Neighbour crashed into our car and its written off
Discussion
Hello all,
Bit of a strange one here.
Someone on our street, who lives around 100m + down our road crashed into my wife's car whilst it was parked on the road. A 2017 Volvo V40 XC.
At the time, no one reported it and I only noticed it the next day.
I did a bit of snooping around and found a vehicle which I was sure did the damage further down our road on someone's drive. After confronting them, they admitted they had done it and said they knocked on the door. (They didn't as we were in and have a video door bell).
This morning, the insurance company have written it off.
We are now playing the game of valuations, and their initial offer is lower than we can replace it. They are also only offering 7 days car hire to find another vehicle. We are now going to be out of pocket and have to waste loads of time sorting this out, which isn't at all our fault.
2 Questions:
Does anyone have any good advice on what we should or shouldn't accept? Their insurance are being very pushy, which is really irritating me. Does Tort law come in here to help with reclaiming our losses for getting another car. I'm thinking specifically a courtesy vehicle for the time it takes to get another car, travel expenses to get another car, trains etc - 7 days isn't enough as we are both working full time, children etc. Any good information on what we should be able to do with a no fault claim? As we are dealing direct with their insurance company, there is no one on our side to help us.
Should i report them to the police? They didn't report the accident, and I think tried to get away with it. They looked very surprised when I confronted them. They left the scene of an accident and didn't report it. They also lied to their insurance company saying they did it reversing off their drive, which is 100m + away and the damage is very different! Thinking about neighbour relations here. We only moved here a year ago and this is a long term family house for us. Our immediate neighbours are all lovely and our opposite neighbour thinks we should inform the police.
Thanks
Bit of a strange one here.
Someone on our street, who lives around 100m + down our road crashed into my wife's car whilst it was parked on the road. A 2017 Volvo V40 XC.
At the time, no one reported it and I only noticed it the next day.
I did a bit of snooping around and found a vehicle which I was sure did the damage further down our road on someone's drive. After confronting them, they admitted they had done it and said they knocked on the door. (They didn't as we were in and have a video door bell).
This morning, the insurance company have written it off.
We are now playing the game of valuations, and their initial offer is lower than we can replace it. They are also only offering 7 days car hire to find another vehicle. We are now going to be out of pocket and have to waste loads of time sorting this out, which isn't at all our fault.
2 Questions:
Does anyone have any good advice on what we should or shouldn't accept? Their insurance are being very pushy, which is really irritating me. Does Tort law come in here to help with reclaiming our losses for getting another car. I'm thinking specifically a courtesy vehicle for the time it takes to get another car, travel expenses to get another car, trains etc - 7 days isn't enough as we are both working full time, children etc. Any good information on what we should be able to do with a no fault claim? As we are dealing direct with their insurance company, there is no one on our side to help us.
Should i report them to the police? They didn't report the accident, and I think tried to get away with it. They looked very surprised when I confronted them. They left the scene of an accident and didn't report it. They also lied to their insurance company saying they did it reversing off their drive, which is 100m + away and the damage is very different! Thinking about neighbour relations here. We only moved here a year ago and this is a long term family house for us. Our immediate neighbours are all lovely and our opposite neighbour thinks we should inform the police.
Thanks
From my experience if you can get through to the person managing the claim (and they are reasonable) they will ask you to send examples over to support the valuation, if this can be agreed sooner then the need/requirement/cost of a hire car is also negated which is helpful for all parties. You may even be able to suggest not taking the hire car if they meet your agreed valuation, etc as the net cost is the same.
Also from experience this is rarely the case and I have opted in the past to use an accident management company (probably not the most popular idea) with good results. Once you are placed into a hire contract in a like for like car that is running up a daily tab the person managing the claim will be looking to limit their losses and will be more forthcoming. As an example with my last car I was offered a Peugeot 308 as a hire car and they couldn’t guarantee they would replace and not repair parts. I subsequently went through an accident management company, they let me take it to a place of my choice (I got a few quotes to ensure I was being reasonable) that would replace the parts. I also got a Ferrari as a courtesy car in place of my Aston Martin.
The only part that was contested was the price of some of the parts and repairs vs the initial estimate. This actually went to court and this was all found in my favour and I was compensated for my half day after being asked to turn up which the judge deemed ridiculous (for example they didn’t think a wheel alignment was necessary).
