XS car insurance cancelled now owe £15,000

Jessica._2

Im desperate for advice, stupidly went with XS car insurance, assured by them that with my excess being £3000 it wouldn’t ever exceed that amount as most accident are very small.
So..... I had an accident, was in a traffic queue dordling at a snail pace. I literally tapped the car in front, i was a little angry as I had noticed the lady had no break lights.

The lady jumped out of her car and said the insurance was in her husbands name and that luckily a very close friend had a garage to spray the bumper
I was so relieved as my excess is £3000

I never got an invoice then my car insurance is cancelled.

I was told by a debt collector today I owed £11,000. The lady put in for whip lash after doing a kart wheel out of the car “slight exaggeration” there was barely any damage yet I have been scammed!

I can’t eat, can’t sleep, can’t stop crying,I’ve never in my life ever owned anything over £5000, to think I may never be able to repay.
I’m unable to work due to long term sickness, I receive £200 every two weeks.

I can’t get over that the car was repaired when I repeatedly asked for photos. Then I was told that because I hadn’t paid in full my policy was cancelled yet all the work was carried out without my knowledge. This is going to put me in an early grave.
I’ve never felt so sick to my stomach

I wrote a formal letter to no avail. What the hell do i do next. Please please help with some advice.im desperate :(

huckster

So you did not report the accident to the Insurers at the time of accident and they have therefore refused to deal with the claim ?

Can you tell us what correspondence you have had with the third party or their Insurers.

You might just be able to ignore the third party, let them take you to court and challenge them to prove their claim. Can they justify the claim and amount ?

As far as I know, claims for whiplash are now limited.

What debt collectors ?

agrinnall

Why was your insurance cancelled? And when, in relation to the dates of the accident and the subsequent claim?

csgohan4

For future viewers, a dash cam would have helped the OP's case in terms of possible injuries and damages,

I would probably would never settled with the other party and go through the insurance to cover your own back. Nothing stopping the other driver from claiming back at a later date or keep asking for more money

In terms of the excess that is pretty high, but it was the OP's choice as probably the cheapest for them, though unrelated to this post

Nasqueron

csgohan4 wrote: »

For future viewers, a dash cam would have helped the OP's case in terms of possible injuries and damages,

I would probably would never settled with the other party and go through the insurance to cover your own back. Nothing stopping the other driver from claiming back at a later date or keep asking for more money

In terms of the excess that is pretty high, but it was the OP's choice as probably the cheapest for them, though unrelated to this post

A dash cam showing you hit the car in front will just prove you hit someone, the insurer won't bother fighting a whiplash claim (symptoms don't always happen immediately) unless there is proof of crash for cash (e.g. deliberate dangerous braking)

csgohan4

Nasqueron wrote: »

A dash cam showing you hit the car in front will just prove you hit someone, the insurer won't bother fighting a whiplash claim (symptoms don't always happen immediately) unless there is proof of crash for cash (e.g. deliberate dangerous braking)

not a dash cam with GPS and speedometer, hitting someone at less than 5mph will be less serious than someone at 30mph

rudekid48

csgohan4 wrote: »

not a dash cam with GPS and speedometer, hitting someone at less than 5mph will be less serious than someone at 30mph

Dashcam GPS readings are very unreliable - most have "smoothing" algorithms built in to the way that speed is calculated meaning that most cams speed display will lag behind the real speed, which could actually work against you. For example, if you braked quickly from 30mph to 2mph and hit another car at 2mph, your cam will probably show the speed as between 15-20mph due to the lag. Not every cam is that bad but most do lag. try it with your own - set it up to video your speedo and accelerate then brake - you'll more than likely see quite a difference between the two..

Jessica._2

I reported the accident to XS straight away. I wanted to settle privately as I new the repairs wouldn’t amount to maybe £500. But I was told under no circumstance could I do this

I wrote roughly 5 emails to this lady who worked there. I was fuming because they refused show me any proof of the repair, I smelt a rat when she had hired a car not just for one day but a whole week.
So I told XS I wasn’t happy so I wrote a formal letter. Things just didn’t add up.
I have kept all the correspondence which states her whip lash claim of which I made my feelings clear that no way had this lady hurt her neck as I was doing 5 mph.
Everything went very quite, then I had an email to say my policy had been cancelled.
I was in bits as I felt the accident wasn’t all my fault due to the car in front having no break lights.
Each time I spoke to XS I got upset. Like no letter or email requesting the money. I had an Audi and I had minimal damage to mine

They are charging £15000 because they can. I’m an absolute wreck and worried I will get a knock at the door demanding they remove my car.
I feel the I’ve been connedvvv


Appp zzz

huckster

You are not telling us the whole story here.

Insurers are not allowed to cancel an Insurance to avoid paying a claim, unless you have done something wrong e.g. Non disclosure, you have prejudiced the Insurers position by getting involved in matter of liability, when it was up to the Insurers to investigate.

What reason did the Insurers give for cancelling the Insurance ? If they have not stated a reason, get them to confirm this in writing.

The third party cannot recover a debt against you without a county court judgement against you.

angrycrow

The first and biggest mistake was having a policy with excess direct but I think you have more than learnt that leason.

I do however feel your expectations for the third party repairs are unreasonable. Even if the bumper just needed a respray the reality is it would take at least 3 days for most body shops fitting around other work so 1 days hire was never realistic. If parts are needed the car has to be stripped and then is out of use until the parts arrive then a few days for paint and refitting. A week is a very reasonable time period.

The problem with excess direct is that they tend to add on the costs of their own handling when they cancel a policy and bill the customer.

Could you post the wording of the cancellation letter and we will see how best to advise you.

FlameCloud

Jessica. wrote: »

I have kept all the correspondence which states her whip lash claim of which I made my feelings clear that no way had this lady hurt her neck as I was doing 5 mph.

I was in bits as I felt the accident wasn’t all my fault due to the car in front having no break lights.

Do you have any medical experience of dealing with injuries? Have you been able to professionally examine the alleged injuries? If not, how can you say this? Your Insurers have likely recieved a report from a consultant to say she was injured.

The accident was your fault - you should be able to stop in the distance you can see is safe.

As others have intimated, you do not appear to be telling the whole story. XS direct are a unique insurer, but I've yet to hear of them just cancelling a policy simply due to a claim being presented.