Uncooperative a-hole damaged my car
Discussion
Hello all, I was after some advice after an incident a couple of months ago and wasn’t sure of the best way to processed.
It was late October 2017, I was attending a conference at a Hotel and had parked in the hotels underground car park, my car was parked appropriately and not causing any obstruction. I came back a few hours later to find damage on my car, as you can probably imagine I wasn’t pleased. I had a look around the car park and spotted the car that had hit mine. My drivers side rear arch had a scrape from the front passenger corner of the other car. Paint transfer was visible and the height of the two areas of damage was the same. So, I went back in to the hotel, spoke to the manager who was helpful but we couldn’t find the car’s owner. I took photos and left a note on the car and after hanging around for an hour I left.
I called the Police the next day to get my crime reference number but I thought I would give the car owner a few days to respond. After a week and no response I called my insurance company. A few weeks had gone by so I called my insurance company and they told me the car is a company owned car and initially the driver denied they were even at the car park, but once the photos had been seen they changed their stance to “we will investigate internally”. Last update was a week ago and they are still “investigating”
I don’t know where to go from here, my insurance can’t do much if the other driver isn’t responding, obviously dragging their heels. What should / could I do next? Can I legally get in contact with the company and ask WTF is going on? Can I claim through a small claims court and leave the insurance company out of it? Does anyone know any big burly men who want to take out all their frustrations on a big expensive car? (I’ll provide the baseball bats…) I’m thinking of going to the Citizen Advice Bureau too, just to see what they say.
Oh and if you happen to be the driver of a 65 plate XF with 350z paint on your bumper. You’re a pretentious., pompous C**T. not because of what happened, but because of the way you’re dealing with this.
Anyway, any advice?
Thanks
It was late October 2017, I was attending a conference at a Hotel and had parked in the hotels underground car park, my car was parked appropriately and not causing any obstruction. I came back a few hours later to find damage on my car, as you can probably imagine I wasn’t pleased. I had a look around the car park and spotted the car that had hit mine. My drivers side rear arch had a scrape from the front passenger corner of the other car. Paint transfer was visible and the height of the two areas of damage was the same. So, I went back in to the hotel, spoke to the manager who was helpful but we couldn’t find the car’s owner. I took photos and left a note on the car and after hanging around for an hour I left.
I called the Police the next day to get my crime reference number but I thought I would give the car owner a few days to respond. After a week and no response I called my insurance company. A few weeks had gone by so I called my insurance company and they told me the car is a company owned car and initially the driver denied they were even at the car park, but once the photos had been seen they changed their stance to “we will investigate internally”. Last update was a week ago and they are still “investigating”
I don’t know where to go from here, my insurance can’t do much if the other driver isn’t responding, obviously dragging their heels. What should / could I do next? Can I legally get in contact with the company and ask WTF is going on? Can I claim through a small claims court and leave the insurance company out of it? Does anyone know any big burly men who want to take out all their frustrations on a big expensive car? (I’ll provide the baseball bats…) I’m thinking of going to the Citizen Advice Bureau too, just to see what they say.
Oh and if you happen to be the driver of a 65 plate XF with 350z paint on your bumper. You’re a pretentious., pompous C**T. not because of what happened, but because of the way you’re dealing with this.
Anyway, any advice?
Thanks
Edited by Umar B on Tuesday 30th January 20:25
your insurance company will know which company insures the other car...
tell your company to start a claim against the other company and to stop messing around...
why do they need to wait for 'internal investigations' at the business when they will be dealing with the insurance company...
sounds as though you are gettig a brush-off
tell your company to start a claim against the other company and to stop messing around...
why do they need to wait for 'internal investigations' at the business when they will be dealing with the insurance company...
sounds as though you are gettig a brush-off
Strudul said:
akirk said:
why do they need to wait for 'internal investigations' at the business when they will be dealing with the insurance company...
Don't you have to wait for the other party to admit fault?you contact your insurance company
they contact the other insurance company
they check story with their client
insurance companies agree settlement between them
some variations may take place!
akirk said:
Strudul said:
akirk said:
why do they need to wait for 'internal investigations' at the business when they will be dealing with the insurance company...
Don't you have to wait for the other party to admit fault?you contact your insurance company
they contact the other insurance company
they check story with their client
insurance companies agree settlement between them
some variations may take place!
Strudul said:
akirk said:
Strudul said:
akirk said:
why do they need to wait for 'internal investigations' at the business when they will be dealing with the insurance company...
Don't you have to wait for the other party to admit fault?you contact your insurance company
they contact the other insurance company
they check story with their client
insurance companies agree settlement between them
some variations may take place!
Only difference being I had the reg number of the other car on dashcam but nothing showing any impact.
I was found completely blamless and other parties insurer ended up paying £1600.
I will not see why the OP would expect it to go 50/50...
Strudul said:
Pretty sure OP isn't wanting to go 50/50.
not suggesting that he wants that - but ultimately the insurance companies will decide, and while he can push for his perspective, in the absence of any cctv / witnesses, it only requires the other driver to lie and say that OP hit him and there will be little chance of anything else... idealism says that those who are innocent have reparation made, reality says that not everyone is honest, so other outcomes are possible...Umar B said:
I don’t know where to go from here, my insurance can’t do much if the other driver isn’t responding, obviously dragging their heels. What should / could I do next? Can I legally get in contact with the company and ask WTF is going on? Can I claim through a small claims court and leave the insurance company out of it?
