Cost of repairing accident damage
Discussion
My father in law had a low speed bump in the summer which was his fault. Unfortunately he was uninsured due to his old policy ending at midnight and his new policy starting a day later.
Anyway there was barely any damage visible to either car at the time, about 3 months ago hd recieved a letter asking for over £3000 for repairs. The itemised parts list I got a friend in the trade to price up and not only did it come to substantially less than quoted but included parts that shouldn't have needed replacing. I got him to reply asking for a second independent quote and querying was was needed.
Then in the last week he has recieved another letter asking for immediate payment and ignoring his query. He admits he was silly but where does he stand regarding the massively inflated repairs?
Anyway there was barely any damage visible to either car at the time, about 3 months ago hd recieved a letter asking for over £3000 for repairs. The itemised parts list I got a friend in the trade to price up and not only did it come to substantially less than quoted but included parts that shouldn't have needed replacing. I got him to reply asking for a second independent quote and querying was was needed.
Then in the last week he has recieved another letter asking for immediate payment and ignoring his query. He admits he was silly but where does he stand regarding the massively inflated repairs?
You haven't given enough detail. Did he authorise the repairs, did he ask for a quote first? Your only likely get out would be if he just asked for a quote and they repaired the car without permission.
He can still challenge any additional work that the garage did though. Is this for both cars, just the third party's car or just his car?
He can still challenge any additional work that the garage did though. Is this for both cars, just the third party's car or just his car?
Like anyone involved in a financial dispute, he doesn't have to pay. It would be immoral to deny liability but he can say he doesn't accept the estimate and refuse to pay it as he thinks it's been inflated. Or he can make an offer to settle at a lower amount. Ultimately, if the tp want their money, they will have to take him to the small claims court, where he can argue his case, and will either win or lose. If he loses the tp's court fee will be added to what he owes, but that won't be too high.
Cmaxed said:
My father in law had a low speed bump in the summer which was his fault. Unfortunately he was uninsured due to his old policy ending at midnight and his new policy starting a day later.
Anyway there was barely any damage visible to either car at the time, about 3 months ago hd recieved a letter asking for over £3000 for repairs. The itemised parts list I got a friend in the trade to price up and not only did it come to substantially less than quoted but included parts that shouldn't have needed replacing. I got him to reply asking for a second independent quote and querying was was needed.
Then in the last week he has recieved another letter asking for immediate payment and ignoring his query. He admits he was silly but where does he stand regarding the massively inflated repairs?
Sounds legit.Anyway there was barely any damage visible to either car at the time, about 3 months ago hd recieved a letter asking for over £3000 for repairs. The itemised parts list I got a friend in the trade to price up and not only did it come to substantially less than quoted but included parts that shouldn't have needed replacing. I got him to reply asking for a second independent quote and querying was was needed.
Then in the last week he has recieved another letter asking for immediate payment and ignoring his query. He admits he was silly but where does he stand regarding the massively inflated repairs?
blue_haddock said:
If he has hit another car and caused damage whilst he was not insured perhaps he should just pay up and be thankful the other party didnt report him for driving without insurance?
This. I’d probably want this over and done with as quickly and as quietly as possible. £3k sounds like a better deal than a prosecution so I’d probably pay up and move on.blue_haddock said:
If he has hit another car and caused damage whilst he was not insured perhaps he should just pay up and be thankful the other party didnt report him for driving without insurance?
What’s the chances of the police being interested enough to actually investigate this?Nobody was injured and presumably if it wasn’t reported at the time there would be no official record of when the accident happened.
Drawweight said:
What’s the chances of the police being interested enough to actually investigate this?
Nobody was injured and presumably if it wasn’t reported at the time there would be no official record of when the accident happened.
They may not have reported it at the time but if it was me and the guy started querying the repair prices I'd be saying well either pay up for the repair or I'll put it in the hands of my insurer who will chase you for the price of the repair at their own bodyshop and they may report you for driving without insurance.Nobody was injured and presumably if it wasn’t reported at the time there would be no official record of when the accident happened.
As far as we are aware this is an estimate not an invoice as this was the first communication from the third party. The lack of insurance was an unfortunate mistake one finished at midnight on the day before the accident and his new policy was arranged to start straightaway except apparently it didnt kick in until midnight on the day of the accident. As for paying its not that thats the issue merely the quite clearly inflated bill, for instance 3 new tyres when the accident occured at less than 10 mph and involved the offside front corner touching not even enough to leave a scratch on his paintwork!
You only really have 2 options. Claim on your insurance or agree a price. If the first isn't even an option then your position is inherently weaker. When the cost to agree and pay directly is too much then most revert to the insurance. It's almost irrelevant whether you think the estimate or quotation is correct as all that matters is the third party is happy and you avoid any other consequences of driving with no insurance.
Yes they are trying to have your pants down but their hand is so much stronger than yours.
You can try and call their bluff but if they Decide they have had enough of you messing them around and put it in the hands of an accident management firm all of a sudden that three grand figure will look like pocket change.
I really do think you should just pay up the money and treat it as an expensive lesson.
You can try and call their bluff but if they Decide they have had enough of you messing them around and put it in the hands of an accident management firm all of a sudden that three grand figure will look like pocket change.
I really do think you should just pay up the money and treat it as an expensive lesson.
Cmaxed said:
The quote was from a garage and sent via a lawyer but no insurance companies or accident management companies involved. My father in law replied querying the quote and heard nothing for at least 2 months until this week when they asked why he hasnt paid.
How did he reply? Make sure he gets proof of postage/recorded delivery. Many lawyers are scumbags.Also has the work been undertaken or still at quote stage?
Edited by hyphen on Sunday 22 November 15:12
Cmaxed said:
The quote was from a garage and sent via a lawyer but no insurance companies or accident management companies involved. My father in law replied querying the quote and heard nothing for at least 2 months until this week when they asked why he hasnt paid.
Speak to the person your dad had the collision with, then you can get to the bottom of it. Now if the bodyshop have carried out the repairs & charged him 3k (& he can prove this) then pay him & he can pay the bodyshop.BUT as someone who's owned a bodyshop I have never carried out a private repair & then billed a third party, so it sounds like a shakedown, if I'd been hit & the uninsured driver was going to have to pay for my repairs I'd be contacting the third party with the price of repairs.
Did the estimate quote how many days the repair would take & cost of a hire car?
TBH any further contact should be by Email & then a hard copy by recorded delivery, keep asking the right questions & I think this will go away.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff