accident with possible un in sured driver?

[pesty]

one Dec 1st a car pulled out of a pub car park right into me. I say into because thats virtualy what he did drive in the side of me as I was upon him.

The police where called by the landlord because he had been drinking he did however test under the limit. The policeman gave us both producers but did not record the accident because there were no injuries.

my insureance company phoned me today to ask me to get the guys registration from the police becasue they cannot get hold of the guy and he wont return any calls.

Managed to gather his registration but the police have said he has not produced any documents at all yet (I think we had 7 days to do it).

so does it sound like he has got no documents or is he just being awquard? anyone know what teh implications are if it does in fact turn out that he has no insureance?

[flat_steve]

Awkward or not, the Police don't like it when you ignore what they've told you to do. Sounds like he's really shooting himself in the foot and is a cert to have the full weight of the law come down on him over this.

[pesty]

Possibly but where odes that leave me? will I have to claim from my own insurance if it does in fact turn out he has got none?

[fcukruss]

no

you can contact the MIB(motor insurance bureau)

they will sort out the claim for you and you will have to pay an excess(normally what yours is)and they pay the rest,they then take the other driver to court to recover the costs.

be warned though this is very longwinded and can take upto a year.


russ

[pesty]

Ok. the claim will go ahead through my insureance to get the repair done. I will have to pay excess and lose no claims until its setled. Insureance is due in january so its going to cost me a lot! £500 excess and at least the same in extra insureance thanks !

The guy still wont answer the phone or reply to any letters. they cannot find any active insureance for the guy and it seems he still has not provided details to the Police.
the licence plate to the car says that he is not the registered keeper but according to my insureance company they cannot chase the actual owner of the car because of the Data protection act. That cant be right surely??

>> Edited by pesty on Wednesday 21st December 13:43

[Flat in Fifth]

Why not get the name and address of the owner from DVLA, £2.50 fee, though following recent press coverage they might have tightened up.

Then a bit of detective work beckons. For that amount of money I'd be paying a visit to the address, trying to spot the car and id the owner/driver as the person who hit you. If so a complaint to police and insurance company re provision of false details.

And YES I do know that is what plod etc should be doing. Being pro-active doesn't hurt, unless the address is in an area where coppers patrol in pairs.

[pesty]

Good idea, letter on its way.

IN DVLA speak Fee paying enquiry

ps its £5 apparently now.

[shnozz]

pesty said:

Possibly but where odes that leave me? will I have to claim from my own insurance if it does in fact turn out he has got none?

yes.

[shnozz]

you have applied to the DVLA for his details - thats the way a lawyer would go about tracing him. Then its a case of hoping he provides you with insurance details. If he does, off you trot to his insurers. If not, you can either:-

A. Sue him directly (unlikely to recover the money unless he is worth a few quid - normally uninsured scum aren't...)
B. Approach the motor insurers bureau and complete their application forms. However, they have an excess of £300 (or possibly £350, cant remember off hand) so you would only get back £200 or so of your £500 policy excess. And your insurers cant recover from the MIB so its wave goodbye to no claims bonus.

Ain't life dandy. So unjust, but if you need any help with it, feel free to drop me an email. I usedt o act on behalf of Claimants involved in, amongst other things, road traffic accidents.

[pesty]

Thanks for the offer Shnozz.
will update as soon as I know more. due to christmas etc, etc not sure how long it will take to get a reply from the DVLA.
I am also trying an other avenue of enquiry. I spoke to a lady at the local police station and need to phone her back next wednesday.

[Eliminator]

I suggest that you write to your MP giving brief details of the case and asking him to intervene with you local police force to prosecute this driver. Police are likely to take more attention if there is an MP complaint in their system, and havin prosecuted him you have the details for civil action for costs - including any incidental costs.

This tactic worked rather well for me in slightly disimilar circumstances.

[Steve_T]

Eliminator said:

I suggest that you write to your MP giving brief details of the case and asking him to intervene with you local police force to prosecute this driver. Police are likely to take more attention if there is an MP complaint in their system, and havin prosecuted him you have the details for civil action for costs - including any incidental costs. This tactic worked rather well for me in slightly disimilar circumstances.

I'm still after the hit and run driver that punted me in the Cerb. Would be obliged of any further details you could provide on a private mail Eliminator.

Thanks,

Steve.