Being chased for courtesy car costs

straighttalker

Are you sure you've read the recent correspondence attaching the MIB mandate request thoroughly?

I'm a solicitor and used to deal with claims on behalf of the MIB. When settling a claim, we used to request that the Claimant sign a form which is known as a form of assignment and agreement. This gave the MIB the right to recover their outlay from the uninsured driver.

This maybe the case here. The MIB maybe in a position to bay the hire claim to HelpHire / Albany Assistance but prior to doing so, they need to preserve their rights of recovery against the uninsured driver. In this case, they will request that the hire company get their client (you) to sign a form to do this.

Strider590

Yeah..... This is why when I was involved in an accident, I refused a "courtesy car" and took a week off work instead. I'm not sure if it was Albany (I have a feeling it was), but they were NOT impressed with my decision.

This is clearly a big money spinner for them.

InsideInsurance

HelpHire's name somewhat gives away the fact they are a hire car company

The problem is going to be your lack of paperwork. Ideally you'd advise them that the other heads of claim was settled in full by the MIB and that they should direct their claim to them and give them the MIB reference. Seems like you cant do the last bit but you should still do the former.

Lessons for the future, read what you sign before signing. Keep paperwork for 6 years for significant events

nobbysn*ts

If it's a credit agreement, simply ask for copies of the agreement you signed. They are obliged to provide them to you. The blank mandate request may well indcate what state their paperwork is in. Don't lose that either.

facade

Strider590 wrote: »

Yeah..... This is why when I was involved in an accident, I refused a "courtesy car" and took a week off work instead. I'm not sure if it was Albany (I have a feeling it was), but they were NOT impressed with my decision.

This is clearly a big money spinner for them.

I headbutted a Corsa door several years ago when I crashed my 'bike.

Cost my insurers £1000 because of Angel Assistance getting involved- for a dented door panel that probably Dents Away could have pushed out :eek:

csdodd80

Thanks for the replies.

We are going to call the MIB today and ask whether they settled the claim in full, but I we are almost certain they did.

The accident happened in 2009, and I am sure they MIB paid up for the damages a good while before Angel Assistance settled the PI claim, which was in 2012. I am almost certain that had the claim not been settled by the MIB, we would have been aware well before now.

My husband said that when the investigator called him, he stated that the Courtesy Car cover still had an outstanding amount which had not been met - which suggests that their has been some disagreement somewhere. I know we only had the car a maximum of two weeks - I suspect even only a week.

Yes, in hindsight the name 'HelpHire' indicate they are a hire company, but when they are offered to you through your insurer, (now ascertained that it was the AA, not Debenham's), you trust they are not going try rip people off and we assumed they were a subsidiary of our Insurer who simply offered Courtesy Cars. Not that implausible, but lesson learnt.
I don't recall signing terms and conditions, I signed for the car when I went to pick it up, but I don't ever recall signing anything like a contract, although, at the time the amount of forms that were being filled in, I could have and may have forgotten, so I will contact Albany/Angel/whoever the are and ask for a copy of all paperwork today.

Thanks again for all your help, it is greatly appreciated.

Colleen

bod1467

The statute of limitations for claiming a commercial debt is 6 years. Perhaps they're aware that this limit is approaching and so they've decided to chase it in the hope that you'll just cave and pay it.

(In the Parking forum we've seen a number of parking companies do the same recently for 2008 and 2009 "tickets").

InsideInsurance

csdodd80 wrote: »

I don't recall signing terms and conditions, I signed for the car when I went to pick it up, but I don't ever recall signing anything like a contract

The form you sign for the car has the terms and conditions on it, same as with a normal hire car, but evidently there are more of them as they cover both the normal what happens if you damage the car etc and also the credit aspect.


You need to see why HelpHire have been unable to recover their outlay from the MIB. It could be they simply havent been told there was the open case with the MIB and so didnt attempt a recovery or it could be that the MIB has declined the claim for some reason in which case that needs to be reviewed. As per the link : http://www.mib.org.uk/Customer+Services/en/Making+a+claim/Claims+Explained/Credit+Hire.htm the MIB, like insurers, arent keen on paying credit hire charges

OnanTheBarbarian

See what MIB will tell you about whether they have ever been presented with any hire charges claim by Helphire.

If they were presented with the claim, but did not settle it, then query why.

Looking at the date we are looking at here, there is a possibility the rental agreement could be defective. There was a period in time when the hire companies got caught napping and had not updated the T&C on their agreements to include the cancellation rights which have to be present on consumer hire agreements signed away from the business premises of the hire co (which require a 14 day cooling off period/ right to cancel). If there are no cancellation rights, the agreement is not enforceable against you, which would also be the reason the MIB will have told Helphire to shove it.

I wouldn't put it past Helphire to go after customers where they have been unsuccessful against a third party insurer in the hope that people will pay up after debt collectors start making a nuisance of themselves etc.

Just something to ask the MIB about anyway.

gilbert_and_sullivan

Its probably is not the case here, but in the event of accident, whoever might be obviously at fault or not (many people revise the story once away from the scene), the only courtesy car i would accept would be the basic little white goods thing usually supplied by accident repairers themselves, but preferably, as Strider above, i would avoid all such people and sort my own transport out for a week or two.

If you swim in shark infested waters, expect to get bitten, i trust these accident management people about as much as i would a politician or no win no fee lawyer, about as far as i could throw them.