Unbelievable

[Nick]

Sorry for the rant but I’m fuming.

Two weeks ago on a trip to see a GT40 I approached some traffic lights. There was a car with a young lad driving waiting in a filter lane to turn right. I go through the lights on a green light and just before I get to him he turns into my path bang my car and his beat up fiesta written off.

Now I get out don’t blame him as he is a young lad inexperienced just made a mistake. Police come and slap a fixed penalty charge on him as it’s his step mums car and it turns out he has no mot I start feeling sorry for him.

I get loads of people telling me to claim whiplash but being old school that’s not me. Now the inconvenience of trying to find a replacement car.

Then yesterday I get a letter through the door from a no win no fee company acting on behalf of the owner of the car that hit me claiming the accident was my fault as I had “I failed to keep any or any proper lookout, failed to heed/observe the presence and position of our client’s vehicle, drove into collision with our client’s vehicle and failed by means of brakes, gears, steering or otherwise to control your vehicle so as to avoid the collision.”

Advising me I was liable for the loss of their clients car at a value of twice what it was worthin my opinion, claiming they are instructing their client to see a doctor (two weeks after the accident) in respect of injuries sustained, saying they will advise me of details of their clients loss of earnings in due course and claiming miscellaneous expenses of £120, and appearing to claim I went through a red light as their defence.

They also requested I send by return of post a cheque (no indication of the amount they are expecting) and stating if I do not accept liability in 7 days they will start proceedings against me.

After speaking to the police and my solicitor it seems in cases like this where neither side can prove their case (no witnesses) it usually becomes a knock for knock situation with me having to claim of my insurance with loss of my no claims and them claiming of theirs and making a nice profit due to their hyped up costs.

So to sum up I have 25 years of driving with no accidents get hit by a young inexperienced lad in a car with no mot who employs a firm of no win no fee sharks who know how to play the system cause me sleepless nights with threatening letters and then even though I sit there after the accident staring at a green light in my favour the party that caused the crash look like they will end up potentially in a far better financial position out of it than I will and I used to defend the British legal system!!! But then I still hope and pray that common sense will prevail.

Sorry for the rant.

Disillusioned and disappointed Nick

[Pat Buckley]

Sorry about the accident.

Is there anything that prevents you from doing the same thing to the other party?

[40 Bud]

It sure sounds like a Scam Set Up accident. Good luck!

[Simon]

same thing happening to me.
I was overtaken while driven my wifes car, the guy decided to pull in and hit the side of the car, we pulled over, he assaulted me and drove off. the police arrived and took several months tracking him down, when the did he said I drove into the back of his car! Was I driving sideways at the time? the damage is to the side of our car. ins co doesn't give a sh*t.

[Nick]

Simon

Thank you for your support, sorry to hear you were assaulted I understand how you feel.

Three years ago in an unprovoked attack I was hit in the face with an iron bar scarring me for life, only for the crown prosecution service not to take the case further due to lack of independent witnesses, even though the police wanted to and the man I was informed was known to them for previous violent acts.

The attack was witnessed by my wife and children, and I was awarded compensation from the criminal injuries board but this was not justice and I think this is why I am over sensitive on this issue, just a feeling of here we go again.

In a way I was very lucky a few weeks ago a man in my town was murdered by a gang of youths when he went out of his house to defend his property, so I don't really have anything to complain about.

Nick

[Keith Hardy]

Shhhhh...you'll wake up the gun lobby..

[Nick]

Keith,

Sorry not my intention,I'm strongly against guns and always will be but I also believe justice should not depend on the depth of your pocket.

Nick

[David Morton]

But it does Nick. Very much so and that fact will never change. There are also governmental considerations but thats a bigger wasp's nest that is always denied by the 'rulers'. And then there are the 'Royals' who are immune to everything except the 'pox' and ugly genetics.

[Nick]

David,

Years ago I would have argued against you totally now as a grumpy "older" man I could not agree more. Hope this does not mean I'm turning from a wishy washy Liberal.

Nick

[David Morton]

Nick - Two accidents to my youngest daughters car - one where a total wanker denied exiting a minor road without stopping and hit her front left wing - about £1500 worth of damage and he denied everything. Took about 6 months and a threat of court action, during which her 'no claims bonus' was removed and her policy came up for renewal at the full amount, which she had not budgeted for, so her holiday was cancelled. All eventually sorted but why deny it in the first place because it jaundiced her view of other drivers. The second was a large 4x4 which ran into the back of her car - loads of damage and my daughter quite shaken up but this time, the elderly guy could not have been nicer. Full details, all 'his' fault, get it repaired and get a hire car in the mean time, how is she the next day etc. That restored her faith , and mine a little bit, in some people on the roads today. But there are so many on the roads uninsured, untaxed, and unroadworthy. Quite a lot of foreign cars (ie Slovakians and Romanians) are in that category as well.

