Car Insurance Claim Problem

Stanbe

hi. Hopefully posting in the correct forum here!
Need some advice please if possible.

I was involved in an accident in April 2008.
I was on a dual carridgeway and a van switched lanes, without seeing me. The rear side of his van hit the front corner of my car.

As his van was a recovery van, it had one of those medal bars on the back, which is what caught my plastic bumper. There was very little damage done to mine, just some scratches, and no damage to his.

It was reported to my insurance company, and i then got a accident report form to fill out. When reporting it on the phone, they agreed it was the others fault.

A few weeks later i called to see what was happening and found out some disterbing points:
The first point was they are claiming i went into the back of them, and the second was they are claiming it happened 2 weeks earlier than it actually did.

After a few months of trying to sort it all out, it all went quiet. I've just called them now to find out what happened, and they've told me they've paid out to the 3rd party!

I'd would like to know if anyone has any advice on this?
Can a 3rd party make up a date - even if i have photographs with the date on and i wasn't there at that time?

Where can i go further with this?

Thanks in advance guys.

Oscar_The_Grouch

Hi there

Try submitting all the evidence you have to the insurance company and seeing what they say. They should be willing to look in to the case for you.

Who were the insurers?

Rolandtheroadie

Find out why your insurer paid out. Get witnesses that can confirm the date is wrong.
Any witnesses to the accident? If you've got pics, with the damage clearly on the side of your bumper (not the front of it if he's pulled into you) this might help too.

LadyIndecisive

Ultimately to get this re-opened and settled in your favour is going to be quite an effort and will involve your insurer (providing they believe your account and are happy with whatever evidence you can give) requesting reimbursement from the third party and/or their insurers. Which they are unlikely to achieve.

It's strange that the third party would alter the accident date and the only reason may be that they were not covered on the accident date. Your insurer should look into this by checking what policy existed for the third party vehicle on the real loss date and the incorrect loss date. It could be a simple error on the part of the other driver.

Have your insurers settled in full or accepted part liability?

If both vehicles suffered side impacts and it is one individuals word against the others then a split settlement would have been likely, but either way your insurer should have referred to you before settling in any manner if you maintained you were not liable at all.