Totalled!!!!! and insurance aint paying up!

[SXS]

An old friend purchased a brand spanking new Merc SL55AMG, with not one option missing....
reversing out of his driveway, BANG... a 5 series bimma in the old rust bucket shell, slammed him in the rear quarter, the merc spun around hit the wall on the nearside rear, and then because of the shock, his foot pushes all the way down and he spins her out into a full 360 and slams her into a tree on the otherside!
Totally totalled...
Recently aquired 3 points on license (sleeping officer).... didnt get round to informing the insurance company.... sooooo, they're not paying 1 penny! They've even sent him a bill for recovery????!!!!!

Edited to say:
Moral of the story, tell them everything! We always say it wont happen to us, but the reality is, IT CAN! So be prepared chaps.

>>> Edited by SXS  on Saturday 21st August 11:39

[apache]

And the insurance company is?

[Big_M]

Or the other moral of the story is to always reverse into your drive. The position of our drive, the narrow width and the incline makes it very difficult to reverse into - but we always do. Unless some numpty has parked opposite our house on the double yellow lines

[dazren]

Provided your mate didn't have the points when the insurance cover was taken out, I don't think the insurers can do this. Take legal advice.

[gbbird]

Thats bad - i really feel for your pal.

For a moment, when i saw the title of the thread, i thought you had written off the Cerb

>> Edited by gbbird on Saturday 21st August 18:02

[SXS]

Written off my cerb???? arrrggghhhhhhhh
this captain will go down with his ship!

It was the AA... he is taking legal advice...
But it doesnt look promising....
But he might get lucky as the fault is being pushed on the guy who hit him.... so it might be a other party payment.... I dont know....

[plug]

I thought it was wrong to reverse out anyway, doesent the highway code say something about not reversing from a minor road into a major road or does this not apply to drives?

[kojak69]

plug said:

I thought it was wrong to reverse out anyway, doesent the highway code say something about not reversing from a minor road into a major road or does this not apply to drives?

Agree with you plug. I would think that driveways are treated in the same way.

[carl_w]

The directives in the highway code are not statutory, they're just suggestions of "best practice". There is a specific offence of "failing to adhere to the highway code" but in a situation like this I think they'd be hard-pressed to make it stick.

[Apache]

SXS said:

It was the AA... he is taking legal advice...

well f@*k them! I understand the naming and shaming rules but this is just wank. We work to pay for insurance, we fund every f@*cker on the road who can't be arsed to pay his way, someone dings our pride and joy then does a runner, who pays? we do.

AA CAN GET BENT! this organisation used to be support for the motorist ffs!

>> Edited by Apache on Sunday 22 August 01:48

[ehasler]

kojak69 said:

plug said: I thought it was wrong to reverse out anyway, doesent the highway code say something about not reversing from a minor road into a major road or does this not apply to drives? Agree with you plug. I would think that driveways are treated in the same way.

You'd have to either reverse into or out of the drive, so if this is the case, you'd be going against the Highway code whatever way you do it.

[rev-erend]

I had a mate who overtook a car in a 30 mph .. so he was on the wrong side of the road.

Someone came out of his drive without looks and hit him.

Who was at blame .. surprisingly the guy coming out of the drive.. counts as a minor road to major road.

If you are on a minor road coming on to a major road then it's your fault.

[HarryW]

Aren't the AA just brokers , who was the policy underwriten by more importantly .
Not sure that given the balance of probability 3 points would really make his insurance invalid though.
Thinking about it, how many people out there have recieve the 'Tax and 3 points' from scameras and not yet informed their insurance co yet , possibily waiting for renewal date to do so etc. Can of worms I feel.

Harry

[J_S_G]

rev-erend said:

Who was at blame .. surprisingly the guy coming out of the drive.. counts as a minor road to major road. If you are on a minor road coming on to a major road then it's your fault.

Would this not be a bit more complicated? What if the guy who hit him was doing, say, 100mph, meaning that it would've been impossible to react in time?

[trooper1212]

J_S_G said:

rev-erend said: Who was at blame .. surprisingly the guy coming out of the drive.. counts as a minor road to major road. If you are on a minor road coming on to a major road then it's your fault. Would this not be a bit more complicated? What if the guy who hit him was doing, say, 100mph, meaning that it would've been impossible to react in time?

Makes no difference, as a little "incident" at uni will attest... I'll leave it to another PHer to fill in the details if he so desires.

[J_S_G]

trooper1212 said:

J_S_G said: rev-erend said: Who was at blame .. surprisingly the guy coming out of the drive.. counts as a minor road to major road. If you are on a minor road coming on to a major road then it's your fault. Would this not be a bit more complicated? What if the guy who hit him was doing, say, 100mph, meaning that it would've been impossible to react in time? Makes no difference, as a little "incident" at uni will attest... I'll leave it to another PHer to fill in the details if he so desires.

So, are motoring offences like top trumps cards? 'Reversing carefully out of a driveway' beats 'life-endangering speeds' Don't doubt that's the law, but if it is it's complete shte.

[xxplod]

Mungo! Have you been Obtaining a Pecuniary Advantage by Deception? I'll have to pop upstairs to PSD!

[Julian64]

Sorry about your mate, but if he pulls out of a drive into a road and hits a car, its his fault.

Not surprised by the insurance company though. Its amaizing the loopholes they will try to use.

[Quinny]

Maybe we need to be able to insure ourselves, against an insurance company not paying out due to some loophole

Andy.

[HarryW]

Quinny said:

Maybe we need to be able to insure ourselves, against an insurance company not paying out due to some loophole Andy.

isn't that covered by the extra uninsured losses premium we all seem to pay .

Harry