Albany Assistance

Conderned

I was involved in a non-fault accident in Dec 2014 when a third party left there hand brake down & his car rolled into my stationary car. Admiral advised me to deal with Albany assistance who arranged a hire car. From memory I signed an online form of some type but did not manual sign any document when the car was dropped off or returned as on both occasions I was at work & the keys were left in a safe place. 12 months later I have recieved a letter from Albany who have stated that the indemnity on the policy has been lifted due to "not being co-operative" as I am in breach of my contract due not being able to attend court due to work commitments despite the fact that when I told their solicitors I wouldn't be able to attend I was advised that this would be fine as my signed & returned statement should be enough to present a case.

With no notice I get a letter from Albany in Jan 2016 stating I am now liable for the costs. The cost is £6k+ & although I did not manually sign the credit hire agreement how is it possible that Albany send me this letter claiming I am in breach of my contract when the solicitor said that I will not be needed to attend court when my statement has been returned.

How can I resolve this please? Can Admiral take the claim back? Can admiral Law take the case if I am disputing Albany's allegation of not being co-operative. This is a non fault claim & how can it be that the third party insurers have merely stated that they are not paying the hire charges & even before the case has gone to court that Albany saying that I am liable? Where do I legally stand as this was a non-fault incident. Please help

Pete531

From what I've read about Albany Assist, they are a bunch of sharks, I too had the company offered to me by my insurer (A Quote), after doing a little research I realised that they are more trouble than they are worth. They charge a huge amount for courtesy cars which from memory you have 12 months to repay via your claim, after this time they give up chasing the TP insurer and come to you for payment. 12 months isn't long in the insurance claim world, so it would be easy to fall victim to this.
I think that's why Admiral (who I was claiming from) put a sensible limit on the amount they would pay for a courtesy vehicle.
I would go back to the solicitors and remind them of what they said about it being ok. But as always without names of who said that to you, or better still something in writing im not sure what else you can do. Firms like Albany are only working for their own ends, not yours and should be avoided, the fact that major insurance companies are pushing them onto customers stinks, you can always choose your own legal help, as you can always choose your repairers. Sorry it's not much help with your direct problem but people need to see through these companies.

weeowens

Conderned wrote: »

I was involved in a non-fault accident in Dec 2014 when a third party left there hand brake down & his car rolled into my stationary car. Admiral advised me to deal with Albany assistance who arranged a hire car. From memory I signed an online form of some type but did not manual sign any document when the car was dropped off or returned as on both occasions I was at work & the keys were left in a safe place. 12 months later I have recieved a letter from Albany who have stated that the indemnity on the policy has been lifted due to "not being co-operative" as I am in breach of my contract due not being able to attend court due to work commitments despite the fact that when I told their solicitors I wouldn't be able to attend I was advised that this would be fine as my signed & returned statement should be enough to present a case.

With no notice I get a letter from Albany in Jan 2016 stating I am now liable for the costs. The cost is £6k+ & although I did not manually sign the credit hire agreement how is it possible that Albany send me this letter claiming I am in breach of my contract when the solicitor said that I will not be needed to attend court when my statement has been returned.

How can I resolve this please? Can Admiral take the claim back? Can admiral Law take the case if I am disputing Albany's allegation of not being co-operative. This is a non fault claim & how can it be that the third party insurers have merely stated that they are not paying the hire charges & even before the case has gone to court that Albany saying that I am liable? Where do I legally stand as this was a non-fault incident. Please help

Hi, sorry re your issue. I'm puzzled why you went to a Credit Hire firm when you might have been better to just approach the third parties insurer. I say this as from what you post blame lies clearly with the third party. I did much the same recently & the other insurer sorted everything out without credit hire. After all the stories that I have heard I would not go near them.
How long did you have the hire car for & was it just a cheapie or did they put you in a like for like eg an old VW Passat is damaged & they hire out a brand new Passat at a crazy daily charge? Google car hire costs local to you & see how they compare. Plus insurers now ask that claimants mitigate the cost of claims ie do not hire a car when not required & do not get a bigger one than is needed.

weeowens

More info here from Honest John, who seems to know his motoring related stuff: http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/what-is-credit-hire/

weeowens

A bit more for you to read re Albany:


http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/legal_money_matters/867505-Has-anyone-made-a-no-fault-claim-with-Albany-Assistance


http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1516744


http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/?t=93487

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2012/jul/06/albany-elephant-car-crash-claim-excess


https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1970555

straighttalker

What exactly happened with the Court dates? At an early stage of proceedings, the Court asks both parties whether there any dates where any of their witnesses cannot attend. I presume this was the stage where Albany's Solicitors contacted you for your availability to attend trial. Was the matter listed on a date which you already said you couldn't attend? Did they give you notice of a trial date where you just didn't turn up?

Alternatively, have you just said that you cannot attend Court full stop? When you took delivery of the hire car, you should have read the terms and conditions of the hire contract which would have stated that you have to take all steps necessary to help them recover their outlay, if you don't they can come after you if they fault to make a recovery from the third party due to your acquiescence. This may well be the case here. I'm surprised they haven't witnessed summonsed you in which case you would be held in contempt of Court if you don't turn up.

WellKnownSid

straighttalker wrote: »

What exactly happened with the Court dates?

+1. The court won't be interested in work commitments. If Albany have over egged the pudding on the car hire charges, you may be their get out of jail card for recovery of costs because you didn't turn up.

What are the facts of the car hire? How long was it hired, was it like for like, and what was the daily rate? When did you advise you couldn't attend (before or after a court date was set?) Did your employer provide written evidence that you couldn't attend? Do you have Albany's response in writing or was the conversation recorded i.e. at your place of work?

Rambosmum

I used Albany through admiral for my non fault accident. The contract clearly tells you you need to do all you can to help them recover costs, including attending court (it's specific about that). It also says that electronic signing of the contract is binding and acceptance of the hire vehicle also shows younve acceptted the contract. Contracts don't need to be written down or signed to be valid!

So whilst I agree that Albany aren't the greatest and are charging you an extortionate amount, you are the one that has not fulfilled your part of the contract.

I am of course assuming that you used the hire car and your car was repaired or you were paid out for a write off?

Quentin

In your OP you say you never "manually" agreed to the contract.


If that is so, and no contract exists between you and Albany then they won't be able to use it to make you pay anything! (Though how did you manage to get the car without signing the hire agreement?)


If you are certain you knew nothing about having to co-operate then get legal advice on this.

WellKnownSid

Quentin wrote: »

In your OP you say you never "manually" agreed to the contract.

The OP mentions an "online form of some type" so clearly cannot remember what they actually signed. In legal terms, the contract is valid. The facts around the circumstances will matter. Any supporting evidence the OP has will be important.

Quentin

WellKnownSid wrote: »

The OP mentions an "online form of some type" so clearly cannot remember what they actually signed. In legal terms, the contract is valid......

The OP should ask them to provide a copy of the signed agreement and take it from their reply.


If it turns out a contract does exist, then he needs proper legal advice over this.