Cheers Conniff- very grateful.

Hi all, This is probably a really simple question and I'm being stupid. Any help is much appreciated. I have a large direct debit set up with a company. This company is very poorly organised and often makes mistakes with my finances. I want to cancel my direct debit with them but rather than just trusting the company to stop taking the money, I want to make it impossible. Is it possible to call my bank to make sure that even if they try to get money out they can't, because it has been blocked by my bank? Thanks very much

I know! BUT I’m still glad I didn't because I reckon I would be in hospital now. Mossy: My insurers haven't accepted liability currently. I can understand where you're coming from and you're right; I am indeed having a hard time trying to defend myself. I am now going to take this to the small claims court. While there were no independent witnesses who actually saw the collision, there were some who heard the subsequent conversations where the car driver said the ambulance was at fault. I have written to them informing them of my intentions. I can also quote a few case studies similar to mine. I really can't see how they can deny that at the very least the ambulance being there caused this. Oh well.... see what happens!

so any ideas on what to do now....? X:)

....so just two questions that will really put my mind at rest; Can my insurance company accept responsibility on my behalf without my permission? and If the worst comes to the worst and I'm forced to unjustly accept liability will I lose all my no claims bonus or just be knocked back a few years? I currently have the maximum no claims.

Cobra11, thanks for the link. While that confirms I'm correct and the ambulance wrong, the thing about disciplinary action being taken may work against me. Won't this just mean he will be more determined not to own up?! I really want to make it clear that I don't want this to in anyway affect his job. It was an accident, and accidents happen. I just don't want to be punished for something which wasn't my fault. So the NHS should be making their own investigation then? Should I write to them?[/font]

They definitely did not use their siren. (Btw it wasn't a roundabout, just traffic light controlled crossroads). You're right. Emergency vehicles must treat red lights as give ways. I think he thought as it was night-time there wouldn't be anyone around so he stormed through. Today I have written letters to all three insurers to state my position and to threaten a small courts claim, sent by recorded delivery. My primary concern is my insurance trying to pay out without my permission. Can they do this without my agreement? Any ideas of what I should do next?

So everyone agrees that the ambulance was going through a red light. Without worrying about the other complexities for a moment, surely that by itself means no matter what this car driver says full responsibilty can't be forced on me?!!

Thanks freedom trail for your reply; Yeah you're are right this is my first accident- is it that obvious? Like I say this happened about a month ago now. In that time my own insurance company requested a desciption of events. I wrote this up including detailed google earth and streetview pictures. I also sent this to the other insurers. I don't think the junction was covered by CCTV. I have tried to obtain all evidence I can such as the ambulances blackbox or if they video record but all to no avail. I did have a passenger in my car who fully backs me up but i guess this would be seen as a biased opinion. Both the ambulance and car driver also had passengers. I have not and will not admit liability. I believe I avoided a major crash which would have resulted in serious injuries. I know it was my right of way. Whats more the junction is a four way staggered junction so the ambulance was way over the traffic light stop area. There was no siren but blue lights apparently. Given the nature of the junction, the speed and lighting conditions these were of no use. At the moment I have informed my insurance company in no uncertain terms to not pay out. They can't do this without my say so anyway, can they? The witness statement is just full of lies and errors. The car driver is now claiming the ambulance had stopped to let me go, which is utter nonsence. I think basically he has been briefed by his insurance company to fully lay the blame on someone to get a quick payout and he has chosen me. Also the ambulances insurance stated all other vehicles had managed to aviod it so i should have as well. BUT it was late at night and there were no other vehicles! It's full of holes like that! So whats the next step to take from here?

