Crash wasnt my fault, other party refuses liability...
Discussion
A little back ground first, im the grand old age of 39 so not a boy racer yobbo and i passed my test only in august last year.
I was driving to work y/day morning and approached a 3 way junction goin straight on, i had the green light so proceeded carefully because of the traffic coming from the right. Halfway through the junction this idiot from the right decided to pull away and drive into me hitting the front wing of my car and stoving the front of car in. After the initial split second shock and the 'am i ok' and 'what the hell just happened' reaction with all manner of air bags going off i got out and was fuming mad with the guy and asked 'what the hell were you playing at, i had the green light' at which point he replied that he thought he did.
I absolutely know i had the right of way and the green light and the fact that no one else behind this idiot moved with him tells the same story but he's denying liability. Its very early days yet and i havent heard from the insureance company yet what will happen with the cars but the mess they were in i would say its highly likely they will both be written off.
My problem is that if he doesnt admit liability my already high insurance premium will go up even more and through no fault of my own plus ive lost my car that i havent even finished paying for yet.
Unfortunately no one stepped forward as a witness to the incident which makes the whole thing more complicated.
My worry is that the insurance company will simply think 'this bloke has only been driving 5 minutes he must be guilty' and that just isnt the case, im really stressed, angry and worried.
What do other PH'ers think, have any of you had a similar experience and what was the eventual outcome?
I was driving to work y/day morning and approached a 3 way junction goin straight on, i had the green light so proceeded carefully because of the traffic coming from the right. Halfway through the junction this idiot from the right decided to pull away and drive into me hitting the front wing of my car and stoving the front of car in. After the initial split second shock and the 'am i ok' and 'what the hell just happened' reaction with all manner of air bags going off i got out and was fuming mad with the guy and asked 'what the hell were you playing at, i had the green light' at which point he replied that he thought he did.
I absolutely know i had the right of way and the green light and the fact that no one else behind this idiot moved with him tells the same story but he's denying liability. Its very early days yet and i havent heard from the insureance company yet what will happen with the cars but the mess they were in i would say its highly likely they will both be written off.
My problem is that if he doesnt admit liability my already high insurance premium will go up even more and through no fault of my own plus ive lost my car that i havent even finished paying for yet.
Unfortunately no one stepped forward as a witness to the incident which makes the whole thing more complicated.
My worry is that the insurance company will simply think 'this bloke has only been driving 5 minutes he must be guilty' and that just isnt the case, im really stressed, angry and worried.
What do other PH'ers think, have any of you had a similar experience and what was the eventual outcome?
I think there is nothing can help you, it's your word against his
and your side of the story sounds a little dubious as it is
you were proceeding cautiously through a green light, a driver pulls away and hits the side of you, writing off both the cars and setting off all the airbags?
what was he driving? a rocket?
and your side of the story sounds a little dubious as it is
you were proceeding cautiously through a green light, a driver pulls away and hits the side of you, writing off both the cars and setting off all the airbags?
what was he driving? a rocket?
Purity14 said:
No witnesses, 50/50 is the outcome, it will never go to court and you will lose NCB if it is not protected.
If you had "FULL" or more than "5 years" NCB it will go down to 3
If you do have NCB protection your premium will go up anyway.
HTH
This is your most likely outcome I`m afraid.If you had "FULL" or more than "5 years" NCB it will go down to 3
If you do have NCB protection your premium will go up anyway.
HTH
Had something similar and it wasn`t actually my fault, I went on green and I had a witness who was prepared to testify that I went on green.
The police took the guys details and I didn`t. Big mistake
The police didn`t get his correct phone no. and with no witnesses it went 50/50.
I feel your pain.
Fubar1977 said:
Purity14 said:
No witnesses, 50/50 is the outcome, it will never go to court and you will lose NCB if it is not protected.
If you had "FULL" or more than "5 years" NCB it will go down to 3
If you do have NCB protection your premium will go up anyway.
HTH
This is your most likely outcome I`m afraid.If you had "FULL" or more than "5 years" NCB it will go down to 3
If you do have NCB protection your premium will go up anyway.
