Advice for son needed please

Roseymarie1983

Hello,

I don't know if anyone can help me but not sure where to go/who to ask. When my son was 17 (November 2021) he crashed an uninsured vehicle into a residential property.
 
He was arrested and went to court in June 2022 where he received a 1 year referral order as he was under 18 at the time of the incident and was disqualified from driving for 18 months. He had to pay £22 victim surcharge for the lady that lived in the house and £85 court costs (the charges state that there was £13-15k damages). The order was revoked early in May 2023. 

He has recently received letters in the post from DWF Law advising that they have been asked by their client the Motor Insurers Bureau to recover costs in the sum of £140,244.19! The vehicle that he was driving was his own and the house that he hit was a social housing property and the tenant was rehoused and they fixed the damage . I have no idea where they have got that figure from but possibly think maybe the Housing Association are claiming for the value of the property? 

He is currently 20 years old, living with me and since losing a job in January I have been supporting him financially. He has just started a new job but will not get paid for a month and he is currently £500 overdrawn. His only asset are a PC and a car.

The letters say to let them know repayment intentions. He obviously cannot afford to pay back £140k! It seems like such a huge amount of money when the damages were advised to be £15k and none of the letters state where they came to this figure.

He admitted he made a huge mistake, stood up in court, was advocated for by the lady who lived in the house and he took all of the punishments he was given.

We really thought it was something that was now in his past. We presume they found him as he has recently got his driving license/a car/car insurance/electoral register etc. 

Can anyone please help or advise where we can go for help?

fatbelly

'When you ain't got nothing you got nothing to lose' (Bob Dylan)

Assuming that we can take Nov 2021 as the cause of action, they have 2.5 years left to start a court claim. Personally I wouldn't engage until they send a formal letter before claim with standard reply form and 30-day limit.

The claimant will be MIB

Bankruptcy is fast and simple. Costs £680. They get nothing, and they know this.Don't waste money on solicitors

UnsureAboutthis

they can't get what your son does not have - worse case scenario, a few quid a month for years i guess unless he gets a decent job and clears his debts. See what the others say and then await the official letter as stated above and consult a decent solicitor that specialises in claims like this.

Mark_d

DWF Law should be able to provide a breakdown/explanation of the £140k cost they're trying to claim.  The cost does seem very high.  Perhaps it was a typo and should really be £14,024.19

fatbelly

It will be 140k. There will be interest as well as myriad admin charges.

But I agree that they will have a breakdown as the court will need it, so a request along the lines of

I do not acknowledge any debt to you or any company that you represent. Please send me a full breakdown of the figure you allege that I owe

Would not do any harm

sourcrates

Bob is correct, they can`t take what he doesn't have.

Its similar to when people lose their homes, because they can`t afford the mortgage, and some debt collector comes chasing the £150k mortgage shortfall from someone on universal credit, they aren't going to get anything, and neither is DWF Law.

I`d go with fatbelly`s advice, you can ask for a breakdown of their claim, but otherwise unless an LBA drops on your doormat, ignore them.

Roseymarie1983

Thanks everyone.