Formal complaint- advice needed

aralkaa

Hi all,

Following an incident in a supermarket carpark the insurance company held me liable. My car was parked very close to another car, but the other car managed to drive off. Now, there is absolutely no witness to testify that I've caused the damage (a small dent on front door) and I don't feel liable as I know I was going very, very slowly. I've also informed the owner of the other car about what happened and he was fine with it, as he said he'll be able to drive off. Well, now he's claiming almost £1500 for that stupid dent! He took the case to small claims court and my insurer was supposed to represent me but when I've phoned them up for an update I've been told that they settled the case almost a month ago! They're saying that the third party have a witness- a guy who only saw him driving off. It still leaves a possibility that it was on the car before, doesn't it? After all, it is an 11-year old Megane!
Can somebody please tell me how should I proceed with the complain? Is there a chance that they will change their decision?

Quentin

No chance, unless you come up with a better witness or 2, and appeal the court case!

aralkaa

There is no court case right now as once I've told them about the summons they've settled it behind my back.
There cannot be another witness as the incident took place very early in the morning and there simply wasn't anybody there. The third party have a witness as he asked his colleague to see how he's driving off.
Another issue I have is for the amount they've settled- can fixing a small dent on 11-year old Megane cost £1500? According to websites like parkers, moneysupermarket or even webuyanycar the car itself isn't worth more than £500!

Quentin

The amount of the claim won't make any difference to your future insurance premiums, so fighting to get the sum paid out won't help you at all.

Insurers don't pay for uneconomic repairs, but there may have been other costs to pay (including the other side's legal costs and fees for the court case)

MAybe best to accept this and move on!

McKneff

No matter how slow you were going you can still cause damage.

In all honesty, the other party may have used a claims company which is where most of the cost would be, also maybe a hire car while his was in being repaired.

I really dont think you can do anything about it now except to move on.

Unfortunately, your premium will no doubt go up.

dunstonh

Sometimes decisions can make you angry and frustrate you. However, the insurers have to look at cost and sometimes it is cheaper to settle rather than fight. This is why people put in fraudulent claims and why claims companies exist. They know that if they dont push it and keep the amounts relatively low that they insurer will cave in and pay.

Be angry about it but dont let it make you bitter and move on.