Accident in 2003. Being persued now??

Mrs.D

Hi everyone

I'm hoping for a bit of advice.

I had minor car accident in December 2003. The third party went into the rear of my vehicle whist I was stationary at traffic lights. Helphire were recommended to me and I gratefully used them. I paid for the Angel policy, completed all the paperwork, received my car back and heard very little more.

Last month I received a call out of the blue on my mobile (I have the same number) from a solicitor saying that they had been instructed to persue the claim on behalf of Angel and would need my new address etc to issue proceedings.

I refused to provide any details over the phone, but they started to bombard me with e-mails (same e-mail address) and phone calls. The e-mails have become more and more threatening, the most recent saying that if I do not sign and return the form to issue proceedings against the 3rd party, I will be persued for costs (of just under £2,000).

I eventually printed, signed and sent back the form, but I've started to receive more e-mails asking for my current address and details. They did not ask for these on the form, so I did not provide them. I'm even more reluctant to provide any new address now due to the threats of persuing me for costs.

Where do I stand? This accident happened nearly 6 years ago.

Many thanks in advance...

Quentin

You will have agreed to assist them issue proceedings if necessary when first taking out the policy.

They want to sue the third party, not you, but need to do it with your details as you are the "injured" party.

Mrs.D

Thanks for the very quick reply Quentin!

I have agreed to help, in that I've signed the requisite forms and sent them back. They have my e-mail address, mobile number, signature and authorisation.

Do I have to provide my new address though?

They haven't bothered to contact me about this for 5.5 years. If I hadn't kept the same mobile, they would not have got hold of me. Can they not deal with it on the info they already have and the authoisation I have given?

Quentin

It looks like they will keep at you till you comply.

You have nothing to lose by complying, but possibly lots to lose if you refuse to comply with them if they do enforce their threat to turn their attention to you to reimburse them.

mattymoo

They need your address to put on the court summons under the section for the plaintiffs (claimants) details.

You need to comply quickly. They are up against a ticking clock - the statute of limitation gives them 6 years from date of accident to issue proceedings. If they go over this limit (December) because of your delay, they will not be able to sue the negligent party and will come after you instead.