Just received County Court Claim form (following RTA earlier this year)

[A-AvantGarde]

Hi,

Just received (or rather my wife has) a Claim Form (issued by a County Court).

Earlier this year my wife had an accident in my Company Car on a roundabout. I won't go into the specifics of the accident here.

Anwyay, our company vehicles are all insured on a Third Party basis. They exchanged details at the time and other than the insurance forms that went through at the time and a request by our firms accident managment company of some photographs of the scene heared nothing else.

Out of the blue we have just received a Claim Form from the driver of the other vehicle involved. They are claiming from my wife for the damgage to their vehicle, their insurance excess and interest charges from around the time of the incident (just under £3k)

Assuming the other driver has fully comprehensive insurance (as their damage would be paid for and their insurance co would pursue ours), I don't quite understand why they have done this, what should I do with this? Although I could understand this action if their insurance cover was third party only also.

We're obviosuly concerned about the manner in which this has been handled, I intend to inform the insurers and forward this documentation to them. Unfortunatley our in-house legal advisor who deals with this sort of stuff at work is off this week

Reading the Claim form we need to respond within 14 days. Is it suffcient to reply saying that we contest this claim and stating that this is being dealt with by our insurers? My wife is concerned about the possibility of a CCJ being raised against her / us.

I say 'contest' as the only options for response appear to be

Admission Form - Agree & we'll pay up
Defence Form - Disagree with claim
Acknowledgment of Service - Acknowledgment

I was thinking of completing the Acknowledgment of Service form, will also check with some legal friends later this evening...

Thanks in advance guys!

 

[Shude]

Presumably the other party did not get the settlement they expected from their insurance company and is now chasing you for damages instead. If indeed they did get all the settlement they were entitled to then maybe an additional claim against you directly will net them more compensation?

AFAIK this should be dealt with by your insurance company, after all that's what the insurance is supposed to cover. I really don't understand how they can hope to persue you (or your wife) for the same thing that their insurance company has already paid out for.

I'm sorry to read about this. Good luck with this matter, please keep us informed as to the outcome because I am very interested. It seems like a legal grey-area that should be addressed and I've often wondered what would happen outside of the normal channels.

 

[A-AvantGarde]

AFAIK this should be dealt with by your insurance company, after all that's what the insurance is supposed to cover. I really don't understand how they can hope to persue you (or your wife) for the same thing that their insurance company has already paid out for.

That's exactly what I thought!!! Think you may be right in that they felt they didn't get what they wanted, or perhaps the insurance co's are dragging their heels.

I'm sorry to read about this. Good luck with this matter, please keep us informed as to the outcome because I am very interested. It seems like a legal grey-area that should be addressed and I've often wondered what would happen outside of the normal channels.

Will keep you posted on what happens and the advice I receive.

Cheers!

 

[glojo]

I was thinking of completing the Acknowledgment of Service form, will also check with some legal friends later this evening...

Thanks in advance guys!

I would respectfully suggest you seek professional advice. It is not something you can ignore, and it might cost money. At the time of the incident your wife was insured, so I would suggest a quick phone call to the insurance company and then follow it up with a proper written confirmation letter. Years ago this type of action used to be a 'try on' to get more money, but times change.

Good luck,
John

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Gutted,

I had simlar trouble last year when I went into the back of a Focus, I recived letters telling me I was being sued - one a very nasty legal notice of 14days notice etc, I simply handed them over to the insurance company who told me that they would deal with it from now on.

Never heard anything after that.

 

[Flash]

Avantgarde - Sorry to hear the bad news - like others have said you need to seek Legal Advise - replying that you contest the claim should be sufficient for now. Tell your wife not to worry as a CCJ cannot be issued overnight until the final outcome of the Hearing or Appeal.

Good luck...

 

[masqueraid]

Contact your insurers

This is either:

An attempt by the third party to recover losses that were not covered by their comprhensive policy but they have additional insurance through their brokerage (the AA comprehensive packages - for example - do this to recover policy excesses. lost earnings, car hire costs, injury etc when fault has been admitted)

or it has been issued in the name of the third party on a no-win-no-fee basis to seek compensation.

