Loss of use compensation - what period should it cover?

rufusindigo

In April 2013 I had a freak accident on council property. My car was so badly damaged that it was an MOT failure from that date and was declared unroadworthy straight after the accident. I contacted the council straight away but was given the run around for 17 months. During this period they gave me wrong information about who was responsible. I hung on to the car not knowing a) if it would need to be inspected b) who I was actually dealing with as the other party. I finally scrapped the car in December after it officially failed its MOT in October. After huge delays the council finally admitted liability more than a year later in September 2014 (having claimed twice it was another company's responsiblity) . I have been without the use of my car since April 2013 and as a single parent with a young child it is massively inconvenient. I have now begun proceedings against them in the small claims court, because of this they are now trying to settle. Their most recent offer (after much tussling) is £3650 which includes public transport costs, value of car (hardly anything on market value), loss of future earnings and loss of use. They are saying they are calculating loss of use from the date of the accident to when the car was scrapped and have offered me £1650 for it (at a rate of £5 per day). However, I believe the daily rate should be £10 per day from the date of the accident to date as I am still without a car. This would be more like £5700! My question is therefore what period should 'loss of use' cover? My belief is that it should be the whole period that I have been without my car which is 2 years during which time I have not had the funds to replace it. They seem to think that loss of use should not be paid after the car was scrapped (due to the accident damage) However, it was only because of their negligence that I had to scrap the car and lost it. Any help on this would be very gratefully received! My instinct is that they are taking the mickey, but I don't know my legal rights in this situation. I'd really love some advice from you lovely people! Many thanks

dacouch

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5142317

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/68276403#Comment_68276403