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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

I am absolutely terrified and need help ☹

121 replies

Cannotbelievethiswow · 01/12/2018 10:19

NC. I don't want to drip feed but I can't say too much (outing).

Nearly 2 years ago someone drove into my car, dented it, scratched it but no "extreme" damage. The persons car was completely smashed as they hit me with some force. They started being aggressive towards me so I panicked, drove to a safe place and rang the police. I should've stayed I know, but it frightened the life out of me.

I have no idea how but the person got my address and came late that night and posted a note asking to ring them. I did, we exchanged details, and they insisted no one was at fault and to tell my insurer that. I told my insurer exactly who was at fault - them. They claimed it was my fault.

An investigator came to look at my car and talk through the incident and they said it was clear the person didnt check their blind spot then slammed into me.

Didn't think anymore of it, was told it wasn't my fault.

Nearly a year later a solicitor contacts me saying I am being taken to court and said person hired a rental car and ran up fees of over £10,000 and wants me to pay. I am a single parent of a young baby. I felt sick to my stomach. I sent all the evidence I had and was told it was fine, nothing to worry about.

Fast forward to now and I've recieved a court date saying I must attend. I feel sick. I'm young, have no idea of the court process, can't afford to pay them £100 never mind over £10,000 and I don't know if i could get a babysitter for that whole day. I havn't eaten, i can't sleep and I am literally terrified. Please can someone offer their advice or support on this? Surely they will get laughed out of court?

OP posts:

glueandstick · 01/12/2018 11:36

Ring your old insurers and send them the letter (photograph it will be fine).

I had one of these a decade ago. You just send everything to your insurance and you’ll hear no more. You won’t need to go to court.

ButDO DO DO phone the insurers today. They’ll be open.

SofiaClogstoun · 01/12/2018 11:36

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Alfie190 · 01/12/2018 11:43

Ok thanks for clarifying. You need to go to your insurer at the time of the incident not the current one.

Still wouldn't worry. You were hit in the side so it is very clear this is not your fault. However even if this somehow was your fault and you were liable we have equity in our law systems. In this case it would mean the claimant should make every effort to limit the other party's liability. £10k on car hire would show they made no effort whatsoever and there is no way on god's earth there would be an award for this.

I think they are just trying to frighten you into making an out of court settlement.

Bitlost · 01/12/2018 11:43

Op, my hubby was also at the receiving end of a scam (involving a whole lot of people who lived nowhere near us but who were supposedly on a bus he hit ).

We used to receive solicitors letter too and I hated it. It’s very scary. And these letters always arrived on a Saturday when there was no-one to talk to.

It went to court, hubby appeared as a witness for his insurance company, and while the insurance company lost, it didn’t cost us any money.

Only thing I would say is that if you don’t have to appear as a witness, then just don’t. My hubby found it very annoying, the county court judge having found in favour of the claimant who 1/ didn’t remember the exact date, time and place of the accident and 2/only went to his gp a year after the accident once his “injuries” were sorted. All this to say, avoid going to court to help out your insurance. It’s likely to be a complete waste of time and unpleasant.

DexyMidnight · 01/12/2018 11:46

Do not speak to the other party, their solicitor or their insurer. Let your insurer and their solicitors handle this.

Sarahjconnor · 01/12/2018 11:49

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

Cannotbelievethiswow · 01/12/2018 11:51

Ex Dp thinks it was a deliberate scam. when searching the persons number a dodgy looking insurance claim company looks up. I showed this to my insurers too x

OP posts:

gendercritter · 01/12/2018 11:56

There are some horrible people out there who will exploit anyone they can. I'd have felt very shaken up and intimidated too. for you and I hope it gets sorted

NoFucksImAQueen · 01/12/2018 11:57

did his insurance company pay for your damage?

imgoingtoloosemymind · 01/12/2018 11:57

This is crazy, you poor thing.
This guy is completely chancing his luck here. Have faith in the facts. The actual facts were that you did nothing wrong, and the facts can't change.
Try to calm down a little. Easier said than done I know. Have come chamomile tea.. rescue remedy / kalms if you have any. They will help you relax.
Or wine. Wine will also work lol

Original poster

Cannotbelievethiswow · 01/12/2018 12:01

I got no compensation. It was cosmetic but still nothing, car was dented above the tyre ans scratched all the side

OP posts:

Baking101 · 01/12/2018 12:01

Don't worry about it. Your insurers and solicitors wouldn't lie to you about this, they would say there is a problem if there was.

Go to court if you really need to and this idiot goes through with it. It will be a laugh for you watching him get torn apart.

Desmondo2016 · 01/12/2018 12:03

Are you sure the solicitor who contacted you is legit? Don't speak to anyone apart from directly to your insurance company (the old one).

Hezz · 01/12/2018 12:15

Just call your old insurance company. It'll be ok.

TSSDNCOP · 01/12/2018 12:17

I agree; the only people you should be talking to are your insurers or a solicitor appointed by them for you.

Anyone else; refer them to your insurers or your solicitor.

Forward all written conservatively communication to your insurer/solicitor (retain a dated copy).

You’ll be fine. Scamming wankers like this should be fined right up the arse.

silvercuckoo · 01/12/2018 12:18

Most likely the other party was contacted by a claims farming company. Probably everyone on this thread has received at least once a call about "our records indicate that you have been in a motor accident".
Don't worry, the business of these companies are with your insurers, not with you. Bad news is that the insurer is somewhat likely to concede in court, as it often would cost more to defend the claim as compared to paying, say, £3K. Your renewal price could be affected, other than that there should be no out of pocket costs for you.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 01/12/2018 12:33

when searching the persons number a dodgy looking insurance claim company looks up. I showed this to my insurers too

Very wise.

