Insurance have settled 50:50 AArgh
Discussion
I was driving to see my family last year when passing a parked car there was this loud bang my car jolted and my mrs yelped. I pulled over as the mrs was in the process of telling me that the muppet that was parked just opened his door without looking.
The impact caught my wing his door entered the gap between my door and wing pushing my closed door back half an inch putting a hole in the bottom of A pillar and cracking my windscreen.
There was a slight left hand bend and i have damage on my left wheel which if i was turning left is behind the point of impact
I approach the bloke who throws his arms into the air and says sorry mate just didnt see you. I say fair enough thats why we have insurance exchange details and leave.
I then recieve notice from the insurance stating that they want to settle 50:50 as he is saying his door was open and I drove into an open door.
How stupid are the insurance there is NO damage to the front of my car at all the first impact is halfway down my wing and the wheel.
I have told the ins and the lawyers not to settle 50:50 and we will go to court i have a witness (although not independant).
So now after a phone call chancing up i get told it was settled a couple of months ago 50:50. Great a cheque for £540 and and accident recorded on my file I have told the ins this aint on and they said they settled because they couldnt contact me(rubbish) I have had letters regarding the hire car.
Aaargh What do i do I`m so annoyed i guess one moral is never use the insurance`s lawyers get your own
Any ideas on what i should do next
cheers
matt
The impact caught my wing his door entered the gap between my door and wing pushing my closed door back half an inch putting a hole in the bottom of A pillar and cracking my windscreen.
There was a slight left hand bend and i have damage on my left wheel which if i was turning left is behind the point of impact
I approach the bloke who throws his arms into the air and says sorry mate just didnt see you. I say fair enough thats why we have insurance exchange details and leave.
I then recieve notice from the insurance stating that they want to settle 50:50 as he is saying his door was open and I drove into an open door.
How stupid are the insurance there is NO damage to the front of my car at all the first impact is halfway down my wing and the wheel.
I have told the ins and the lawyers not to settle 50:50 and we will go to court i have a witness (although not independant).
So now after a phone call chancing up i get told it was settled a couple of months ago 50:50. Great a cheque for £540 and and accident recorded on my file I have told the ins this aint on and they said they settled because they couldnt contact me(rubbish) I have had letters regarding the hire car.
Aaargh What do i do I`m so annoyed i guess one moral is never use the insurance`s lawyers get your own
Any ideas on what i should do next
cheers
matt
mark69sheer said:
Sorry to say it and I know you can't allways do it but going past parked cars you should allways give enough room for a door to unexpectedly open.
I know what your saying but its totally impractable to leave a car doors width whilst passing every parked car. on some of our roads you would never be able to drive down themDracoro said:
Surely, legally, they can't settle without your authorisation/agreement?
thats what i thought especially as i told them not to after i recieved the original offer of 50:50but apparantly they are not working on my behalf just saving there own backs
I`m hoping your insurance members may be able to add something
Edited by matty g on Tuesday 9th October 23:17
sorry to hear it Matty - and yes you should always leave room for parked cars to open their doors, especially in London, Manchester, Coventry, Birmingham, Bristol; so the answer is buy a field and drive your car there! (what are these people thinking) -
Simple, no dent to front, door was opened whilst you were going past - and for those who say you have to leave a door sized space - where is it that you drive?
Simple, no dent to front, door was opened whilst you were going past - and for those who say you have to leave a door sized space - where is it that you drive?
Ask for proof of attempted contact and see what they give you. IMO if they haven't tried registered post then I don't think it's fair.
Also you can hardly say he was driving too close. Some car doors open very wide these days and uf everybody drove out of reach of them then it would be chaos. In any case the insurers aren't saying he drove too close, but that he drove into an open door, something the op denies.
I would contest it, and show how there are no marks on the front etc so surely it can't have been open already. Press the insurers first, if they don't play ball then maybe report them to the FSA ombudsmen etc.
Also you can hardly say he was driving too close. Some car doors open very wide these days and uf everybody drove out of reach of them then it would be chaos. In any case the insurers aren't saying he drove too close, but that he drove into an open door, something the op denies.
I would contest it, and show how there are no marks on the front etc so surely it can't have been open already. Press the insurers first, if they don't play ball then maybe report them to the FSA ombudsmen etc.
In hindsight and if it should ever happen again i will sit in the car phone the police and say i`m injured that way when he admits fault to the BiB then its on record
I have told the ins. that there was no damage to the front of my car and the likelyhood of me driving into an already open door (bearing in mind I do 75k miles a year. so have a fair amount of driving experiance) is none existant
Whats daft is they gave me a hire car costs £1875 plus legal fees and my £540 they could have setlled me for £1200 and saved a small fortune
I have told the ins. that there was no damage to the front of my car and the likelyhood of me driving into an already open door (bearing in mind I do 75k miles a year. so have a fair amount of driving experiance) is none existant
Whats daft is they gave me a hire car costs £1875 plus legal fees and my £540 they could have setlled me for £1200 and saved a small fortune
DonnyMac said:
sorry to hear it Matty - and yes you should always leave room for parked cars to open their doors, especially in London, Manchester, Coventry, Birmingham, Bristol; so the answer is buy a field and drive your car there! (what are these people thinking) -
Simple, no dent to front, door was opened whilst you were going past - and for those who say you have to leave a door sized space - where is it that you drive?
Nottingham, and I leave a gap big enough for a door Simple, no dent to front, door was opened whilst you were going past - and for those who say you have to leave a door sized space - where is it that you drive?
