Not my fault accident Tesco bank demands I go 50/50!

Mrcrimbo

Hi all,

I was just looking for some advice about a non-fault accident. To make a long story short, I was side swiped by a driver on a multi lane roundabout. I was already on the exit lane and the other driver was on the round about lane on the right of me, but the other driver realised at the last minute he was in the wrong lane to exit the round about and ended up scraping my vehicle.

Anyway, the driver and occupant were both clearly full of guilt and remorse for the situation that they had caused. My version of events and the damage done to my vehicle clearly show what had happened was exactly as I described. Further to this, I extensively photographed the road, the position of the two vehicles and the damage.

However, I have just been informed by Tesco Bank car insurance that they are now disputing liability. :mad:

Further to this, Tesco now want me to settle on a 50/50 basis for something that was entirely not my fault. They are so desperate for me to settle on a shared basis that they will do so without further notice unless I ring their 0845 number within 14 days.

I can't begin to describe how angry I am. Although I did not get any witnesses, I had extensively photographed the aftermath of the accident, including the road, the damage and the two vehicles. I have sent my evidence again to Tesco, and have just had to do it again to Helphire because Tesco didn't bother to pass it on to them.

However, this time I want to send Tesco the photographic evidence as well, despite informing them I had photographs that support my story, yet they failed to follw this through. They are not even helping me help them. To be honest, I don't even know who I'm dealing with, Tesco Bank or Helphire.

Now, I will take this to court if I have to. I will fight to the last drop of blood. I will never settle on a 50/50 basis for an accident that was entirely not my fault. I have already lost £15 for a hire car fuel surcharge and much more worth of time.

Please advise.

Quentin

You can of course take court action against the third party for your costs as a result of this.

But do get legal advice on your chances of winning before embarking on this. (Unless you win 100% liability against the third party your case will have been an expensive waste of time and money)

hcb42

are you not fully comp?

If so - I wouldnt even get into these fights, let your insurance company fight it out.

vax2002

50/50 means they get to screw you over for the next 5 years with increased premium.
However, you are under NO legal obligation to let your insurance deal with anything.
Tell them to But out, take a hike, the claim is closed.
Sue the driver at fault in county court for your losses.

On_My_Lonesome

Was there only 1 exit lane for the exit you were both taking?

Surely if there was only 1 exit lane it can only be them hitting your car on the drivers side as you will have been in the left hand lane to exit anyway so they must have moved into you? Does their statement say where they joined and were plannig on exiting the roundabout?

Im in a similar situation at the moment with a driver accepting responsibility at the time and now denying all responsibility so I do hope you get it sorted.

Mrcrimbo

Thanks for the replies,

Yes I'm on fully comp. To be honest I had expected better than this from the Tesco. No one has even told me the other vehicles version of events, all I know is that they are 'disputing liability'. What really pees me off is this. Imagine I just murdered someone in cold blood in broad daylight. It went to court and I disputed the murder. Then the court deciding that as I have disputed the murder all sides should just shake hands and share the guilt, even the murdered victims family. Forget the evidance, the diagrams and the photographs that proved the murder. Appalling.

With regards to the accident though, I was on the right lane of a multi-lane exit, and the other vehicle was in the left lane of the multi lane round about. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I just can't see how there would be any doubt who caused the accident based on the damage, my sketch, description, and photographs! How could they despite reality, I don't even know what their little lie is.

On_My_Lonesome wrote: »

Was there only 1 exit lane for the exit you were both taking?

Surely if there was only 1 exit lane it can only be them hitting your car on the drivers side as you will have been in the left hand lane to exit anyway so they must have moved into you? Does their statement say where they joined and were plannig on exiting the roundabout?

Im in a similar situation at the moment with a driver accepting responsibility at the time and now denying all responsibility so I do hope you get it sorted.

vaio

Vax2002 has it just about spot on.

You’ve made the mistake of thinking that your insurance company are going to look after your interests rather than take the least cost option for them.

Your choices come down to either accepting it or telling your company to suspend the claim and you sue the other driver in the small claims court for your damages.

lisyloo

Your choices come down to either accepting it or telling your company to suspend the claim and you sue the other driver in the small claims court for your damages.

But that won't stop tescos accepting 50% liability for the 3rd party damage will it?

huckster

lisyloo wrote: »

But that won't stop tescos accepting 50% liability for the 3rd party damage will it?

No it won't. If you read the Insurance policy document it will state that Insurers will decide on liability, but that the policyholder can still excersize their rights under Englsih or Scotish law.

So the OP has the options as previously advised. Tell Tesco that they are not happy with the 50/50 and obtain advice as to whether it is worth going down the legal route. If the advice is that it is not worth the cost of any legal action as unlikely to achieve desired outcome, then the OP will have to reluctantly accept a 50/50.

asbokid

Mrcrimbo wrote: »

I was side swiped by a driver on a multi lane roundabout. I was already on the exit lane and the other driver was on the roundabout lane on the right of me, but the other driver realised at the last minute he was in the wrong lane to exit the round about and ended up scraping my vehicle.

Mrcrimbo wrote: »

I was on the right lane of a multi-lane exit, and the other vehicle was in the left lane of the multi lane round about.

It's difficult to visualise the scenario from those two explanations.

The collision was to the side of your vehicle and you were off the roundabout itself and in an exit lane.

You give the impression that the other driver was still on the roundabout when you were struck.

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I just can't see how there would be any doubt who caused the accident based on the damage, my sketch, description, and photographs!

Maybe scan your sketch and upload it to http://www.imageshack.us so people can understand the situation better.

Mrcrimbo

asbokid wrote: »

It's difficult to visualise the scenario from those two explanations.

The collision was to the side of your vehicle and you were off the roundabout itself and in an exit lane.

You give the impression that the other driver was still on the roundabout when you were struck.



Maybe scan your sketch and upload it to censored so people can understand the situation better.

It was quite a big nasty round about but despite my lack of drawing skills, I hope the sketch gives a better idea of what I'm dealing with. See the reason for editing for link below.

Thanks all