[WM1803]

Hi all,
My wife's car was recently hit by another car whilst it was parked up in her works car park. The driver admitted full responsibility but pleaded that they did not want to go through their insurance. My wife went off and got an estimate for the damage (over £1200) showed it to them and I thought the other driver would then probably go through their insurance. But, no. They handed the cash over and that was that.

My wife was in the process of getting a new car anyway so we listed the damaged (cosmetic) car online at a much reduced price and used that and the money received as a deposit for the new car.

This other driver is now hassling my wife as they want evidence that work was carried out. My opinion is I would tell them to beat it, as it is now none of their business and remind them to be a more careful driver in the future. My wife is worried though. What's your thoughts?

[TC1474]

@WM1803 Tell the third party to get lost. A quote was obtained, this was agreed by the third party as they did not want to involve their insurance company, and so once paid what your wife does is entirely up to her, and provided she is satisfied, case closed.

The third party on the other hand could be prosecuted for harassment where the law states

Stalking and harassment is when someone repeatedly behaves in a way that makes you feel scared, distressed or threatened. If this unwanted behaviour happens two times or more, it may be treated as a crime, so Mr third party has to watch his step of he will/could just drop himself deeper in the mire.

The third party can bleat all he/she wants, but had it gone through the insurers it would probably have cost them a lot more in the long run.

I don't know why your wife is worried. It happened (I assume) in a private car park) and so is not subject to the requirements of the road traffic act, and the third party can

[WM1803]

Hi @TC1474 thanks for the reply. Yes that is what I thought. Very interesting about the harassment aspect. My wife has just arrived back from work and showed me an email from the woman that hit and damaged her old car threatening legal action as she states the monies were obtained under "false pretences".

I just laughed as she is clearly upset that she has had to pay for the damage she caused...but obviously feels she shouldn't be liable unless it was fixed to her satisfaction. My wife is going to cut off contact with her altogether and speak to her manager in the morning as this person works at the same place albeit a different department.

[olduser]

There is a moral here somewhere...
Something about insurance I think?

[Rolebama]

FWIW: I have twice used independent claims assessors to deal with claims on my behalf. On both occasions I had the full cost of repairs and uninsured costs, as well as damage to contents of car recovered, but the most useful money was what they had to pay in compensation for my distress caused by their actions. It is my opinion that the third party got off quite lightly on this occasion.

The assessor I used claimed their fees from the third party, so it cost me nothing.

[TC1474]

Originally Posted by Rolebama

FWIW: I have twice used independent claims assessors to deal with claims on my behalf. On both occasions I had the full cost of repairs and uninsured costs, as well as damage to contents of car recovered, but the most useful money was what they had to pay in compensation for my distress caused by their actions. It is my opinion that the third party got off quite lightly on this occasion.

The assessor I used claimed their fees from the third party, so it cost me nothing.

That can be an option worth considering in some cases but beware....

Claims management firms are unregulated, many are owned by the insurance companies (although they don't advertise this fact), very few are independent, and the majority make their money by providing loan vehicles at exorbitant rates with the promise to claim these costs back from the third party, but if they fail (for part of the claim at least) you become liable for the balance.

So an option to consider, but be careful, very careful, I have seen so many claims go pear shaped because of the unregulated cowboys that are out there.