Car Dealer 5 day drive away Insurance cover

Ansziya

Hi, Need some legal advice, please.

We bought a car from a car dealer called CarShop Ltd in Nottingham in Dec 21. We were told that we have the '5 day drive away' insurance cover. The car was bought from a dealer in Nottingham and was delivered to us in London. A couple of days after it was delivered my daughter excitedly drove it to work but had an accident as she was leaving work. I called and emailed the dealer for the '5-day drive away' insurance policy to be sent to me but they didn't send it instead said they would take care of it. They sent us an Aviva claim form which we completed and sent back. the husband of the lady driving the car called my daughter and threatened her. We gave CarShop the contact details for the other party. They arranged for the damage to be repaired on our car and said they tried to contact the other driver but were not able to.

After nearly 3 years we received a letter from the solicitors representing the other party claiming for damages and wanting to take my daughter to court.

I emailed the lady at the dealership who had assisted us previously. Her email bounced back undelivered so I contacted CarShop which is owned by the Syntner Group. Syntner told me that CarShop closed down last June and is no longer in operation and that they have no information on the car we bought other than the sale document and to contact Aviva. 
I contacted Aviva who asked me to contact the broker through whom CarShop had their insurance cover. I found out it was Lloyd Latchford. I contacted them. They looked through their records and said they had no record of the car or it being insured.
I contacted Aviva again. The rep kindly ran a search and advised that they had no record of the car being insured either. He even ran a search and advised that from August 21 to Sept 21 it was insured but from October 21 to Dec 21 the car was not insured until the date we took out our own insurance.

Syntner says they do not have any information or documentation they can give me. The insurance companies have no record of it being insured.

I want to ask should the car not have been insured under the dealer's fleet insurance or on a block policy to cover all of their vehicles.
My daughter is so upset and extremely worried about going to court.

I need some urgent assistance and advice, please. Are there any lawyers who can advise on how to deal with this and take it forward, please?

Many thanks in advance.

Mildly_Miffed

From what you say, and in the absence of any other documentation from your purchase in 2021, it does indeed look a lot like your daughter was driving without insurance at the time of the collision.

Car Shop has indeed rebranded, but the business behind it - Car Shops Ltd - is still very much extant. They are owned by Sytner Group, but they are a separate legal entity to the parent, and it is them you will have had a legal contract with. It is them who you need to be talking to.
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/05331512

However, unless they can provide sufficient documentation relating to your purchase for Aviva to say "Yes, we will indemnify this claim as if the policy was fully in force", I think your daughter's looking at damage limitation.

At least there doesn't appear to be a suggestion of a prosecution for driving without insurance, merely the bill for the damage.

henry24

Why after a couple of days didn't you get your own insurance?

caprikid1

"We bought a car from a car dealer called CarShop Ltd in Nottingham in Dec 21. We were told that we have the '5 day drive away' insurance cover."

who's name was on the log book of the car ? Was it your daughters car ?

sheslookinhot

henry24 said:

Why after a couple of days didn't you get your own insurance?

What has that got to do with the OP’s question ?

 Additionally, it’s no business of yours.

Frozen_up_north

I recently bought a new Seat, having a private plate transfer caused difficulties for Aviva as they couldn’t see the vehicle/reg on the insurance database (it was on the DVLA site).

Anyway, the dealer arranged temporary insurance through VW. I had to fill in details and received details of the insurance by email on my phone before leaving the dealership.

From what the OP says, it sounds like none of the above took place and the car was not insured.

WellKnownSid

We had a five day policy with the Toyota in 2020 and the Zoe in 2023… both times they wouldn’t let me leave without the cover note in my hand…

born_again

Ansziya said:

Hi, Need some legal advice, please.

We bought a car from a car dealer called CarShop Ltd in Nottingham in Dec 21. We were told that we have the '5 day drive away' insurance cover. The car was bought from a dealer in Nottingham and was delivered to us in London. A couple of days after it was delivered my daughter excitedly drove it to work but had an accident as she was leaving work. I called and emailed the dealer for the '5-day drive away' insurance policy to be sent to me but they didn't send it instead said they would take care of it. They sent us an Aviva claim form which we completed and sent back. the husband of the lady driving the car called my daughter and threatened her. We gave CarShop the contact details for the other party. They arranged for the damage to be repaired on our car and said they tried to contact the other driver but were not able to.

After nearly 3 years we received a letter from the solicitors representing the other party claiming for damages and wanting to take my daughter to court.

I emailed the lady at the dealership who had assisted us previously. Her email bounced back undelivered so I contacted CarShop which is owned by the Syntner Group. Syntner told me that CarShop closed down last June and is no longer in operation and that they have no information on the car we bought other than the sale document and to contact Aviva. 
I contacted Aviva who asked me to contact the broker through whom CarShop had their insurance cover. I found out it was Lloyd Latchford. I contacted them. They looked through their records and said they had no record of the car or it being insured.
I contacted Aviva again. The rep kindly ran a search and advised that they had no record of the car being insured either. He even ran a search and advised that from August 21 to Sept 21 it was insured but from October 21 to Dec 21 the car was not insured until the date we took out our own insurance.

Syntner says they do not have any information or documentation they can give me. The insurance companies have no record of it being insured.

I want to ask should the car not have been insured under the dealer's fleet insurance or on a block policy to cover all of their vehicles.
My daughter is so upset and extremely worried about going to court.

I need some urgent assistance and advice, please. Are there any lawyers who can advise on how to deal with this and take it forward, please?

Many thanks in advance.

You should have been given a copy of the policy & a certificate of insurance at point of picking up car. 

Sounds like there was no insurance & they expected people to get their own insurance straight away.

No one here can give legal advice as it is a public forum. 

Do you have legal insurance on the current policy?

caprikid1

"Do you have legal insurance on the current policy?"

or your household policy

henry24

sheslookinhot said:

henry24 said:

Why after a couple of days didn't you get your own insurance?

What has that got to do with the OP’s question ?

 Additionally, it’s no business of yours.

I asked because I would never rely on a garage telling me my car was insured I would have insured it myself before picking it up and this claim could cost thousands 

Baldytyke88

Ansziya said:

We bought a car from a car dealer called CarShop Ltd in Nottingham in Dec 21. We were told that we have the '5 day drive away' insurance cover.

You would need to see what type of cover this was. Its quite possible it just covered engine warranty, but if you dont know, perhaps you weren't insured to drive on the road?