So I just added this for advice on another post but I'm super panicked about it so thought I'd start my own thread in the hope of advice.
We had someone reverse into my car, while it was parked on my driveway. A neighbour was having work done and one of their builders witnessed it. I called my insurance company (or maybe I didn't?) And they either put my in touch with the claim management or there was another number on Google that came up in place of my insurance company and they pretended to be them. Either way I ended up with a CMC somehow, without actually realising. I thought I was getting a courtesy car because I have that on my policy and it was implied that is what I was getting. I did sign the forms. Obviously I wish I'd read the small print! Once they had my car, the CMC basically did everything in their power to maximize costs. I was chasing every week to get my car back and was told there were no garages with availability anywhere. They ended up having my car for 4 months, didn't even fix it, as they said they were getting nowhere with 3rd party so returned it to me still broken. I managed to get it fixed myself within 5 days so the 4 months was absolutely just a con. Also when my car came back it was absolutely riddled with mould internally, despite them billing over £4k for "secure climate controlled storage" anyway after hearing nothing since I returned the hire car 4 months ago, I just had a call today to say they are referring me to a solicitor to take on "my" case against the 3rd party to try and reclaim the over £18,000 worth of costs. It's insane. The actual cost of repair was about £280 in all and took me 5 days to sort once I got my car back. I absolutely would NOT have agreed to any of this if I'd understood what I was getting into. But once they have your car they start using intimidation techniques, like saying if I demand my car back (which I tried to do after about a month), then it could be stated in court that I hadn't actually NEEDED a hire car in the first place, so would have to pay the costs myself. Also I shouldn't speak to 3rd party if they try and contact me as that is being uncooperative. With hindsight this is obviously because HAD I spoken to 3rd party they'd have leant me a car for a few days and saved thousands. What do I do? Will I have to pay it all? I do have emails from the CMC saying as long as I haven't committed fraud (obviously I haven't) and I cooperate I won't be personally liable but honestly I don't even want ANYONE even 3rd party to have to pay these scam costs. It's practice like this that means everyone's policy is way more expensive than it should be.
The other thing I'm worried about is they said on the phone I'd likely have to provide bank statements to show I couldn't have afforded to hire a car at regular daily rates. But honestly I COULD have done. If it had been for a week or 2 at regular car hire rates like when you're on holiday, but I didn't understand what I was getting into. I would 100% have just done that otherwise and try and claim it back later.
How can these companies get away with this? The lies (well not exactly lies, but certainly they imply the situation is different to what it is), the intimidation, the deliberate stringing out to maximise costs? I mean obviously I should have read all the small print and I'm kicking myself now, but I'm not in the industry and I don't have a legal brain. I'm just a regular person who fell for a scam. Will a judge see that? Or is it literally just "you signed it, you pay it" even when I tried my absolute best to end it as quickly as possible once I understood.
At the absolute least I can't be liable for storage can I? When they gave it back completely mouldy? (I do have photographic evidence of that and email chains where they admitted it and agreed to pay my valet cost of £100)
If you got this far then thank you!!
I'm so scared 🙁