Car insurance pay out

[ImSoConfusedAboutItAll]

I had a car accident in December which was non fault and immediately accepted as such by third party. My car was written off and I was called quite quickly and told the amount I would be receiving for my car. I've got a courtesy car at the moment which is all fine.

However I am STILL waiting to be sent the money for my written off car. The insurance company say they are still waiting for a cheque from third party! Is this normal? Why is it taking so long? Anyone in the business or have experience of this recently? As I say I'm ok as I have my courtesy car but I am told that I need to buy a new car within 7 days of receiving the money otherwise the third party can argue that I didn't need the courtesy car and refuse to pay the costs.

My main question is why is it taking so long to settle?

Doesn't sound right to me. They usually pay out and then claim it back from third party. I don't know why they are waiting.

My experience of this was a few years ago and I had the money within a few days. Crash happened the Saturday. Courtesy car delivered on the Sunday. Had an offer for the car within a couple of days as there was a lot of damage and it was written off. Payment was made that day. We def had the money by the Friday at latest, all very simple and done within a week.

Yeah I'd be asking to spk to a manager and lodge a formal complaint.

Has anyone had experience of going through an accident management company rather than their insurance as I think the process must be different and possibly why it's taking longer?

Mine took 3 years.

Have you let your insurers know?

As others have pointed out, this is 'credit hire' not a courtesy car.

A solicitor saying that the other party has admitted liability and it's all going to be paid for is not worth the paper it's written on if this ends up in court - and it could well do, due to the astronomical hire charges after all this time.

Credit hire agreements have all sorts of clauses around the actually need for the car, which include things like having to prove that you couldn't afford other transport, that you had no access to borrow another vehicle, that you couldn't pay upfront for hire, for a normal hire co', etc., etc.

I'd have a good look at the contract you've signed here because the fact it's taking a while to get paid out for the written off car might be the least of your worries.

I'm not scaremongering, a friend of mine ended up embroiled in a court case over credit hire charges.

I thought non fault meant each party accepted that neither was to blame and each claim off their own insurance. If that is the case then if your car is a write off you usually can't claim for the courtesy car past a certain date.

@Nocutenamesleft yes I have. They were totally fine with an accident management company dealing with it.

@SeasonFinale sorry I mean not MY fault. Other driver at fault.

I have spoken to the solicitors myself and been told by them that I wouldn't have to pay anything but I will call again tomorrow as this is all really worrying me now.

The whole thing sounds dodgy. "Accident management companies" often are. The hire agreement has a real risk of sticking you with the highly inflated costs.

IMHO. One, if it's possible with your credit history, return the hire car now and purchase your new car with some sort of finance arrangement. Two, don't trust what the accident management conpany solicitor says. Read your contracts and agreements and speak to an independent lawyer if you want to.

Someone came out a side street and hit my DH on his motorbike. They admitted fault immediately. No courtesy vehicle given as he had access to his own car. It took around 9 months to get any money.
Lots of back and forth, promising to phone us with an update and then hearing nothing, claiming the other party insurers were dragging their feet, they'd received some money from the other party's insurance but didn't know what it was for.
Ridiculously long process, unfortunately.

@ImSoConfusedAboutItAll

I have spoken to the solicitors myself and been told by them that I wouldn't have to pay anything but I will call again tomorrow as this is all really worrying me now.

But who are "the solicitors"? Are you talking about someone from the Accident Management Co' you signed up with here? They're not on your side, OP!

They're acting to maximise income for the AMC. It's in their interests to make this drag on as long as possible to milk their cut of the credit hire charges for as long as they can.

They get zero once the 3rd party insurer pays you for the written off car. The money they make is all from what happens between the accident and the payout, so remember that in any dealings with them.

Be vvv careful re the hire car. DH had someone go into the side of him...the insurance wanted to do what you have with a hire car and sounded vvv strange. We refused and struggling without a car. Took a month to get the money for repairs as we refused to write car off. A friend had similar problem with insurance wanting her to go onto a hire car and like us refused. Huge costs as if you read the contract you are liable for the hire car if insurance doesn't pay. DH read the terms and conditions.

@SofiaSoFar solicitors are separate to the AMC. Definitely not the same company.

It's odd that you've even spoken to the sols at this stage, or are you claiming for injury as well?

Not claiming for injury no. Solicitors have been instructed to pursue the third party for reimbursement of hire car. All standard procedure apparently and I've had a look online and it does all seem correct.

I feel completely the same that it all feels weird because I've never gone through an AMC before. The process is different. The thing I signed with Solicitors states that I wouldn't be liable for any charges and they said they don't take cases on that aren't a clear cut win. I don't know what else I can do other than call again today but I've been reassured at every step I will never be paying for the hire car. AMC don't take cases on that are not non fault and it's already been accepted so I don't see how I can be asked to pay anything based on what I've been told and what I've signed.

I feel sick and so worried after this thread. I don't know what to do now and wish I'd just called the right bloody number on the night. I don't think I've been scammed or anything from what I've read online about these companies but I'm really worried now about this bloody hire car I have.

