Hi,

I was on the M4 last week, in the outside lane, in typical slow rush hour stop/start traffic when the cars in front of me came to an abrupt halt. I braked hard and stopped OK but then the guy behind me hit my rear nearside damaging the exhaust and bumper mountings. We exchanged details and went on our way.

I few days later I had to contact his insurance Co. to correct some details and they told me that I would be held responsible for the accident. The story he gave them was that I was in the middle lane and swerved into the outside lane leaving him without enough room to stop. I didn't get any witnesses as they had all driven around us by the time I got out and saw the damage.

I'm really pi$$ed off about this - his dishonesty could cost me a £250 excess and the loss of my NCB. Any ideas about what I can do (without resorting to threats/violence etc)

Gary

[Edited by GaryCat - 11/2/2002 3:37:14 PM]

why do the mods take things so serious...!!!

I was joking....

There high becuase of the nutters that drive around like nutters.... do you think that scoob insurance is only high because of the number of people claming in the even of an accident... scoob insurance would never be low... but if your in an accident not caused buy yourself and have injuries then you are well within your rights to claim for your injury... we dont know if he was injured or not, but not everyone knows you can claim....

Dan

[Edited by dhorwich - 11/2/2002 4:56:49 PM]

i also been rear ended and havent claimed for whiplash, think its a bit rich for peops to moan about high premiums then also claim for non existent whiplash :confused:


[Edited by scoobynutta555 - 11/3/2002 4:01:15 PM]

surely you have a friend with a car who happend to be on the road and seen the accident;) , its just who is the biggest liar and when it comes down to it he hit you, he will have to prove it was your fault not the other way as i have been told this by the police
https://www.emotipad.com/emoticons/Idea.gif

in future do what i do carry a disposeable camera, the camera never lies and if you dont move cars until pic is taken you have perfect evidence



[Edited by stevebt - 11/3/2002 4:17:37 PM]

sounds typical of the attitude of a lot (not all, thankfully) people today - "I've fcuked up but blame somebody else (and screw them for all I can get)..." [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]

one thing with hindsight - get in touch with ins. co. asap to get your side of the story in first ;)

heard stories from round here that if certain cars were involved in an accident, the owner of the car would be on the mobile at the accident scene to police asap to report it stolen as (s)he probably didn't have tax/insurance etc so tried to get themselves out of the sh1t [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]

Apple

PS hope ins co sees some sense even though it'd be difficult to prove without witnesses IMO

PPS the scenario above was related to me by someone "in the know" on the happenings so even though it hasn't happened to me, I'm pretty well sure it goes on IMO

If you where in the middle lane and pulled in to the outside lane then you would have a mark on the drivers side of your bumper... The insurance will try anything on now as you may know... the difficult thing for you is there was no witnesses....

You will have to take a picture of the damage to your car and also get a picture of his car.....

Dan:D

Get a white van and a sniper rifle and start shooting at the guy's family. Make sure you leave a note to the cops saying:

"Dear policeman,
I am god"

Gary,
This is definately not your fault.Have you contacted your insurance company and given them your version of events?
If not then you must do that immediately.They should then authorise the repairs to be carried out on your car and go after his insurance company for a pay out.Unfortunately there are no independent witnesses to this but the fact that it is a rear end shunt normally means that he hasn't got a leg to stand on.Photograph the damage to the rear of your car so there can be no dispute as to where he hit you and send the photos off to your insurance company.do not have ANY further personal contact with his insurance company because they WILL try and put words into your mouth on a taped phone line which they could potentially use against you in future.Don't be intimidated or worried by the conversation you had with them.
The other driver was at fault and it sounds to me as if he was driving without due care and attention because he could not stop in a safe distance in front of him.If he sticks to his guns too then this may result in a 50/50 settlement which isn't really fair but it will penalise you less.
Paul.

Is your neck alright?I understand whiplash is a common outcome of a rearend shunt:rolleyes:.

and a nice £2000 payout..:D

Dan

The payout would be even more if you spilt some coffee on your lap. Just ask McDonalds..

And it is claims like that which is why our insurance premiums are high!

Everything is being handled by my insurance Co. now (Tesco) and their solitors so I should be able to give a report of how good (or bad) they deal with the case.

Yes I had whiplash which is now improving, this is the only injury for which I am making a claim.

If the other party sticks to his story but I am subsequently absolved of any blame will he be prosecuted for insurance fraud?

