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Car written off by third party - neg equity
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On 30th June my car was badly damaged on a public highway in England by a police horse which went out of control. I was in the vehicle but not hurt. To cut a long story short i was told by the police to make a claim through my insurers and all would be sorted out and i would not be left out of pocket, even saying that at the end of it all they would see my car be replaced or repaired!
However, this was the officers at the scene that said all of this.
I must stipulate that the mounted division and business centre of the constabulary at fault have helped me out every step of the way. They provided me with a hire car (albeit a much smaller vehicle than what was my car) and they have provided me with an email outlining and completely exonerating me from all blame, just wrong place, wrong time. This was also highlighted in the report and logged with an incident number.
Here is my problem,
Their legal department seem to be at the moment at least trying to deny any liability. My insurance company have written off my car and have so far paid out my claim on my comprehensive cover and are at the moment awaiting and armed with my email of exoneration + other correspondence third party reimbursement and of course my insurers costs. That should go through in the coming days.
However the car was on finance and i am now left with a debt as the vehicle was still in negative equity I now have no vehicle and an amount still owing to the finance company of close to 2.5k through zero fault of my own and all their legal rep will offer is my insurance excess of £525 claiming that i should have had gap insurance therefore they claim that they are not liable for anything else.
As far as my insurance claim goes, this is where both myself and my claims rep got suspicious.
We think they trying to pay me off with my excess and not go through the correct channels and deal with my insurer on that part of the claim. My insurer is aware and are dealing with that.
I need advice because i need to reclaim my losses to my finance company. As I said above they have tried to claim they are not liable for this shortfall, my additional costs i.e taxi's to and from school etc as i should have had gap insurance. But i am not at fault.
I have sent a letter attached to an email sent to their legal representative and additionally posted to the chief constables office headlined notice of litigation outlining everything. It's funny because a representative of the chief constable phoned me about it a week after it happened saying how sorry they were outlining they would be happy to help in anyway they can!
However i need advice on what to do next, it's very complicated for me. What can i claim for? I had enjoyment of my car for 1 year and had it on a 3 year higher purchase agreement through Go-Car credit. So i have paid 1 years finance already so even if they do finally pay my outstanding finance i will have to start a brand new agreement all over again. This is a problem for me and my family as in addition we also have a 11 year old son with ADHD and A.S.D who has zero danger awareness! We only get lower rate mobility for him so that was why we thought a car finance agreement for a half decent motor was a good idea cos it was to last us at least until he was 16! All my other cars in the past have been old bangers worth a couple hundred quid and what with my son getting diagnosed etc we thought we should buy a reliable one.
I am in bits over this. There surely someone on here can help? I have approached 2 solicitors but apparently the government changed the law and i can now not seek legal representation without paying for it myself on civil claims!!
However, this was the officers at the scene that said all of this.
I must stipulate that the mounted division and business centre of the constabulary at fault have helped me out every step of the way. They provided me with a hire car (albeit a much smaller vehicle than what was my car) and they have provided me with an email outlining and completely exonerating me from all blame, just wrong place, wrong time. This was also highlighted in the report and logged with an incident number.
Here is my problem,
Their legal department seem to be at the moment at least trying to deny any liability. My insurance company have written off my car and have so far paid out my claim on my comprehensive cover and are at the moment awaiting and armed with my email of exoneration + other correspondence third party reimbursement and of course my insurers costs. That should go through in the coming days.
However the car was on finance and i am now left with a debt as the vehicle was still in negative equity I now have no vehicle and an amount still owing to the finance company of close to 2.5k through zero fault of my own and all their legal rep will offer is my insurance excess of £525 claiming that i should have had gap insurance therefore they claim that they are not liable for anything else.
As far as my insurance claim goes, this is where both myself and my claims rep got suspicious.
We think they trying to pay me off with my excess and not go through the correct channels and deal with my insurer on that part of the claim. My insurer is aware and are dealing with that.
I need advice because i need to reclaim my losses to my finance company. As I said above they have tried to claim they are not liable for this shortfall, my additional costs i.e taxi's to and from school etc as i should have had gap insurance. But i am not at fault.
I have sent a letter attached to an email sent to their legal representative and additionally posted to the chief constables office headlined notice of litigation outlining everything. It's funny because a representative of the chief constable phoned me about it a week after it happened saying how sorry they were outlining they would be happy to help in anyway they can!
However i need advice on what to do next, it's very complicated for me. What can i claim for? I had enjoyment of my car for 1 year and had it on a 3 year higher purchase agreement through Go-Car credit. So i have paid 1 years finance already so even if they do finally pay my outstanding finance i will have to start a brand new agreement all over again. This is a problem for me and my family as in addition we also have a 11 year old son with ADHD and A.S.D who has zero danger awareness! We only get lower rate mobility for him so that was why we thought a car finance agreement for a half decent motor was a good idea cos it was to last us at least until he was 16! All my other cars in the past have been old bangers worth a couple hundred quid and what with my son getting diagnosed etc we thought we should buy a reliable one.
I am in bits over this. There surely someone on here can help? I have approached 2 solicitors but apparently the government changed the law and i can now not seek legal representation without paying for it myself on civil claims!!
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Comments
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Note:
Their legal department have confirmed third party liability to my insurers.
Awaiting decision on finance shortfall.
Any advice would be appreciated.0 -
They are only obliged to pay the market value of the car at the date of the accident. Sounds like they have done that. The negative equity is unfortunately not their problem but is yours. This is why gap insurance exists as it would have paid the difference between the market value and the outstanding finance.
You can however pursue a claim for the other losses such as taxis up to the point they provided the hire car and your excess.0 -
If you!!!8217;ve decided to buy a car using finance from a sub prime lender such as Go Car accredit, it!!!8217;s not the third parties problem if you!!!8217;re in negative equity.
If at the time of the write off, your car was worth £10k, you!!!8217;re only entitled to £10k even if you owe more on it. The third party aren!!!8217;t responsible for the negative equity on your vehicle. You got yourself into that mess.
Even if you go to a solicitor, they aren!!!8217;t going to help you get a better resolution. They!!!8217;ll just tell you the same thing.0 -
As already advised, they will be liable for the value of your car only. If you wish to finance it in such a way that you are exposed to negative equity that is your problem.0
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I think you paid too much for your car.
You should of been armed with the settlement figure BEFORE accepting any offer from your insurers. Too late to go back for more money.
You know that the police do not have any sort of insurance, they are self funding in the event of accidents/claims.
Your next step is to get a personal loan for £2500 + the cost of another car, hopefully a cheaper one, and run that until you have paid off the loan - you can think about a more expensive car later.
Good luck and report back.0 -
You keep paying for the crashed car. You get given enough to replace the crashed car, at its value before the crash happened. You can choose to spend that money as you please. If, for example, it's a 3yr old car, you can go and buy another 3 yr old car. If what they offer isn't enough, don't accept their first offer, and go back to them with market evidence. If you wanted a 3yr old car replaced with a 0 yr old one, that's what gap insurance is for.0
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You keep paying for the crashed car. You get given enough to replace the crashed car, at its value before the crash happened. You can choose to spend that money as you please. If, for example, it's a 3yr old car, you can go and buy another 3 yr old car. If what they offer isn't enough, don't accept their first offer, and go back to them with market evidence. If you wanted a 3yr old car replaced with a 0 yr old one, that's what gap insurance is for.
You'll find it doesn't work like that. The insurance company are legally bound to pay the finance company that has registered an interest in it.0
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