Help: Accident 6 Months ago

monty_PJ

Hi
Thanks in advance for any help.

My girlfriend bumped into a parked car (End Aug last yr 2011) whilst parking behind it. The TP was present (returning to his car, not inside) and both agreed not to claim.
The TP "wiped" most of the mark off his bumper and agreed to take it to a friends garage and get it repaired for around £100ish.

She gave him a phone number, home address, work address. They both agreed that it would be a few weeks before contact due to holidays. So by the end of September we expected to hear from him.

4 days ago, 15th March 2012 she received a letter stating that he "had attempted to call and text, and that it was obvious she had changed her number" (Same numbers for at least the last 7 yrs)

Claimed he had also called at her house, but no-one in, (Again she is in most evenings and he hadn't attempted to leave a note)

He states that he has repaired his car and wants £240.

It's now over 6 months since the accident, the letter makes no reference to dates, either of the accident or dates of attempted contact.

At this point what is she legally required to do?.

Thanks

Strider590

Minefield.....

andygb

No insurance party has been involved. No quotations have been asked for or given. If he had wanted the "friend" to pay for the damage, then he should have taken her details, supplied her with two or three quotations, and then waited for her to agree the cost. By getting the work done without agreeing all this, he will be lucky to get anything.

andygb

Strider590 wrote: »

Minefield.....

I agree it is, because nobody has followed the correct procedures.

slyracoon

I would pay it. Don't use cash though, keep a paper trail and possibly even ask for a recipt from the over person.

If you don't then third party could quite easily take it up with your friends insurance company. At which point your friends insurance company will question why they failed to notify them of an accident 6 months ago, possibly even void the policy resulting in increased premiums and making it difficult to obtain insurnace in future.

Under the Limitation Act 1980, if you are making a claim against someone else you have 6 years to claim for property damage and 3 years to claim for injuries. This is why you should always inform your insurance company of an accident even if you don't plan to claim, to avoid things cropping up in the future like this.

Pay it and let it be a lesson learnt.

JQ.

andygb wrote: »

No insurance party has been involved. No quotations have been asked for or given. If he had wanted the "friend" to pay for the damage, then he should have taken her details, supplied her with two or three quotations, and then waited for her to agree the cost. By getting the work done without agreeing all this, he will be lucky to get anything.

You're making lots of assumptions :

That the 3rd party didn't inform their insurance co of the accident
That they didn't also log a note of the accident with the police
That the 3rd party didn't take lots of photos of the damage
That the 3rd party doesn't have the contact details of independent witnesses
That the repairs have actually been completed.

I agree with the above, the OP's girlfriend is now in a minefield, in that she's not carried out the correct procedure with regard to her own insurance and is now being effectively being held to ransom. Although £240 to have a bumper re-sprayed does not sound unreasonable, if that's the works that's been completed.

Ultimately, she's responsible for the cost the work. So she either gives him a call and discusses the work carried out and agrees how much to pay, or she hands it over to her insurers and hopes they are prepared to settle the claim.

stuntwomble

Pay up....

atrixblue.-MFR-.

pay up with a end of liability contract.

so you go to his hand over cahs he signs a reciept saying this is for payment of damages to vehicle xxxx yyx, payment to xyz has been accepted as the full amount of costs of £240 and the matter is now resolved.

if he wished to claim more he couldnt.
both sign both have a copy.