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Being chased by accident management company

Posts: 17 Forumite
10 Posts
Hi all, I was hoping to get some advice and clarification regarding a situation I am currently in. 
I run a small business hiring out vans to drivers for work. While one my vans was on hire, the person driving (L) managed to get into a non-fault 3 vehicle pile up. To avoid insurance premiums rising I decided to use Kindertons Accident Management for the purposes of having my van repaired and also a courtesy van for my hirer (L) while mine was getting fixed. At no point did I sign any paperwork, I was asked to complete an accident report form but told the company that I am merely the registered keeper and that they need to speak to the driver regarding the accident. 

Now here is where matters get complicated, the hirer (L) started to ghost both myself and the accident management company. I was getting daily calls from Kindertons asking me to return the courtesy van and me telling them that I am not the driver and that I was never possetion of the van and that they need to speak to L. I found out through Kindertons that they actually managed to retrieve their vehicle by going to L's address in the early hours of the morning and driving the van away their key. By ghosting me and not paying the rental fees as agreed L also violated his contract with me so I retrieved my van once it was repaired. 

During the course of the courtesy van hire L got into another accident and damaged the courtesy van, accrued almost 15 PCNs and also got an NIP from the police. Kindertons are trying to chase me for it... please see email below : 

I write further to the accident involving our hire vehicle, as we have not been able to discuss the damages caused to our hire with you, you have been found at fault for the damage to our hire vehicle. You were advised that due to this collision you
will be liable for your excess of £500.00. As this wasn’t payable via telephone, we ask that you contact us in due course to make payment. If necessary payment plan options are also available for you. If you wish to contact us before your handler has contacted you, please contact 0343 504 5312, Quoting your
reference shown above.
Yours sincerely

What should I do? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

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Comments

  • Posts: 3,401 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 8 August at 2:37AM
    What should I do?

    You could pay up!

    Contrary to popular belief, contracts don't need to be signed. If there is a dispute, a court would look at the facts of the case to see whether the actions taken by the parties indicate whether there was a 'meeting of minds', an intention to create a contractual relationship.

    Your statement that 'I decided to use Kindertons Accident Management...' plus the fact that Kindertons were providing services to your company would leave a court in no doubt that a B2B contract has been formed.

    You can either absorb the £500 as a cost of doing business or attempt to recover it from L.
  • Posts: 17 Forumite
    10 Posts
    Wow, you seem like a very bitter person. I was hoping for more pragmatic and fair responses that took into account the concept of disproportionality which you clearly seem to not understand. 

    If anyone else other than Alderwank please chime in. I have not caused damage to Kindertons courtesy van so therefore I do not see how I am liable? They have the address, license details and all information for L so why are they not chasing him? L also owes me almost £500 in PCN's he accrued with my vehicle and damage he caused to my vehicle. 
  • Posts: 14,815 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Second Anniversary Name Dropper
    Jono_56B said:
    To avoid insurance premiums rising I decided to use Kindertons Accident Management for the purposes of having my van repaired and also a courtesy van for my hirer (L) while mine was getting fixed. At no point did I sign any paperwork,
    You engaged them so it's your responsibility, signing or not is irrelevant. If your hirer had had a fault accident you'd be in the same position with the excess on your insurance
  • Posts: 403 Forumite
    100 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    edited 8 August at 9:11AM
    Jono_56B said:
    Hi all, I was hoping to get some advice and clarification regarding a situation I am currently in. 
    I run a small business hiring out vans to drivers for work. While one my vans was on hire, the person driving (L) managed to get into a non-fault 3 vehicle pile up. To avoid insurance premiums rising I decided to use Kindertons Accident Management for the purposes of having my van repaired and also a courtesy van for my hirer (L) while mine was getting fixed. At no point did I sign any paperwork, I was asked to complete an accident report form but told the company that I am merely the registered keeper and that they need to speak to the driver regarding the accident. 
    You appointed Kindertons
    Your Van
    Your business
    Your insurance
    Your loss

    From what you have said so far it will be hard to deny you being liable.

    Alderbank is correct but could have been more tactful



  • Posts: 7,300 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    You are liable because you agreed to let Kindertons handle your loss.

    Your loss, because it is your van that was damaged.

    You then hired the replacement van from Kindertons to replace your damaged van. It has to be in your name so the hire cost can be added to the loss you suffered due to the original accident.

    You agreed to the terms of the hire, and it will be pretty standard that if the hire van is damaged, you are liable for an excess.


    Kindertons can't add the excess to your loss because it isn't a direct consequence of the original accident.

    So you are on the hook for it.

    It is up to you to then recover it from the driver, along with your missing rental and the PCN fees.




    I want to go back to The Olden Days, when every single thing that I can think of was better.....

    (except air quality and Medical Science ;))
  • Posts: 13 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture First Post Combo Breaker
     To avoid insurance premiums rising I decided to use Kindertons Accident Management”

    This is the exact opposite of what will happen. These accident management companies charge extortionate rates for their hire vehicles.
  • Posts: 14,815 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Second Anniversary Name Dropper
    “ To avoid insurance premiums rising I decided to use Kindertons Accident Management”

    This is the exact opposite of what will happen. These accident management companies charge extortionate rates for their hire vehicles.
    But that is an everyone's problem and not the explicit problem of the OP whereas they presumably intend to not mentions/ "forget" to mention the incident to their insurers and hope that their insurers dont check CUE and see a TP claim made being logged by the third party insurer. 

    Obv dont know exactly what insurance the OP is buying on their fleet and if it requires "incidents" to be declared or only claims. 
  • Posts: 381 Forumite
    100 Posts First Anniversary Name Dropper
    Are you a limited company or a sole trader?  It looks like there is a flaw in your business model being landed with PCNs etc you need to find a way of covering yourself from those that do a runner.
  • Posts: 8,574 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Jono_56B said:
     I was hoping for more pragmatic and fair responses that took into account the concept of disproportionality which you clearly seem to not understand. 


    From that, and your later posts, it seems you only want advice which confirms that you are right and will win. Good luck with that!
  • Posts: 836 Forumite
    500 Posts Third Anniversary Name Dropper
    Jono_56B said:
    Arunmor. Thanks for the advice. Yea it seems my business model needs some work. But I'm not paying Kindertons a penny. I did not cause the damage and I did not cause the PCN's. The rest of you sad !!!!!! seem to be corporate sycophants ready to bend over and take one large corporations. I don't bend the knee as easily. 
    The situation is very straightforward... You may wish it to be different, but it isn't.

    You have a contract with Kindertons.
    They supplied you with a van.
    Since they're staffed and managed by grown-ups, you can bet that you agreed to be held liable for that van, and these debts are legally enforceable.

    Your customer has a contract with you.
    You supplied them with a van.
    I cannot read your contract with them from here, to see if they are legally liable to you.

    Your customer does NOT have a contract with Kindertons.
    They are NOT liable to Kindertons for a penny.

    So you have a straightforward choice here:
    Pay now.
    Pay a lot more later once it's been through the courts.

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