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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To tell him to jolly well go through the insurance then!

37 replies

Fairydustandfairycakes · 09/02/2015 07:12

So a couple of weeks ago, I was driving in heavy traffic behind a taxi when he stalled. A short time down the road, going around 5mph whilst we were in first gear, he stalled again - but this time, due to the heavy traffic I was closer to him and our cars had a light bump.

My phone had died so had no way of taking pictures should have listened to dp when told to carry a disposable. Although on close inspection of his car, there was no damage, just the 'hackney carriage' sign on the bumper had come off on one side and so was dangling. We swapped details and I called him later on. He said he would prefer to get it sorted between us and he would get a quote from a garage.

Fast forward to yesterday, he calls me and says "I got the quote - £400 but make me an offer". Hmm

I was gobsmacked and asked him exactly what the damage was an could he send me the pictures he had taken. He said "uhh ohh well the sign and the bumper." And kept saying "well how much can you afford to pay? I don't want you to pay £400 or even £300.... Make me an offer"! I persevered with asking for photos and he said he would try. He pressed me for a figure and so I said "to be honest, I didn't expect anything over £50 because to my mind, the only damage was the pin on one side of the sign" - i'm certain there was no other damage - I made sure I had a good look because I had no phone! damn thing

I then received a message saying "we can sort this out if you pay me £100 compensation". Compensation?! Not for damage but compensation?! Shock

Now, I know that he hasn't contacted his insurance company (whereas I have on an 'information only' basis) as I know this is a legal requirement. The whole thing is stressing me out as it seems like he has just popped the sign back on (because he surely hasn't been driving around for the last two weeks with it half hanging off.) the reason he decided against the insurance company is because there is nothing to fix and therefore nothing to gain for him. Whereas this way he can almost bribe me. He did not send me any photos.

So lovely mumsnetters, what would you do?

OP posts:
londonrach · 09/02/2015 07:14

Go through insurance.

AnimalsAreMyFriends · 09/02/2015 07:14

I'd go through the insurance. I know you have to pay your excess etc, but he is obviously not going to let it drop & is trying to extort money from you. You need to break the hold he has on you.

LittleBearPad · 09/02/2015 07:15

Tell him to contact his insurance company and you'll sort it that way. Call his bluff

WipsGlitter · 09/02/2015 07:15

Someone went into the back of me very lightly and it cost £100s to fix it as the damage wasn't visible. So he may be telling the truth.

However I'd just go through the insurance.

Catsize · 09/02/2015 07:16

Insurance company. Even if you paid £100, there would probably be a further demand. Good luck.

AnimalsAreMyFriends · 09/02/2015 07:16

Also I would contact the hire firm he works for & you can also report him to the body that issues his Hackney licence (usually your local council) and tell them what is happening.

JudgeJudyKicksAss · 09/02/2015 07:18

Call his bluff. I can tell you with HUGE confidence there is no way he will want this to go through his insurance company. (To be fair, you don't want it to go through yours either). Taxi drivers pay thousands per year for insurance, there is no way he will want his premiums increased willingly.
Tell him your offer is £50, take it or leave it.

rememberingnothing · 09/02/2015 07:20

He's trying it on. Call his bluff and tell him to contact his insurance company. He won't I'd bet as his insurance will be very expensive and the excess won't cover the £5 it cost to stick the sign bank on.

I don't believe that there are £'00's of pounds of hidden damage if he can't explain or show you any proof.

Cornonthecob · 09/02/2015 07:20

On top of the excess be prepared for your insurance premiums to go up!!

Hope he doesn't claim for whiplash!!

sandgrown · 09/02/2015 07:21

Go through insurance. My son had a minor bump which we offered to pay for . The man was asking for more than the total worth of the car and badgering my son. We told him to go through insurance and never heard another thing. I guess he was not insured!

