What will happen if I don’t attend?

[Happy988]

I was in a car accident almost 2 years ago. My insurance put it down as no fault and then I was paid out the value of my car. As my car was written off my insurance put me in touch with legal company who offered a private hire vehicle till I was paid out

Third party are disputing the hire car costs. For months now I have been sending the solicitors evidence, forms, etc.

They want me to attend court and give evidence. I have anxiety and don’t do well with crowds, new people and speaking to a group. I’m a single parent and have no childcare to get there . Really panicking about this. The solicitors asked the court if the hearing could be made online but they have only just made the decision this morning that I need to attend in person. They said my medical evidence of anxiety isn’t enough to warrant it being made online.

The court they want me to attend is a 60 mile round trip from where I live. I have a no vehicle currently as it’s in for repair, I have no funds for taxis for a journey that long, no childcare available. I just don’t know what to do. what happens if I don’t attend? Will I be liable for the costs? I feel as though im going to have some kind of panic attack about this

If you’ve been ordered by the court to attend then you need to attend. Contempt of court rules apply to the civil courts too (although IME rarely enforced)…

The only other alternative is to get your solicitor to send an urgent postponement or conversion application (although I don’t work with the civil procedure rules so I don’t know if you’d be liable for costs for a last minute postponement)

@Hereyoume Thank you. Apparently there is a fund that will pay out if they lose, I had asked for it in writing which they’ve said they’re not looking in any way to recover any costs from me

The whole thing has just been really stressful tbh

The car definitely was not a like a like for mine. They said it would be but it definitely was not. A few times I tried to return this to enterprise but they said hold on to it till I’ve received payout from my insurer so the costs were racking up

This happened to us recently, it's a common tactic used by some insurance companies. DH went and gave evidence the judge was incredibly abrupt with the third party and gave them short shrift he was out in less than 45 minutes. He also got compensation only about £90 but something. If you can't get there can you ask to appear by videoing from somewhere closer to home?

my insurance company won’t even help or speak to me about it, they said the claim is closed on their side and that’s all they can say

Apparently a barrister will be attending with me

The claim can’t be closed if they are still pursuing an action against the third party for the hire costs.

Who is paying your solicitor?

Have you told the solicitor that you have no childcare and can’t afford the travel? It sounds like the only reason given for requesting online was your anxiety.

@Allthegoodusernamesweretaken Tbh I have no idea. My insurer agreed I wasn’t at fault, my no claims discount wasn’t effected and they closed the claim. The third party paid out for the cost of my vehicle but refused to pay the hire car fees which the legal company has been trying to claim back

The insurers may or may not be involved in the car hire. From what the OP says, this was a ‘no fault’ accident ie both parties equally to blame. It means the each parties’ insurer will pay out their own insured under the terms of their insurance policy. The OP says the her insurers paid out the value of her car. She may or may not have been entitled to a hire car under the terms of her insurance. If she was, then the car hire would end when she received the payout on her car or the repairs were done.
If she wasn’t covered for hire under her insurance, it looks like she’s been sold
the hire car by a third party. Basically, if it’s a no fault accident you don’t recover anything from the other side. So if the other side don’t admit liability or aren’t found liable, then in the face of it OP is responsible for the hire charges. If I was OP I’d be getting all the paperwork from the lawyers to show the judge at the hearing & askingfor an adjournment to get proper advice.

Also, when I say solicitor, it is just the legal company who my insurer assigned me to after the accident. They just want their costs back for the hire car as they sourced and paid for it

OP tell the judge this! And that you tried to give the hire car back several times. Do you have any emails or letters showing that’s what you did?Did they ever say you could be responsible for the hire fees? Most importantly, did they know it was a no fault accident when they hired the car to you?

@WatchandWaitorNot The court that the hearing is at has changed. I originally signed a letter to say I would attend and it was at one that is ten minutes away. But they’ve changed it to one 30 miles away. I’ve only just heard now 24 hours before that I must attend this new court and they can not do it remote

OK, you need to get straight in your mind who this “legal company” are, and whose interests they are protecting. Are they called something like a claims management company?

Can you find your agreement with them and read it carefully? That should explain whether you agreed to assist in the recovery of the costs from the third party and what the consequences are if you fail to cooperate. It is likely that such demands for assistance from you must be “reasonable”.

Yes, but have you explained why you can’t do it in person now?

