urgent help please-Had an accident in Courtesy Car

[mazash]

Need urgent help with regards to courtesy cars.

it's a long story but i will try to brief it as much as possible. our 53 plate peogot went in to garage for repairs for which the third party's insurance was paying for, it was a local small size garage.

My wife asked how long it will take them to get our car ready to which they said 4 to 5 days but my wife said to them that i go to work and i will need a car. this owner of the garage who was dealing with us went inside and gave keys to my wife for M reg Golf. This was our first experienced in this kind of a garage befor we always went to dealers. so she tooke the keys and went to work. second day she had an accident and it her fault too. We told the garage guy as to what happend who advived us to go to our insurance company and talk to them. We went to our insurance who told us that they cant do anything but we should go back to garage as it was a courtesy car owend by garage.

In the mean time MIB got involved as they classed my wife as uninsured driver. We told them the whole storey and they wrote to the garage who denied to give any details. I got my own solicitor to write to garage to disclose their insurance details to us, as we have found out that garage does have a traders policy but they just not replying. Last week MIB sent me their solicitor who intend to recover over 29000 thousand pounds and told us that because she was the driver of the car, its her resposibility and she will have to take responsibility. Since last week we have lost our sleep, plaese someone help.

[Conniff]

What is this £29,000 they are intending to recover?

 

Was the car being driven on the garage policy or on your wifes? If it was on your wifes, then unless she is full comp, she won't be insured, and if she is fully comp, then it will be only basic third party so she won't be able to claim anyway, so that leaves the garage insurance.

 

Whatever she hit, (the third party) should be able to claim on her insurance if she was only covered third party.

 

An M reg Golf does not have that much value, so if you do have to pay, you would probably be better off buying another Golf to give to the garage in place of the damaged one and keeping the damaged one and selling it as spares to at least get something back.

[raydetinu]

I would imagine you would have Fully comp on a 53 peugeot, so you will be covered for driving the loan car on third party cover; however my experince says as a loan car the garage would also have an any driver policy so that would take precedence and that should cover it. Normally whan taking a loan car you sign a document to say you will cover any excess due resulting from an accident. if nothing signed then you will not have to pay that.

Put in an accident notification ( not a claim at this stage ) to your own insurers ( accidet details etc. ) and send a copy to the garage for them to pass on to their insurers.

Forward all correspondance you recieve on to your insurers unanswered and let them advise you and deal with it.

[mazash]

Hi Conniff, Thanks very much any advise is helpful at this time, the issue is not with the M reg golf car that is only worth 4 to 5 hundred pounds.the 29000 bill is sent to us by MIB(motor insurance burue who have paid to the third party as my wife was at fault and recognised by MIB as uninsured driver because neither our insurance or the garage was accepting the claim under their insurance.

secondley i had a fully comp. on our own car which was under repair with the garage and my wife is the named driver in the policy.

[mazash]

HI RAY,

yes i have fullu comp.but my wife is a name driver and i am the policyholder. my insurance just said that because it was a courtesy car it should be covered by the garage because they are the owner of the courtesy car(golf). i have put alot of pressure to the garage but they would not give me their insurance policy and since then i have found out that the garage does have a trader policy in place. we did not sign any documents secondly about the notification, i have been through that process but my insurance is not even willing to get involve as they say that this car has nothing to do with them.

Also you mentioned about the loan car, is there any difference in the courtesy and loan car (as i dont want to make a technical mistake in using the words as they might have different meanings in insurance law).

someone advised me to take the garage to the court and they will force the garage to disclose the insurance details. do you think is it the right way to go about.i have written enough letters to garage myself and through solicitors but no luck. thanks

[patdavies]

Deleted - post in error on the wrong thread.

 

Sorry

Edited February 4, 2009 by patdavies

[raydetinu]

Ok correct your wife will not be covered by your insurance and I now suspect not on the dealers insurance, however it would have reasonable to expect that it was insured or they would have told you take out your own insurance!

The MIB would be able to check if and who insured the car I would of thought?

You may have to take legal advice on trying to get the dealer, or his insurers, who made the car available to bear the claim through their not telling you about the insuance situation; then again they may say you should of asked!

Some dealers/garages do in fact ask you to pay for the insurance during the loan period.

[raydetinu]

Any update, how you getting on?

[mazash]

Yes ray spoke to mib sols and they said you do what you have to do to recover your money or get them to disclose the their trader insurance details.as the garage has not been responding, i have decided to take them to court. so issued them a LBA yesterday giving them 7 days to disclose their insurers.

hopefuly if they still not reply then going to submite the N1 form to start the proceeding.

Will keep you updated.