Car Accident - Local Authority Claim???

[spinningfish]

Hello there

 

Last night I had a car accident, whereby I was driving though our local lanes to get home and as I came through the corner, the back end of the car swung out. This caused the car to crash into the bushes and flip over on to its roof, on the grass verge. If I had been going fast it would have been very serious indeed.

 

I believe the car to be a write off, as the roof crushed, and a lot of the panels are dented. Luckily, I have escaped with just a sore neck and back, although I have not seen a doctor.

 

The policeman who arrived on the scene said the cause was that the road was VERY greasy. And it was. When you walked along it, it was like something had spilled on it. Very slippy indeed.

 

The farmer, whose hedge I have 'pruned', said that a few cars have come off the road there, and in fact, one came off the road in the same place the day before, as he was working in his field. Luckily, that driver didn't hit anything.

 

The point is, do I have any grounds on which to make a claim against the Local Authority?

 

Thanks in advance

 

Fishy....

[LondonPam]

You would have to prove that the council were actually negligent in some way. Questions such as why was the road slippery ?, what was on it ?, were the council made aware etc would all have to be asked.

[spinningfish]

So, would I be writing to the Local Authority, requesting that info?

 

Thanks

 

Halibut

[Glenn UK]

Since you will need facts and witnesses and the copper turned up.

 

Did he give a view about the state of the road specifically?

 

e.g. did he suggest what was making the road 'greasy'?

 

Was it wet/icy?

 

In truth without any proof as to what makes the road greasy i dont see you have a claim.

 

JMHO

 

Glenn

[mooreda]

I don't actually think the Council are responsible - it is the Highways - although the Council should be able to advise you whose liable.

[Bigmac versus]

Firstly if they do not know of a problem there then how can they be responsible for this, you need to find out if they had been told of this first.

[spinningfish]

I took out a policy with Swiftcover in November with an excess of £150 on the fully comp policy.

 

I had an own fault accident at the beginning of the month and have now been advised that my excess is £550!?!

 

The problem with Swiftcover is that they don't send you out your insurance documents in the post - they are stored in your own online area, and you print them off as required.

 

I've added my partner to the policy, since November, and as such they have replaced the policy documents online, which means I don't have access to the original documents proving my £150 excess.

 

At no point prior to the accident was I advised that the excess has increased to £550. I'm kicking myself for not reviewing the documents online, but didn't feel I had to as the people I have spoken to have always spelled things out and explained everything.

 

I'm getting the impression that they have increased the excess to favour themselves, as I have had to make an own fault claim, but I'm at a loss as to what I can do.

 

Can anyone help me, please??

 

Thanks in advance

 

Mr Fish...

[gizmo111]

Ask them when they increased the excess -was it because you added your partner - but £550 is a very high excess.

[spinningfish]

I've requested that information, and I'm waiting on the response.

 

If it was from adding my girlfriend, why would it increase MY excess??

 

I don't get it.

[gizmo111]

I've requested that information, and I'm waiting on the response.

 

If it was from adding my girlfriend, why would it increase MY excess??

 

I don't get it.

 

Is she a high risk driver - under 25 just passed test that sort of think - convictions, previous accidents?

[spinningfish]

She's on a provisional, so yes...

 

Would that affect my excess though?

[gizmo111]

She's on a provisional, so yes...

 

Would that affect my excess though?

 

Probably - as she is a higher risk - did your premiums go up much?

Have a look attheir website and put your details in with her and without her and see what the differences are.

[spinningfish]

It was only an increase of about £65, at the time. The guy on the phone never mentioned it would impact on the excess however.

 

I would rather have paid an increased premium then have a huge excess hanging over my head.

[Yorkyclaims]

You might have an argument there... If the Mid Term Adjustment was done over the phone, and he did not tell you of the change of xs then you should have a complaint. The only problem is if the call is not recorded (which I would find strange nowadays) - If it wasn't recorded, and the script they have advises the advisor to tell you of the change of xs, all the Ins. Co have to do is to prove that the adviser was fit and proper.

 

 

 

---added---

 

Thinking about it more, the excess shouldn't change as a result of this. I am certain the insurance company should keep your excess the same, but add on a inexperienced drivers warranty of £400 (in this case)...

