accident management, am I in liable?
Discussion
Mid 2013, my car was parked by the roadside, I was walking back towards it and I saw I guy get into his car which was parked behind mine and as he pulled quickly away he misjudged it and clipped my bumper. He stopped, I arrived just as he got out, he apologised and admitted full liability and gave me his insurance details.
I contacted my insurance company, gave them all the details and left it to them. At the end of the call, they made arrangements for my car to be picked up for repair, and, as the other party had already admitted liability told me to go to the nearest Enterprise car rental depot where they had an agreement and pick up a hire car.
When I got to the hire company, they had a diesel Mondeo estate waiting for me as this was the closest they had to my diesel Passat estate. There was no mention of this being a contract hire arrangement but they told me they were working in partnership with my insurers to provide this service and asked me to sign a form that said I would cooperate with them to recover the costs of the 'hire' in the event that the other insurer didn't play ball. A week later,my car was returned having been repaired and I handed back the Mondeo the same day.
I never heard anything more till last month. One day I received a letter from Enterprise stating that while the repair part of the insurance claim had been settled, they had been unable to recover the 'hire' costs and , as per the form I had signed, they would like me to cooperate with their lawyers in pursuing this claim. The next day I received a letter from a well known Glasgow legal firm asking for my help in pursuing this claim. They sent three blank forms, the first was for me to give them details of the circumstances of the accident. The second was a consent form for my insurer to discuss the case with them. The third was a copy of their terms and conditions and fees and an agreement for me to sign appointing them to represent me in this case.
I filled in the first two forms giving them the information they'd asked for but sent a note with the third stating that they were working on behalf of Enterprise , not me and that I did not want them to represent me.
Since then they have sent three letters chasing up the forms which they said they have not received. I have responded twice stating that the forms were sent out but if they do not have them then send me new ones. Today when I received the third letter, I telephoned them. The lady told me that they had received my responses but that I hadn't signed the agreement for them to represent me and that was why they were chasing me for a reply. I told her that I had replied to the effect that they had been appointed by Enterprise, not me and that I wasn't in a position to agree to their terms and conditions. She said 'to clarify, contrary to your signed agreement, you are refusing to assist in the recovery of
these costs?' I said no, 'I am happy to assist your client but do not wish to engage you myself'. She then ended the call with the statement 'Ok, you don't need to anything more , thankyou for your time.'
I'm wondering now, have I done this wrong? Should I have signed? Have I now left myself liable for the hire cost? Why would a legal firm appointed by the hire company be looking to sign me up as a client?
Can anyone advise?
I contacted my insurance company, gave them all the details and left it to them. At the end of the call, they made arrangements for my car to be picked up for repair, and, as the other party had already admitted liability told me to go to the nearest Enterprise car rental depot where they had an agreement and pick up a hire car.
When I got to the hire company, they had a diesel Mondeo estate waiting for me as this was the closest they had to my diesel Passat estate. There was no mention of this being a contract hire arrangement but they told me they were working in partnership with my insurers to provide this service and asked me to sign a form that said I would cooperate with them to recover the costs of the 'hire' in the event that the other insurer didn't play ball. A week later,my car was returned having been repaired and I handed back the Mondeo the same day.
I never heard anything more till last month. One day I received a letter from Enterprise stating that while the repair part of the insurance claim had been settled, they had been unable to recover the 'hire' costs and , as per the form I had signed, they would like me to cooperate with their lawyers in pursuing this claim. The next day I received a letter from a well known Glasgow legal firm asking for my help in pursuing this claim. They sent three blank forms, the first was for me to give them details of the circumstances of the accident. The second was a consent form for my insurer to discuss the case with them. The third was a copy of their terms and conditions and fees and an agreement for me to sign appointing them to represent me in this case.
I filled in the first two forms giving them the information they'd asked for but sent a note with the third stating that they were working on behalf of Enterprise , not me and that I did not want them to represent me.
Since then they have sent three letters chasing up the forms which they said they have not received. I have responded twice stating that the forms were sent out but if they do not have them then send me new ones. Today when I received the third letter, I telephoned them. The lady told me that they had received my responses but that I hadn't signed the agreement for them to represent me and that was why they were chasing me for a reply. I told her that I had replied to the effect that they had been appointed by Enterprise, not me and that I wasn't in a position to agree to their terms and conditions. She said 'to clarify, contrary to your signed agreement, you are refusing to assist in the recovery of
these costs?' I said no, 'I am happy to assist your client but do not wish to engage you myself'. She then ended the call with the statement 'Ok, you don't need to anything more , thankyou for your time.'
I'm wondering now, have I done this wrong? Should I have signed? Have I now left myself liable for the hire cost? Why would a legal firm appointed by the hire company be looking to sign me up as a client?
Can anyone advise?
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