Claims Letter

cc4rhu

My daughter made a stupid decision last year and got in a vehicle with a guy who was drunk. She knew she was wrong, she knew he did not own the vehicle, it was some relation of his. They crashed the vehicle and were arrested. After numerous court dates she was found partially responsible and received a fine. Roughly a third of what the other guy got. He got points, suspended custodial sentence etc.

Today she received a letter from Eldon Insurance services informing her that they have found her 100% responsible and are claiming £6000+ They state in the letter that £900+ is vehicle repair. Nowhere does it specifically state what the rest is for.

She paid the fine to the court.

This is not to avoid any costs. She will pay back every penny to the victim that is due and she knows this. However, she cannot afford £6000 (she only works 16 hrs per week) and is definitely not 100% responsible. Has anyone got any advice on how to proceed?

Quentin

She could seek proper legal advice on how to deal with this.

EdGasket

She could tell Eldon to go and do one and see them in court. Why would she be 100% responsible and not the driver? Sounds like a try on.

Crazy_Jamie

cc4rhu wrote: »

Today she received a letter from Eldon Insurance services informing her that they have found her 100% responsible and are claiming £6000+ They state in the letter that £900+ is vehicle repair. Nowhere does it specifically state what the rest is for.

On what basis have they 'found' her to be 100% responsible? Given that she was not driving I would have thought that it is unlikely that she was charged with the same offences as the driver, and there are only limited circumstances in which she would owe and/or breach any duty of care towards other drivers. How did the accident happen?

cc4rhu

Thanks for the replies it's what I was figuring.
He lost control of the car and hit a tree or something similar. There is no basis for the claim that I can see.

Mungo76

The insurers claims department have probably got hold of the police report and either written to everyone or have just picked out her name at random.

As pointed out already, tell them to do one/ask on what basis they feel she is responsible. If you get a computer says no answer, you'll then need to think about appointing a solicitor.

Keep_pedalling

What exactly was she convicted of? The only offence I can find is allowing to be carried in a vehicle taken without owner's consent.

Crazy_Jamie

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

What exactly was she convicted of?

I'm wondering the same thing. Equally I don't see how she can be to blame for the accident unless she grabbed hold of the steering wheel or similar.

On a side note, the money over and above the vehicle repair could very easily be a hire claim and associated costs. It doesn't surprise me that there are damages claimed over and above the repair costs, or even that the repair costs are only a small percentage of the overall claim.

cc4rhu

Hi - she was fined for being in a vehicle knowing that the driver did not have the owner's permission.

Crazy_Jamie

cc4rhu wrote: »

Hi - she was fined for being in a vehicle knowing that the driver did not have the owner's permission.

In which case in the absence of further details I don't see how she can be liable for the damage to the vehicle and associated losses.

dacouch

cc4rhu wrote: »

Hi - she was fined for being in a vehicle knowing that the driver did not have the owner's permission.

Is the vehicle owned by her or you by any chance?