Car incident advice sought

[london boy]

Hi,

I'm wondering if anyone could give me some advice on a recent car incident and the legalities involved. About a month ago, I was in stop start traffic when the car behind drove into the back of me. I had my family in the car and no-one was injured. There wasn't much damage to mine (just a few scuffs really) but the other car had a lot of damage. We exchanged insurance details. The driver didn't apologize and was offhand but I put this down to his being in shock. The following day i notified my insurance company but as the damage was minor I held off putting a claim in until I spoke to the other driver. The insurance company were aware of my approach. As it turned out the driver contacted me to say that he preferred to settle up directly as otherwise he'd lose his no claims bonus, etc. As my own excess was more than the cost of the repair to my car (£375) I agreed for him to settle up directly with me and we'd move on. I got a few quotes, including one from the the main dealer (car is less than 1 year old) and a local bodyshop and we agreed that he'd pay me the £375 for the local body shop repair. A few days later I called him to know when he wanted to meetup to give me the money for the repair but he said he needed to wait until he got paid which was in 3 weeks time. An alarm bell went off that I may be getting the run around but I felt there was little i could do but wait. In the meantime, I texted him my bank details and when it came to the day when he was due to get paid I checked my bank account. Nothing. I called him and he said that he'd been busy but agreed to pay me the following Monday. Again nothing. I called him and again and explained that if he wasn't going to pay me I would just have to go via the insurance company and this was not in his interest (and not mine for that matter). Anyway, I'm clearly being given the run around and yes I could just write it off but people can't get away with this sort of thing. This guy drove into the back of me, didn't even apologise or ask about my family and now won't even pay for me to get my car repair. From a legal perspective, is there anything I can do? I guess I could take him to the small claims court? Probably not worth the bother but I may consider it out of principle. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

London Boy

[des8]

Re: Car incident advice sought

My advice would be that you write to him, confirming all the details of the incident, inform him that as agreed by him you are holding him 100% liable for the accident and your subsequent costs and you require reimbursement within 14 days.
Remind him also he should notify his insurers of the incident (whether he makes a claim or not)and that if he doesn't settle you will be initiating a court claim .
Send his letter marked "copy to XYZ insurance company and send a copy to his insurers marked "for information"

He ain't going to pay unless you push, and the longer you leave it, the harder it becomes1

[Snoopy1948]

Re: Car incident advice sought

My advice would be that you write to him, confirming all the details of the incident, inform him that as agreed by him you are holding him 100% liable for the accident and your subsequent costs and you require reimbursement within 14 days.
Remind him also he should notify his insurers of the incident (whether he makes a claim or not)and that if he doesn't settle you will be initiating a court claim .
Send his letter marked "copy to XYZ insurance company and send a copy to his insurers marked "for information"

He ain't going to pay unless you push, and the longer you leave it, the harder it becomes1

Totally endorse this.

The problem as I see it is that no one can make the other party actually advise his insurance company of the event and hence no claim can be met. There is also the worrying thought that he may well have been an uninsured driver ( I am seeing figures that put up to 10% of drivers on the road not being insured ) or in a borrowed car. A similar thing happened to my daughter in law where she only took a mobile phone number at the scene only to have the other party deny all evidence of the accident. It's crucial to get photos of everything and the other drivers full name and address, although we're not always so clear headed in times like this. At least you would have had to pay the excess if you made an own policy claim which, as you say, is less than the policy excess. Remember you still have an obligation to advise your insurer, even if you settle the repair yourself, of this 'insurable event' ( to the best of my knowledge ) ...

[des8]

Re: Car incident advice sought

As an injured third party you can sue the defendant's liability insurer under Regulation 3 of the European Communities (rights against Insurers )Regulations 2002.
His insurers will (should) be aware of this, and react accordingly. No need to mention it to them at this stage.

Also if the other party was uninsured a claim could be made agaInst MIB. They take their time, but do pay eventually!

[london boy]

Re: Car incident advice sought

Thanks for the advice. I know that he is insured as when I notified my own insurance company they were able to check and in fact they gave me the name of his insurance company. We also exchanged details at the scene so I have his name and address so can formally write to him as per your suggestion. Also, I don't think he can deny the incident as I have lots of photos. thanks again.

[london boy]

Re: Car incident advice sought

Hi, so no response to my letter which I guess isn't surprising. I'm thinking of going through the small claims court. My concern is that if I claim off his insurance company that might be considered a claim from my own insurance point of view and impact my NCB. Any thoughts? Thanks, London Boy.

[des8]

Re: Car incident advice sought

If you claim against him via his insurance company it will not be classified as a claim under your policy, and will not impact your NCB.
As you know who his insurance company is, I would suggest you write directly to them, give them full details of the incident, tell them you are not getting any response from their insured
and if the matter is not sorted within a reasonable time you will initiate court action.
No need to be abrupt, but just let them know nicely their client is not doing them any favours!

[london boy]

Re: Car incident advice sought

Thanks. You think that's better than just initiating the court claim and getting it over and done with? It only costs me £50 or so and I've photos/text message conversations and the letter sent to him 2 weeks ago as evidence. I'd hope that he'd pay up when he receives the court letter or at least he'd lose the case, if it got that far. Happy to take your advice though. Thanks.

[des8]

Re: Car incident advice sought

Cheaper, less stressful and quicker to contact his insurers first.
Court should be a last resort.