Car pile up on A road, car written off, TPFT only

[The Phantom]

I was in a six car pile up on a local A road last night.

In rush hour traffic on the outside lane, doing maybe 50 mph when suddenly the traffic ahead came to a standstill. 

The car ahead of me made an emergency stop. I followed suit and managed to stop close behind her without making contact.

The car behind me couldn't stop anymore and drove into the back of me with some speed, pushing me into the car ahead of me.

 

There were further shunts further up the queue, involving six vehicles in total, one assumed to have taken off without providing details.

 

Police was on site and ambulances. All walking wounded were checked, nobody was seriously injured.

 

The police made sure everybody received the details of the car ahead and behind of each other

 

My car is undriveable and was recovered by the police to a nearby holding yard. Potentially a complete write off. Severe damage to the rear and front, driver's door not opening. (assume frame bent)

It's a 12 year old car (Ford fiesta old body style) with just under 95000 on the clock

 

I have TPFT only so my insurance only took brief details and said they couldn't obviously help with the damage to my car.

 

When I contacted the insurers (Direct Line) of the party who drove into the back of me they said they couldn't talk to me, I would have to go through my own insurance.

I explained that wasn't so, as I only have TPFT and they wouldn't pursue this for me.

So they said they still wouldn't talk to me and I would have to seek some alternative form of representation. Is that so ? Can I not handle this myself ?

They also said their investigation could take some weeks

 

I have no car as it is sitting as a potential total loss in a yard, my partner is currently driving me to work and back.

 

Any ideas what my next steps should be ?

 

[The Phantom]

Thanks for the comprehensive replies.

I will go through it in detail tonight.

 

The lady in the car in front already made a statement to the police (as we all did ). It would appear I didn't push her into the car in front, my impact into her was a lot less severe than the one I sustained from the back,  so she hardly moved forward at all and the damage to her rear (rear of her car...) was not that bad at all. Her car remained driveable and she drove home in her own car after all the admin at the roadside was completed.

 

My car got sandwiched and is the worst of the three in this sub section of the accident as I got front end and rear end damage. My airbag didn't go off funnily enough, but the airbag of the car that hit me from behind did go off.

 

The car behind her was actually an unmarked police car and the last in the accident domino. He immediately put his blue lights on and no further cars crashed into the back then. 

So the lady that hit me was the last in the pile up and I was second last. 

 

I don't even know why everyone hit their brakes , the root cause was much further on ahead.

 

I have been told I will get a notice from the recovery company or police about the recovery of my vehicle from the scene of the accident, but apparently that needs to be included in my insurance claim ?

 

I think I will SORN the damaged vehicle , as it is in my opinion not going back on the road. It will be for pretty much sure a write off and I don't want to continue to pay tax for it while it sits in a compound somewhere.

 

I will be getting a new vehicle on Saturday, my partner found a nice one locally, so I will transfer my insurance onto the new vehicle , leaving the wreckage uninsured in the compound, but I hope that won't be a problem.

 

I also have protected no claims bonus (six years) , so my insurers say it is going to stay at that.

 

 

 

 

[The Phantom]

Due to the nature of the accident (vehicles and debris blocking one lane of a dual carriageway for quite a stretch) in the dark with very little light, there was loads of police, ambulance, Highway Agency and walking wounded all  milling around. 

The police went from vehicle to vehicle talking to the drivers, breathalising everyone and there will be an incident report compiled but apparently one has to pay to get it.

 

It was the police who ensured everyone got the details of the driver immediately in front of them and behind.

I guess all the drivers were in a bit of shock, and it also emerged that most likely one person just drove off without waiting to provide his or her details.

There was one car pretty much at the front of the accident domino (a Fiat 500) who clearly was hit in the back but no one who actually did it, so that person must have been the one who took off after the accident.

 

All the other vehicles could be accounted for (it could be established who hit who apart from the Fiat 500 who was hit with no car left there to account for this)

 

We were all checked by ambulance staff and first responders, so there was not much time to talk to other drivers directly.

I have two post it stickies from the police with the details of the lady that hit me in the back and a post it sticky with the name  of the lady and registration of the vehicle I was pushed into.

 

So I do not have the address details of the lady in front of me, just her name and the vehicle registration. 

I have more comprehensive info for the lady that hit me (name / address / vehicle reg and insurance which is direct line)

 

 

[The Phantom]

P.S. I have also spoken to the company that recovered my car and who currently keeps it.

They say in such circumstances they will hold the car there until an insurance assessor takes a look and makes a decision.

I told them Direct Line should be the ones wanting to take a look and they said they work with Direct Line a lot so they didn't see an issue at this stage, but warned me I would get a standard letter with regards to the recovery of the vehicle, which should in the end be dealt with by an insurance company.

