Car accident legal problems
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Ok, last September I was involved in an accident with a bus, I was driving my ex's Fiesta round a very tight 90 degree bend when a bus came round at the same time in the opposite direction, due to the length of the bus and the tightness of the bend, the bus ended up encroaching on my side of the carriage way, I braked but the bus ended up scraping down the side of my car.
The driver got out and apologised, and we exchanged details as a formality, I wasn't bothered with the very minor damage to my Fiesta as it was a banger anyway and from what I saw of the bus i had done no more than scuffed the advertisement on the side, I was more worried about my kids in the back.
I informed my insurance company but didn't bother with any repairs as the car just wasn't worth it, eventually my insurance company got back to me saying that the bus company was blaming me, my insurance company informed me that it was unlikely the bus company would win as even their witness statements backed up my story that I had stopped and the bus hit me.
After several weeks I was informed by my insurance company that the claim against me would go no further and my no claims was safe, now this week I receive a letter from a solicitor representing the bus company requesting I pay them £300 for the repairs to the bus.
I'm not sure what to do, I am no longer with the insurance company I was with at the time of the accident, and I don't really wish to have to hire a solicitor myself as I'm sure his fee would exceed the £300 bill from the bus company.
I truly feel I'm in the right on this one, even in the letter from the solicitor the statements regarding the accident all refer to me failing to stop, yet all of the witness statements say that I was stationary at the time of the collision.
Do I take a hit on the £300 (which I can't afford) or do I say "see you in court" ?
The driver got out and apologised, and we exchanged details as a formality, I wasn't bothered with the very minor damage to my Fiesta as it was a banger anyway and from what I saw of the bus i had done no more than scuffed the advertisement on the side, I was more worried about my kids in the back.
I informed my insurance company but didn't bother with any repairs as the car just wasn't worth it, eventually my insurance company got back to me saying that the bus company was blaming me, my insurance company informed me that it was unlikely the bus company would win as even their witness statements backed up my story that I had stopped and the bus hit me.
After several weeks I was informed by my insurance company that the claim against me would go no further and my no claims was safe, now this week I receive a letter from a solicitor representing the bus company requesting I pay them £300 for the repairs to the bus.
I'm not sure what to do, I am no longer with the insurance company I was with at the time of the accident, and I don't really wish to have to hire a solicitor myself as I'm sure his fee would exceed the £300 bill from the bus company.
I truly feel I'm in the right on this one, even in the letter from the solicitor the statements regarding the accident all refer to me failing to stop, yet all of the witness statements say that I was stationary at the time of the collision.
Do I take a hit on the £300 (which I can't afford) or do I say "see you in court" ?
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Comments
You could also give them a call and speak to them about the letter, but they will certainly want to have it.
The bus company's solicitor is probably just on a fishing trip. They know full-well that such a letter should have been sent to your insurers and not to yourself directly. They are just trying to frighten you and, from what you say, it sounds like it might be working!
By the way, if you aren't interested in getting your car repaired did you know that you can claim some money as compensation instead? I suggest you give that a try, that will give the bus company's solicitor something to think about. Did you have uninsured loss insurance at the time of this accident? If so they can probably help you with this.
Contact your previous insurers about it and try not to worry!
The insurance company you were with at the time of the accident is responsible for handling the claim. They probably have a clause in the insurance agreement that you should not deal with a third party yourself and all claims and correspondence should go through them.
Pass all correspondence you get regarding this claim on to previous insurers and forget about the implied threats being made. You had insurance for a reason and this claim is one of the reasons.
Again, my insurer states that the findings was that I was not in the wrong and the witness testimonies the bus company have quoted in their initial claim contradict their accusations against me.
Thanks for the advice, updates as this continues.
Another thing: tell your previous insurer that the bus driver apologised. Motorists are not supposed to apologise or discuss liability after an accident. An apology can be seen as an admission of blame for the accident.
Hopefully the OP would have done that at the time of getting their current insurance. Irrelevant of blame, it was still an accident and needed to be declared to the current insurers.
I was driving down a straight road, when a bus decided to come onto the road (from a side street), and I almost boarded the bus with my car!!!! - I promptly took the bus number, some of the passengers were looking pretty scared - as their driver was clearly driving without due care or attention. I informed the bus company and told them what had happened, they said they would look into it - I received a letter a few weeks later apologising for the incident and was told that the driver had been reprimanded - as a passenger had made a complaint!
I know times are hard, but you'd think they make sure they (bus companies) employ people who have a bit of sense about them instead of idiots!
dont tar us all with the same brush
well you must be in the minority
local being where ? :eek:
fifi x
Before engaging in idiotic generalisations, perhaps you should consider :
And none of them are infallible.