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Original poster

Car crash wasn’t my fault but I need a lawyer?

96 replies

EeyoreBore · 12/07/2022 14:23

Name change because this is really identifying

Last year a school bus crashed into me. I was stationary with the handbrake on, she hit my rear drivers side. I have a dash cam which shows her driving at me, the shake of the bump and my (very unimpressed) reaction as she drove off. She only drove a few feet down the road and stopped so I got photos of the driver and license plate. She flatly denied hitting me and said she knew the person behind who would ‘back her up’. The damage to my car was over two panels and took several weeks to fix due to covid staff shortages.

my insurance were amazing, replaced car seats, arranged a curtesy car to be dropped at the house before the car was taken to be fixed, really great. About six months ago I got a letter from them saying the woman was still denying hitting me, but due to the damage (which they said was clearly done by someone hitting me, not the other way around) they would waive all fees and the claim was sorted. Not the outcome I wanted, but at least it was sorted.

then earlier this year I got a letter from the car hire asking for more details, diagrams, descriptions etc. I sent them all in and called to see what was happening but they said not to worry. Today I’ve received a letter from the car hire saying that her insurance is refusing to pay, and they need my lawyer details for the legal proceedings. I’m terrified. She hit me, I was stationary and couldn’t have avoided it. She’s lying, plain and simple. But I’m a single parent with no spare money at all, I can’t afford a lawyer never mind court fees? What the hell do I do? Has anyone been through this? Is it likely to cost me a fortune? I’m so angry about it all, she’s off driving kids around and I’m stuck scared shitless that this will bankrupt me. What can I do?

OP posts:
GrannyWeatherwaxsHatpin · 12/07/2022 16:58

I can absolutely vouch for the “car hire company coming after you because the insurer refused to pay” scenario because it happened to me.

Vehicle hit me from behind when I was stationary. Car was a write off, I was injured. Claim submitted to my insurer and a replacement vehicle was provided. I worked in the industry so I KNEW to read everything fully, and it definitely WAS a car hire agreement with a clause saying they had the right to recover the cost from me (and it was a LOT) in the event that an insurer didn’t pay.

The insurance claim went to a bizarre dispute where my personal injury claim was accepted and paid, but the damage to the car was disputed because they were being dealt with by different departments of the same company Hmm and one department accepted the other driver being at fault and one didn’t. My insurer eventually got the other insurer to agree the whole claim, not least because I had witnesses and a police report and they’d already admitted liability for the other bit, but in the meantime the car hire company started chasing me for payment.

I sent the letter to my insurer and let them deal with it but I did also write to the car hire firm and tell them that the claim was ongoing, not least because the car hire is a contract between the hire company and you, not the hire company and your insurer. Fortunately it was all settled shortly afterwards but if it hadn’t, I’d have had to pay the car hire bill and claim it back from my insurance.

SagaNorenLansrimMalmo · 12/07/2022 17:03

If there had been actual misrepresentation @Rosehugger but that is virtually never made out.

google credit hire. Dimond v Lovell, Bent no.2, Stevens v equity syndicate management.

its a thing

Rosehugger · 12/07/2022 17:16

It's virtually never made out because it doesn't reach court. Most insurance claims don't. And if a customer had a good case that a large company was breaching the Consumer Rights Act 2015 - I suggest you google that - the company would be rather stupid to let it go to court with all the publicity that may ensue.

SagaNorenLansrimMalmo · 12/07/2022 17:24

You could not be more wrong @Rosehugger

SagaNorenLansrimMalmo · 12/07/2022 17:25

Credit hire claims, where the punter had no idea what they were signing are heard in county courts up and down the land, day in, day out.

cottagegardenflower · 12/07/2022 17:39

Your car Insurance company will deal with it. Not your problem, it's what you pay insurance for

Blossomtoes · 12/07/2022 17:51

SagaNorenLansrimMalmo · 12/07/2022 17:25

Credit hire claims, where the punter had no idea what they were signing are heard in county courts up and down the land, day in, day out.

If that’s true then insurance companies really should sort their shit out and make it abundantly transparent when supplying a replacement car via a hire company.