G.

it's a sad state of affairs, but i think if anyone hits me on the motorway, I'm gonna run out of the car past the person thats hit me and to the car behind and get their details. A quick name and number, thats 10secs of delay for them.

I can't beleive this person is trying this, it's hardly gonna make any difference as it is never going to be found totally in his favour.

Not sure how long ago it happened, but was it anywhere near motorway cameras? Just a long shot...


Andy

If it doesnt work out, take it to the insurance ombudsmen, this is really a last resort action but they are VERY good guys, I have used them with great success

I keep a disposable camera in the car for this eventuality.A digital camer would be even better.

Dan,

It's just a pet hate of mine, it wasn't aimed at Gary, as I know that he actually has suffered in this instance.

I accept that driving a high performance/high risk car is going to cost me on my insurance premium. I have been driving since I was 17, and I have NEVER had an insurance premium under £1000. But thats my choice, if I didn't mind paying the money i would not have a Scoob!

Ian

I carry my digital camera with me for this exact reason. And it came into its own last month when my car was hit whilst it was parked.

I also know what you mean... i recently had a big argument with my mate about this..

We where in a taxi in leeds and a bloke in a car in front of us rolled back into the taxi then drove off, it didnt cause any damage to the taxi e.t.c.... and my mate was on about going to hospital complaining of whiplash... i had a right moan saying that im not getting involved....

coincidently my dads a personal injury soliciter..:D he would not however act for me or anyone that didnt have real injuries...!!

Dan

p.s my insurance has never been lower than £900.... it is now bloody £1200 fully comp...:eek:

[Edited by dhorwich - 11/2/2002 5:09:08 PM]

I'm pretty sure digital camera is not permissable evidence.. :(

Yep, surely you'll have a much better chance with a camera with film as it is much less easy to tamper with negatives than digital images...

Sounds like an unfortunate situation. Chances are that if the bloke is proved wrong then he won't be prosecuted [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img] The police don't seem interested. Someone drove into a friend of mine, didn't stop, drove off and hit someone else, ended up blocked in and had to exchange details. Police weren't even interested and wouldn't even go and chat to the bloke about his actions :confused:

You say you have no witnesses, but do they have any?

If you stick to your story that they drove in to the back of you, they will need witnesses to prove otherwise.

If they had any passengers this will probably not be good enough to count as credible. My mates would lie for me if I asked them to.

This may end up in court, so be prepared.

This is not legal advice, but lots of ifs, buts and maybes.

Best of Luck

You could lose out here. Damage will be the same whether you did what he said or not. Without a witness it will be knock for knock. Sorry m8 but it looks like it will cost you excess & 2 yrs no claims.
I speak from experience.
Alasdair

or it will cost you a new bumper which are only £80...!!!+ painting/fitting.

Dan

RENTAWITNESS?

If you have an accident on a motorway, by law you MUST call the police whether someone is injured or not. If the police had been called you would have given statements there and then and he wouldn't be able to make up this bullsh1t. I know that doesn't help you now, but it may help someone else in the future.

Any CCTV in the area????

reading this thread it seems you need some legal advice QUICK. you must get a solicitors letter sent to him and set out your argument first, there's a chance that then he might back off.

if he hit you then he was either driving too fast for the road/traffic conditions or without due care. its that black and white!

you can imagine this tosser in other circumstances saying "well this child just ran out in front of me" oops sorry. yeh right!

if your driving and YOU hit something than its YOUR fault end of story.

Steve

PS and i quote 'a nice £2000 payout' yes if you have suffered whiplash then fine, too many people just claim this just for a nice payout! but dont forget peeps its this type of claim that sends OUR premiums UP & UP. yes and b4 you ask, yes i have been in a car that was rear ended and NO i did not claim.

Unless the other git accepts resposibility or you produce a witness to back up what you say then the chances are that the claim will be settled on a 50/50 basis.This means you will lose your NCB/excess if it isn't protected and have a partial fault claim on your record(which you are obliged to reveal when arranging insurance).
On the other hand,if your insurance co.decides to take the matter to court(unlikely unless damage is going to cost more to repair than then a court case)then you still have a chance of keeping your NCB/excess.
People are s**t.

Just listen to the attitudes of people today.

We dont live in America, so why do so many people now behave like them. WHIPLASH, When people get compensation they should only get what they have ACTUALY lost. eg time off work and so on.

Dont get me wrong, You might well have it, this isnt my point, but so many people now when they are in an accident cry whiplash.

I do hope we ALL realise that we all pay for this in the end.


John.