On the face of it, it sounds like a careless driver not wanting to have to pay the increased premiums for a claim relating to his own poor driving (assuming that he IS insured, that is - if not, he'll find himself in serious trouble).

In practice, it sounds like this may actually be his 'business' and he could have deliberately identified you (along with many others) - maybe targeting young drivers on purpose - and decided to make you one of his 'marks' before sending out another scam letter from his own scam company.

Why would anybody spend £10K to hire a car when you could buy an old banger for a few hundred as a stop-gap if you had to? And why would he wait a year before contacting you? Even if you HAD been at fault, a year is far too long to wait before lodging your grievance.

The basic facts are these:

You reported the incident to your insurance company, once you were in a safe situation to do so (I hope you reported his aggression as well).
Once you'd done this, it was their job and not yours to deal with it and liaise with any appropriate parties/companies until the completion of the claim and not yours (apart from responding to your own insurance company only with any requests for information). You don't just pay them your premiums to foot the costs - it's for them to handle the complete claim from start to finish. It's exactly the same principle as if you'd witnessed a street robbery and reported it to the police - you'd respond to any questions they had for you as a witness, but you wouldn't dream of bringing the prosecution yourself.
As the obvious innocent party, you should receive compensation for the damage to your car and all other associated costs that may have arisen as a result of the incident which you did not cause - if I were you, I'd contact your (old) insurance company and ask how this claim is going and when you can expect the payout or authorisation for repairs.
if you choose to and you get no satisfaction from other avenues, you may want to report any evidence you find of any scam that this man may be involved in to the police - although I'm guessing the insurance company will have picked up on this, as it's thousands of pounds of THEIR industry's money that people like this are ultimately stealing.
I know it's difficult not to panic, but YOU HAVE NOTHING AT ALL TO WORRY ABOUT. You were not at fault, you reported the incident to to the appropriate people, if there are any further costs, problems or issues, these are 100% theirs and not yours.

AFistfulofDolores1 · 01/12/2018 12:49

The good news is that insurers know allllll about these scams - and it does sound like a scam. And scammers have no shame: they'll do anything to get a pay-out, including threaten you. Pay them no mind. They are counting on you to cave in. Just stand your ground.

Wannabeyorkshirelass · 01/12/2018 12:59

OP the exact same happened to my sister. Ages and ages later the person who drove into HER had some kind of law suit going about flashacks and whiplash and rental cars and psychological assessments - the works. She panicked because she got a load of legal documents through but when she called her insurance company they said they'd sort it out and it was nothing to do with her.

The scammer is trying to get money out of the insurance company, not you, don't worry. You won't have to go to court and you'll probably hear no more about it (my sister didn't).

Topseyt · 01/12/2018 13:01

It is almost certainly va scam. These "solicitors" are quite likely of the "ambulance chaser" variety, taken on by this twat to try and intimidate you.

Don't even contact them. Contact the insurer who dealt with your claim (even though you are with a different one now) and pass copies of everything on to them. They will advise you, and they will be well used to having to deal with this sort of thing.

bruffin · 01/12/2018 13:03

This sort of thing happened to a friends DS. A cyclist hit his van as he was coming out of an entrance to the company he worked for . Police and ambulance came, cyclist was not hurt and the police told him not to worry it clearly wasnt his fault, and followed that up with a letter about the incident.
2 months later,the cyclist tried to sue his company for £10,000 loss of earnings. Thankfully their claim didnt go anywhere , but some idiots will try anything to get money and they dont care about the affect on the other person

JoBrodie · 01/12/2018 13:04

Gosh how unpleasant and intimidating, I agree with everyone else that they're chancing their arm. It does sound a bit like one of the 'crash for cash' scams.

"I have no idea how but the person got my address" - that's interesting, how did they do that I wonder... Did they follow you or have access to a database and do they have permission to access it, or have they misused it? Hmm. I am not a lawyer but I think that could be an interesting part of the story and should be included, if not already.

Good luck
Jo

ShawshanksRedemption · 01/12/2018 13:04

I had this a few years back @Cannotbelievethiswow being taken to court because the other party's insurers was disputing the cost of the hire car I was given. My insurers were therefore taking them to court to cover costs that had incurred. Basically insurers and their legal teams want to fight out who pays what and we drivers get caught in the middle of it all. To them it's their job they do day in day out, to us it's scary and intimidating.

I complained to my insurer and told them as I had anxiety (documented and being treated by GP) I would not be able to attend court. They backed off and settled it. The sum they were arguing over in court was less than £50. Unbelievable!

ShawshanksRedemption · 01/12/2018 13:08

AIUI the person contacting the OP is the solicitor for her insurers. The insurers have received a bill for £10,000 for the cost of the hire car the other party used and are disputing that.

This should be something the insurers should be fighting out just between themselves, but as we instruct our insurers to act on our behalf in these claims, they contact their solicitor and we get dragged in to it.

It's like an insurers pissing competition.

JuditthIscariot · 01/12/2018 13:39

I can't see why they're bothering if they hit you in the side. How can it possibly be your fault?

I don't drive, but if a person pulls out of a junction in front of a car going straight on, would that not be a side hit?

OP, it sounds like a scam. I watch that programme on a morning about people scamming insurance companies and they have lots of experience and are very clever about catching people out

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