Hit and run courier

Nickay12

Hello, I'm new here.

A courier driver hit my car and drove away. My car was stationary and parked outside my house on the road.
There was a witness who said that the van delivered a package to my house then backed into my car smashing 2 door panels and rear wing.
Then pulled forward and drove away.

He managed to get half of the registration and the van type and make.

The parcel they delivered was an Amazon parcel and I had tracking information.
I phoned Amazon and they gave my number to the courier company and he phoned me admitting liability but didn't want to go through insurance I told him that I had already gone through my insurance because that's what the police told me to do.
The guy then said that he would phone my insurance company and he never did.
He then lead me on for a few more days. It was clear he wasn't going to phone my insurance company.

The van was a hire van that must have been hired to the courier company.
When I phoned them up I gave them the fist half of the number plate and the company it was registered to.
They were very helpful and gave me the full number plate. This number plate corresponded to the van type, make and company.

I stopped talking directly to the man and focused on the insurance company.
they said the have to process the claim then they will evaluate who is at fault.

Unfortunately the car was a catagory c write off.

I'm really unsure as what to do I don't really trust any of them. I don't have legal cover.
I stand to lose £450 in excesses. At least £800 in car valuation loses. And on top of that I have 10 payments of £60 per month for insurance on car that has Been written off. Not to mention my no claims bonus and dramatically increased insurance costs over the next 5 years.

I'm unemployed, I have high functioning autism and makes it difficult to deal with the communication problems eg using the phone. Talking to people I don't know.
I can't leave the house without my car my mental health has dramatically deteriated.

He has taken away my independence.
I don't have £1000s to pay for this.

I'm at a loss as to what to do.
Would any body have any advice?
I would be extremely grateful.

Thanks

arcon5

Contact the hire company and deal with their insurer

Or leave it with yours

Norman_Castle

As the van is insured you can claim for your losses. Extremely unlikely for the van driver not to be at fault. Insurance claims take time to resolve. Explain your autism to your insurer. They may arrange contact with a single person.

AdrianC

Claim from your insurer. Tell them that the courier admitted it on the phone, and give them all the details of the vehicle and the trail of proof that you have.

Then sit back and leave them to it.

If, as seems likely, the van's insurer accept liability, your excess and NCB will be untouched, and - whilst you will have to declare a not-at-fault claim, the hit on your premiums will be much less than an at-fault claim (which means one your insurance have paid out for, not that you were in any way responsible).

FWIW, you don't have "£800 of car valuation losses" - the payout for your car is what it was worth. If the damage was simply panel damage, then you might like to consider buying it back from the insurance and getting it repaired, much more cheaply, yourself. Is it really undriveable?

Le_Kirk

Can you ask a friend or relative to make the phone call? Once you have phoned and made contact, explain your situation, give permission to allow the relative/friend to talk on your behalf and then pass them the phone? I do this with my 93 year old MIL and it works with all the utilities and insurance companies.

EdGasket

AdrianC wrote: »

Claim from your insurer. Tell them that the courier admitted it on the phone, and give them all the details of the vehicle and the trail of proof that you have.

Then sit back and leave them to it.

In an ideal world maybe; never been my experience though. You have to keep on top of the game at every twist and turn; 'sit back and leave them to it' and chances are nothing will happen or if it does you won't like it!

londonTiger

hit and run is morall reprehensible, but doing so in a hire vehicle must be the absoltely dumbest thing anyone can do. No wonder he's a delivery driver.

Strider590

Chances are he didn't see any point sticking around, as he'd already established nobody was in AND his employer would most likely have expected him to complete his deliveries.

chris_dee

You mentioned the police in your post - if they intend to interview the courier and take action for failing to stop/report a collision and the driver makes admissions when they interview him this will help your claim.
Perhaps you have a close friend or relative who will liaise with the police and insurers on your behalf so that you can keep up to date with the progress of this matter.
Your insurance company will pay to get a copy of the police report.
You should also be able to claim for uninsured losses against the courier driver.

bugslet

Strider590 wrote: »

Chances are he didn't see any point sticking around, as he'd already established nobody was in AND his employer would most likely have expected him to complete his deliveries.

High probablility that he will be self-employed, the majority of the parcel delivery company's have gone down that route.