Stagecoach bus hit me - advice

jabb78

They can be as slow as they like, I have been given a very nice Alpha to drive around in at their expense so I reckon they might be a little speedier, well hopefully!! So is it advisable that I contact them direct? What should I say?

Also in the email from swift offering me an offer, it says its not official or words to that effect, is this normal?

Cheers

dacouch

The Alfa you are driving around in you have signed a credit agreement for, this basically says that if the credit hire cannot recover the hire costs which will be circa £100 a day then you are responsible for the costs. (There are exceptions to this as some of the credit hire companies offer the option for you to pay extra so you are not responsible)

jennypdolphin

If it is like my families experience with bus companies they will probably be very slow about it, My sisters car was hit by a bus (not stagecoach) a good few years ago now and they wound out the process so long that I think it took about 3 years to get it all settled!!!

Little_Otter

jabb78 wrote: »

Some great advice here, I am going to speak to stagecoach direct next week and explain to them what I want in total (including excess) and also mention personal injury claim see how they react. Does this sound like a good idea?

I was hit by stagecoach 4 years ago - I had only been driving a few months, the bus tried to squeeze between me and a parked car (I was stationary in traffic in the outside lane) he smashed my wingmirror off, I beeped, flashed and drove up behind the bus - he didnt stop, he drove off, I caught up to him at the lights, got on the bus and shouted (infront of passengers) that he had hit my car, he came off, looked at the damage, denied it, shouted at me (you silly little girl you should learn to drive properly!!) I gave it back to him, took his name, personal tel, reg, details and left - I was really shaken up, I was only 18 and had never dealt with this before!! My OH rang stagecoach complained, he then rang the bus driver and asked him what he was going to do about it, he offered to pay in full for the damage personally so he didnt loose his no claims bonus at work
Sorry to bump - just wanted to give you my experience, it was awful and my car only lost its wingmirror!! you should def seek advice and claim on the injury!! Buses are taking too many liberties and bullying us out of the way! :mad:

jabb78

Thanks for the advice, no one mentioned that I would have to pay for the car, and that the costs would be recovered from the other party.

Oscar_The_Grouch

jabb78 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice, no one mentioned that I would have to pay for the car, and that the costs would be recovered from the other party.

Don't worry about the car. The costs will be recovered from the other side. What you need to do is call the company that arranged the hire car for you (Albion or Angel Assistance?), as they will also be able to appoint you with a solicitor to deal with recovering the excess and making the injury claim.

dacouch

Oscar the costs are not always recovered from the other side, its not unusual for the other side to dispute part or all of the costs. It is fairly unusual though

Crazy_Jamie

Oscar_the_Grouch wrote:

Don't worry about the car. The costs will be recovered from the other side.

Not necessarily.

jabb78 wrote: »

They can be as slow as they like, I have been given a very nice Alpha to drive around in at their expense

Be very careful with this. If you have signed a credit hire agreement then you will (probably unknowingly, but that's the way that these companies work) potentially have your personal circumstances scrutinised as to whether the hire was needed. You are under a duty to mitigate your loss, and all too often people fail spectacularly in that duty by using a car on credit hire. Do you have the financial resources to hire a vehicle without using credit? Do you have the financial resources to purchase a new car now rather than needing to wait for the the damages from your written off car? If either of those answers is 'yes' then you need to seriously reconsider your use of a credit hire vehicle.

jabb78

Still not heard anything. Not too sure if I should be doing more!!