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Original poster

Minor car accident other party got solicitor involved

37 replies

Saydz92 · 10/03/2017 07:19

I had a crash last august. I was on a road in my town - a one way system with two lanes. There was a car in front of me who was going slow but then sped up then slowed down again so I backed down to 12 mph as I wasn't sure if he was sure where he was going as there was a turning for the left .. I thought the best thing was to check my wing mirror to see if anything was coming in the other lane so I could overtake and go around him. In the instant I checked my mirror he slammed on and I was halfway around him so my front end hit his back end but only smashed his drivers back light and scratched a bit of the paintwork on his bumper. I pulled over and checked he was ok - my front end of my car was a mess, arch was caved in bumper hanging off and a smashed light.
There was a police station right outside where I crashed so I went in and explained and the copper went oh that's unlucky and turned her back on me and walked back into her office.. I went back out to check on the man and he said I'm ok don't worry it wasn't intentional there's barely any damage. So I offered to pay for the light and the scratch sorting so he didn't have to go through his insurance to save him time and hassle. He agreed to this we exchanged details and left. I rang him every day and within a few days I had his new light ordered and rang him to explain the garage was ready to fit it and every time I went down to the garage they said oh he hasn't been down yet. So I rang him again and said they have the light ready to fit and eventually after a week and a bit he went.

A few weeks later he then rang me and said he had found a tiny dint on his bumper but I do not remember this dint I only saw a bit of the paintwork scratched and he said he wanted the whole back end re spraying and this tiny dint pushing out and he had got a quote off his mates garage for £200! I said yep that's fine get it booked in and I waited weeks and every time I rang him he said oh my friends on holiday at the min I'll book it in when he gets back.
I rang and rang and never heard anything off the bloke again. Then before xmas I received a letter saying I had to do a telephone statement because he put a claim in for whiplash and they held me accountable even though I told the truth and explained he slammed on a main road..
they said all that would happen would be I'd lose my no claims and my premium would go up and that was that.

I came home to a letter last night off a solicitor that works alongside his insurance company saying I have 7 days to pay a fee of £621 for car repairs and £65 for storage / recovery. And if I don't pay then they'll take me to court without telling me and I'll have to pay for everything.
The letter was sent Tuesday and I only received it last night when I got home from work . I know this man is trying to pull a fast one because I already paid for the damage and he never answered his phone in the end for me to have his re spray done obviously because he wanted to set me up.

I've never heard anything off my insurance and surely they should be helping me with this??

OP posts:
Supermagicsmile · 10/03/2017 07:22

Do you have proof/evidence and pictures that you paid? If so I would gather those plus any copies of text messages etc

Original poster
Saydz92 · 10/03/2017 07:23

I hAve a receipt for the light and the fitting of it

OP posts:
Toffeelatteplease · 10/03/2017 07:23

Send the letter to your insurance company and let them deal with it.

TittyGolightly · 10/03/2017 07:23

I thought the best thing was to check my wing mirror to see if anything was coming in the other lane so I could overtake and go around him.

Hope you checked your blind spot too!

Original poster
Saydz92 · 10/03/2017 07:25

But I'm so worried because I've Never had anything like this as this was my first crash and by the time I've sent my letter to the Insurance company the time will be up to pay the money and it says they'll take me to court and I don't want to have to go there I'm
Not that sort of person! :( I'm going to ring my insurance company at 8am today for advice and help because I think this has been set up purposely

OP posts:
Original poster
Saydz92 · 10/03/2017 07:26

Yes I checked completely before pulling into the next lane and luckily no one was there. There was a car behind me but I'm talking like 20 ft away

OP posts:
Toffeelatteplease · 10/03/2017 07:27

Thing is if he can prove whiplash (which will require a doctor) there really isn't a lot you can do about it. The letters and texts just show you (correctly) were taking responsibility for the accident. Best to let the insurance company sort it. So far seems about right for a hit in rear accident

delilahbucket · 10/03/2017 07:30

That letter sounds really dodgy. Send it to your insurer. They cannot just give you seven days to pay and then threaten court action. Doesn't work like that. Sounds to me like he's attempting fraud. If he's claiming whiplash he'll have to attend a medical. At the speed you described I highly doubt any injuries. You will lose your no claims, nothing you can do about that, however you have already paid him some money and arranged for further work so send proof to your insurer.

Toffeelatteplease · 10/03/2017 07:33

It will take much longer than that to get it to court. If you are worried send a letter or email to the company on the letter advising that your insurance company (name of company) is now handling the incident and all further correspondence should go to them.

I would expect that the insurance company will settle the claim and it will never reach court but by far and away this is the least stressful route for you.

