Bloody Insurance!

[CortinaDave]

a couple of weeks ago I was heading up to a roundabout in the left hand lane when a muppet in a people carrier veered over into my lane and bashed the front wing and twisted the bumper of my cortina while denting his passenger door.

 

He was very apologetic and offered to pay for it himself and gave me his details - so after a bit of research the next day I asked him for £190 - £90 for the wing and £100 to get it fitted and painted and the bumper straightened out, but got ignored, then got a call from the insurance to say he'd been in touch.

 

They've got back to me offering "to settle 50/50 as versions of events differ and we can't prove blame either way "

 

AAARGH ! so now i face losing my no claims and increased premiums over a £200 repair and an accident that was in no way my fault! LIVID!!!

[Negative Creep]

Problem is without an independent witnesses or admissions of guilt it's almost impossible to prove liability

[CortinaDave]

I know. the frustrating thing is though that from his point of view,(assuming he is fully comp) it makes no difference - his car will still get repaired and he will still lose no claims for the accident being classed as 50 percent his fault - so what is he going to gain exactly?

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Tell them he admitted liability there and then!!! He might come back and lie and say he didnt, but then again he might not.

[HillmanImp]

Get a reputable mate to say they were in the car behind or alternatively go round his house and pour brake fluid over his bonnet, maybe spelling out 'paedo'.

[trigger]

The same thing happened to me years ago, Some old bint pulled out of a builders merchants in front of me as i was driving pass whilst she was driving a Renault 21 Savanna and i bounced straight of her A post.

 

She kept saying that it was her fault and that she was really sorry (after she stopped crying) yet 6 months later she had changed her tune and i ended up going 50/50 and losing half my no claims plus bumping my premium up, I was well pissed off but what can you do.

 

My Old Ford Escort 1.6 Si by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Where do you stand legally if you covertly hit the 'record' button on your mobile phone before talking to the other party?

[Negative Creep]

Tell them he admitted liability there and then!!! He might come back and lie and say he didnt, but then again he might not.

 

 

 

Admissions made at the scene of an accident aren't admissable

[retrogeezer]

Yep, no leg to stand on unless you have a witness.....I learnt that the hard way 3 years ago when the bloke towing a horse trailer just cut me up on a roundabout ripping the bumper off the mondeo. Instead of chasing im up the road I should have stopped the bloke behind me and got him as a witness.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

well, if someone tells you they are prepared to admit liability there and then, you only need to grab a pen and piece of paper and get them to sign a written admission of liability- I'm surprised that people have so much faith in a total stranger as well as said stranger's insurance company!

[Pillock]

Where do you stand legally if you covertly hit the 'record' button on your mobile phone before talking to the other party?

 

You can't record conversations on the sly and use it in a legal wrangle - the argument is you have to tell them you're recording it first, so they can think about what they're saying same as if you're arrested. Anyone with a bit of common sense would just say that their recorded conversation was under duress or shock anyway and they weren't making any sense.

 

It seems quite a good ploy actually - admit it was your fault verbally, so the other driver doesn't bother getting witness details, then fuck off home and change your tune. I say "good", it's actually pretty mean but it's quite watertight. I guess the only lesson would be to get witnesses regardless.

 

As such, asking them to record a conversation might pay off, as they'd be unable to change their mind later on and they'd know it.

I'd also get photos of the driver and car, just in case they "forget" what their name and address is.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

You can't record conversations on the sly and use it in a legal wrangle - the argument is you have to tell them you're recording it first, so they can think about what they're saying same as if you're arrested. Anyone with a bit of common sense would just say that their recorded conversation was under duress or shock anyway and they weren't making any sense.

 

In this case I think HillmanImp's brake fluid idea is the most sensible thing.

[M'coli]

You can't record conversations on the sly and use it in a legal wrangle - the argument is you have to tell them you're recording it first, so they can think about what they're saying same as if you're arrested. Anyone with a bit of common sense would just say that their recorded conversation was under duress or shock anyway and they weren't making any sense.

 

In this case I think HillmanImp's brake fluid idea is the most sensible thing.

However, don't do it on the bonnet, that's too obvious. Try the sills or somewhere else like that, then after a week or so spray liberally with salt water twice a week for a month. That should sort it out.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Alternatively: train as a mechanic, apply for a small business loan and open a garage near his house. Build up his trust until you are the only mechanic he will trust with his cars. Become friendly with him. It starts with chatting while you wait for the ramp to raise, it progresses when you bump into him in a pub and stay for a drink. Build this friendship until ten years later, you're his best friend, the godfather of his children and his emergency contact.

 

Then write PEEDO across his bonnet with brake fluid.

[dollywobbler]

You can see why people start fitting recorders in their cars can't you?

 

[Richard]

When somebody else makes a mistake like in that video you are allowed to take evasive action, you're not obliged to just pile straight into them.

 

Alternatively: train as a mechanic, apply for a small business loan and open a garage near his house. Build up his trust until you are the only mechanic he will trust with his cars. Become friendly with him. It starts with chatting while you wait for the ramp to raise, it progresses when you bump into him in a pub and stay for a drink. Build this friendship until ten years later, you're his best friend, the godfather of his children and his emergency contact.

 

Then write PEEDO across his bonnet with brake fluid.

 

Playing the long game is definitely ftw.