 

I assume that will be the bill for the recovery.... 

[The Phantom]

The good thing is the recovery company is located 5 mins walk from the company i work for. We are on the same Industrial estate, so I can just nip over to take photos or talk to them in person. They are literally around the corner from my workplace. It only clicked when I saw their postcode which is the same as the company I work for. 

[The Phantom]

I have already collected a few online valuations for my car, they range from £1293 (highest) and £1010 (lowest). I printed them all off.

 

I believe the rear end shunt would have been enough to write the car off to be honest. I didn't try to open the boot but going by the dent and the destroyed rear bumper I think the frame is bent at the rear as well. The front end damage put paid to it though. That car won't be on the road again. The driver door is pretty much jammed in a 1/4 open position (a policeman had to put some force onto it to open it any further than that to let me out) So I think the frame of the vehicle is bent. Rear and front.

The engine turned over much to everyone's surprise, but as soon as a police officer tried to drive it (to move it onto the hard shoulder) it stalled immediately again, he tried several times. In the end it had to be pushed.

 

 

[The Phantom]

I have found more values for the type of my car (2007 Silver edition) with roughly the same mileage on the internet.

Highest one is now £1695 and lowest the previous highest at £1293. I will keep these now. 

 

I also found a sample letter here on the motoring forum which I will tweak and use (template letter 7)

 

 

 

[The Phantom]

Have sent letter to lady who went into the back of me on the 19th of December

Two days later I received the bill from the car recovery company

 

£250 recovery fee and £20 per day storage fee

So far that's £200 just in storage plus £250 recovery = £450 going up by £20 per day now

 

I have not heard anything from anyone so far.

 

Not sure if I should now put an invoice together for my car (average value from the figures above) plus recovery & storage of the wreckage plus costs for the time I was without a car and send it to the lady who ran in the back of me, asking for payment within XX days and advising her that the storage costs are becoming uneconomical and I will make arrangements to dispose of the wreckage on the XX

 

I was going to call a local scrap yard and see how much they will charge to pick up the wreckage from the recovery yard and scrap it off for me and then add that to the bill

 

Is that going to be OK ?

 

[The Phantom]

Thanks for that !! I will start writing.

Just got back from the recovery yard and took some photos of my car for my records and evidence, I also managed to get my belongings from the car.

 

It look a bit worse in daylight and the rear end damage will be enough to write it off. The boot won't open, the rear plastic bumper is broken, has partially come away from the car and the steel rear impact bar which sits underneath is bent in a V shape. There are some bits and bobs hanging from it, I don't know what they are or where they have come from.

 

The front damage is equally bad.

 

Interestingly I noticed the car that was sitting next to min in the yard is the one that hit me in the back. I took the liberty to take some photos of that as well, whilst I was there. Her windscreen is smashed / cracked, airbag was activated on driver's side and the complete front end is pushed inwards. It is a 64 plate and may well be a write off as well.

 

 

[The Phantom]

[The Phantom]

These are some photos of my car, I cropped them a bit to obscure the number plate, the originals show a bit more but have the reg in full view, so I edited these a bit just for publishing purpose

[The Phantom]

Nah, they just had the car towed away as it wasn't road worthy anymore and made sure each party had the details of the car in front of them and behind of them.

Haven't heard from anyone so far, apart from an invoice from the recovery company.

 

 

[The Phantom]

When I phoned Direct Line (the insurer of the lady who drove into the back of me) and they declined to talk to me they actually said I need to get some representation , like a claims management company. They could talk to such a company acting on my behalf but not to me personally.

Only goes to show they all work into each others pockets. 

 

It only evolves around the damage / loss of my vehicle and associated costs, so I am perfectly happy to do this myself.

[The Phantom]

I have today posted the second letter to her in accordance with the advice given a few posts back. I think I got everything in there that was suggested.

It went tracked and should be delivered Monday.

I included the valuations, the invoice from the recovery company and set deadlines as previously suggested.

I told her twice (in my first letter and also in this one) that I am now dealing with her because her insurers regrettably declined to talk to me

Edited December 28, 2019 by The Phantom

[The Phantom]

It's Ok, I put it into both letters

So told her twice why I am writing to her and not to her insurers. Told her she should claim back from her insurers now

[The Phantom]

She received the letter on the 30th of December (I checked the online tracking)

So far no response. Not from her and not from the insurance either.

I called the car recovery yard that is holding my car, nobody has contacted them about inspecting the vehicle. It just sits there. 

Been 20 days @ £20 = £400 storage plus £250 recovery = £650 so far

I have checked with a scrap yard and they would give me £78 for the wreckage with free removal from the site.