NavyandWhite · 10/03/2017 07:34

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
Saydz92 · 10/03/2017 07:36

That's what I thought that the letter sounded dodgy what a silly time frame? It's not a case of I'm refusing to pay but I think he's made a fraudulent claim because I've already paid for the damage and was going to have the paintwork sorted but he hasn't answered his phone and I wonder why... when I did my telephone statement before xmas I said I wasn't accepting blame because I thought I was doing the right thing by checking my mirrors otherwise I could've gone into another car. It's not like I was speeding and yes I know I went into the back of him
But surely I could've put a claim in for whiplash seeing as I hit from
My front but I'm not that sort of person because I know I was fine. I really hope my insurance company help me with this because I am so worried I can't tell you how nervous I feel because I know I've already paid for it and it's not fair

OP posts:
Original poster
Saydz92 · 10/03/2017 07:37

He said he wasn't sure if he could get round the bend because there was a car parked there waiting to pull out of the junction where he was turning down and he told me not to worry it was t major and he was ok and I rang him every day to see how he was and he didn't seek medical help the day after or that week as I know his family and his daughter said he told her he was going to put a claim jn for whiplash even though there was nothing wrong and his daughter said that was wrong but he did it anyway. I went to his daughters last night to show her the solicitors letter but she wasn't jn

OP posts:
Enidblyton1 · 10/03/2017 07:40

He sounds very dodgy. Contact your insurance company asap and explain everything to them. They will deal with this.

Original poster
Saydz92 · 10/03/2017 07:45

I will ring them at 8 when they open I just hope they can help me and I can pass it to them

OP posts:
chicaguapa · 10/03/2017 07:47

Contact your insurance company. It's what you buy insurance for. But be prepared to have your wrist slapped for not having reported the accident at the time and you may find they'll charge you an extra premium if you took out the policy (or renewed) since the accident and hadn't mentioned the accident.

Original poster
Saydz92 · 10/03/2017 07:48

I did report the accident the day after it happened I rang my insurance company !

OP posts:
Toffeelatteplease · 10/03/2017 07:49

I get what you are saying but unless you have evidence of what his daughter said what is the chance of his daughter repeating it?

He's got to have medical evidence of injuries. If he has written medical evidence it's going to trump your hearsay, but if there is a problem with the medical evidence the insurance company or their solicitors are going to be the best people to pull it apart.

So I would just hang on and let the insurance company deal with it.

Fwiw think you were foolish giving a statement by telephone to anyone but your own insurance company or insurance company's solicitor, but even by your own statement you were liable because you should have allowed yourself sufficient distance to stop. Sorry

uggmum · 10/03/2017 07:51

We've had exactly the same thing. Ours was a minor bump no damage to either car. The other driver waited 3 months and we received a bill and they threatened court. We passed it all to our insurers. They said it is a bit of a legal scam. They are fighting it on our behalf.

justinelibertine · 10/03/2017 07:56

Happened to me op. Feel your pain.
I was reversing out of my drive into a quiet culdesac on a sunday. All of a sudden I hear a bump and I'd crashed into a car visiting neighbours. Not sure why he was where he was because we are in a corner and I was only a couple of metres off the kerb.
Anyway it was a 'small scratch' no damage to my car so I said we'd do it privately until he decided I'd caused his car internal damage and him whiplash. At 5mph? Hmm. Long story short he soon became abusive after I told him to contact his insurer. I got a court letter too but sent to the ins company and I didn't hear anything more.
Sorry this happened to you OP. The other driver sounds like he was up to something on the road that day.

Toffeelatteplease · 10/03/2017 07:57

At the speed you described I highly doubt any injuries

Hmmmm.... depends on a number of factors like how fast/much momentum was built up when the OP accelerated to overtake, whether car inform the had already stopped entirely or slowing to a stop, relative weights of the cars, whether the driver of the car in front had time to "brace" for impact or not (more ragdoll motion).

Original poster
Saydz92 · 10/03/2017 08:00

I wasn't doing more than 12/13 mph I didn't accelarate fast because it's only a 20 on that road anyway. I wasn't in a rush and he wasn't even that close to the turning but yet he still slammed on he didn't come to a slow stop or even indicate to tell me where he was going.

OP posts:
SouthWestmom · 10/03/2017 08:02

Whole thing stinks, he probably set you up to overtake in the first place.

Gazelda · 10/03/2017 08:06

OP, I'd recommend you don't discuss this with his daughter. She will feel stuck in the middle, and can't do anything to help you anyway.
Talk to your insurer. Leave it for them to handle.

Toffeelatteplease · 10/03/2017 08:09

Doesn't matter. You were the car behind. There might be any number of reasons the car in front stopped suddenly, the highway code makes it your responsibility to allow space for that. Realistically not many people do but it's still your responsibility if it goes wrong.

I'm not commentating on whether he was injured or not. I don't know. More the assumption that he couldn't have been injured.

If your travelling 12-13 mph and the car in front stops you all that momentum goes into the car in front, if the car in front is already going forward the effect is lessened if it's stopped it isn't. It can be a surprising amount of momentum. The car matters too, some cars are better at taking that impact than others. Again not saying that he was injured just that it is ridiculous he couldn't be.

DairyingLass · 10/03/2017 08:22

Something similar happened to me. I reversed into someone at walking pace, minimal damage to her car but 4 months later I got an official letter notifying me she had whiplash injuries and wanted compensation. At first my insurance company weren't going to fight it as they said it's hard proving someone doesn't have whiplash.
However, this was someone I knew, and I was able to provide google-able evidence that she was very sporty and had been very successful in various sporting events in the months following the so-called injury. So on those grounds they refuted the claim, and she didn't pursue it.
Check google and fb ... it's worth a try.