MISTAKE -I trusted my insurance company

[diction]

I read too late the advice given by Bank Fodder in another thread. I quote - "Beware of your insurance company. They just want an easy life and they won't be too bothered about fighting your corner." Oh, how true.

 

I had a minor damage only accident last December. Basically, I was on my side of the road when another car coming the other way failed to give way for the cars parked her side and clouted my mirror. Her mirror also clouted her side window and smashed it. We stopped and exchanged names and addresses etc. I took photos of what little debris there was (all on my side of the road).

 

I reported it by phone to my insurance company the moment I got home, and then submitted the photos, a diagram, and a statement, all via email, three or four days later. I got my mirror fixed for £55 with a 2nd hand mirror from the breakers and a mechanic friend to fit it. You would never know it wasn't the original.

 

Then in the middle of February, I got a letter from a Northern solicitors stating that a Mr XXX was pursuing a claim against me and that I should inform my insurance company. Odd I thought, they already know. So I attached a pdf of the letter to an email and my insurance company replied back 'Ok, we will contact them and take it from here.' Great! Or so I thought.

 

In the middle of June I received a county court summons alleging the most horrendous driving offences you could wish to read e.g. swerving to hit their vehicle etc. So I scanned every document in the summons and sent it all via email to the insurance company asking them for their advice and what I should do now.

 

I received an automated acknowledgement. The following day I sent another email and asked for confirmation of receipt of the summons. I got another automated acknowledgement.

 

On the 25th June I received an email saying they have reviewed the photos and didn't think it helped my case (?) would I be willing to attend court? I got back the same day and said yes I would.

 

In the second week of July I got an email saying (horror of horrors) they had not received my email to their 25th June email and if they didn't hear from me in 7 days would have no option but to settle on the best possible terms. I immediately got back to them with a copy of the reply showing email headers as proof and their automated response etc. The day after I asked for their fax number since they were obviously having problems with their email. I got TWO automated acknowledgements for that one!

 

The day after that I telephoned them and was reassured that all my emails had been received and that the case would now be passed to the supervisor of 'the team dealing with your claim'. Good I thought.

 

Today, I received a 'Judgement for Claimant" (in default) letter from a court up North. For £750. Pay now or else. Name on a judgement list - creditors will see and you won't get credit, and so on.

 

I am absolutely gutted. I have the legal expenses insurance which I thought guaranteed me some kind of legal protection in a case such as this. I assumed the whole time that my insurance company was in negotiation with the other insurance company. I assumed I was being looked after and that all would be well; after all, it is what I paid for.

 

Naive? Yes.... but I have never had an accident before and I don't know the protocol. I have never been to county court before and I don't know the protocol. I foolishly assumed that informing my insurance company and keeping them informed every step of the way with all the documentation I was getting, they would deal with everything until completion. I was told as much with the 'we will take it from here' comment. I did not make a move without any advice from my insurance company because they were dealing with it, legal matters were in their hands, and they were looking after me. If I did anything with the other party's solicitors or the court, I was worried my insurance company would use that as an excuse to wriggle out of their responsibilities for not waiting for their advice.

 

I badly need your advice please. What is the first thing I should do now? I have 28 days to pay.

[diction]

Further to the above, I just telephoned the court and they have told me that I have no legal representative on file.

 

I can pay the money myself and claim back off the insurance company, or I can get in touch with the insurance company and get them to pay it within the time otherwise I get entered on the register (which means I admit liability and I don't cos they hit me). The court person also suggested I telephone the third party's solicitors and ask them who they were dealing with at my insurance company. It beggars belief...

 

I am reeling with all this. All the advice on this forum is to 'inform your insurance company' and when you do, they do nothing. Time to get angry and spit blood.

[Guest Mrs Hobbit]

What a mess. I would be spoeaking to the insurance company immediately and asking to be put through to the Head Sherang. Don't fool with the customer services number, this is just a call centre. You need the Head Office telephone number and make that phone call to the Head Sherang, if he/she is not available tell his/her PA what the matter is about, and ask for their email address and then send your complaint in writing and attach all the other documentation you have sent them previously. Do not be fobbed off.

[diction]

Thank you for this. I eventually did get angry enough to pick up the phone but the claims line was engaged!! This made me angrier.

 

I fired off an email to customer feedback, then another to customer relations advising them of 'Notification before complaint' i.e. giving them yet another chance to rectify things. I then telephoned customer relations to see if they had received the email (not leaving ANYTHING to chance anymore) and spoke to someone very helpful who has the matter in hand.

 

She has gone down to the team leader for my incident (another part of the building) and is going to get all the stuff I have sent. I have also sent a six page word doc of the chronology and action taken since the accident. I have to confess, the lady was a breath of fresh air and more than willing to be of help.

 

I shall keep you posted. I can't afford to trust anymore.

[Guest Mrs Hobbit]

Keep on at them and I hope you got this ladies' name. Of course you can always tell them that you are not adverse to letting everyione how rotten their customer service. Tell them the WWW is the best way to advertise good and bad service.

 

Did this lady tell you when she is going to call you back with an update?

 

Also use this thread as a dairy and list everything you have done to get a resolution to the problem.

 

Are you willing to name the Insurance Company?