Does anyone know about these accident management companies and how they work?

Do not understand the delay regarding the payment. It is in the third party insurers interest to settle ASAP bearing in mind the ongoing credit hire costs (probably in excess of £6k at the present time).

In my experience, AMC do stretch the claim out to maximise the amount of hire, but 2 months is ridiculous. Do you know who the third party insurers are? Can you speak to them directly.

After the claim for your vehicle is settled, be prepared for a protracted argument about the credit hire claim.

@ImSoConfusedAboutItAll
I work in insurance industry.
You've fallen into the trap the AMC wanted you to, from advertising number which makes it look like you're calling your insurer initially to failing to properly explain credit hire and then unnecessarily extending hire period.
You will be horrified when you find out how much they are charging for the very over inflated hire costs
Return the credit hire car ASAP to avoid incurring further costs. Presumably you've got another car lined up as you've only got 7 days after hire ends anyway? Get a temp loan or borrow if necessary.
Contact the Third Party insurers direct and find out what the delay is.
Contact your solicitors and push them to get this moving. Make it clear you want the hire ended ASAP.
Insurers do not like AMCs and credit hire ( and will dispute costs, even if results in longer hire - maybe to own detriment but that's another argument). Unfortunately you're caught in the middle but you really need to be proactive now to get this sorted. AMC relies on you just happily driving round in hire car for months without questioning it.
To reassure you slightly, very few cases reach Court but if you check small print, you are ultimately responsible for hire costs, regardless of the accident circumstances.

I dont have another car lined up no as I need my payout to buy one.

I have just spoken to them and they've given me a lot more info which has helped put my mind at rest. The third party is AXA and notoriously slow it seems. Liability was accepted on 20th December and last contact from AXA was 10th Feb so things are happening in the background. I am nervous about the hire but they and solicitors have told me the process and assured me that I won't have to pay. Worst case I'd have to prove I didn't have the money to replace my car in the meantime which I'm happy to do if necessary but it's extremely unlikely. I hope this is all correct. I've done it now so I have to accept my mistake and hope they are all telling me the truth!

He said another lady was in her credit hire for 97 days waiting for AXA to pay out and they did pay for the hire car so the lady definitely didn't have to pay anything.

Who instructed the solicitor @ImSoConfusedAboutItAll ?

Your insurer or you yourself?

Just slightly concerned that they're so confident about the credit hire situation. Hopefully all ok, as you've said, but it's not always plain sailing...

I was in a similar situation around 2 years ago and it was completely shit. Not my fault so when I rang my insurance company they said as it wasn't my fault they recommended I go through another company as it would mean I didn't pay excess or something like that. Can't remember exactly but I was told by my insurance that this was the best way to proceed for an accident that wasn't my fault. I agreed, whatever, I was upset and angry and took their recommendation. They sorted a hire car for me immediately which was great but after that they were absolutely shambolic. Their communication was shocking, I emailed them constantly as wanted record of contacts, to no avail. Eventually someone I spoke to said oh they thought I'd been paid months ago and they're sorry. The whole thing was totally unprofessional. I received some of the money after 3 months I think it was, but didn't receive the full payment (another £800ish I believe it was) until 14 months after the accident - and that miraculously only came after I left reviews on all of their pages (hindsight, should've definitely done that sooner and saw lots of similar negative reviews from others!!). I'd opened 3 formal complaints with them over the year and was always told it was being investigated then nothing. I was in a position to buy another car and hand the hire back after a couple of weeks, I imagine they'd have been difficult if Id needed it over a year! I hope you have a better experience. I would never go through another company other than my insurance again.

@ImSoConfusedAboutItAll
Just trying to tell you how it's seen from the insurer's point of view... Obviously your solicitor will see things differently.
Yes, they can insist on evidence you couldn't afford to replace your car, that you didn't have access to another vehicle, could not use public transport or take any other steps to mitigate your loss.
The lower the credit hire claim, the less likely they are to dispute. Hence I suggest you return that car ASAP.
If you were paying for hire yourself would you let it drag on for two months? Suspect you'd be on phone to insurers daily chasing that payment..that's how an insurer will view it.
Now you're aware of the issues, you need to be very proactive.

@fancyfrogs that's awful. And your insurance company recommended you go that route? Hoping that experience is just that company and not the norm!

@SofiaSoFar the amc instructed the solicitor.

When I called to inform my own insurance of the accident and that I'd accidently gone down the AMC route they were very reassuring that it was ok to do that so no massive alarm bells have rung except for how long it's taken and now this credit hire thing. I'm keeping everything crossed but I admit I lost a lot of sleep over it all last night.

Thanks for the advice @LayeringUp

Pls don't worry about the hire car situation , Axa and the AMC will come to an agreement between them as to the amount payable they won't come back to you for it . I work in insurance and in 28 years I have only known one person be asked to pay the charges back . This was a gentleman who guessed the circumstances of the accident presuming that the young driver was at fault . After extensive investigations it wa established he was on the wrong side of the road not the young lad .