It's possible that the door was open, a little - and the OP could have turned into it slightly, avoiding oncoming traffic. Not impossible - would leave no damage on the front. The OP has said themself that this is only "unlikely" not impossible..so what can the insurance company do?
Your T+C's state that you "must not, in the event of an accident, admit fault". I understand why the OP wishes to fight this...but I think it's an uphill struggle.
There is damage to my wheel. that could only have got there by him opening his door into my wheel. as my wheel was turned to the left if i had driven into his door. the front of my tyre would have made contact with his door not the wheel which when turned is actually behind any point of impact.
Edited by matty g on Wednesday 10th October 00:11
matty g said:
There is damage to my wheel. that could only have got there by him opening his door into my wheel. as my wheel was turned to the left if i had driven into his door. the front of my tyre would have made contact with his door not the wheel which when turned is actually behind any point of impact.
What if you were on a conveyor belt?Edited by matty g on Wednesday 10th October 00:11
(sorry, g'night!
)I had an annoying claim recently that was "my fault" allegedly, despite having a witness on my side saying that blokey turned in front of me causing me to fall off while avoiding him. It took 6 months before his insurance admited liability. Bloke apologised at the time, Police wanted to do him for careless driving but I said he's probably learnt a lesson & got him off it. Then I get letters saying he was minding his own business and I fell off in front of him etc etc. End result is I no longer trust anyone. Police were great tho', and finally I'm getting some money back. Wish I'd let him get done for careless...
Bad luck about the door mate. I sympathise completely. You just can't leave enough space ALL of the time, roads aren't wide enough!
C
Bad luck about the door mate. I sympathise completely. You just can't leave enough space ALL of the time, roads aren't wide enough!
C
matty g said:
In hindsight and if it should ever happen again i will sit in the car phone the police and say i`m injured that way when he admits fault to the BiB then its on record
I have told the ins. that there was no damage to the front of my car and the likelyhood of me driving into an already open door (bearing in mind I do 75k miles a year. so have a fair amount of driving experiance) is none existant
Whats daft is they gave me a hire car costs £1875 plus legal fees and my £540 they could have setlled me for £1200 and saved a small fortune
They recoup all that und more back by hiking up your premium for next 5 years I have told the ins. that there was no damage to the front of my car and the likelyhood of me driving into an already open door (bearing in mind I do 75k miles a year. so have a fair amount of driving experiance) is none existant
Whats daft is they gave me a hire car costs £1875 plus legal fees and my £540 they could have setlled me for £1200 and saved a small fortune
It not matter if "protected no claims" either. That just a sop in reality I think. Because it legal requirement - a right shark's racket really. They like 50/50 settlements - cheapest option for them und they can also load a premium as well........but they also take into account a non-fault too. It really a win-win for the insurers und a lose-lose for the hapless customer.I also hear this morning that they plan to cease to cover for "flood damage" too
You need to write back to them (or their 'customer service') pointing out that at no time were they authorised to settle on your behalf and that you're considering taking this to the ombudsman.
Once you get their reply you can then decide whether to go to the ombudsman or not.
If you try to go to the ombudsman first, they will just tell you to try and sort it out with the insurance company first. So with the response to your complaint (assuming it hasn't helped) you can show the ombudsman that your insurance company wants nothing more to do with it and that's why you're contacting the ombudsman.
I've been through two scenarios like this (in each case it was because the both parties were covered by the same insurer). On each occasion the insurance company tried to settle 50:50 (they pay out the same whatever happens, but recover higher premiums off 2 drivers rather than 1), but both times I've called and then followed up with letters stating that I'm not happy, and detailing what I expect them to do to stop me going to the ombudsman.
On neither occasion have I had to go to the ombudsman though.
Once you get their reply you can then decide whether to go to the ombudsman or not.
If you try to go to the ombudsman first, they will just tell you to try and sort it out with the insurance company first. So with the response to your complaint (assuming it hasn't helped) you can show the ombudsman that your insurance company wants nothing more to do with it and that's why you're contacting the ombudsman.
I've been through two scenarios like this (in each case it was because the both parties were covered by the same insurer). On each occasion the insurance company tried to settle 50:50 (they pay out the same whatever happens, but recover higher premiums off 2 drivers rather than 1), but both times I've called and then followed up with letters stating that I'm not happy, and detailing what I expect them to do to stop me going to the ombudsman.
On neither occasion have I had to go to the ombudsman though.
Complain. In this day and age, with emails, mobile phones etc, its a lame excuse to say that they cannot contact you.
However, in my job, I do have difficulties in contacting my clients on some occasion.
As previously stated, request copies of full details of their attempts to contact you.
Whilst I hear some people say leave enough room, it all depends on the road layout.
Name the insurance company.
G
However, in my job, I do have difficulties in contacting my clients on some occasion.
As previously stated, request copies of full details of their attempts to contact you.
Whilst I hear some people say leave enough room, it all depends on the road layout.
Name the insurance company.
G
This happened to me and I complained bitterly to everyone. Basically in France some woman ran into me in Disney's car park. Had photographs etc and when after six months they decided that to pursue the matter was a none starter and did it 50-50. I ended up not paying any excess and got a letter to confirm they had made a commecial decision to settle and in no way was I to blame for the accident. Just sent copys at renewal time and it had no effect on my insurance. Don't roll over!
With a slightly more helpful head on - worth sending AnniesDad a message (on here) maybe? I believe this is his line of work (non-fault accident claims - and although he might not be able to help with the claim itself now, he might have some pointers (then again, he might not, and I could be right off the mark with his job!)
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