Car Accident Liability/My Rights?

neilmcl

jlg1 wrote: »

Hi..

As regards the Gumtree advert the car was only advertised on 11th January as it said date posted on the advert. So he waited two weeks after the accident to advertise it putting a potential buyer at risk of serious injury.. It seemed as it didn't seem he then came expecting me to handover the estimate amount.

On the subject of the injury claim how can they claim off my insurance without having my insurance details if it came to it....?

There was damage to my own car and I'm left with it..

It does seem then that it is as damaged possibly as they have said.

There's still the question of them signing something to say they won't take things further.. If they do sign will it protect me from a claim...?

I've read that you can draw up something to draw a line under things if u settle privately...?

James

They can easily find out, they just need to run a search on AskMid.com

martinsurrey

jlg1 wrote:

On the subject of the injury claim how can they claim off my insurance without having my insurance details if it came to it....?

neilmcl wrote: »

They can easily find out, they just need to run a search on AskMid.com

and they dont "claim off my insurance" they claim against you, and your insurance company takes care of it on your behalf. They have your details, so they can easily file a claim (which you would then pass on to your insurer's.

jlg1

Aylesbury_Duck wrote: »

Oh, and forget all the fluff about gumtree adverts and mechanic scams. It's all irrelevant and doesn't in any way cancel your liabilities and obligations arising from the accident.

Hi...

Im not trying to cancel any responsibilities and I wouldn't call it fluff..? It was an innocent mistake and I'm the one paying the price for it - what I don't need is to be conned out of money as well.

Its easy to judge when your not in the situation.

Any sane person would be angry and annoyed that someone has advertised a car for sale 2 weeks after an accident alledgedly causing over £500 of damage.

I mean who in their right mind would advertise a car under these circumstances..its ridiculous..

jlg1

Few things I have left out here . the girls father went to the police at the time - they didn't want to know as he said it would be sorted privately so no police present no witnesses no police report. No one hurt - in fact the reason I thought of paying for it was the wheel arch was simply clipped out of place or so it seemed - no more than £100 of damage - my access is £250 so no point going that way.

Had I reported it at the time its still a month later before I heard anything back about it.

Ive claimed in the past against an uninsured driver who hit me head on and wrote off my car and the police report was critical in my case. Was settled out of court.

Myself and my wife were hit by a lorry a lot of years ago - pushed us from behind at least 10/15 feet forwards on a busy Saturday afternoon in town - it went to court - it was the policemans testimony that killed our case as he made a flippant comment about scratches on the car "no more than would happen when power washing it!" when we had quite a lot of damage and were injured also had our baby son in the back - wasnt even mentioned - we got nothing as a result.

So surely a police report or at least a note of the accident is needed (to prove it did actually happen) to help a personal injury claim against anyone...?

Can I ask as well are any of you car insurance/personal injury experts or are these all personal opinions...?

comeandgo

I would report accident to your insurance company. They have fraud departments and will check out anything underhand. You could end up paying close to £1000 to repair the other car, your insurance will not go up that much surely? (Says 50 something year old with no accidents so really does not know how much)��

movilogo

Just ask them to contact your insurer. Don't go for settlement bypassing insurance as you can be blackmailed for squeezing more money.

Don't worry about premium increase. It won't go up that much. May be £100/yr max and after 3 years unlikely to have any impact.

jlg1

Thanks for the last two replies I was wondering how much it might go up...Just deciding what to do - I wont hear back from the repairer for a week or two as hes so busy so suppose that's some thinking time.

Just on the subject of increase - say they did claim personal injuries does that rocket up the price compaired to just a vehicle repair for say £600..?

Bit worried how it might affect my wifes insurance if put it through as I'm named driver on her car..? Hers was up for renewal today and she had to put through a traffic light ts10 endorement on my part happened a while back - got lost driving into the city and missed a red light.

That's what I was more worried about - the injuries claim IF they make one. If they do its totally false as they said they were fine that night so it would be a total lie anyway and pretty hard to prove (though Ive read the horror stories recently of others in same situation) I would think given what I have been through personally. . Though I know they take a long time to come through anyway so it could be next year before Id be hit with a premium hike probably...

Planning on getting them to sign something to say they wont take things further if I dont go through insurance but dont know if that stands up legally or not at this stage - trying to find out.

I'm not daft enough to take their word for it anyway :0

movilogo

I was wondering how much it might go up

Run a quote for yourself (can use different name) but put a similar accident and see how your quotes come up.

Car_54

jlg1 wrote: »

Thanks for the last two replies I was wondering how much it might go up...Just deciding what to do - I wont hear back from the repairer for a week or two as hes so busy so suppose that's some thinking time.

Just on the subject of increase - say they did claim personal injuries does that rocket up the price compaired to just a vehicle repair for say £600..?

Bit worried how it might affect my wifes insurance if put it through as I'm named driver on her car..? Hers was up for renewal today and she had to put through a traffic light ts10 endorement on my part happened a while back - got lost driving into the city and missed a red light.

That's what I was more worried about - the injuries claim IF they make one. If they do its totally false as they said they were fine that night so it would be a total lie anyway and pretty hard to prove (though Ive read the horror stories recently of others in same situation) I would think given what I have been through personally. . Though I know they take a long time to come through anyway so it could be next year before Id be hit with a premium hike probably...

Planning on getting them to sign something to say they wont take things further if I dont go through insurance but dont know if that stands up legally or not at this stage - trying to find out.

I'm not daft enough to take their word for it anyway :0

As others have said, you're obliged to tell your insurer whether you involve them or not. (And your wife also needs to tell her's.) Settling witout involving insurers often ends in tears: the fact that you already don't trust the other party should be a warning.

Apart from anything else, they have three years in which to make a personal injury claim. It needn't be a lie: whiplash injuries may not become apparent for some time.

Aylesbury_Duck

jlg1 wrote: »

Hi...

Im not trying to cancel any responsibilities and I wouldn't call it fluff..? It was an innocent mistake and I'm the one paying the price for it - what I don't need is to be conned out of money as well.

Its easy to judge when your not in the situation.

Any sane person would be angry and annoyed that someone has advertised a car for sale 2 weeks after an accident alledgedly causing over £500 of damage.

I mean who in their right mind would advertise a car under these circumstances..its ridiculous..

It is fluff because it's not something you can do anything about. It may be relevant to your insurers and they may wish to look into it, but at this point it's information which is of no use to you and your private settlement.

No one is judging, we're just advising you on what we think is the best course of action. I have absolutely no professional connection to the insurance industry but as a policyholder, I've read my documentation and understand what I'm obliged to do in the event of an accident, my fault or not. I also understand the risks and possible consequences of not informing my insurer. I think you are taking a great risk trying to sort this privately. It could cost you hundreds of pounds AND increased premiums or refused insurance if it all goes wrong.