MIB County Court Claim after 6 years!

sloaneranger_2

HELP NEEDED!

Ok here is the sorry tale, almost 6 years ago now on 6/8/05 I had a blow out after driving over some debris on the road in Wales. Due to my situation at the time I was stupidly uninsured and subsequently fined £300 and had 6 points added to my driving licence. At the time no application was made to the court for any damages and it did not award although it was aware that a road barrier had been damaged. The traffic police who attended the accident at the time thought that it was likely the debris which seemed to be builders waste materials could have contributed to the blow out which had caused the accident in the first place. No other persons were involved in the incident.

Sometime later I was sent a repair bill from the local authority highways department which I responded to by telling them the opinion of the police and that as I was not working due to health issues and in receipt of benefits that I was not in a position to pay the bill and that I did not accept that I was totally responsible for this. I heard no more about the situation until last month!

I know that road tax does not go to the upkeep of the road network but other taxation which I along with everyone else pay does surely when a situation like this happens if a driver is uninsured the local authority should either claim its own insurance or use the funding it receives to repair or replace if necessary.

Now I have been a County court claim taken against me by the MIB who are looking to get some £2801.57 I intend to defend the action by means of the details above although will go into a bit more detail for the court.


The wording on the county court claim form reads as follows:

The claimant is the National Gaurantee Fund which provides compensation to the victims of uninsured negligent drivers. The claimant paid compensation and/or costs to the victim(s) of the defendants negligence whilst driving motor vehicle registration number H91BGF on 6/8/05 without statutory insurance cover as required by the road traffic act 1988. The victim(s) have since assigned their cause of action to the Claimant and notice of such was served upon the defendant. The Claimant complied with Section III & IV and Annex B of the PD Pre-action Conduct. And the Claimant claims: MIB Uninsured Driver Subrogated Claim reference number 1169433 balance of 1,795.67 as of 6/8/05.
Interest under section s69 of the County Court Act 1984 at the rate of 8% a year from the Accident date to 8/7/11 of 850.90 and also interest at the same rate up to the date of judgement or earlier payment at a daily rate of 0.39 AND costs.

Amount Claimed = £2646.57, Court Fee = £ 75.00, Solicitors costs = £80.00 Total = £2801.57

Claimant is Motor Insurers Bureau, Milton Keynes,


My questions are basically this, how since I have heard no more since I contacted the local authority outlining my position can they come back all this time later and expect me to pay this along with almost £1000 of interest that they have added to it and also since I am still in receipt of income support and DLA and unable to work and have no assets or savings can the court if they find in favour of the MIB arrest my benefits in order to recover the dept.?



Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Quentin

sloaneranger wrote: »

My questions are basically this, how since I have heard no more since I contacted the local authority outlining my position can they come back all this time later and expect me to pay this ...

The answer is that as long as they institute proceedings to get the money you owe within 6 years they can do so.

Your thread title does say this has come "after" 6 years, but this is not so from the dates you have given.

forgotmyname

Would the date go from when they paid out for the damage thought not the actual accident date?

Do you have the dates they paid out? Could have been a long time after the accident.

You can defend in court but you caused the damage with no 3rd party involved and if you had been
insured they would have paid it for you.
I presume the court will order you to pay something each month until its paid in full.

I doubt you can get away with it. But stranger things do happen.

patman99

You need to find-out the actual date of the accident. Write to the Council who should be able to confirm the dates.

If they come back with the exact date and it is over 6 years, then you have a get-out-of jail card, if not, then you can offer £1 p/month.

raskazz

patman99 wrote: »

If they come back with the exact date and it is over 6 years, then you have a get-out-of jail card,

This is not true. It would be true if the claimant (to the OP) was the council but the claimant is not the council - the claimant is the MIB (who have indemnified the council as per their legal obligation, which gives them the right to recover their outlay from the person who incurred the loss - i.e. the OP).

The OP should seek proper legal advice.

1jim

Sorry cant help but interest at 8% seems a bit steep to me, would love to know (and would ask them) where they invest to get those returns....might seem like a small victory in the scheme of things if things go against you but am I right in thinking that they can only charge for loss....and if they would not have obtained 8% interest then they cant charge it?

do you have copies of the letter you sent saying you couldnt afford it from 6years ago? might help mitigate things a little

raskazz

1jim wrote: »

Sorry cant help but interest at 8% seems a bit steep to me, would love to know (and would ask them) where they invest to get those returns....might seem like a small victory in the scheme of things if things go against you but am I right in thinking that they can only charge for loss....and if they would not have obtained 8% interest then they cant charge it?

do you have copies of the letter you sent saying you couldnt afford it from 6years ago? might help mitigate things a little

8% is the statutory interest rate to which the original claimant (the council) is entitled by law. As this forms part of the MIB's outlay then they are entitled to recover it from the OP, and indeed they will also be entitled to add 8% statutory interest to the amount the OP owes for as long as it remains unpaid.

I really don't think the letter will help. It does not affect the MIB's right of recovery against the OP.

Quentin

1jim wrote: »

Sorry cant help but interest at 8% seems a bit steep to me, would love to know (and would ask them) where they invest to get those returns....

The interest rate is set by the court, not the claimant.

muckybutt

Sorry but driving uninsured is no excuse, imo I hope they throw the book at you !!! :mad::mad:

You had an accident which was partly your fault, you caused damage, now you have to pay.....tough !!!!!

Folks like you wingeing about having to pay make me sick.

xoleeb

sloaneranger wrote: »

surely when a situation like this happens if a driver is uninsured the local authority should either claim its own insurance or use the funding it receives to repair or replace if necessary.

yeh mate that's fine - when you cant be arsed to comply with the law and purchase compulsory car insurance then fear not us tax payers will bail you out ..no worries - anything else you cant be bothered to pay for just give us a shout the good old tax payer will sort you again...you deserve every minute of hassle they can throw at you --numpty!

HO87

Quentin wrote: »

The interest rate is set by the court, not the claimant.

Unfortunately this is incorrect. The interest rate is set at 8% (or to be precise: "£8 per centum per annum") by law - hence the term "statutory interest". This can be varied by county court (which is where the OP's case will be heard) only in certain circumstances i.e. where the sum claimed is expressed in a currency other than sterling.

In the OP's case, therefore, the application of 8% would appear to be perfectly lawful.