help with a claim against us

alyssa_liss

ive posted this in the motor bit but told to post here aswell



i really dont know where to post this but we REALLY need some help, i am nearly crying as i write this as i dont know what to do

my partner has just recieve a letter (claim form) against him for just over £9000

he has no money is still living in his overdraft from when he was made redundant for 5 months, ive just managed to claim some ppi insurance back which has made him a little bit closer to becoming out of his overdraft.

sorry ill start from the begining

at the begining of 07 he was involved in a car crash, he was driving his brothers car for him as his brother had ,had a drink . on the way home the car infront suddenly turned into a side road (car + ice + sudden movement etc... CRASH)

my partner genuanly thought he was insured under his own insurance for driving other cars... he wasnt.

he got points and a fine ..... he understood this was annoyed but it was his own fault he is not denying that .

the motor insurance beurea paid out to the other party involved and then started asking my partner for the money back ( roughly £3000)

he started to make enquires about how to pay this because at the time he had the money. whilst he was doing this his brothers insurance interviened and made the repayment to the MIB.

the brothers insurance then told my partner he had to repay them.. fair enough , this was still at £3000, he was then waiting to here from them about how to repay it as he had used the £3000 to pay a loan off he had.

he did not here from them for about 6 months and as this point he had not long been made redundant. (didnt recieve a redundance payment) he was living on about £30 JSA a week, (which was ridiculas) he still had to pay rent,food,bills.

when they got intouch they told him he then had to pay £7000 not £3000. he replied to them and told him he was out of work and didnt have that type of money. he then asked about repayment options.

they got back intouch saying £350 a month ( he was still looking for work and only recieveing about £120 a month JSA ) obviously he couldnt afford this as by this point he was working his way into his overdraft.

he got back intouch with them saying as he was out of work he could only afford £50 a month untill he got a job, they said this wasnt good enough.

he got back intouch asking what the minimum amout he could pay was, they never replied untill this letter we have just recieved asking for £9000.

he could roughly pay £200 a month now but this is going to take about 4years to pay off and we were just about to start saving towards a house etc...
im so upset as we wanted to get a house,married kids. and at this rate it doesnt look like its goiing to happen.

the letter says he needs to accept the claim
part of the claim
dispute the claim
ask for 28days instead of 14
or nothing and a jugment may be entered against him

sorry for the long thread but we are nice normal people, hardworking and only young and have never been in anything like this

:(can someone please help or suest what to do ?:(

alyssa_liss

they are saying the solicitors fees from the MIB hired which took it from 3000 to 7000 but the same solictors we the ones who originally asked for 3000

they are saying the 7000 to 9000 is interest.

Oneday77

Sorry to hear about this, sounds like a right mess. It may be worth asking on the insurance board too, a few insurance insider hang about there and ,may have some suggestions.
Your best bet is to post an SoA and be honest with how much things cost. That will give us an idea of what you really can afford. If you present this to them as well they can only take what you can afford to give them.
Who is claiming the money back, the insurer or a DCA?

alyssa_liss

sorry whats DCA i dont understand

its his brother insuracne thats claiming it back ( so the car he was driving at the times insurance)

will do a soa in a minute

Poosmate

Can you ask your partner's brother to help out financially? It could have been much worse if his brother had been driving (of course it may not have happened at all either - fate and all that). But does your partners brother not feel any sense of responsibility? Would he have driven home had your partner not been there?

Poo

gmags

I would get legal/CAB advice as to your partners full liability to all these costs as I'm sure somewhere you need sight of what the solicitors costs were for. Has your partner signed any agreements at any time? I really think you should get advice before you agree the amount here. Its a huge difference from £3000! Especially if the matter was not contested.
Its awful what has happened to you when you were trying to do the responsible thing. I'm going to check the terms of my own insurnce now as I have aways asumed I would be covered in such a situation.
Lots of luck.

MrsTinks

DCA - Debt Collection Agency

Was there anything in particular that made him think he was covered through his own insurance to drive other cars 3rd party?
Unfortunately the options really are to either pay what they ask or try to negotiate with them - if you can't reach an agreement you are all happy with then chances are they WILL seek a county court judgement against him and there is no reason it shouldn't be granted as far as I can see... yes it will be set at an affordable level but the damage will be on his credit file if you're hoping to get a mortgage in the near future...

DarkConvict

Are you sure he was not covered. Insurance if fully comp will often cover another drive to drive if you are unfit, i.e. you have had a drink so someone else drives.

Also, your own insurance can cover you on other vehicles on some polices, this is no common anymore and generally relies on the other person have the insurance for any driver or any driver in emergencies etc.

if Ice was the problem i am surprised by the amount, as it could be said its 50/50 due to weather conditions.

dancingfairy

I would try and contact your local CAB and see if they can help or try and get legal aid - I think community legal service covers people on low incomes/out of work etc to make sure they get legal advice. I'm not really sure how the system works to be honest - maybe google it and have a read up.
You could alternatively try and get a free half hour with a solicitor?
Best bet is to try and see the CAB and see if they can point you in the right direction I reckon.
df

Ames

If he's not working and eligible for legal aid he could ring community legal services, they're great. They'll be able to tell him where he stands and put him in touch with someone local who can act on his behalf if needs be. It'll be a lot quicker than CAB too.

ohyeahitssorcy

Im sorry but i have to disagree here there are other options than just laying down and paying up.

Why should they just pay up a further 7 thousand pounds on top of a debt which they offered to pay back originally?

Do you have documentary evidence that your partner offered to pay or was this all done over the phone ? either way dont take this laying down go and seek legal advice for starters, either way you have to dispute this claim i dont think you can get legal aid for this kind of thing although i could be wrong so it may involve your partner attending court but the point is what have you got to lose by disputing this do you agree that you owe £9000 ?

Get as much documentation together that you can including dates that you offered to get a payment agreement going and get down citizens advice or get in touch with the community legal service on monday morning.

It doesnt cost £4000 for a solicitor to bring this to court no way ive got a solicitor for complicated children and family matters and was told that if i couldnt get legal aid it would cost me around the £2000 mark.

Isnt it the case that no credit agreement was in place so they cannot start adding interest on willy nilly unless they ask the court for it and isnt the interest a court would award set at 8% ?