HTH
Had something similar and it wasn`t actually my fault, I went on green and I had a witness who was prepared to testify that I went on green.
The police took the guys details and I didn`t. Big mistake
The police didn`t get his correct phone no. and with no witnesses it went 50/50.
I feel your pain.
My mother was involved in an accident where she wasn't even driving - a prat in a mobile home barged into her car while it was parked in her local town. When it got to the insurance company stage, suddenly his side of the story had morphed into my mother having pulled out in front of him, which was patently untrue. Apart from anything else, the damage to the two vehicles made this version of events clearly suspect, and we had a witness supporting my mother's story. But camper man was sticking to his fairy tale, so out came the 50/50 offer which was rejected and my mother's insurance company issued proceedings against camper man's insurance company. Except under English law, the defendant has the right to be sued in their local court, so camper man successfully got the case shifted to a 9am hearing in a court six hours' drive away from where my mother lives and where the accident took place. Factor in the time, effort and costs of travel and overnight accommodation to attend court, plus the fact that recovery for the costs of attending court is capped at just £50 per person, and suddenly that was just more effort than it was worth for the witness and, as a result my mother. In the end, I worked out that the amount my mother could potentially be out of pocket in terms of unrecovered court attendance costs vs increase in premium did not justify traipsing half way across the British Isles and spending an unpleasant day in court, therefore the only sensible approach was to drop the case and accept 50/50 even though that represented a flagrant miscarriage of justice. Speaking as a solicitor myself, I am still furious about that but there really wasn't anything that could realistically be done about it.
l34052 said:
A little back ground first, im the grand old age of 39 so not a boy racer yobbo and i passed my test only in august last year.
I was driving to work y/day morning and approached a 3 way junction goin straight on, i had the green light so proceeded carefully because of the traffic coming from the right. Halfway through the junction this idiot from the right decided to pull away and drive into me hitting the front wing of my car and stoving the front of car in. After the initial split second shock and the 'am i ok' and 'what the hell just happened' reaction with all manner of air bags going off i got out and was fuming mad with the guy and asked 'what the hell were you playing at, i had the green light' at which point he replied that he thought he did.
I absolutely know i had the right of way and the green light and the fact that no one else behind this idiot moved with him tells the same story but he's denying liability. Its very early days yet and i havent heard from the insureance company yet what will happen with the cars but the mess they were in i would say its highly likely they will both be written off.
My problem is that if he doesnt admit liability my already high insurance premium will go up even more and through no fault of my own plus ive lost my car that i havent even finished paying for yet.
Unfortunately no one stepped forward as a witness to the incident which makes the whole thing more complicated.
My worry is that the insurance company will simply think 'this bloke has only been driving 5 minutes he must be guilty' and that just isnt the case, im really stressed, angry and worried.
What do other PH'ers think, have any of you had a similar experience and what was the eventual outcome?
Can't speak to the rest of the problem (although from what you have said it will likely go 50/50).I was driving to work y/day morning and approached a 3 way junction goin straight on, i had the green light so proceeded carefully because of the traffic coming from the right. Halfway through the junction this idiot from the right decided to pull away and drive into me hitting the front wing of my car and stoving the front of car in. After the initial split second shock and the 'am i ok' and 'what the hell just happened' reaction with all manner of air bags going off i got out and was fuming mad with the guy and asked 'what the hell were you playing at, i had the green light' at which point he replied that he thought he did.
I absolutely know i had the right of way and the green light and the fact that no one else behind this idiot moved with him tells the same story but he's denying liability. Its very early days yet and i havent heard from the insureance company yet what will happen with the cars but the mess they were in i would say its highly likely they will both be written off.
My problem is that if he doesnt admit liability my already high insurance premium will go up even more and through no fault of my own plus ive lost my car that i havent even finished paying for yet.
Unfortunately no one stepped forward as a witness to the incident which makes the whole thing more complicated.
My worry is that the insurance company will simply think 'this bloke has only been driving 5 minutes he must be guilty' and that just isnt the case, im really stressed, angry and worried.
What do other PH'ers think, have any of you had a similar experience and what was the eventual outcome?
