Going court need help

dacouch

You need to send Quinn a letter by recorded delivery, mark the top of the letter "Official Complaint" and then make a complaint, keep it concise and polite. Refer to their policy wording as page 8 and that as you have a valid claim you expect them to deal with the claim.

They have to properly investigate an official complaint and respond within a set number of days. Mention in the letter that if you do not receive satisfaction you will refer the matter to the ombudsman.

See page 21 of the Quinn policy for how to make a complaint.

P.S The reason Quinn were initially interested in the claim is when they thought you were not at fault they farmed it out to a claims management company who paid them commission. When the claims company thought the claim may not go through against the other persons insurance they dropped it as they want easy claims. I'm guessing they offered you a like for like hire car as well

poor_student1234

What happened was i saw i an advert for a no win no fee accident management in my area so i just used them. They gave me a hire car and were happy and so were Quinn to begin with.
The only problem is by the time Quinn reply to me id probably be in court a couple of weeks later. If the judgement is decided against me or they make me pay, could i recover these costs of Quinn for not representing me as i firmly believe i have a strong case and evident to win in court.

Crabman

Sorry to hear about this, I had a problem with an insurance company which lied & tried to deny cover. I wrote a firm letter threatening court action in 7 days.

That got the issue resolved although I had already filled out court papers ready to file against them as I knew they were in the wrong. Insurers (and financial institutions generally) don't care about the Ombudsman ruling against them as they have nothing whatsoever to lose but everything to gain if the consumer gives up.

I would suggest writing as dacouch suggests but not under their "complaints" procedure which allows them a ridiculously generous 8 weeks to ignore you before you can go to the Ombudsman which will in turn keep you waiting for months.

If I were you I'd be very firm, point out their numerous contradictions, the fact they have confirmed your coverage several times in the past, that you will seek full consequential damages from them as a result of their breach of contract and that you'll issue court proceedings against them within 7 days without further reference to them.

I know it's been mentioned but many law schools now operate a legal advice facility and I'm sure you'd be able to find someone to help you. I'm wondering whether you could file an application with the court to ask that the claim against you be stayed given the circumstances - that's the sort of advice you need to seek from a solicitor or at least someone with a good knowledge of the legal field.

jayme1

blue_haddock wrote: »

If i was about to be sued for many thousands of pounds i really wouldnt fancy putting it in the hands of someone who is not yet qualified

damsight better having some help by someone who is training to be a lawyer than just you go it alone not having a clue.

poor_student1234

I think ill be writing a letter to Quinn tomorrow thanks for the replies.

Only problem is i doubt even if they admit they have to cover me for the claim, it will be too late as defence is in for the 10th of December.

Another problem i have is that the court proceeding will take place at Liverpool County Court, me and the other guy are both are from Birmingham but his solicitors and based in Liverpool, i dont think this is fair as ive got to pay train, car costs to go all the way to Liverpool as its most convenient for the solicitors.

taffy056

You can transfer it to your location I believe, but I would ask them to stay the hearing until you sort out quinns, horrible company to deal with!

Hintza

And a sautory tale to be very wary of accident management companies. If you lose you pay!

Wonder how much 3 months car hire will cost in this case?

:eek:

JQ.

I may be wrong and get shot down in flames, but I have 100% zero sympathy.

So you were driving a car belonging to your father. That car had no insurance policy on it, so presumably your father never actually drove it. You had been stopped by the police several times before as presumably it pings their ANPR cameras and they have to phone Quinn every time they stop you as the car you are driving has no insurance on it. Sounds like it's actually your car.

Looks to me like you can't afford to insure your car and so have a policy on a cheaper smaller less powerfull car that enables you to drive your car Third Party.

It's people like you pushing up the cost of insurance for the rest of us. Hopefully it'll be a lesson learned.

ps - have you checked the Quinn T&C's to see if they have an age restriction on the Third Party cover - it's normally 25, but I think Quinn were targetting the younger insurance market so it may not have one.

dacouch

As the matter is urgent, try giving Quinn a call, ask for a manager in the claims department, be polite and explain the situation, that you know you are covered by the policy. You are being taken to court and that ultimately Quinn will end up paying the claim as you will go through the complaints process and ultimately the Ombudsman. So it is in their interests to defend the claim correctly.

I would also mention to the manager that you will also be doing a Subject Access Report on them, which is basically requesting a copy of your file under the data protection act. This will probably show the calls you have made to them where they have confirmed you are covered by the policy etc. This may help as they may realise you mean business and that the report may show up the calls etc

As taffy has mentioned you can normally request the County Court gets transferred to a court near you, if you speak to the court they may even adjourn the case due to the circumstances to give you time to sort the issue with Quinn out.

esmerobbo

I don't understand a part of this. The OP has a insurance policy for a car, it also covers him to drive another car belonging to somebody else. I was always under the impression that the other persons vehicle had to be covered by insurance?