I don't understand what you're trying to do here - it reads like you've contacted your insurance company but don't want to make a claim.Sheepshanks said:
Umar B said:
I don’t know where to go from here, my insurance can’t do much if the other driver isn’t responding, obviously dragging their heels. What should / could I do next? Can I legally get in contact with the company and ask WTF is going on? Can I claim through a small claims court and leave the insurance company out of it?
I don't understand what you're trying to do here - it reads like you've contacted your insurance company but don't want to make a claim.Perhaps, naively, I'm waiting for the other side to stop pissing about so i can get the car repaired without having to pay for anything upfront, because why should I?
akirk said:
Strudul said:
Pretty sure OP isn't wanting to go 50/50.
not suggesting that he wants that - but ultimately the insurance companies will decide, and while he can push for his perspective, in the absence of any cctv / witnesses, it only requires the other driver to lie and say that OP hit him and there will be little chance of anything else... idealism says that those who are innocent have reparation made, reality says that not everyone is honest, so other outcomes are possible...Umar B said:
Maybe I've worded It badly, but i have informed my insurance and a claim has been made, what I haven't done so far is get my car repaired through the insurance as I would have to pay for the repair (my excess is only £150 but the repair will likely cost more than that)
Perhaps, naively, I'm waiting for the other side to stop pissing about so i can get the car repaired without having to pay for anything upfront, because why should I?
Assuming you can prove the accident happened, the driver is liable for the damage he caused. He pays an insurance company to cover his liability in the event of him causing damage through negligence. This means that you can sue the driver directly.Perhaps, naively, I'm waiting for the other side to stop pissing about so i can get the car repaired without having to pay for anything upfront, because why should I?
Option 1/
Get three quotes for the repair. Quotes, not estimates.
Send a letter before action to the company who own the vehicle (not the insurer), demanding payment.
Assert that you have evidence that their driver damaged your vehicle. You don't need to share the evidence. Detail all correspondence to date. Enclose all three quotes, demand payment for the lowest. Give them 28 days to pay from receipt of the letter. Send it Royal Mail "signed for".
You should find that the company that owns the vehicle will stop mucking about and will instruct their insurer to pay. If they don't you have everything you need to take the company that own the vehicle to court.
IANAL, my only wobble is whether the company (owner) of the vehicle are liable for the damage caused by their driver. I'm sure someone will sort that point out.
Option 2/
Contact the driver's insurance co. directly. Explain that you have a watertight case against their insured and share the evidence. Tell them that they can either authorise the repair work at a garage of your choice and provide you with a courtesy car, or they can deal with your accident management company. AMCs are much more expensive for the insurance company to deal with, mainly because of the over inflated hire car that they will give you.
Option 3/
Let your insnurance company deal with it. If you do this, you will be at their mercy as to how they split liability.
I have found that if the repair cost is low, (more expensive for your insurance co to chase the third party than it would be to just write off the debt) then your insurance company may not pursue the claim.
You may pay your excess to have the vehicle repaired. If the claim is deemed 100% the other dirver's fault, then when the third party pay up, your excess will be refunded.If liability is split, your excess is used for your portion of the repair.
Options 1 & 2 do not involve you paying your excess.
akirk said:
Strudul said:
Pretty sure OP isn't wanting to go 50/50.
not suggesting that he wants that - but ultimately the insurance companies will decide, and while he can push for his perspective, in the absence of any cctv / witnesses, it only requires the other driver to lie and say that OP hit him and there will be little chance of anything else... idealism says that those who are innocent have reparation made, reality says that not everyone is honest, so other outcomes are possible...Whilst your challenging your anger toward 3rd party, you'll likely find its your own insurance company that are dragging their heels, they like to drag these things out past your next renewal, so that they can suspend all your NCB and charge the earth for your renewal. They also prefer to go 50/50, as this reaps the most profit for both insurers.
Insurance companies will treat you like a mushroom (kept in the dark and fed on s
t), they don't give a damn about you, they want money.Go ahead with repairs, pay your excess, then either claim it back from the other insurer directly or instruct sols if you have legal cover on your policy. If not you may be able to use your insurer's panel solicitors on a NWNF basis.
Your insurer have no legal obligation to chase liability if there is no financial outlay to chase
Your insurer have no legal obligation to chase liability if there is no financial outlay to chase
lyonspride said:
Whilst your challenging your anger toward 3rd party, you'll likely find its your own insurance company that are dragging their heels, they like to drag these things out past your next renewal, so that they can suspend all your NCB and charge the earth for your renewal. They also prefer to go 50/50, as this reaps the most profit for both insurers.
Insurance companies will treat you like a mushroom (kept in the dark and fed on st), they don't give a damn about you, they want money.
What a load of tripe. Insurance companies will treat you like a mushroom (kept in the dark and fed on s
t), they don't give a damn about you, they want money.1. Disallowing bonus at renewal and then having to reinstate it later is a real pain for insurers. Plus they have an unhappy customer, and might even lose the business. They'd much rather have it all settled prior to renewal.
2. If person A is not at fault and person B is 100% at fault, explain how settling 50/50 reaps the most profit for both insurers. Sure, the insurers of A can reduce his bonus, but they might lose the business anyway at renewal so may never see any actual extra premium. Meanwhile, they can only recover half of A's damage, plus have to pay for half of B's damage. How is that good for them. It's great for the insurer of B, but awful for the insurer of A.
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