car crash advice :( with twist!

mmmlindz

Hi guys first time here any advice would be really appreciated...
A month ago today i was driving to my friends house down a country lane the road narrows and opens so there are passing places i met a van i saw him coming as there was a car infront so i stopped this guy didnt assess whether he could get his big van through and like a bumper car side swiped mine i was right in the hedge so my car couldnt go anywhere damage from wing mirror progressively worse to back, broken bk windscreen light etc, i could have gone bk but he didnt give a chance he just kept going and i was 100% stopped
guy doesnt stop so i turn round and follow him up the hill his vans chucking out serious black smoke so hes flooring it! as i get up close i see its got a chimney thinking 'here we go no insurance' i follow him thinking he'll stop, so he drives to the middle of nowhere back of beyond no phone signal... so he Stops, Reverses and gets out with a saw (a hand saw) i panic and reverse, as if to do a 3pt turn, into a gateway but dont see its got a drop and get stuck!! i think im going to die lol ive got my friends baby so get him out and scream at this guy (dont see the saw again) so i get phone signal ring mum and dad and friend all arrive and this guy is intent on getting my car out of ditch so reverses his van bk towards but keeps it in reverse and goes str8 into it pulls forward runs back into it again i ring police,
police come and whilst theyre there he does it again in total my car is hit 4 times in an hour!!
ok so its 4wks today ive heard nothing from his car insurance mine have sent 4 letters as his only deal in writing, is this a breach of anything?
Is he at fault? if its a hit and run is it seen he's at fault?
twisted my back when he hit car first and had 3days off work as i have a physical job, although it still twinges even now, im not looking for 'payout' or whatever i'd jst like those wages, & car seat was broken can i claim 4 that?
please any advice im really stuck

Sally_A

What did the Police do? Surely if they were there as witnesses they will be taking further action against the driver.

Who are his insurers alleged to be?

mmmlindz

he was charged with dangerous driving and leaving the scene of an accident which is being investigated to proceed to court i think,
His insurance is Zenith who dont accept comercial phonecalls so churchill cant contact them only in writing which they havent responded to 4th letter went on monday,

Sally_A

Wow, Zenith, there's a name from the past - didn't know they were still round.

Nothing to stop you calling them.
Motor Claims Registration: 0845 600 5330
The policy should be traceable from the make, model, reg no, name of driver, address postcode etc etc. If he's being an awkward wotsit and not reporting it, give them the crime ref etc and anything else factual you can supply.

Explain you are carless etc etc, and before you take an expensive hire car from your own insurer you want to give them the chance to sort things out quickly

Hopefully the Police really did check the bloke out, and he's not just driving around on cloned plates on an identical vehicle - this would kick up the MID info that it was insured with Zenith. Did they check expected location with insurers, and also the VIN number against the DVLA records, and the MOT cert, ie MOT cert confirms VIN, garage MOT'd at etc etc?

You really do need to check you are dealing with the real insurers of this vehicle before you go hiring cars and building up costs that you hope to get back - not that you mention that you have - but just try to get an insurer to take ownership of the claim, that will make you feel a load better.

Who are your insurers? they don't seem very proactive? (I'm sure I read direct line somewhere, but can't find it again - perhaps that was a different thread I was reading).

mmmlindz

Im insured with Churchill and no they dont seem to be doing alot ive made 27 phonecalls to them! they just say becasue i want to wait for liability theres no time scale its so frustrating
apart from replacing car seat and buying a car cover i havent done or hired anything mums been driving me to work!
i asked churchill if i could ring Zenith they said 'i wouldnt advise it' so im worried about getting involved like that in case its bad for me
police checked van etc all seemed legit
Churchill also said for them to make court proceeding they will of had to of made a loss my car would need to be fixed/written off but this puts me bk in the position of if it goes 50/50 i lose no claims my insurance could go up to 1500 next year is it best to wait? i dont see it can go 50/50 but knowing my luck!

Sally_A

Stuff Churchill's advice :cool: as a broker I'd be charging at Zenith all guns blazing.

Just ask for facts, find out if they are taking "ownership", and keep your side factual rather than emotional, that way you won't prejudice yourself in any way. Make notes of all is said and take a name that you speak to, time and date the note.

Don't Churchill have legal expenses included in their policy?

4 weeks - I'd be evil, not knowing how things were progressing, and that wouldn't be if it was my own claim, but a clients claim too.

If you would rather take Churchill's softly softly advice, tell them, unless you hear something positive within 2 days, you will be getting on to Zenith.

chanz4

The actual first accident may go 50 /50 unless there are witnesses, teh driving from the police investigation driving away etc wont have a bearing on it as its after the incident. He may get away with it and say he was finding somewhere safe.

mmmlindz

thanks for the advice ill ring Zenith tomorrow any tips on what i should ask? they should have recieved the 4 letters,
i followed him for about 5 miles so dont think he can say finding somewhere safe! i think he admitted liability in the police statement does that count? the only witness was the car in front who saw me stationary but was the friend whose house i was going to, what happens if i dont accept 50/50 will it go to court? Im NOT getting screwed on this!!!

chanz4

as your friend is connected, the insurance wont use her statment as it would be not external from yourself. If it goes 50/50 it wont go court, it would only go to court if their was high chance of winning. I think the van driver will just get a driver awareness course for driving.

InsideInsurance

The TPs subsequent actions, whilst not strictly relevant to the initial accident, do provide evidence of their character and potentially trustworthiness when the judge comes to decide if you or the TP are telling the truth of the circumstances of the accident. Obviously this is subject to the outcome of the criminal proceedings assuming he denies it all. Certainly in my claims handling days I would have looked to issue if my client was coherent and willing to attend court.

Churchill are correct in the fact that proceedings can only be issued against quantified losses. If the vehicle is repairable then that really would need to be done first. If it is beyond economical repair then you could pay for an independent engineer to do a valuation and add the cost of the report to your claim.

You could ring the TPI yourself but you obviously need to be careful not to prejudice your insurer's case otherwise you may invalidate your insurance. Unfortunately some insurer's really don't care about claims and will take months to deal with basic cases even though it costs them additional fees. They are under no obligation to talk to you on the phone and will potentially misquote the Data Protection Act as a justification for it but as you cannot force them to talk it doesnt really matter that its a misquote

mmmlindz

Hi guys I recieved the letters that had been sent to guy that hit me only the 1st letter had correct information 2nd and 3rd sent to Zenith had stupid mistakes like saying i was insured with them and guy who hit me had my reg instead of his SO ANGRY at chrurchill! how can they expect to hear from them when they send such useless letters!
anyway Rang Zenith they say letter in the post looking for 50/50 settlement but on both the claims! please tell me how being driven into whilst stationary and being reversed into whilst stationary is knock for knock?! the damage on my car clearly shows it!
next step get the police report i guess, i dont know what to do whats the point of being honest n hard working when ya just gunna get screwed