[MikeP]

Always carry a camera in the glove box. Photograph everything! In event of an accident get as many witness's names or number plates as you can and note the time. If needed get the best, nastiest legal help you can. It worked for me when some moron pulled out across my bows and I wrote off my everyday car. A combination of piccies, witness statements and a rotweiller solicitor sorted things out a treat - I even made a profit. Give these bastards a hard time and maybe they will take more care in future. Or I could always send my friend Big Alex the debt collector round to sort out some form of compensation!
Nil illegitimi carborundum
Cheers
Mike

[Lee]

The insurance industry has appeared to me, to have all the aces up their sleeves. They are not interested in what is right. As someone said, if both parties claim it was the other parties fault, it will almost always end up as 'knock for knock' (what a great phrase). The insurance industry gains a customer who will pay more in premiums next time because eveyone loses a no claims strike (unless he choses to join the increasing ranks of the uninsured). Everybody elses insurance goes up to cover for the losses when an uninsured has an accident, and thr insurance industry carries on making a nice tidy profit, thank you very much.
The insurance companies have you over a barrel. You can't wait and see to make sure that the claim is settled as not your fault. If the incident did not make the car unroadworthy, it would be nice to be able to get confirmation that your no claims bonus is not at risk, before the garage goes ahead with spending £1000+ on fixing the cosmetic damage. Alternatively if it was to cost you your no claims, you might leave it, or get a cheap job done and not claim on the insurance, and hence save you no claims. Not possible nowadays. You have to decide on your repair strategy before you know about the fate of your no claims.
I hate insurance processes. Large accident - lots of photos, witnesses, drawings, get the police, whoever you can. Small accident - absolute nightmare.

[MikeP]

PS. I always have protected no claims cover and also cover for "uninsured losses" as you never know who you are going to bump into these days!
Cheers
Mike

[Nick]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all the advice and support, you can always rely on this forum no matter what the problem.

I have only had one accident when I was 20 in my RS2000 Mk2 when I thought I was a good driver but found out I wasn’t. Although I do not consider myself a particularly competent driver, I have never in 30 years of driving, claimed on any insurance so never really considered protected no claims as I could not understand why you needed to insure your insurance, I do now!!!

We will have to see how the insurance company go, I now have footage of how the accident could happen, whilst my friend was filming the lights the same thing nearly happened to someone else. I have studied the timing of the lights and it is virtually impossible for anyone to claim I went through a red light which they can’t see in any case.

As it is only 1 ½ car lengths to the point of impact for me but 5 to 6 and a 90 degree turn for him. The only other way’s his statements would stack up were if I had crawled past a red light, or he had a rocket engine attached to his fiesta.

If he had come past his green light to the end of the filter lane waited to turn right which he did. I would then have to wait at my red light for 2 to 3 seconds then decided to go at the point he decided he was going to turn right. I would have to achieve 30mph in 1 ½ car lengths.

Or he would have had to come to the end of his filter lane sat there waiting to turn right although he had a clear road, waited for me to approach the lights at 30mph, with his x ray vision seen through my light to see it had turned red so assumed I would stop and turned right. Perhaps his xray vision is faulty and sees green as red.

He made two accounts to the police officer that turned up at the accident. Fist he said he was waiting at the lights for his green filter arrow to come on. The officer went to look at the sequence and advised him it did not stack up, then it changed to he went past the filter light and was waiting to turn right at the end of the filter lane.

Now in order for any remote possibility for his argument to stack up it will have to change to he went to the end of the filter lane sat there waiting for around 30 seconds not turning right although the road was clear, looked back over his right shoulder to check my signal rather than checking oncoming traffic and when it turned red pulled straight across the junction without looking back to check oncoming traffic again to see if anyone approaching the lights at 30mph would fail to stop.

I have every confidence that his argument will now change to number 3 so we will see if it does as at the moment we are waiting to see what they actually claim I did, as my solicitor said they are being very vague at the moment just implying I went through a red light. We will also have to see if the insurance company will have the guts to fight it, but I fear not. As a barrister once said to me, Nick there is no room for principles and ethics in legal cases.

The sad thing is my old dad, the most decent honest man I have ever known, was a solicitor of the old school honourable type. I used to get really upset and defensive when people attacked lawyers. Now I understand why they did and he will be turning in his grave at the antics of these no win no fee ambulance chasers.

Regards

Nick

[srf#42]

Had a similar incident happen here in the good old USA, litigation capitol of the universe.

I won't bore anyone with the details. In the end, I found that nobody was interested in the right or wrong of the case. It is an industry. The lawyers make money, the doctors make money, the "expert" witnesses make money, the insurance companies make money, and the last man out, me or you, pays the piper.

[Nick]

Hi,

Having spoken to my insurance company today I fear you maybe right, we shall see.

Nick