I suggest to the person managing the claim that if an agreement cannot be reached to your satisfaction you will proceed as above. An accident management company will have you in a replacement car within 24 hours and you can disagree with the insurer on the valuation whilst they will be paying for a hire car.
Also from experience this is rarely the case and I have opted in the past to use an accident management company (probably not the most popular idea) with good results. Once you are placed into a hire contract in a like for like car that is running up a daily tab the person managing the claim will be looking to limit their losses and will be more forthcoming. As an example with my last car I was offered a Peugeot 308 as a hire car and they couldn’t guarantee they would replace and not repair parts. I subsequently went through an accident management company, they let me take it to a place of my choice (I got a few quotes to ensure I was being reasonable) that would replace the parts. I also got a Ferrari as a courtesy car in place of my Aston Martin.
The only part that was contested was the price of some of the parts and repairs vs the initial estimate. This actually went to court and this was all found in my favour and I was compensated for my half day after being asked to turn up which the judge deemed ridiculous (for example they didn’t think a wheel alignment was necessary).
I suggest to the person managing the claim that if an agreement cannot be reached to your satisfaction you will proceed as above. An accident management company will have you in a replacement car within 24 hours and you can disagree with the insurer on the valuation whilst they will be paying for a hire car.
Edited by Froomee on Monday 25th March 12:05
If you inform the police then her insurance becomes null and void for leaving the scene. They will pursue her through the Courts to settle the claim herself, if its a write off then potentially a large sum she will have to finance.
Someone hit my car and drove off, thankfully I have a dashcam and easily identified the car. Police were very good and actually got his confession within 24hrs. Took 3 years for the whole thing to be settled purely because of how slow the Court system was as his insurance company sued him for the damages.
Its up to you if you want to cause her the same hassle.
Someone hit my car and drove off, thankfully I have a dashcam and easily identified the car. Police were very good and actually got his confession within 24hrs. Took 3 years for the whole thing to be settled purely because of how slow the Court system was as his insurance company sued him for the damages.
Its up to you if you want to cause her the same hassle.
We are dealing with her insurance. Thanks for the above, i will speak to them again and if we cant get a sensible valuation and a courtesy car for a reasonable time, I will suggest we might engage a Accident Management Claim Company, and see how that goes down.
What a ball ache.
Need to look for a replacement vehicle now!!
What a ball ache.
Need to look for a replacement vehicle now!!
My car got written off last year in a no fault claim. My own insurer provided me with a courtesy car within 24 hours. Despite me knowing the car would be written off it took around 4 weeks for that to actually happen. After that it took another 4 weeks to agree the payment - I had to provide a summary of why I didn't agree with their original offer along with Autotrader adverts supporting my opinion. Once the payment amount had been agreed it took several days for the payment to arrive, then after that I had 7 days further with the courtesy car, to enable me to buy a new car.
If I were you I'd just demand your own insurer provides a courtesy car immediately and then just slow the process down yourself if you need more time.
If I were you I'd just demand your own insurer provides a courtesy car immediately and then just slow the process down yourself if you need more time.
All I can suggest is that you should be paid out the retail price of a car similar from a reputable dealer with a reasonable warranty
Last time I had to negotiate, (in 2004) I was offered £600 and proved with 52 data points that my car would retail at £1800. Some of the data points were older cars, newer cars, lower mileage, higher mileage, different trim levels, but I sent them a whole series of graphs to go along with it and eventually got £1800.
You've just got to remember their job title is loss adjuster. And the number one job is to pay out as little as they can.
Last time I had to negotiate, (in 2004) I was offered £600 and proved with 52 data points that my car would retail at £1800. Some of the data points were older cars, newer cars, lower mileage, higher mileage, different trim levels, but I sent them a whole series of graphs to go along with it and eventually got £1800.
You've just got to remember their job title is loss adjuster. And the number one job is to pay out as little as they can.
CornishRob said:
R6tty said:
Have you still got your car and is it driveable?
We have, but they have told us not to drive it. I've had two cars damaged by a third party, one written off. Must have been lucky as have a resolution in a few days both times. Good luck!
Froomee said:
From my experience if you can get through to the person managing the claim (and they are reasonable) they will ask you to send examples over to support the valuation, if this can be agreed sooner then the need/requirement/cost of a hire car is also negated which is helpful for all parties. You may even be able to suggest not taking the hire car if they meet your agreed valuation, etc as the net cost is the same.