@Allthegoodusernamesweretaken I reported the accident to my insurer and they said a legal company will be in touch soon to sort you a hire vehicle whilst yours is assessed and repaired/written off and you will be paid out for the value of it. The legal company called me not long after and said we are going to source me hire a car from Enterprise. They never said I’d be liable for any fees. The case handler at the legal company even emailed me the other day saying they would not be looking to recover any costs from me at any point, as long as I provide them with the information they need and co operate so they have my side of things from them to try and reclaim their fees

@WatchandWaitorNot I have in the last few hours and apparently they are not changing anything, I have to be there

Says who? Has your representative actually asked the Court about this?

@WatchandWaitorNot yes claims management company.

Have looked at my original agreement and it does say that

They have said today that as much as they would like to help, the Court won’t budge on the decision

@WatchandWaitorNot Basically my original claims handler who has dealt with this for many many months has gone away, so has left it to another colleague who has called the Court this morning

Well they have to help by paying for your transport and childcare. Find your written agreement with them and point out that it is unreasonable for them to ask you to fund this court attendance yourself.

Are you quite sure that’s what a “no fault” claim means?

What you seem to be describing is a 50-50 claim, where each driver recovers half of their losses from the other driver’s insurers. Or a knock for knock claim, where each party takes care of their own losses.

I’ve never heard of “no fault” used to mean that. I wonder if the OP means hers is a non-fault accident, which means the other driver is liable.

https://www.axa.co.uk/car-insurance/tips-and-guides/understanding-non-fault-claims/

In fact, having reread the OP’s posts, and seen this

My insurance deemed it no fault, I was paid out, they closed the claim. They recovered all their costs from the third party but the third party refused to pay for the hire car costs

I’m sure it isn’t an accident where nothing is recovered from the other driver. It seems to me that liability has been admitted, but quantum (amount of losses) is in dispute, because of the hire car costs.

Okay this makes more sense. It wasn’t a no fault accident. Your insurer paid you out so you could get back on the road (hopefully) BUT at the same time was pursuing a claim in your name to recover the value of the or repair costs of your car. Therefore the other driver admitted fault or was found to be at fault.
While you waited for your insurance payment, you hired a car through the solicitors acting for you/ your insurers. When your insurers paid you, the need for the hire car ended. Usually you’ll get a week or two’s grace to find a replacement car. It isn’t reasonable to carry on hiring when you’re in a position to replace your old car or it’s been repaired and returned to you. It doesn’t matter if the insurance value of your car isn’t enough to allow you to buy an exact replacement. You aren’t entitled to more than your old car was worth pre-accident.
It sounds as though the Defendant company is disputing the costs and/or length of the hire. If the hire company has told you that you won’t be responsible for any of the legal/ court or hire costs that it doesn’t recover from the other side - preferably in writing-you should be okay but speak to the Barrister and make sure.

@Allthegoodusernamesweretaken Thank you. That is helpful and makes sense.

Just so stressful at the moment, we had a bereavement in the family at the weekend and I’m having to look for somewhere new to live due to rent increases. This is the last thing I want to have to do on top of everything else but I suppose there will be repercussions if I don’t turn up

Do you have friend or family who could drive you to the court and look after your toddler in return for you paying their petrol/buying lunch? It might not be a cost you can claim back but cheaper than public travel and quicker.

Citizens advice have information on this- see under “credit hire insurance company” on this page

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/insurance/types-of-insurance/vehicle-insurance/vehicle-insurance-if-the-accident-wasn-t-your-fault/#:~:text=If%20the%20accident%20wasn't%20your%20fault%2C%20you%20can%20use,for%20the%20cost%20of%20repairs.

They (CAB) may be able to advise if you call them.

Have you a actually received a Witness Summons from the Court? If so you must attend or you potentially face imprisonment for being in contempt of court. The good thing about a summons though is that it has to offer to reimburse your reasonable costs of attending (travel etc).

If no summons you can refuse BUT there are possible repercussions from your insurers. In the small print of your policy will be a "cooperation clause" which says you will have to give all reasonable assistance to the insurer in an action to recover their outlay. If you refuse the insurer can void the claim and demand you repay ALL the outlay they incurred (repair costs, hire car etc). This is very rarely enforced but could mean you'll never be able to get car insurance again as you'll be seen as a bad risk. (I'm an insurance solicitor. )

So you really must attend but tell the insurers lawyer that you need to be summonsed and have your expenses paid. If you can't get childcare take your daughter. The court and your lawyer won't be delighted but you will have complied with your duties as a witness.

It is highly likely the defendant will fold and settle the claim before the day. This happens all the time, annoyingly right up until the day before. The fact that they have no witness and you (the claimant) is attending as witness is strongly in your favour. Only 3% of litigated cases actually reach final hearing though many get very close with each side waiting for the other to "blink first" i.e. the defendant to pay the claim or the claimant to drop the claim or accept a low offer.