[Lankytim]

A pal of mine had his car transporter trailer mashed up by a dozy female motorist a few months ago, on the instruction of the insurers he had it repaired by a specialist but the insurance then refused to cover the full cost of the repair (no idea why!). Could he sue the dozy female motorist for the difference as her insurers have failed to cover the full cost of her actions?

 

Sorry for the thread hijack!

[CortinaDave]

Peter - that post just caused me a great deal of merriment. Genius.

[warren t claim]

Latest insurance renewal quote for my E200 W124 came to £1977!!! Fuck that!

 

Liverpool Victoria quoted me £780 for a traders policy so I've decided to go for that instead. Paid £250 deposit this afternoon so not too bad. At least it's given me the opportunity to BUY MOAR SHITE!

 

Anyone have a car they want putting on the MID?

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

Liverpool Victoria quoted me £780 for a traders policy so I've decided to go for that instead. Paid £250 deposit this afternoon so not too bad. At least it's given me the opportunity to BUY MOAR SHITE!

 

Are there any requirements for getting a trader's policy? I'd happily pay a couple of hundred quid extra per year in order to be able to insure whatever takes my fancy...

[warren t claim]

Liverpool Victoria quoted me £780 for a traders policy so I've decided to go for that instead. Paid £250 deposit this afternoon so not too bad. At least it's given me the opportunity to BUY MOAR SHITE!

 

Are there any requirements for getting a trader's policy? I'd happily pay a couple of hundred quid extra per year in order to be able to insure whatever takes my fancy...

 

Not really. They'll take any NCB you have into account as well. Less questions asked than a normal insurance policy because you're not insuring any cars. You don't need premises or trade plates. Just email the details of any cars you've bought to them within 7 days for MID purposes.

[Guest Leonard Hatred]

Anyone have a car they want putting on the MID?

 

Yes.

[Craig the Princess]

Liverpool Victoria quoted me £780 for a traders policy so I've decided to go for that instead. Paid £250 deposit this afternoon so not too bad. At least it's given me the opportunity to BUY MOAR SHITE!

 

Are there any requirements for getting a trader's policy? I'd happily pay a couple of hundred quid extra per year in order to be able to insure whatever takes my fancy...

 

Not really. They'll take any NCB you have into account as well. Less questions asked than a normal insurance policy because you're not insuring any cars. You don't need premises or trade plates. Just email the details of any cars you've bought to them within 7 days for MID purposes.

 

What he said, ours said they may want to see what cars are bought and sold so we keep a spreadsheet, but in 3 years they haven't asked for anything except the renewal. (Tradex until last year, now someone else I can't remember - 3 people, any vehicle, £690)

[Pete-M]

Be careful with traders policies. I've got one, but I've also got premises to operate from. Earlier this month the insurance came to have a look around, they were happy, but they said that the whole traders policy thing is being tightened up pretty severely to stop Joe Random from claiming he's a trader...

[barefoot]

What he said, ours said they may want to see what cars are bought and sold so we keep a spreadsheet, but in 3 years they haven't asked for anything except the renewal. (Tradex until last year, now someone else I can't remember - 3 people, any vehicle, £690)

 

If that's comprehensive, go & look at your docs & shout out here who it is.

 

Thanks in anticipation

[Craig the Princess]

What he said, ours said they may want to see what cars are bought and sold so we keep a spreadsheet, but in 3 years they haven't asked for anything except the renewal. (Tradex until last year, now someone else I can't remember - 3 people, any vehicle, £690)

 

If that's comprehensive, go & look at your docs & shout out here who it is.

 

Thanks in anticipation

 

It's not, it's third party.

[Pete-M]

Oh yeah, another thing, Tradex blow donkey cock.

 

They wanted an extra £600 to insure the XJR, on top of their already ludicrous renewal quote for this year. They also took from January last year to January this year (the month the policy expired) to actually send the bloody policy document, neglected to put cars that were meant to be on the policy on the MID and left ones that weren't meant to be on it on there for months. It took me from January last year to the middle of March to get the BMW I had at the time onto the database, and another three months to get my old Audi (which the BMW replaced) off it. Avoid them with extreme prejudice as they're shite. Their customer service is diabolical, they don't do what they're paid to and the Dibble tend to be suspicious of anyone with a Tradex policy anyway, never mind someone who's insured with them who can't get a bloody policy number out of them because they've cocked up, again.

 

Aviva said "XJR? No worries", no extra charge, and their fully comp cover came in at about £10 more than Tradex wanted for 3PO. The policy arrived a few days later, covers more than Tradex do, they answer the phone when you call them and do what they're meant to.

 

I suspect I'll be with Aviva for a few years now.

[meggersdog]

If it's not Tradex then it's probably MMA .They only deal with brokers not direct.With mine anything older than 1980 is only covered third party.You can go on their website to change vehicle details yourself so you can update it anytime of day.

 

Like Pete just said I left Tradex for similar reasons

[warren t claim]

Be careful with traders policies. I've got one, but I've also got premises to operate from. Earlier this month the insurance came to have a look around, they were happy, but they said that the whole traders policy thing is being tightened up pretty severely to stop Joe Random from claiming he's a trader...

 

Mine specifically says without premises. The only thing they seem a bit squeamish about is group 20 imports, even then they aren't a definite no no.

 

At the end of the day I was quoted about the same to cover a 2002 Matiz as Liv Vic are charging for the trade policy. A no brainer really.