 

What will probably happen though is that you will have to pay the excess and recover it back through your complaint

[spinningfish]

Sounds logical.

 

I'm going to wait to see what their response is and post it online. I hope they have recorded the conversation...

[Darkangelsdelite]

Adding another driver to your policy wouldn't increase your XS as its not changing your risk on the policy (her XS would almost certainly be higher as she has a prov license) Also, the insurer cant increase your XS mid term just because of a claim. (basically any changes that happen during your contractual year e.g convictions claims etc cant be taken into account until your next renewal date) So that only leaves 2 logical options, either your XS has always been £550 and you've simply mis-read the docs, or swiftcover have made a balls up and either quoted you for your girlfriends XS or tried to increase yours mid-term which they're not allowed to do. (breech of FSA regulations).

Sounds like you've done the sensible thing and asked them to explain what's going on so post back when they get back to you and if you need any more help just give us a shout.

 

 

DA.

[spinningfish]

Still no response from them.

 

They don't reply to my emails regarding my claim either. I've sent three over the last two weeks and heard nothing. It also takes an age to get through to them aswell.

[spinningfish]

OK. I'm really, really confused now.

 

I had to buy a run-around car in the meantime, while my claim is going through. I've just looked at the schedule and it shows my compulsary excess as £0 and my voluntary as £150!! So what the **** is going on??

 

Is the person who advised me, over the phone, that my excess was £550 talking utter nonsense, or can they just adjust my excess as they see fit whenever they like???

 

I'm sooooo mad about this now!

[xrchris]

I am wondering if there is a vehicle type excess that applies to your first car as well? What type of cars are involved.

[Yorkyclaims]

It looks like you've a £150 xs.

 

As mentioned before - I have the feeling the extra xs you've been quoted is for the inexperienced driver.

 

Best to ring them, get through (the hardest part!) and confirm that this is the case. They might have it down as the inexperienced driver has had the accident

[spinningfish]

Right, I've got the response and if I was fuming mad before, I am volcanic now!!

 

Here it is:

 

"Thank you for your e-mail,

 

We apologise for the delay in our response, we are unfortunately receiving a higher volume of e-mails than usual and are currently attempting to clear this backlog.

 

I can confirm that when you set up your policy, you did not have an excess of £150. Your excess was actually £550 in total. This is a combination of a £50 compulsory excess plus the £500 voluntary excess, which you selected yourself from the drop down box when you were completing your quote online. It is your duty before setting up the policy online to check your policy details and excesses, and you ticked a box to confirm you had done this.

 

When you changed your car to the Nissan on 10th February, you then reduced your voluntary excess down to £150 (there is no compulsory excess for this car).

 

However, as the claim made on 1st January was on your Renault Laguna, then the excess for that car applies. At no point have we changed your excess. You have selected your own voluntary excesses and you could have checked your excesses at any time in your Swift Space. "

 

It was never, never, never £550 when I took out the policy!! I would have never taken out a policy with such a ridiculous excess at my age. It's ridiculous!! And also my claim was made on the 1st February, you flaming idiots!!

 

Now the problem is to prove that they're lying through their teeth! I can't prove a thing, because all their documents are kept online, and the originals are no longer there. If I request proof they can doctor it any way they like to suit themselves.

 

Any suggestions??

[xrchris]

Might sound like a silly question but are you sure you did not print a copy of the documents when you first started the policy?

[spinningfish]

I wish I did, but I had no need.

 

They are there online for when you need them, and I had no need before now - and they are not there anymore.

 

What is my next move guys and girls? Do I go straight for the Ombudsman route, or ask them to provde documentation to substansiate their claims, under the DPA?

[Yorkyclaims]

I feel the next step is asking for a subject access report - as you need the documentation in front of you to see where they are coming from.

 

It could be that the quote engine, when giving you a quote defaulted to £500. Might be worth your while, and saving a tenner, if you go to the search engine and reinput your details (but say change the house number) to confirm that this hasn't happenned. If it has, and you've accepted the £500 vol xs there is nothing you can do I'm afraid

[spinningfish]

Thanks for your help Craig...

 

I think the SAR route is the way to go... I'm going to have a go on their site too.

 

I'll update when I know...