It is unlikely (but possible) the claim has been made by the third party without advice.

Ignoring a County Court Claim is obviously not a good move but your insurers will be dealing with this kind of thing on a daily basis.

(incidentally - having done the "I am not a lawyer" etc disclaimer, I am pretty certain that claiming for interest charges at least will not be supported)

 

[DITTRICH]

Run all of this past your insurance company. They will know what to do.
Failing that, you need legal advice, which you might have to pay for - did your motor policy have legal insurance attached to it - if so the insurance company might pay for this?
best of Luck
Les

 

[w124coupe]

This is most likely the result of a £30 "moneyclaim" issued online - see the .gov website of the same name. This is the new, easy version of the Small Claims Action.

I would inform the insurer (you MUST inform them BEFORE taking action or they can wriggle out in the same way as if you admit fault at the scene) and also get a free "initial consultation" from a solicitor based on the wording of the claim.

It may be their insurer under an uninsured losses add-on going for the excess, hire car fees etc or it may easily be the driver doing the same off his own bat (or pub advice).

Unfortunately this will increase now £30 plus 5 mins online is all it takes.....

(worked for me on an Ebay scam re a never-delivered Ipod though!!)

 

[w124coupe]

If its a moneyclaim, the issuing Court tends to be Nottingham for some reason and then, once defended, the calim is moved to a Court near the Defendant's place of work/home.

 

[A-AvantGarde]

If its a moneyclaim, the issuing Court tends to be Nottingham for some reason and then, once defended, the calim is moved to a Court near the Defendant's place of work/home.

It's not Nottingham, but bizzarley it's nowhere near the claimants home address.

 

[A-AvantGarde]

This is most likely the result of a £30 "moneyclaim" issued online - see the .gov website of the same name. This is the new, easy version of the Small Claims Action.

I would inform the insurer (you MUST inform them BEFORE taking action or they can wriggle out in the same way as if you admit fault at the scene) and also get a free "initial consultation" from a solicitor based on the wording of the claim.

It may be their insurer under an uninsured losses add-on going for the excess, hire car fees etc or it may easily be the driver doing the same off his own bat (or pub advice).

Unfortunately this will increase now £30 plus 5 mins online is all it takes.....

(worked for me on an Ebay scam re a never-delivered Ipod though!!)

The claim is purely for the repair of damage to their vehicle and not any; uninsured losses, hire cars, personal injury etc.

 

[Shude]

The claim is purely for the repair of damage to their vehicle and not any; uninsured losses, hire cars, personal injury etc.

You have to wonder why this hasn't gone through their insurance company then!

AFAIK, if you're insured at the time then you're untouchable with regards to any claim for that incident.

 

[glojo]

AFAIK, if you're insured at the time then you're untouchable with regards to any claim for that incident.

I understand what your saying and would not necessarily disagree but it is not the insurance company that is being summoned to appear?

Hopefully the insurance company has now been notified, a written letter has been posted to them confirming the telephone call and what if anything was said??

The insurance company should have put your mind at rest by reassuring you that this is a regularly, if not a standard procedure for certain incidents!! Do NOT just sit back, clarify everything.

John

 

[Shude]

I understand what your saying and would not necessarily disagree but it is not the insurance company that is being summoned to appear?

If it was, it would have gone to the insurance company, surely?

...we have just received a Claim Form from the driver of the other vehicle involved. They are claiming from my wife for the damgage to their vehicle, their insurance excess and interest charges from around the time of the incident (just under £3k)

It's person to person! No insurance companies listed!

 

[DieselE]

Hi,

Just received (or rather my wife has) a Claim Form (issued by a County Court).

Earlier this year my wife had an accident in my Company Car on a roundabout. I won't go into the specifics of the accident here.

Anwyay, our company vehicles are all insured on a Third Party basis. They exchanged details at the time and other than the insurance forms that went through at the time and a request by our firms accident managment company of some photographs of the scene heared nothing else.

