Third parties insurers harassment

spottycat

I wrote on here a week or so ago about how I hadn’t heard from my solicitor in months following RTA claim. 

I wondered if I should contact the third party insurers to speed things up but decided against that.

Anyway I get the most random two emails from third party insurers stating how because I’m responsible for the accident I need to pay their fees.

I was hit from a driver emerging from a side road in the wrong lane who admitted she didn’t look. She admitted fault.

I panicked because now third parties insurers (Hastings Direct) are saying I owe them £9000 in about 14 days.

I called my solicitor and after many attempts I got through. They explained Hastings Direct shouldn’t even be contacting me asking for money. This is all dealt with through insurers, they advise me to call my insurance.

I called my insurance who were completely confused because the case is closed! They have correspondence stating so. They asked me to send them the emails and I also sent them to the solicitor.

I was told not to pay anything and also not to reply to these emails or to have any contact with Hastings Direct. 

Why would they feel the need to send me this bill? I’m anxious if I don’t sort out a payment method it will look bad on me credit wise.

Should I really just ignore? Or is this just harassment?

400ixl

Because if they hold you in anyway responsible, and your insurer has not paid them then they have to come after you. You then engage your insurer to act upon your behalf.

It is not harassment, it is the process they have to go through. If it was not agreed by the 3rd party insurer their client was at fault (doesn't matter what was said at the scene) then the case is still open and shouldn't have been closed by your insurer.

Did your insurer pass you off to a claims company or solicitor, or did you engage them directly.

spottycat

When I contacted my insurers today they told me it’s closed as it’s all paid. They said they deal with all correspondence. They told me the dates it was paid and closed and the date of their last correspondence with Hastings Direct.

This is why they were so confused and asked me to send them the emails I received.

The solicitor was part of my insurance then became another company all together. I didn’t get my own solicitor but I really wish I had.

Aretnap

Why would you want to pay for your own solicitor when you pay for money to your insurance company precisely to deal with things like this when they happen?

Possibly the has been a miscommunication somewhere, possibly the third party's solicitors are pushing their luck, possibly there is some unresolved dispute over liability (as above, what the other driver said at the scene actually carries very little weight when it comes to determining liability) - but for one reason or another the third party solicitors think they are entitled to more than they think your insurer has paid.

If your insurer hadn't paid what they're asking for, for whatever reason,  then the only way for them to force the issue would be by taking court action. Any court claim would be issued against you because you would be the one who (they claim) caused the accident, so ultimately you are responsible for paying for it. They can't take your insurer to court directly unless they are claiming that it was your insurer that damaged the other woman's car. Instead they would take you to court, and you would have to ask your insurer to deal with the claim on your behalf (as your insurance policy says that they will do).

Rest assured that (1) it's very unlikely actually to come to court and (2) even if it went to court and you lost, it would still be your insurer putting their hand in their pocket, not you personally. However, you are getting this correspondence as a prelude to the possibility of court action. From the third party's point of view, another reason for writing to you directly is that your insurer now has a worried and angry customer hassling them to deal with this, which tends to hurry things along.

Doubtless is disconcerting to get letters like these however it's not unusual - it's a fairly common party of the process. Do not reply directly to the third party insurer or attempt to deal with this yourself. Just pass any further letters on to your insurer and keep on at them to make sure they're dealing with things. 

Believe it or not, random people who claim that you owe them money can't just put black marks on your credit file. Your credit card company can do it because you signed an agreement with them allowing then to share information about you with credit reference agencies; you have no such agreement with someone else's insurance company. The only way this could possibly affect your credit rating would be if you were taken to court over this, the coirt ordered you to pay, and you still didn't pay (or rather, your insurer didn't pay on your behalf) within a month.