I can tell you that you didn't have right of way.
I can tell you that because there is no right of way on UK roads. All reference to it has been removed from things like the highway code for years.
C
Wolands Advocate said:
Speaking as a solicitor myself, I am still furious about that but there really wasn't anything that could realistically be done about it.
Except maybe suck it up and go to court? Yes it's a pain in the arse but I'm damn sure if I was in that situation I'd be quite happy travelling that distance to stick it to some lying w
ker!Centurion07 said:
Wolands Advocate said:
Speaking as a solicitor myself, I am still furious about that but there really wasn't anything that could realistically be done about it.
Except maybe suck it up and go to court? Yes it's a pain in the arse but I'm damn sure if I was in that situation I'd be quite happy travelling that distance to stick it to some lying w
ker!Purity14 said:
No witnesses, 50/50 is the outcome, it will never go to court and you will lose NCB if it is not protected.
If you had "FULL" or more than "5 years" NCB it will go down to 3
If you do have NCB protection your premium will go up anyway.
HTH
I don't think any of that is going to be an issue for soemone who passed their test last August.If you had "FULL" or more than "5 years" NCB it will go down to 3
If you do have NCB protection your premium will go up anyway.
HTH
All the OP can do is claim on his own insurance and hope he comes across as more credible than the other driver. It's possibly slightly in his favour that the other driver hit his car.
Ask an accident management company (yes I expect people ranting about this)
Insurance companies can be just complete gash.
When I got T boned the third party didn't even contact her insurance,her insurance wrote to her,my insurance wrote to her etc etc and she ignored everything.My insurance company wanted my car to go to a back street garage which wasn't happening due to it being just 3 years old and every panel,sill,b post smashed in. (I wanted it to go to BMW for repair)
My doors had popped and were letting in water until I duck taped them up.In one week my insurance company sorted nothing out nor took my car off the road.
I'd had enough.
I contacted accident exchange and gave them all the details photos etc.Within 3 hours they had a replacement car and mine was put in a curtain sider truck and shipped off to BMW derby.
The whole affair took 12 weeks to resolve which was all because the third party still didn't contact or respond to her insurers or the accident company.
At no point was the claim seen as 50/50,all fingers pointed to the third party.
All I wanted was my car done with minimum fuss,my insurance company failed to do this.
I was asked if I wanted a personal injury claim,I answered no and they never asked again.
In the end the third parties insurer paid out the £6500 for repairs on behalf of the idiot that hit me because she still refused to respond to her insurers.
My guess is she was hoping it would go away and my insurance would take the hit,not so...
Whatever happened to her I don't know and don't care,an accident management company got I wanted done and right first time with no fuss at all.
My insurance hasn't gone up either.
It pisses me off you pay this industry a decent three figure sum a year and they are in my opinion just crap.
With an experience like mine it's no wonder some people use the accident companies.
Insurance companies can be just complete gash.
When I got T boned the third party didn't even contact her insurance,her insurance wrote to her,my insurance wrote to her etc etc and she ignored everything.My insurance company wanted my car to go to a back street garage which wasn't happening due to it being just 3 years old and every panel,sill,b post smashed in. (I wanted it to go to BMW for repair)
My doors had popped and were letting in water until I duck taped them up.In one week my insurance company sorted nothing out nor took my car off the road.
I'd had enough.
I contacted accident exchange and gave them all the details photos etc.Within 3 hours they had a replacement car and mine was put in a curtain sider truck and shipped off to BMW derby.
The whole affair took 12 weeks to resolve which was all because the third party still didn't contact or respond to her insurers or the accident company.
At no point was the claim seen as 50/50,all fingers pointed to the third party.
All I wanted was my car done with minimum fuss,my insurance company failed to do this.
I was asked if I wanted a personal injury claim,I answered no and they never asked again.
In the end the third parties insurer paid out the £6500 for repairs on behalf of the idiot that hit me because she still refused to respond to her insurers.
My guess is she was hoping it would go away and my insurance would take the hit,not so...
Whatever happened to her I don't know and don't care,an accident management company got I wanted done and right first time with no fuss at all.
