Bought my first car today, insured and taxed before I set off home. On the way home someone drove into the side of me. I had stopped at a crossing which was on red and was indicating to turn right. Turned right once light were green and they drove into the side of me, there was a queue behind me, a witness has said they were driving on the wrong side of the road. My car haso a huge dent in the driver and passenger doors, theirs has a small scrape on the paintwork. 😔
Here is the more tricky part. Contacted my insurance and they said my cover doesn't start until midnight tonight and can't do anything unless the other person admits liability and contacts their insurance. I've no experience of dealing with any insurance claim whatsoever. Where do I stand? Would love some advice from anyone in the know.
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Car, accident. Where do I stand?
DeathMetalMum · 07/04/2016 16:09
Fair point, I picked up the passenger side instead of passenger door.
So if the damage is to the off side, on the approach to a traffic light controlled junction, the OP indicating to turn right with the other driver presumably coming from behind (rather than in front as I took the 1st post) the OP could still be held partly at fault - there's existing case law which places 30% blame on a car turning right who was hit by another overtaking as they turned right. The other possibility is that the other driver came from the right, possibly through a red light (if OP's light was green) but if no one can say they saw the other driver's light as red, & no one can verify the OP's light was green, you can still end up with a split if the witnesses either don't provide a statement or they do but it's not as concrete as anticipate.
From what the op has said I'm taking that they didn't see the other car before she was hit & that's an issue in trying to establish someone else it fully liable. Even if the witnesses can fill in that gap & explain what the other car did before the OP saw them/was hit, she could still be deemed partly at fault. Even if a police report criticises the other driver for what they did the OP can still be found partly at fault. It all depends on what response the other driver makes to the allegation they were fully at fault.
The upshot is, signing up for a credit hire car now, if you don't actually need it, could result in a bill to be settled by the OP further down the line if she's deemed partly at fault. I think the OP is right to be wary of that. I'd not take that chance & if I could manage without a car I wouldn't accept a 'free' car when it's anything but until there's an admission of liability from the other driver's insurer. But that's just me, I'm not the OP.
The issue at present is that there is no admission of liability from the other party's insurer & as much as the OP's information would suggest the hold the other driver at fault, there's still the possibility this could end up as some kind of split liability. The OP had turned right at traffic lights & been hit on the passenger side - if witnesses don't reply to requests for statements & the OP can't say where the other car came from, there may not be a full admission of liability. Police reports don't always help/prove liability.
Any hire costs incurred through a credit hire can end up in part having to be paid by the OP - that's why Albany are asking her to sign the credit hire agreement so they can reclaim their costs if liability isn't 100% in the OP's favour - Albany won't be the ones left out of pocket.
This is one of the reasons Albany & companies like them have a bad reputation - they don't make any of this clear when asking for a signature & when it's 18 mths later, liability has been settled with a % against the OP (if not 100%) they end up being chased to the balance of credit hire costs.
If the OP has no immediate need to use a car/can get around day to day without one while liability is still undetermined, I'd suggest declining any credit hire & just claim loss of use/travel costs from the other party's insurer once liability has been decided. Just my opinion
Thing is remember online you're really seeing the worst experiences. People rarely go.on and say 'they were great' The complaints are probably on a par with most big companies if you look at how many cases they deal with.
Having said that if you don't want to use them tell your insurance company that. Don't start running around doing things yourself and there's no.point in getting a no win no fee mob at this point.
Skip Albany if you're not happy and just deal with your insurance company
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