I am not sure at which point I can have the car removed and scrapped or how much longer I should give them to get their act together ? 

 

I will send the letter of claim but I am unsure how much longer I should leave the car in the recovery yard for

 

I also checked the name & address details the lady gave me, just double checking... I googled her name and found she is a company director listed in the company house. She is an active director in one company and a company secretary in a sports club. The address listed in the company house matches what she gave me. Her name is a bit different though. She said her name was Sue (XXXX) , the company house lists her as Susan Elizabeth (XXXX), might be important if I have to issue court papers I suppose.

[The Phantom]

Ok, no worries. I was just looking at letter of claim templates etc. Will wait.  

[The Phantom]

It is OK, I just read the pre-action protocol and the annex documents / forms I have to send with my letter of claim to her.

I am just unsure whether interest should be added and whether I should leave the car on site and have an open amount or have it removed , tally up the costs and then have a fixed sum to claim for. Also as we are both private individuals the case would be listed at her local court, unless the car was a company car for the company that lists her as a director, but I have no way of knowing that

[The Phantom]

The thing is I don't know if they still want to inspect the car or not, as they won't talk to me.

 

My own insurance didn't want much information from me, they said they would contact me if they needed anything else.

They intend to pass this to the insurance (Direct Line) of the person who hit me in the back, as I was pushed forward by the force of the impact from behind. And that will be their line.  

 

If I have to get an inspection report on the damage, who would issue that ? And who would pay for it ?

At the moment I am racking up storage costs of £20 per day, so far these costs alone will exceed the value of the car. I am at £420 storage and £250 recovery. This of course doesn't include the damage to the car itself (photos above). The car is only worth around £1500

 

I think Bankfodder suggested to take the driver of the car behind me to court, not her insurance, as I am getting no joy from her insurance itself.

 

 

[The Phantom]

5 minutes ago, Mwynci said:

 

Sorry if you've answer this already, have you tried them since the first call ?

 

 

 

I haven't tried the insurance company anymore. I started to go straight to the person who is insured with them as per the thread above. I think it will be counterproductive to now go back to the insurance company after starting the ball rolling into a different direction. (i.e. dealing with the insured direct)  Direct Line (the insurance) said I would need to get representation, which I do not wish to do.

[The Phantom]

4 hours ago, BankFodder said:

I think what you have been given is broadly a similar approach except that my colleague site team member @unclebulgaria67 is suggesting a more gentle and patient approach – whereas I'm afraid that I have a much more aggressive view of these things.

Certainly, you should follow the advice which is given in common – and after that you should adopt whichever approach is more suited to your taste and temperament.

We will support you either way

 

Thank you - I will send her another letter giving another 7 days as suggested above.

I already have many photos of my car and also hers which I took when I inspected my car back in December. I will also contact a few garages locally and see if anyone can do a damage report for me with the statement that in their opinion it will be uneconomical to repair or something like that for a fee.

Then I will make arrangements to dispose of the wreck 

[The Phantom]

6 minutes ago, BankFodder said:

Write to the woman directly but send a copy to the insurance company.

 

OK, I can do that too , will compose the letter tonight and post tomorrow

[The Phantom]

Found a company online which I have approached for a damage report.

They can do one for £65 plus VAT , I guess that is acceptable.

But as stated above I will need one for my files, so will get that sorted

 

 

 

[The Phantom]

They have initially declined to talk to me over the phone and said I need to get representation.

I prefer to keep everything in writing now. 

 

 

[The Phantom]

Yeah, it was a multi car pile up. I have no idea what caused the sudden stopping in front, the root cause was much further ahead.

I managed to stop without making contact with the car in front who hit her brakes quite suddenly. However, I was then hit with quite some force in the back and pushed forward into the car in front. 

The car in front of me sustained only little damage to her rear bumper and her car remained driveable.

If I had hit her under my own steam, i.e still going forward on my own and some speed, her damage would have been far more severe. It was only so little, because I was already stationary behind her when I was hit and then pushed into her by the car behind me.

My insurer Halifax was Ok with that information and said they would be in touch if they needed anything else, but so far they haven't.

I am sure they will pass anything on to Direct Line in the first instance.

 

I will arrange for a damage report from a car accident assessor / valuer, they will contact me tomorrow with payment details and said after they have received payment they can have the report back to me within approx 48 hours

I have written letter as suggested to the party that drove into the back of me (with a copy to Direct Line) giving them another 7 days to view my car, after that it will be disposed of. They should receive these letters Friday.

 

After these 7 days I will make arrangements to sell the wreckage for salvage.

 

I will by then have a damage report and of course I still have all the photos including the photos I took of the other parties car for my records.

 

I will review the matter further at that point