Advice needed - delicate situation
Discussion
An awkward one here chaps. Friend of mine naturally........
Working one day with brand new van parked outside clients property. Neighbours knock on door and say a guy has just keyed your van as he walked past. Van inspected pronto - all three panels on one side scratched deeply from front to back.
Man is detained & arrested by police - denies it - but there are 3 witnesses (the neighbours) who give statements to police - saw the key in his hand / heard the scratching noise etc. Key & fob found in mans pocket match description given by witnesses etc. Several other cars in same street are found to be keyed also.
Anyway - police say he will be prosecuted and estimate criminal damage costs of around £500 to cover paintwork costs.
Several weeks later - heard nothing & when chasing it up - police advise that man has since died, and as such no criminal damages will be forthcoming due to never being tried & convicted.
However - they advise to contact vehicle insurance company - and get them to seek costs from deceased's estate - as burden of proof for civil is less than criminal.
What's the PH consensus here?
Points to note
1) It won't T-Cut out - it's far too deep
2) Van is leased - hence needs sorting properly before being handed back
Edited to add that the suspect was an alcoholic & died from health complications.
Working one day with brand new van parked outside clients property. Neighbours knock on door and say a guy has just keyed your van as he walked past. Van inspected pronto - all three panels on one side scratched deeply from front to back.
Man is detained & arrested by police - denies it - but there are 3 witnesses (the neighbours) who give statements to police - saw the key in his hand / heard the scratching noise etc. Key & fob found in mans pocket match description given by witnesses etc. Several other cars in same street are found to be keyed also.
Anyway - police say he will be prosecuted and estimate criminal damage costs of around £500 to cover paintwork costs.
Several weeks later - heard nothing & when chasing it up - police advise that man has since died, and as such no criminal damages will be forthcoming due to never being tried & convicted.
However - they advise to contact vehicle insurance company - and get them to seek costs from deceased's estate - as burden of proof for civil is less than criminal.
What's the PH consensus here?
Points to note
1) It won't T-Cut out - it's far too deep
2) Van is leased - hence needs sorting properly before being handed back
Edited to add that the suspect was an alcoholic & died from health complications.
Edited by carpmaster on Thursday 31st July 21:06
Edited by carpmaster on Thursday 31st July 21:09
This is why you have insurance. It covers you for s
t that happens where either, you're at fault or something else has happened that you can't claim off them for. If you don't want to claim due to NCD / premium hike (not sure about NCD on a commercial vehicle, it's probably experience rated)., then it'll be coming out of your pocket, as there's little chance of your insurer wasting money looking for their outlay in an alcoholics estate and risking the bad publicity on the back of it.
t that happens where either, you're at fault or something else has happened that you can't claim off them for. If you don't want to claim due to NCD / premium hike (not sure about NCD on a commercial vehicle, it's probably experience rated)., then it'll be coming out of your pocket, as there's little chance of your insurer wasting money looking for their outlay in an alcoholics estate and risking the bad publicity on the back of it. Get a quote for the repairs or the excess which ever is greater and send it into the executor of the estate, don't need to involve solicitors. Wouldn't worry about sensitivities as no doubt this will hardly be a surprise for the family.
This will take time so you may need to take paying for the repair or excess on the nose first and hope you get paid back.
This will take time so you may need to take paying for the repair or excess on the nose first and hope you get paid back.
gottans said:
Get a quote for the repairs or the excess which ever is greater and send it into the executor of the estate, don't need to involve solicitors. Wouldn't worry about sensitivities as no doubt this will hardly be a surprise for the family.
This will take time so you may need to take paying for the repair or excess on the nose first and hope you get paid back.
If he's claiming on his insurance, then acting on his own around the excess is not going to go down well with his insurers and the contract he signed with them and the rights he subrogated. This will take time so you may need to take paying for the repair or excess on the nose first and hope you get paid back.
If you don't know what that means, then steer clear of advising him to do certain things.
.A few years ago, our car was keyed across several panels. At the time, I assumed there was no way it would polish out - scratches on a metallic red car showed bright white. The cost of having it re sprayed was quoted at 4 figures, which I didn't fancy claiming for if I could help it. A chance encounter with a ChipsAway bloke in a supermarket car park led to him spending half a day working magic with various polishes, and the scratches became invisible.
Worth checking if you've not already done so, before making an expensive insurance claim.
Worth checking if you've not already done so, before making an expensive insurance claim.
billshoreham said:
the guy was sick, now he's dead and you are worried about a monkey?
Right....so just because he was "sick" it's ok for him to go around damaging people's property.I suppose it'll also be fine when the local "sick" heroin addict attacks an old lady and steals her purse.
Nezquick said:
billshoreham said:
the guy was sick, now he's dead and you are worried about a monkey?
Right....so just because he was "sick" it's ok for him to go around damaging people's property.I suppose it'll also be fine when the local "sick" heroin addict attacks an old lady and steals her purse.
billshoreham said:
the guy was sick, now he's dead and you are worried about a monkey?
He wasn't sick, he was a tosser. Sick is when something out of your control makes you ill, like a virus or cancer. Self imposed sickness due to lack of willpower is not an excuse to key lots of people's cars.Dead or not, that bloke owes the bloke with the van money to rectify it. It should be paid by his estate - if I was the bloke with the van, I'd get the process started quickly (guessing once the will is executed, he's not likely to sue the realtives of the deceased)..
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