SleeplessInEngland · 12/07/2022 17:53

Have you been in an accident that wasn’t your fault?

I think there are a fair few services for that.

gobbynorthernbird · 12/07/2022 17:55

Blossomtoes · 12/07/2022 17:51

If that’s true then insurance companies really should sort their shit out and make it abundantly transparent when supplying a replacement car via a hire company.

Show quote history

It is absolutely true. Mostly because punters sign any/everything without reading or understanding it.

SagaNorenLansrimMalmo · 12/07/2022 18:14

They don’t want to make it abundantly clear @Blossomtoes - they’re all up to their necks in it.

I think what we have definitely established is that I am far too invested in this thread…🤣

Iamanunsafebuilding · 12/07/2022 18:20

Cantanka · 12/07/2022 16:34

A credit hire car and a courtesy car are two different things.

my guess is that in this scenario, the other driver’s insurers probably aren’t challenging fault for the accident but are refusing to pay the credit hire charges. This is really common. It’s also common for people with a credit hire car be led to believe it is a courtesy car.

if that is what has happened, please don’t worry OP. I saw hundreds of such cases in my early years of practice, and never once knew the hire company to re-charge to the driver as long as the driver co-operated with giving evidence in the court proceedings (if that proves necessary, which it often doesn’t).

That's exactly what happened to me. Other driver totally at fault, admitted it on scene to the police and had dashcam footage. My insurance organised a hire car for me but 6 months after the claim was settled it came to light that the other side weren't disputing fault but were disputing the car hire charge. I filled in all the paperwork and they eventually settled despite them threatening me with going to court.

Tbh it was stress I didn't need considering I'd been driven off the road into a hedge and had my car written off!

Original poster
EeyoreBore · 12/07/2022 18:47

Thank you for all the help, I’ll contact the insurers tomorrow and see what they say. I’ll also see if I can find the paperwork from enterprise, but I was stupid and listened to what he said and then signed without reading :(

OP posts:
Mariposa80 · 12/07/2022 18:51

I wonder if in part the insurance are disputing the car hire charge because of the length of time the repair took?

I know my parents insurance refused to pay for 6 weeks car hire charges for an accident involving a 6 year old car that needed less than 500 pounds of repairs.

dimples76 · 12/07/2022 18:51

The whole thing does seem a racket to me - especially having read that Guardian article.

Someone drove into my car when it was parked in a car park. They drove off without leaving details but I was fortunate that someone else witnessed it and took and photo and left me details. I was perplexed about the hire car stuff. Last time I was in an accident (also someone else's fault) I just collected a courtesy car when I dropped my car off for repairs. This time they were insistent that I needed to have a car from Enterprise.

OP I know how stressful it can be when other party denies responsibility when it was clearly their fault. You will get through this, just refer Enterprise to your insurers.

Trytoavoidthebastardbus · 12/07/2022 19:11

Enterprise can provide direct hire that the insurers pay and credit hire that in clear non fault cases they claim back from the third party insurers.

you need to speak to enterprise and find out why they are not instructing their own solicitor to recover their losses if they dash cam that clearly shows what happened.

If there is a clause you have signed that says they can come to you for the hire in the contract to signed then they need to tell you this.

Trytoavoidthebastardbus · 12/07/2022 19:14

Above should say direct *or credit.

QuestionableMouse · 12/07/2022 20:27

Have you posted about this before? I swear I can remember reading it, word for word!

Original poster
EeyoreBore · 12/07/2022 21:39

Thanks everyone, the main issue they’re having is that the dash cam shows the front view and the back, she hit the side so there’s no video of the hit, just her driving up, driving past and the car shaking when she hits, then driving off :(

OP posts:
spanishsummers · 13/07/2022 04:13

I had this when a learner driver crossed lanes and hit me. She tried to deny it, and Enterprise hassled me a great deal. I refused to pay and sent them several times to my insurer or hers. Finally they left me alone. It might be some sort of bureaucratic scam?

Original poster
EeyoreBore · 13/07/2022 06:55

@spanishsummers thats just crazy that they can do that

OP posts:
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