Help please

Zxyvut

I have been undertaking driving lessons with a private instructor and have had 8-10 hours with this man.
My last lesson was on the 28th May 2018 and during this lesson, while stopped at a roundabout another car crashed into the back of our car. The instructor exchanged details with the other driver and we continued the lesson. He assured me that I was absolutely not at fault for the incident and that the other driver had simply been following too closely and were going a bit too fast. We ended the lesson and he told me to let him know if I had any injuries over the following few days as this may affect the claim he would be making along with car repairs.
The next morning I awoke with a stiff neck and a pain in my shoulder, I text him and let him know and I didn’t receive a reply. I was due to have another lesson a few days after however as I was still unable to completely turn my head I cancelled the lesson stating this as a reason and he said that was fine and that he would try and book me in ASAP. I phoned my local doctors surgery for advice and they said that if I was worried there was serious injuries that I should go to A&E. Unfortunately I didn’t heed this advice and I continued to manage my pain at home with pain relief. This pain lasted for just over a week and I managed my pain with paracetamol and hot compresses at home. I text my instructor a total of three times over the next few weeks requesting a lesson and he has not replied to any messages.
After not hearing anything for nearly 3 weeks I contacted him via text and asked him to let me know if he was able to let me book a lesson as my driving test is booked for 2nd July and I haven’t had a lesson since 28th May, I stated that if he was unable to do this then I would need to contact another instructor to continue lessons as I feel unprepared for the forthcoming test and he messaged back immediately saying he was chasing his tail and would let me know. This was 4 days ago, I feel very let down. However my reason for this query is in relation to my injuries sustained in the crash. Obviously I didn’t take details of the other driver so I have no way of initiating a claim myself and I just want to find out what I may be entitled to. If you could offer me some advice as to what I may be entitled to and whether I can go forward with this without my instructor as he is proving to be quite elusive.
I’m at my wits end

Lorian

Best ring him.

Joe_Horner

Its a bit unfair to feel he's let you down.

Bear in mind that he earns his living from the car and has probably had a slightly manic time arranging repairs, and a replacement (with dual controls, so not a case of just hire one) while the work's done, all while rearranging any bookings he may have been unable to honour.

elsien

What are you entitled to?
Rather depends on whether you have any longer term effects than a stiff neck for a few days or not.

wgl2014

What injuries? Apart from missing a couple of driving lessons what impact did this have on you?

If you are expecting a payout for a sore neck that required no medical treatment you are likely to be disappointed.

Arklight

The OP didn't have a sore neck until someone smashed a couple of tonnes of metal into the back of their vehicle, because looking in front of them and braking was apparently too much bother, so why should he/she not receive some redress?

They've missed driving lessons they needed for a test in a short amount of time, and have suffered pain and impaired mobility.

Sorry, but if you crash into someone you should be prepared to pay for more than the damage to their car.

Joe_Horner

Arklight wrote: »

The OP didn't have a sore neck until someone smashed a couple of tonnes of metal into the back of their vehicle, because looking in front of them and braking was apparently too much bother, so why should he/she not receive some redress?

They've missed driving lessons they needed for a test in a short amount of time, and have suffered pain and impaired mobility.

Sorry, but if you crash into someone you should be prepared to pay for more than the damage to their car.

Except it's not the driver at fault who pays, is it? It's their insurance company, which is then reflected in ALL our premiums because that's how insurance work.

So, carrying on the "why should?" track, why should I pay for a couple of weeks sore neck and no lasting effects, caused by an accident I had nothing to do with?

AdrianC

Arklight wrote: »

The OP didn't have a sore neck until someone smashed a couple of tonnes of metal into the back of their vehicle, because looking in front of them and braking was apparently too much bother, so why should he/she not receive some redress?

OK, so what are the OP's actual, tangible, quantifiable losses?

They've missed driving lessons they needed for a test in a short amount of time, and have suffered pain and impaired mobility.

But not enough to follow their GP's advice and seek further treatment, just a handful of aspirin.



Put a number on it, go on.

WhoIsThat

Zxyvut wrote: »

I have been undertaking driving lessons with a private instructor and have had 8-10 hours with this man.
My last lesson was on the 28th May 2018 and during this lesson, while stopped at a roundabout another car crashed into the back of our car. The instructor exchanged details with the other driver and we continued the lesson. He assured me that I was absolutely not at fault for the incident and that the other driver had simply been following too closely and were going a bit too fast. We ended the lesson and he told me to let him know if I had any injuries over the following few days as this may affect the claim he would be making along with car repairs.
The next morning I awoke with a stiff neck and a pain in my shoulder, I text him and let him know and I didn’t receive a reply. I was due to have another lesson a few days after however as I was still unable to completely turn my head I cancelled the lesson stating this as a reason and he said that was fine and that he would try and book me in ASAP. I phoned my local doctors surgery for advice and they said that if I was worried there was serious injuries that I should go to A&E. Unfortunately I didn’t heed this advice and I continued to manage my pain at home with pain relief. This pain lasted for just over a week and I managed my pain with paracetamol and hot compresses at home. I text my instructor a total of three times over the next few weeks requesting a lesson and he has not replied to any messages.
After not hearing anything for nearly 3 weeks I contacted him via text and asked him to let me know if he was able to let me book a lesson as my driving test is booked for 2nd July and I haven’t had a lesson since 28th May, I stated that if he was unable to do this then I would need to contact another instructor to continue lessons as I feel unprepared for the forthcoming test and he messaged back immediately saying he was chasing his tail and would let me know. This was 4 days ago, I feel very let down. However my reason for this query is in relation to my injuries sustained in the crash. Obviously I didn’t take details of the other driver so I have no way of initiating a claim myself and I just want to find out what I may be entitled to. If you could offer me some advice as to what I may be entitled to and whether I can go forward with this without my instructor as he is proving to be quite elusive.
I’m at my wits end

Oh dear. That sounds bad.
It sounds like you may have suffered short term memory loss from the accident.:eek:

e.g. Did you know you posted the same thing just 18 minutes earlier?
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5862929/help-wanted-please

Could you not remember your usual user id and/or password?

Clive_Woody

You may have more joy calling the guy and talking to him. Texts are easy to ignore or forget.

Too many people these days rely on emails or texts and seem to have given up on speaking to people using their phones. When my line reports tell me they have followed up on something I always ask do you mean you sent another email or did you call the person?

It sounds like your discussion with the instructor is not straightforward and doing it by text is not ideal (particularly if he doesn't reply).