Car accident claim

utab007

Quentin wrote: »

speak to your solicitor about hiring a car and passing the cost on to the third party.

I have already, but they want to wait for his response. So meanwhile i suffer and he messes around.

utab007

Quentin wrote: »

Page 32 :

Yes, I also saw this on page 32. But it's under the heading claims procedure. It doesn't explicitly say that I need to report it even if I'm not claiming and if I don't it could invalidate my insurance.

I have done anyway to be on the safe side, but I don't think it was necessary under the t&c and they didn't seem that bothered as i wasn't claiming. I think as long as you declare at renewal it's all fine

utab007

Ok, since then the OP accepted liability with his insurance after I had words him. Don't get me wrong I didn't make any threats and was surprised at the news. I just reasoned with him and that seemed to work.

I have been given a very nice courtesy car, so good I want to delay repairs.:j LOL If you're wondering it's an Audi A4 sline auto 2.0tdi

Anyway, let me get to my question. They have estimated repairs to be £1050 and the cars value to be a generous £2136. And I had this down as £1500 max. The body repair shop who put me in touch with the solicitor is itching to get there hands on my car to repair, but I would prefer to take the money. Can I take the money rather than go with the repair???

Thanks in advance.

utab007

I now have an update. Out of the blue, I have received a letter from my Solicitor. I had assumed this was all sorted as the repairs was done some time ago.

The letter states the defendant has accepted liability and agreed to cover repairs approx £1200, but is disputing car hire fees of approx £3100 and the engineers report approx £50 to £100.

The solicitor asking us to confirm dates we cannot attend court n next 12 months.

Hmm..I'm not really sure what to make this. Is it normal practice for these matters to go to court? Can I lose here? If we do need to attend court will it be my local court?

Only just read the letter and a little concerned. I will catchup with my solicitor tomorrow morning hopefully, but would appreciate it if some one can ease my fears here meanwhile.

Thanks

Quentin

Threatening court proceedings to get paid is a normal tactic, though it doesn't automatically follow a hearing will take place as the parties will both want to settle without the extra inconvenience (and cost) of a court case.


Assuming your hire car was supplied by a credit hire company then providing you have told the truth when taking the car regarding your finances etc then no need to worry.


Alternatively if you paid for your own hire car, assuming you didn't get a better model than your car and did require it for the length of time it was with you, then no worries.

utab007

Quentin wrote: »

Threatening court proceedings to get paid is a normal tactic, though it doesn't automatically follow a hearing will take place as the parties will both want to settle without the extra inconvenience (and cost) of a court case.


Assuming your hire car was supplied by a credit hire company then providing you have told the truth when taking the car regarding your finances etc then no need to worry.


Alternatively if you paid for your own hire car, assuming you didn't get a better model than your car and did require it for the length of time it was with you, then no worries.

Yes, the hire car was supplied by a credit hire company. We have told the truth, but I don't recall anyone asking about our finances. What do you mean by this?

utab007

Ah, I think you mean the car hire costs, repair costs, etc. I had no influence on the finances. The credit hire company took care of all the finances, etc

Quentin

Credit hire is considerably more expensive than normal payg car hire.


The paperwork you sign normally justifies the use of credit hire on the grounds that the user couldn't pay for a normal hire car.

utab007

Quentin wrote: »

Credit hire is considerably more expensive than normal payg car hire.

The paperwork you sign normally justifies the use of credit hire on the grounds that the user couldn't pay for a normal hire car.

Thanks for your help Quentin.

Hmm..as soon as the other party admitted liability the Solicitor was straight on the phone to us. She definitely did not ask us if we can afford a normal hire car. It's always possible there was some thing in the small print as I can't say I went through it in any great detail.

I do recall the Solicitor saying we won't have to pay for anything providing we tell the truth about the accident. We've been completely honest about what happened and the other person did finally admit liability.

So if this did go to court and we lose, am I correct in assuming the firm of Solicitors representing us will have to pay on our behalf??

Also, will the hearing take place in a local court?

Thanks for assisting.

utab007

Ok, posting this as it may help someone. I've just been on the phone to the Solicitor and they have told the law changed about a month ago. Previously, credit hire charges were accepted and paid, but the change in law now requires someone to hire their own car if they can afford it.

The Solicitor has confirmed there will be nothing for us to pay. Phew!!