholding payment of my claim, this would not have happened !
The matter is being referred up the management line to the Claims Director Steve CROSS for his view on the matter.
All I want is a refund of the cost of my initial policy due to a clear breach of contract.
UPDATE
I have just spoken to the Insurance Company who have come back and said that they believe the DVLA had lost the Change of keeper section of the V5, but could not prove to anyone if the DVLA actually received the documents as they do not send them under a Recorded delivery option through Royal Mail.
My response to this was how could you possibly deem yourselves not to be at fault. If you had given me the option to send my own documents to the DVLA ( Recorded Delivery ) without withholding payment of my claim, this would not have happened !
The matter is being referred up the management line to the Claims Director Steve CROSS for his view on the matter.
All I want is a refund of the cost of my initial policy due to a clear breach of contract.
I thought that the DVLA always maintained that (from their point of view) the fact that they had posted something means that it must have been received? Therefore, the reverse should apply and the fact that your insurance co say they sent it should be sufficient and that it becomes DVLA's problem if they lose it?
hutcho2659 said:
That is a good question. I genuinely didn't realise at the time the repercussions this would have and just wanted to resolve the issue as quickly as possible without the fine increasing any further.
UPDATE
I have just spoken to the Insurance Company who have come back and said that they believe the DVLA had lost the Change of keeper section of the V5, but could not prove to anyone if the DVLA actually received the documents as they do not send them under a Recorded delivery option through Royal Mail.
My response to this was how could you possibly deem yourselves not to be at fault. If you had given me the option to send my own documents to the DVLA ( Recorded Delivery ) without withholding payment of my claim, this would not have happened !
The matter is being referred up the management line to the Claims Director Steve CROSS for his view on the matter.
All I want is a refund of the cost of my initial policy due to a clear breach of contract.
Markerstudy are a toxic mix of poor quality management and greed. Take independent advice.UPDATE
I have just spoken to the Insurance Company who have come back and said that they believe the DVLA had lost the Change of keeper section of the V5, but could not prove to anyone if the DVLA actually received the documents as they do not send them under a Recorded delivery option through Royal Mail.
My response to this was how could you possibly deem yourselves not to be at fault. If you had given me the option to send my own documents to the DVLA ( Recorded Delivery ) without withholding payment of my claim, this would not have happened !
The matter is being referred up the management line to the Claims Director Steve CROSS for his view on the matter.
All I want is a refund of the cost of my initial policy due to a clear breach of contract.
This is Marker Study's final response !!!!
Dear Mr ********
Further to our conversation of the 22nd October 2014 I write to confirm that I have now discussed your request for a return of the policy premium with Steven Cross (Group Head of Claims), as requested.
I regret that I am unable to refund the policy premium as we cannot see that an error has been made. As soon as we became aware that the DVLA has not processed the change of vehicle ownership, a letter was sent to them to confirm this. We accept the problems you are facing is not due to anything you have done wrong and therefore we have instructed solicitors, DWF to act in defence of the DVLA proceedings. This will be at our cost. This however, is not an admittance of liability of any wrong doing on our part.
I acknowledge that this matter will have been embarrassing for you in your line of work, and as such we have provided you with a letter to give to your employer so that they too are fully aware that you are not to blame for the proceedings that have been issued against you.
As per our previous correspondence, if you remain unhappy, you may refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, who will be happy to review the matter and provide an independent adjudication.
I realise that this is not the response that you were hoping to receive, but hope that you are able to understand the reasons behind our decision.
Kind regards
Rachel Robb
Complaints Team Leader
Markerstudy Group
Dear Mr ********
Further to our conversation of the 22nd October 2014 I write to confirm that I have now discussed your request for a return of the policy premium with Steven Cross (Group Head of Claims), as requested.
I regret that I am unable to refund the policy premium as we cannot see that an error has been made. As soon as we became aware that the DVLA has not processed the change of vehicle ownership, a letter was sent to them to confirm this. We accept the problems you are facing is not due to anything you have done wrong and therefore we have instructed solicitors, DWF to act in defence of the DVLA proceedings. This will be at our cost. This however, is not an admittance of liability of any wrong doing on our part.
I acknowledge that this matter will have been embarrassing for you in your line of work, and as such we have provided you with a letter to give to your employer so that they too are fully aware that you are not to blame for the proceedings that have been issued against you.
As per our previous correspondence, if you remain unhappy, you may refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, who will be happy to review the matter and provide an independent adjudication.
I realise that this is not the response that you were hoping to receive, but hope that you are able to understand the reasons behind our decision.
Kind regards
Rachel Robb
Complaints Team Leader
Markerstudy Group
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