I really need your help. Been on this website before and you saved my life...heres hoping you can again! About a month ago I was involved in a minor accident between two other drivers. It was at a blind junction. I was turning right on a green light. To my right (the road I'm turning down) was another driver sitting at a red light in the right hand lane. As I’m turning right an ambulance has shot through the blind junction on a red light at around 40-50mph. I have to swerve to avoid a very serious side swipe collision with the ambulance and because there’s nowhere to go I have a minor collision with the car driver. When we all pulled over the car driver admitted it was the ambulances fault. The ambulance driver didn't admit or contest liability. Unfortunately there weren’t any independent witnesses. I did request the police attend but as it wasn't a criminal matter they didn't do anything. So, when I got home I inform my insurance and put a claim against the ambulances insurance. I chased the ambulance insured a few days ago. They have requested a witness statement from the car driver. He has now completely changed his story saying I was at fault. I am outraged. In my opinion his statement is full of bare faced lies. He couldn't even get established facts correct like conditions, positions date etc. I'm sure he's done this to get a quick but very unjust resolution. Basically he wants his car fixed asap and he don't care who from. Now as a result the ambulance insured say they aren't paying out and I'm assuming the car driver is going to try and claim of me. What do I do now? I'm thinking of taking this to a small claims court. Please any advice would be greatly appreciated:)

can you expand on this. If this isn't a valid special reason, what would be? The special reasons argument was created for a reason; to allow people such as myself to escape points whereby the situation could not have been practically avoided. I can think of no clearer example of a special reason. If this doesn't qualify in your book, what would? or do you disagree with the whole 'special reasons' concept cos im afraid you can't make up your own laws.

hi guys just want to drop a new angle on things. what would happen if i went to court and they accepted my special reasons and i escaped penalty points/fine. Would that still mean however, that i was still convicted of driving uninsured? if so, what are the implications? would i for example, have to declare this when getting a new car insurance quote and if so would it bump up the price as much as someone convicted with full points and a fine? finally, im now worried this could be put onto my criminal record. I know its a crime but surely its not recorded - is it? After all, i thought speeding was a criminal matter but who hasn't had a speeding fine at some point? can any of you brainy law guys out their shed some light on this.

thanks monty and bazaar at the beginning i asked if i could record the call so should be okay. I've sent a formal complaint which will be reviewed impartially by the FSA so that should hopefully add weight to my argument. If thats not satifactory then i will go to the obbudsman. bazaar, i sent off the SAR (by recorded delivery) about 10 days ago but they have 40 days in which to respond and i don't think they're in any hurry at last i feel like im getting somewhere.

Hi guys, been away for a while but I've still been working hard to resolve this issue. heres where i am at the minute; phoned up the CIS yet again the other day, but this time I recorded it. I was a bit sneaky about it. First of all I didn't say who I was; I just acted like a new customer asking general questions. I asked random stuff about courtesy cars, European cover, online discount etc. I then went for the killer and asked about my rights to cancel. I asked what would happen if they wanted to cancel the policy. They said they have to send a warning letter a massive 21 days before cancellation. They will then send another letter a week before and then normally one once they actually cancelled. I then explained I had a policy and asked if they sent any of these letters. He put me on hold and came back with what I already knew. He admitted, straight into the sound recorder they hadn't sent any of these letters. I also confirmed they had all my correct details such as address- they did. I then demanded to speak to a senior at their Manchester HQ. I kicked up a right fuss explaining how much this had cost me, that I could lose my licence and that I wanted to make a complaint. Anyway, after a while he apologised. I suggested if they could carry on the insurance up until September, thus allowing me to be insured at the time in question. He said they would consider it if I could prove I had no accidents during this time. I didn't have any accidents, but how do you prove that? Anyway, it all seemed a bit underhand and I’m wondering if I'm doing the right thing. If I carry on the insurance I’ll have to pay the enemy even more but at least I won’t get any points. On the other hand, I'll doubt I'll get convicted with this evidence anyway but then I will be able to complain to get my money back. What do you think? All comments much welcomed

No, they didn't tell us that they couldn't get any money out of the account. If they did I wouldn't be in this situation now. their was money in the account very shortly (about 4 days) after the due date of the DD so they obviously didn't apply again. On another note, can anyone give me more info on these SAR Subject Access Requests. I hear they are about £10. Do I simply write to the CIS with a cheque? What do you get and how long will it take? Just an update on my case: Its now been adjoured for another 2 weeks due to strike action at the magistrates. Do you think this will be enough time to get the S.A.R? thanks for your help.