Newby facing big County Court Case by HL Legal

lionzden

I received a letter from HL Legal (Client: Motor Insurers Bureau) stating their client had paid out £10,000 to a claimant for an accident against a vehicle i had driven as part of my work in feb 2005. i didnt own the vehicle, it was only driven for business use for the Ltd company. the claimant had tried to overtake me and crashed through their own wreckless driving.

At no stage since feb '05 have i received any letter or communication regarding this until now (may 2011). i was insured to drive as it was a company vehicle & the company had all of that but i've since left the employment of that company so dont have that info.

HL Legal are asking for the jan 05 insurance policy details or they will pursue a County Court Claim against me without further notice.

i am a novice & need your advice how to protect myself from a potentially very damaging lawsuit. Help !

GeorgieFTB

I'm sorry I don't really know what to tell you, not really my area of expertise, can you get the information from your old employer? I'm sure they knew about the crash and the fleet administrator should have all the details.

Gx

Boris_Allen

This sounds incredibly suspicious to me. At the time of the crash, did you stop and if so were statements made to the police then? If so and it has been established that you were not to blame, or otherwise the police never pursued you for your role, then I would say they have a very weak case against you. I'd be very tempted to ignore their demands and see what happens, but provide more info here first.

fatbelly

Limitation Act still applies - they have six years to commence court action from when they could have taken it.

The clock starts ticking again if you acknowledge a debt in writing or by payment.

If they commence court action in say July 2011, the question is whether a judge would agree that the debt is 'statute barred'.

Really the insurer you had at that time should be dealing with it-maybe defending it on that basis. I would try to contact your ex-employer. They may still have the relevant records..

NeverAgain_2

The Motor Insurers Bureau compensates those who suffer loss who are injured by an uninsured driver.

If they have paid out, it would seem the assumption is you were uninsured or could not be traced at the time.

The claim you now have should be referred to whoever it was who was insuring the van when the accident happened.

I don't think ignoring it is a good idea at all, but your insurers at the time should deal with it.

But they cannot do that if they don't know what's going on.

lionzden

i know the vehicle was insured because it was one of a large fleet of vehicles the business had. but i dont know who the insurer was because i was just an employee & its been 6yrs. the Ltd company i previously worked for closed and is now run under a different Ltd company name. the manager is still the same but is refusing to provide records from that year.

meanwhile HL Legal are threatening county court action if i dont provide the policy details.

i'm very worried about this & dont know what to do.

DVardysShadow

lionzden wrote: »

i know the vehicle was insured because it was one of a large fleet of vehicles the business had. but i dont know who the insurer was because i was just an employee & its been 6yrs. the Ltd company i previously worked for closed and is now run under a different Ltd company name. the manager is still the same but is refusing to provide records from that year.

meanwhile HL Legal are threatening county court action if i dont provide the policy details.

i'm very worried about this & dont know what to do.

If you don't have the policy details, you don't have the policy details - and I am not sure it is reasonable to demand them from you after 6 years. What you do have is the name of your employer at the time, the name of the new company and the name of the manager. So you should send that information - avoid commenting on the accident itself and state "All questions of liability must be resolved with the insurers of <old employer>"

FTW

DVardysShadow wrote: »

If you don't have the policy details, you don't have the policy details - and I am not sure it is reasonable to demand them from you after 6 years. What you do have is the name of your employer at the time, the name of the new company and the name of the manager. So you should send that information - avoid commenting on the accident itself and state "All questions of liability must be resolved with the insurers of <old employer>"

I'd send the Statute Barred letter (unsigned, recorded delivery) - it would then be up to them to prove that it isn't.

clang_uk

This sounds suspious to me, why after 6 years would they contact you if you were insured through your employer. It sounds like they are going through old files and trying to get extra money.
I would suggest writing an unsigned letter stating that co x was your employer and they hold the policies. Its not your fault that the company closed down. Any further letters claiming court I would suggest getting a solicitor.

DVardysShadow

FTW wrote: »

I'd send the Statute Barred letter (unsigned, recorded delivery) - it would then be up to them to prove that it isn't.

I would save it for later. The later the better.