[diction]

I just got a phone call from the actual guy who was (mis)dealing with my case. They are going to make it all go away by simply paying up (without prejudice) and it will nip it in the bud. I am not entirely happy that the other party should benefit from their lies and aggression but I am just grateful to get the matter cleared up and out of my head. I would like to have had my day in court and proven their allegations false but that's for another life perhaps.

 

There was a cock-up over their claim reference numbers. The claims handler didn't even know a summons had been issued until I directed him to it in his own email box.

 

I have been assured my premiums won't be affected and that my ncb is intact. I have asked for all this in writing of course. In truth, he sounded a bit ashamed and was most apologetic.

 

Incidentally, customer-relations is their complaints department too so I was at least right in involving them. The lady in question certainly earned her pay today. Thank you for your input. I am just glad it's sorted.

 

Now they have resolved this satisfactorily I can name them because at the end of the day they rectified the matter and admitted their mistake - 1stcentral .

Edited July 22, 2010 by diction

[Guest Mrs Hobbit]

Hang on, what about the Summons? Who is going to get this squashed?. Do not accept the Without Prejudice Letter Offer, this will absolve them of anything if it for some reason this gets dragged into Court, they don't want a Judge to see the letter. Don't believe it is over until you have a letter verifying that they have carried what has been promised.

 

What you do of course is your decision, but there are several things that they are trying to cover.

[diction]

You need to educate me here. The summons has been concluded with the issue of the Judgement for Claimant letter. Basically, because no one (me, solicitors, insurance company) replied, I as an individual, was in default, and ordered to pay the money to the claimant's solicitors.

 

This my insurance company is now doing.

 

Here is a snip from the claims handler's email that I just received -

 

"I can confirm that we have agreed to settle the third party claim on a without prejudice basis, meaning that you have not accepted liability for the incident. A cheque has been issued today to the third party solicitors and the CCJ will be removed."

 

Should I be worried about something else?

[Guest Mrs Hobbit]

I am just being very cautious. you are the one named as in default. your insurance company is now saying they will pay.

 

The CCJ is on your credit file. You have not been given the assurance this will be removed from your CRA files and CCJ will be squashed by the Court. All your CRS files will show that this debt has been satisfied, not the circumstance, or by whom.

[diction]

Please continue to be cautious because I am far too trusting.

 

I spoke to the court lady who said that if this is paid within a month, the judgement will be removed from the register. It says the same thing on the Judgement letter.

 

However, I shall ring the court again in the morning to confirm this and report back accordingly.

 

Thanks again.

[Guest Mrs Hobbit]

It's what is sitting on your CRA's files that can come back and haunt you later on. Just because it is off the Register doesn't mean your CRA files are expunged. Some of us have bitten hard in the past

[diction]

So what can I actually do about the CRA files?

[Guest Mrs Hobbit]

You will have to get a copy of your files from the three CRA's £2.00 each and cjeck to make sure the CCJ is not sitting on them. You can write to the CRA's with a copy of the email from your insurance company and ask for the CRA's to amend your files accordingly.

 

Someone else may know of a more expedient way, but this is what I had to do

[mightymouse_69]

Surely you can apply to have the judgement set aside?

 

In which case the quicker you act, the better.

[Guest Mrs Hobbit]

If the Insurance company apply to get the CCJ removed this will be fine, there is no need for a set asuide to be applied for, but the CRA files will need to be checked tio make sure these have been removed.

[mightymouse_69]

Hang on a minute - I think I am misunderstanding here.

 

Has a CCJ been recorded against the OP?

 

If the insurance pays of the Judgement within a month of it being awarded, then surely no record will be on the Register of County Court Judgments...

[diction]

This is what I am going to ask the court person tomorrow. Seems rather unfair that I should have a black mark against me because my legal representatives didn't represent me!

[Guest Mrs Hobbit]

MM you could be right. I am always two steps ahead of myself. Let's see what happens with the diction regarding carification

[mightymouse_69]

Diction - I don't think you have this black mark now.

 

So long as the Judgement is paid, you will have no record of it against you.

 

Pretty poor show by the insurance Co.

[diction]

I will find out tomorrow I expect although someone on here is bound to know one way or the other.

 

And yes it is a bad show. With the benefit of hindsight, I should have harangued them earlier, but not knowing the machinations of such outfits and their arcane procedures, I assumed they were busy doing their thing behind the scenes, a bit like mediaeval priests turning water into wine with their backs to the congregation.

[diction]

Spoke to the court lady. Apparently I am on the register, end of story. It was put on on the 20th July when the judgement was made.

 

However, because it is so recent, the chances of a CRA seeing it is unlikely (in her opinion). I assume as long as I don't start applying for credit right now, no one will check. The third party solicitors notify the court that the money has been paid and the court then gets the judgement removed from the register. The lady did use the word 'remove'.

 

The summons is still live until the money paid. So it all depends on my insurance company sticking to their word.

 

Have to confess I ain't happy about all this but still glad it is resolved after a fashion.

[diction]

Mini-update

 

I phoned the third party solicitors and they told me they have received the dosh from my insurance company and have notified the court that the money has been paid (by snail mail).

 

I phoned the court but they have a mountain of mail to sift thru, would I telephone again next week - so that would be Monday or Tuesday. I have been assured that as long as the money is paid and they are in receipt of a letter saying so, and all this is before 20th August, then I am in the clear i.e. the CCJ is removed and it will be 'as though it had never been on there.'