Car Crash Incident

spike87

Hi all, I am seeking a bit of advice with regards to having a bump in a car.

On my way to work about two weeks ago, I was driving round an island which has two lanes, the left hand lane for turning left and going straight on, the right hand lane for turning right or going right round the island. On approach to the island a white van was driving in the left hand lane, I was in the right hand lane to turn right. On the island his front driver side bumper hit my nearside wing as he sort of glided into my lane. After pulling off the island I stopped ready to get his insurance details, but he just drove off. I immediately got back into my car, absolutely raging at this point and luckily found and followed him to his destination. I explained that he had hit my car on the island, he said he didn't notice anything and was really sorry. We both checked the vehicles and there were clear scratch marks on both. We then exchanged insurance details.

A few days later his company phoned me (as it was a company vehicle) to say that the driver is not accepting any responsibility for the crash, he is saying outright that he did not do it. I got straight on the phone to my insurance company and they said as there were no witnesses, there's really nothing to say that he did do it. My insurance company is Privilige. Today, I received a letter from Privilige saying that the driver is saying that is was both parties fault, as we both changed lanes at the same time. Surely he can't just do that? A week ago he was saying he never did it, now he's saying it was both parties fault?! The excess on the policy is £250 and my insurance company are saying we will have to pay it to have the car fixed unless the other party accepts responsibility for the incident.

I'm completely stuck now! There were no witnesses, does that mean that we should just pay the excess and just put it down to being unlucky on this occasion? Seems very annoying that it was his fault, but we're going to have to foot the bill!

Thanks for your help!

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

Yep, 50:50 is all you can hope for but if his company is a decent size and has CCTV you may be able to get some footage of you confronting him.

If the damage is paintwork only I wouldn't even bother with the claim, it will be cheaper to fix it yourself.

Dan29

spike87 wrote: »

There were no witnesses, does that mean that we should just pay the excess and just put it down to being unlucky on this occasion? Seems very annoying that it was his fault, but we're going to have to foot the bill!

Yes unfortunately without witnesses all you can do is keep stating what happened, but unless he admits blame it will probably be settled as 50:50. With this sort of accident on a roundabout there's really no way of proving who 'drifted' into the other's lane.

Is the damage to your car likely to cost more than £250 to fix?

spike87

Yes, an assessor has been out to view the car. The total cost of repair is just over £700. The excess is £250.

seftonsun

spike87 wrote: »

Yes, an assessor has been out to view the car. The total cost of repair is just over £700. The excess is £250.

£700 is a lot of damage. What exacty is the extent of the damage? I would suggest you get some independent quotes, especially from dent and scratch specialists. You will probably be surprised at how lower the cost will be. But, do not say it is an insurance job as that will automatically double the estimate. You wi probably be better paying yourself. The excess pus loss of bonus is likey more than you will have to pay as an independent repair.