My insurance hasn't gone up either.
It pisses me off you pay this industry a decent three figure sum a year and they are in my opinion just crap.
With an experience like mine it's no wonder some people use the accident companies.
I'm sorry to hear this,mate. Without witnesses or cctv, this will go 50/50. I know this from painful recent experience where some guy hit my car while i was stationary, then claimed i hit him when he got my repair bill. Unfortunately there were no witnesses and no cctv so i was goosed. Good Luck!!
CraigyMc said:
Can't speak to the rest of the problem (although from what you have said it will likely go 50/50).
I can tell you that you didn't have right of way.
I can tell you that because there is no right of way on UK roads. All reference to it has been removed from things like the highway code for years.
C
I had an accident last year which went against me, as I was turning out of a side road. One of those situations where everyone edges out to turn right, getting half way across the road at first. Added to this the view to the right is a blind brow. Anyway as I was edging out, a Micra came over the brow, made no attempt to stop, slow, swerve or anything & hit my car turning it through 90 degrees setting off curtain airbags etc & writing off both cars. Chap behind me gave me his number as he said it was Micra's fault. My insurance company would not contact him or dispute Micra's claim as they had "right of way" So now she is still keeping the claim going with person injury, rental cars, the lot. Luckily I have protected no claims so not too bad.I can tell you that you didn't have right of way.
I can tell you that because there is no right of way on UK roads. All reference to it has been removed from things like the highway code for years.
C
The point(s) being that a) insurance companies seem to think there is a right of way and b) the OP may have a case if he was going straight on & other car was turning.
Anyway good luck with this.
OP, no witnesses = 50/50
A few years back I had a crash at a traffic light junction. Asked people going left to right simply to confirm their light was red at time of crash. Three people couldn't confirm anything **sigh**
Other party said I went through red, I said green. No witness so claim went 50/50
A few years back I had a crash at a traffic light junction. Asked people going left to right simply to confirm their light was red at time of crash. Three people couldn't confirm anything **sigh**
Other party said I went through red, I said green. No witness so claim went 50/50
I am sorry to read your story, and I can offer no help OP.
Having been accused, in March 2009, of being involved in an accident that didn't happen, and that having taken nine months to sort out, I was introduced to "in car video cameras", and I've used one ever since.
They are reasonably cheap, mine being a topish of the range one at £200, but you can get lesser ones for as little as £30.
It's a sad state of affairs, but one of these cameras would have been very useful to you.
Having been accused, in March 2009, of being involved in an accident that didn't happen, and that having taken nine months to sort out, I was introduced to "in car video cameras", and I've used one ever since.
They are reasonably cheap, mine being a topish of the range one at £200, but you can get lesser ones for as little as £30.
It's a sad state of affairs, but one of these cameras would have been very useful to you.
Thanks for all the comments everyone, i havent heard from the insurance company yet what is happening but by the sound of things it'll prob end up 50/50 as many here have mentioned.
This REALLY annoys me because i didnt actually do anythin wrong and some numpty just drove into me yet because i only have 3rd party fire/theft insurance i cant claim anythin and have lost my car whilst the idiot that caused it gets away with it
Theres just no justice in this world
This REALLY annoys me because i didnt actually do anythin wrong and some numpty just drove into me yet because i only have 3rd party fire/theft insurance i cant claim anythin and have lost my car whilst the idiot that caused it gets away with it
Theres just no justice in this world
l34052 said:
I was driving to work y/day morning and approached a 3 way junction goin straight on, i had the green light so proceeded carefully because of the traffic coming from the right. Halfway through the junction this idiot from the right decided to pull away and drive into me hitting the front wing of my car and stoving the front of car in.
I'm not doubting you - I just don't understand what you're describing. As I read it, you had a green light, but traffic was coming from the right even though you had a green light so you had to go carefully? As in that traffic was going through a red light? Or as in it was approaching its red light at speed, and you were worried it might not stop?And then a car that was stationary on the right at a red light pulled away from stationary through its red light and drove into you?
As I say, I'm really not doubting that it was the other guy's fault. I just can't picture what happened...
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