Having looked about, I've asked a non-motoring solicitor contact if this is a sort of reference "bible" in the matter. He says it probably is. Law of Motor Insurance, The 2nd Edition Practice Area: Insurance Law ISBN: 9780414045194 Published by: Sweet & Maxwell Authors: Professor Robert M Merkin; Maggie Hemsworth Apparently they have a copy of the previous edition in Trinity College Library, so I may well take a look at the relevant pages (for which there isn't a Google "review" page for, or persuade them they need to update. I see there are template preliminary letters in a sticky. Would timescales be different for a case like this. e.g. instead of allowing 14 days for a reply, would a longer period apply in Green card cases?

Yes it's a green card scheme thing. I think initially the UK agent of TP insurer were answering just the liability question. Driver has receipts for his losses (some GBP, some in EUR). Passenger 1 has receipts for his losses (again GBP/EUR). Passenger 2 no losses. Passenger 3 no losses. I'll have a look again at the MIB site. They suggest 2 quotes for work. So far I only have one (EUR) and that was hard work to obtain. Accident repair centres with big windows seem to want 60EUR or claim number before looking at things. (Which I've never come across before). FWIW, I suppose I don't have a lot to loose by gathering all the evidence I have and writing to set out my stall so to speak.

I'll do some digging with regards the jurisdiction issue. So far didn't appear to be an issue about, but I can see the potential for one. I know I could possibly start something here, but I wouldn't have a problem doing it in England. If I did take it on I'd look at starting from scratch and would try to resolve again without going to court. It seems there is a wide range of outcomes from anecdotes from dead easy, to no hope with lots of outcomes in between.

I can see the practical "path of least resistance" being 50:50. I also see it as potentially no net benefit. The car is covered comp. No claim has been lodged with my insurer either by myself or TP. My own losses are around 3k. So my understanding is that would be reduced to 1500. Against that and I have to consider that my NCD will step back from 50% to 30%. To complicate matters this is a mirrored NCD and it also may be the case that the main NCD will also be affected. Also there may be loadings for an at fault claim on those two policies. In short I think I may stand to lose more than 1500. If I were to going down the road of pursuing it further, hassle/potential of losing aside, I would probably deal with in the English courts. My understanding is it would be small claims track and with the fee bandings 4999 would be better than 5000. If I were to give up at this stage, I would prefer to get some sort of legally binding guarantee that the TP wasn't going to pursue any counter claim (as they haven't so far) and I could go back to my insurer with that and close off the file, leaving me with an intact NCD and a non fault claim on the record.

I have an insurance issue I haven't been able to resolve to date. The incident occurred just over 3 years ago. My vehicle was sideswiped in England by a Turkish driver / Turkish registered HGV. My vehicle was being driven by a US resident named driver on my policy. At the time the incident was reported to my Irish insurer for information only and an attempt to pursue losses set in motion using my ULR (uninsured loss recovery) insurance. Liability has not been settled. The only offer so far from the TP's UK handling agents is a 50/50. On the other hand, to date, no counter claim has been presented to my insurers. The claim has no personal injury element. The claim amounts to vehicle damage and consequential losses (car hire, taxis, accommodation), total estimate c. £5k Panel solicitor says to move this claim forward it needs court proceedings issued. Ultimate outcome could be anything (0/100, 100/0, 50/50), or TP may fold beforehand on the prospect. My ULR insurer doesn't want to pay for this avenue and suggest taking the 50/50. Panel solicitor says if ULR aren't paying, to take the 50/50. Now my feeling is that this ULR insurance is a waste of time: If the case is easy, then they'll do it. If it's hard, they don't want to know. I've handled two easy cases myself recently, so what is the point this insurance? I don't want to take 50/50 for three reasons: 1) It's not my/my named driver's fault 2) NCD would be affected and steps back 2 years 3) TP has not put in a counter-claim. In short, I think it would leave me more out of pocket than I already am. Doing nothing doesn't appear to be an option, as despite being zero, a claim is still open on my insurance which is affecting my ability to shop around. My NCD however is presently unaffected. What's the best way to conclude this issue? I would like to be put back in a pre-accident position, but accept this might not be possible or practical.

Received a reply to my second (Letter Before Action) letter. It was dated the 23rd June 2006 and was from Neil McKirdy at Customer Relations: "I refer to your letter of 8 June 2006 and would apologise for the delay in responding." [must be snowed under all those other claims] "I note your comments on the charge of £35 levied to your account on 26 May 2006. I would advise that the charge of £35 was applied in accordance with the Bank's published tariff and in line with the terms and conditions of the account, a copy of which would have been supplied when the account was opened. It is the customer's responsibility to ensure that the account is in funds to meet whatever items are drawn against it. However, on this occasion only and as a gesture of goodwill, I am prepared to refund your account with the sum of £35 and I would advise that your account will be credited accordingly. I would further advise that your account has not been debited with service charge or interest as a result of the aforementioned charge being applied. Once again, I must advise that it is your responsibility to ensure that there are sufficient funds in your account to meet whatever items may be drawn against it. Thank you for taking the time and trouble to bring this matter to my attention. If you are unhappy with the way in which your complaint has been handled or the outcome you may now refer the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman within six months from the date of our final response letter to you. Their address is South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London, E14 9SR. Yours sincerely, Neil McKirdy Customer Relations Manager." Well that wasn't too bad for two letters. Although I helped to get someone £330 in NatWest charges and they rolled over on receiving the first. Now to get to work on all the old ones. Cheers, macp

Received from the local branch a reply today to my preliminary letter : "I refer to your letter dated 31st May 2006 and confirm that your complaint has now been fully investigated. After investigating the matter I have come to the following conclusions: There were insufficient funds left in the account on the 26th May to pay the Direct Debit to Virgin Net. Under the Terms and Conditions of this type of account there must always be funds in the account to pay any withdrawls or Direct Debits arranged by the customer. Therefor under these circumstances the charges will stand and I have enclosed a copy of the Terms and Conditions for your attention. I have enclosed for your information a copy of our internal Complaint Handling Procedures. These procedures confirm how to pursue your complaint if you remain dissatisfied with this response and how to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service if we cannot resolve the matter. If we do not receive a response from you within eight weeks of the date of this letter, your complaint will be considered closed. I do thank you for taking the time and trouble to bring this matter to my attention. Yours sincerely Caroline Hill" Time for the second letter, but should I send this to the branch?? Cheers mac p

Yes it was the prelim letter from the library. This is the first time in years that I've been charged by the CB. The account was pretty much used as a secondary account up until Oct 2003 when I filed for bankruptcy. By agreement with bank and the Official Receiver, I used it as my primary account as it took 9 weeks to open a Co-op basic bank account. I get my wages paid into the CB and transfer funds at the Post Office when I need to make Visa Electron card purchases. As I've been discharged for over a year now, I am looking at pursuing all my previous charges with the HSBC, BoS, Barclays etc. It was a lot of those that spiraled the original debt causing me to file for bankruptcy. I'll keep you posted on how I get on. Usually "one-offs" are resolved pretty quickly. mac p

Hi all. I incurred a £35 returned DD fee from the Clydesdale on the 26th May 2006. This has resulted in my account being overdrawn. No doubt that they will try to apply a £22.50 unauthorised overdraft fee later too. All for the oversight of a £17.99 DD! This is the first charge I've incurred in about 8 years with this particular bank. I'm planning on starting recovery from other institutions shortly. I'm sending my first letter off to the branch manager today Special Delivery as I all I got was a deaf ear at the call centre and the branch yesterday. mac p.