Help! Ds @uni,accident in May,just recd County Court claim

Hi,never posted before so please bear with..
My 18yr old son went into the back of a car in May,it was rotten weather raining,spray etc and he admits he should have braked sooner.Luckily he wasn't going fast & tried to go into barrier rather than car so not much damage to car he hit.He was insured,exchanged details with driver who was fine,police arrived and everything sorted.Any damage to the other car was paid by my sons insurer.Not prosecuted or points on his licence.
He sold his car before uni and cancelled insurance.
Today a large brown envelope arrived which I opened (he has given me permission to do so while he is away)Inside is a County Court claim,HM Courts & Tribunal service document,medical report of chap(soft tissue damage,no time off from work,imo he is swinging the lead)claim form,2 invoices for CL MediCall aid and a notice of funding of case.The company is SGI Legal.It is very legal and scary looking!
Before I tell my son this has all arrived I really want a plan of action as he is already having a hard time settling in to uni.
Why have they sent it to my son and not made a claim to his insurance company?
He is a student on a full grant as we have no money,can they make him pay?
It says that if he doesn't respond a decision will be made without him.
I am unsure as to where this will take place as Claim Form issued from a localish Court but they say they want the hearing to take place at Birkenhead which is hundreds of miles away.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Janus Illusion# 43 : NSD 2/20, Food 101/220 , Petrol 26/100 , Misc /70 , Foodbank /£3 , Packed Lunch 2/16
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Comments

  • Paradigm
    Paradigm Posts: 3,613
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    edited 8 October 2016 at 8:14PM
    Pass it on to your sons insurer. That's what he paid them for.
    Always try to be at least half the person your dog thinks you are!
  • Thanks for the reply.
    Will they contact the court?,that is the bit that worries me the most.Or do I/Ds have to let them know that it has been referred to Insurance company?
    Janus Illusion# 43 : NSD 2/20, Food 101/220 , Petrol 26/100 , Misc /70 , Foodbank /£3 , Packed Lunch 2/16
    Sealed Pot Challenge #2150
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  • Nasqueron
    Nasqueron Posts: 8,626
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    The guy your son hit has had his details passed on to an ambulance chaser who have tempted him with the idea of free money by lying about non-existent injuries. Pass this all onto the insurers and they will deal with it and all of us pay more on our premiums because of fraudsters like this
  • missile
    missile Posts: 11,684
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    Do not respond to any correspondence. Your DS insurer should deal with this. Keep a copy and forward all correspondence to them asap.

    You mention county court claim. It is unclear to me precisely what you have received, but if this is a summons then he must attend. Hopefully his insurer will provide legal assistance.
    "A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members." ~ Mahatma Gandhi
    Ride hard or stay home :iloveyou:
  • Aretnap
    Aretnap Posts: 5,177
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    The act that the claim is made against him rather than his insurance company is basically a legal nicety - he's the one who caused the accident so he bears ultimate responsibility. They don't sue the insurer because nobody is claiming that the insurer damaged anybody's car or injured anybody. Rather they sue your son and your son asks his insurer to indemnify him in accordance with the terms of his policy (as it stood at te tie of the accident). It's quite standard and while it does need prompt attention, it's not a cause for undue alarm.

    He should contact his (former) insurer immediately, or at least first thing on Monday morning, forward the documents to them, and for a belt and braces approach phone again a few days later and make sure they've received the document and are dealing with them. He should not respond to the documents personally or otherwise attempt to deal with the claim himself - it's for the insurer to decide how to deal with them.
  • They are trying to scare your son into settling. Same happened to my sister, she sent info to her insurer, ended up as a 50-50 and the transit she hit because his rear brakelights failed got £0 (her car was written off, his van had superficial damage, yet he was the one claiming for whiplash and time off work).
  • Thank you for your replies,it has really helped.Have got all my Ds details and will speak to insurance tomorrow.
    Janus Illusion# 43 : NSD 2/20, Food 101/220 , Petrol 26/100 , Misc /70 , Foodbank /£3 , Packed Lunch 2/16
    Sealed Pot Challenge #2150
    Super Saver challenge 0/£3000
  • Loanranger
    Loanranger Posts: 2,439 Forumite
    Be aware that it is possible that insurance company will not speak to you, only will speak to your son. Can he be in the house with you when you phone?
  • DCFC79
    DCFC79 Posts: 40,598
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    Loanranger wrote: »
    Be aware that it is possible that insurance company will not speak to you, only will speak to your son. Can he be in the house with you when you phone?

    Unles the son has given the OP permission to speak to them on his behalf.

    All you would need to do OP is call the insurer and ask what address the forms need to be sent too, it shouldnt require any security to be passed.

    If you have the documents with you the address might be in there. But take a copy or 2 in case the first goes missing.
  • Get son to call insurer and send the claim form to them registered post. It is then insurers problem
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