MinceSpy · 09/02/2015 07:24

If you don't inform your insurance company you invalidate your insurance. Just ring them up and report the incident.

clam · 09/02/2015 07:24

Has he even got insurance? Either way, his main mistake was asking for compensation, along with miraculously reducing the claim from£400 to £100

Report him and go through insurance. This is a no-brainer.

sharonthewaspandthewineywall · 09/02/2015 07:27

I'm sorry but just because the traffic was heavier doesn't excuse being so close to someone you run into the back of them when they stall.
I get a feeling you may be playing down the damage also.
But yes tell him to go through insurance also let whoever he is operating under know what he is doing

headlesslambrini · 09/02/2015 07:29

Keep everything to either text or email so you have evidence to pass onto his insurance company as they will probably refuse to insure him again.

Shockers · 09/02/2015 07:29

Ask for a photo to send to your insurance company.

Or ignore him completely... he's trying it on.

SoupDragon · 09/02/2015 07:32

I would offer him the £50 he mentioned. Cheaper than any increase in premiums.

LaurieFairyCake · 09/02/2015 07:32

You have to tell your insurance company anyway (legally) so go through them.

Even if you pay him the £100, he will still claim and get £2000 for whiplash at some point. He definitely will get this, your insurance will very likely pay out. You will lose your excess anyway.

The only gamble you can take is that because he is a taxi driver he may not want to go through the insurance - so if your very lucky paying the £100 may make him go away. You will be incredibly lucky if that happens.

KirstyJC · 09/02/2015 07:37

If you've already told your insurance company then you have nothing to lose. Tell him that you will not be paying him anything, that you have contacted your insurance company already and given them his details and that he will need to call his insurers to recover his costs.

If he gets stroppy, make it clear that you will not be responding to any further contact from him and that you are concerned that he is harassing you and will report any further contact to 101. I would also tell him you will be contacting his employers and the council that gave him the Hackney licence as well.

Then I bet you won't ever hear from him again. If you had done £400 worth of damage then he would be wanting you to pay £400, not £100! Even if he was prepared to lose something to keep his insurance down, he would still be able to give you a copy of the repair bill or some photos.....and yet he hasn't. Sounds fishy to me!

DustyBedhead · 09/02/2015 07:39

I think the only thing to make him go away is by going through your insurance otherwise his demands will continue.

RinkyTinkTen · 09/02/2015 07:46

I'm not sure I understand if he hit you, or you hit him.

If he hit you, he is massively taking the piss as it would be his fault.

If you hit him, he is still taking the piss and I would go through your insurance. This smells a bit fishy to me too.

CrystalHaze · 09/02/2015 08:03

Sounds like he's trying it on to me. Requesting 'compensation' is very suspicious.

Go through your insurance. I can guarantee that if you give him a cash sum of his choosing he WILL be back for more.

And I'd advise his taxi company or licensing authorities too.

clam · 09/02/2015 08:18

If you pay him cash, and he then ups his game to request, say, further compensation for whiplash, you may find that your insurance company won't play ball if you've already settled "out-of-court." Not sure about this, but it's worth checking out.

SistersOfPercy · 09/02/2015 08:24

I think he's trying it on as well, but on the flip side this happened to ds last year.
Very slow accident, she hit him up the rear at around 5mph but the damage to his 61 plate punto was just shy of £1000. She stamped her feet a lot, refused to cooperate after initially saying she didn't want to go through the insurance and finally we had enough and put it through the insurance.
She called ds a liar and many other names but she had done a fair bit of damage underneath the car.

The point I'm making is whilst I'm in no doubt you are being had here the lightest of bumps can cause lots of hidden damage.

PtolemysNeedle · 09/02/2015 08:25

Tell him that as he hasn't sent pictures, or a copy of the quote detailing the work that needs to be done, then it will be going through insurance. Give him your insurance details and let your company deal with it, that's what they're for.

It could end up costing more than £50 if you have to pay the excess, but at least you know you won't be paying for any more than the damage you actually caused.

PurpleWithRed · 09/02/2015 08:30

If you go through your insurance you can still pay the claim yourself - ds did this and it didn't affect his premiums. It's part of what your insurance is for. So if he has a legitimate claim he can get it sorted, and if he doesn't have a legitimate claim they will protect you from his shenanigans.

If he just wants £100 there is definitely no serious damage!