Also from experience this is rarely the case and I have opted in the past to use an accident management company (probably not the most popular idea) with good results. Once you are placed into a hire contract in a like for like car that is running up a daily tab the person managing the claim will be looking to limit their losses and will be more forthcoming. As an example with my last car I was offered a Peugeot 308 as a hire car and they couldn’t guarantee they would replace and not repair parts. I subsequently went through an accident management company, they let me take it to a place of my choice (I got a few quotes to ensure I was being reasonable) that would replace the parts. I also got a Ferrari as a courtesy car in place of my Aston Martin.
The only part that was contested was the price of some of the parts and repairs vs the initial estimate. This actually went to court and this was all found in my favour and I was compensated for my half day after being asked to turn up which the judge deemed ridiculous (for example they didn’t think a wheel alignment was necessary).
I suggest to the person managing the claim that if an agreement cannot be reached to your satisfaction you will proceed as above. An accident management company will have you in a replacement car within 24 hours and you can disagree with the insurer on the valuation whilst they will be paying for a hire car.
This. Speak to the valuing engineer and have some examples of similar cars available from Auto Trader, and just have a chat with them. This is what I did when someone drive in to my (parked) car, and I got what I wanted/needed to put me back in the same car - which was some £1300 more than I originally paid for it, and £600 more than their original offer. (Was only a £6k claim though). Also from experience this is rarely the case and I have opted in the past to use an accident management company (probably not the most popular idea) with good results. Once you are placed into a hire contract in a like for like car that is running up a daily tab the person managing the claim will be looking to limit their losses and will be more forthcoming. As an example with my last car I was offered a Peugeot 308 as a hire car and they couldn’t guarantee they would replace and not repair parts. I subsequently went through an accident management company, they let me take it to a place of my choice (I got a few quotes to ensure I was being reasonable) that would replace the parts. I also got a Ferrari as a courtesy car in place of my Aston Martin.
The only part that was contested was the price of some of the parts and repairs vs the initial estimate. This actually went to court and this was all found in my favour and I was compensated for my half day after being asked to turn up which the judge deemed ridiculous (for example they didn’t think a wheel alignment was necessary).
I suggest to the person managing the claim that if an agreement cannot be reached to your satisfaction you will proceed as above. An accident management company will have you in a replacement car within 24 hours and you can disagree with the insurer on the valuation whilst they will be paying for a hire car.
Edited by Froomee on Monday 25th March 12:05
CornishRob said:
We are dealing with her insurance. Thanks for the above, i will speak to them again and if we cant get a sensible valuation and a courtesy car for a reasonable time, I will suggest we might engage a Accident Management Claim Company, and see how that goes down.
What a ball ache.
Need to look for a replacement vehicle now!!
Stop dealing with her insurance and make a claim on your own insurance. Reason: If you don't like the settlement figure, you can provide evidence with your insurance, invoke their complaints procedure and take the case to the Ombudsman. With her insurer you can't complain to them or to the Ombudsman as you are not their customer. What a ball ache.
Need to look for a replacement vehicle now!!
CornishRob said:
Should i report them to the police? They didn't report the accident, and I think tried to get away with it. They looked very surprised when I confronted them. They left the scene of an accident and didn't report it. They also lied to their insurance company saying they did it reversing off their drive, which is 100m + away and the damage is very different! Thinking about neighbour relations here. We only moved here a year ago and this is a long term family house for us. Our immediate neighbours are all lovely and our opposite neighbour thinks we should inform the police.
Thanks
If they've done it once, they'll do it again. It's the perfect time to report it to the Police as she has not reported the accident or attempted to leave details within 24 hours which means an offence has been committed.Thanks
cadmunkey said:
If you inform the police then her insurance becomes null and void for leaving the scene. They will pursue her through the Courts to settle the claim herself, if its a write off then potentially a large sum she will have to finance.
Someone hit my car and drove off, thankfully I have a dashcam and easily identified the car. Police were very good and actually got his confession within 24hrs. Took 3 years for the whole thing to be settled purely because of how slow the Court system was as his insurance company sued him for the damages.
Its up to you if you want to cause her the same hassle.
No it doesn’t Someone hit my car and drove off, thankfully I have a dashcam and easily identified the car. Police were very good and actually got his confession within 24hrs. Took 3 years for the whole thing to be settled purely because of how slow the Court system was as his insurance company sued him for the damages.
Its up to you if you want to cause her the same hassle.
Her insurance may decline to pay for her damage but it does not affect any third party claim against them as her insurers
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