Out of the blue we have just received a Claim Form from the driver of the other vehicle involved. They are claiming from my wife for the damgage to their vehicle, their insurance excess and interest charges from around the time of the incident (just under £3k)

Assuming the other driver has fully comprehensive insurance (as their damage would be paid for and their insurance co would pursue ours), I don't quite understand why they have done this, what should I do with this? Although I could understand this action if their insurance cover was third party only also.

We're obviosuly concerned about the manner in which this has been handled, I intend to inform the insurers and forward this documentation to them. Unfortunatley our in-house legal advisor who deals with this sort of stuff at work is off this week

Reading the Claim form we need to respond within 14 days. Is it suffcient to reply saying that we contest this claim and stating that this is being dealt with by our insurers? My wife is concerned about the possibility of a CCJ being raised against her / us.

I say 'contest' as the only options for response appear to be

Admission Form - Agree & we'll pay up
Defence Form - Disagree with claim
Acknowledgment of Service - Acknowledgment

I was thinking of completing the Acknowledgment of Service form, will also check with some legal friends later this evening...

Thanks in advance guys!

What seems a little bit odd is that the claim is for damage to the vehicle AND the insurance excess. Presumably that means the driver claimed on his insurance. Makes you wonder what the insurer paid out for if it wasn't damage to the vehicle. I suppose it could be that the driver puts a higher value on his vehicle than the insurer.

Despite all that, I agree with all the other posts saying that you should advise your insurer ASAP.

 

[A-AvantGarde]

What seems a little bit odd is that the claim is for damage to the vehicle AND the insurance excess. Presumably that means the driver claimed on his insurance. Makes you wonder what the insurer paid out for if it wasn't damage to the vehicle. I suppose it could be that the driver puts a higher value on his vehicle than the insurer.

That's a good point, I assumed that the other driver possibly had third party insurance. An alternative is that perhaps they are doing this to prevent loss of no-claims bonus etc. ???

Despite all that, I agree with all the other posts saying that you should advise your insurer ASAP.

I was out of the office yesterday. I have today informed my Fleet Manager and Company Secretary (he's a trained Barrister who deals with all our legal stuff). Aparrantly we receive a lot of these County Court Claim forms (our company - not my wife or I !!!)

We have a large fleet of vehicles, including over 700 7.5t + trucks. My Fleet Manager told me that in recent years this has been a more increasing phenomena with Drivers of our Company Trucks (fully sign written so obviously commercial rather than private vehicles) receiving County Court claims as opposed to the company.

They have both told me that we have nothing to worry about and that the company and our Insurers will deal with the whole thing for us. Our Fleet Manager has asked me to pass the form to them and that they will inform our Insurers.

Now this is a weight of my mind. However, I am absolutley paranoid about my wife getting a CCJ over this.

As Glojo previously suggested I much prefer having things in writing. Although my Fleet Manager has said I don't need to do anything but just pass on the forms, shouldn't I write back to the court / claimants solicitor stating that this matter is now being dealt with by XYZ Insurance co? Keeping written evidence would be essential from my understanding of credit issues as IF the worst happens a note could be placed on her credit file explaining the issue.

Thanks all for your advice & support. Will keep you all posted...

 

[Bedouin]

Now this is a weight of my mind. However, I am absolutley paranoid about my wife getting a CCJ over this.

Actually there is nothing wrong with a CCJ provided that you pay it immediately. If it is settled within a month then the judgement itself is removed and will not appear on your record.

Is your company actually insured? With a fleet that size they migh "self-insure"

 

[A-AvantGarde]

Actually there is nothing wrong with a CCJ provided that you pay it immediately. If it is settled within a month then the judgement itself is removed and will not appear on your record.

Is your company actually insured? With a fleet that size they migh "self-insure"

We do have insurance but as you stated with the size of the fleet we effectively are 'self insured'. We have a very basic level of Third Party cover (as required by law). Not quite sure how the policy works but I had some involvement with making arrangments for the Fleet Software package we use produce data in a format acceptable for the MIB on a regular basis (not the Men in Black but the Motor Insurers Bureau). To re-iterate my wife is also named / approved by the company as a driver for our vehicles too. So yes she was legally authorised and covered at the time of the incident.

So even our most expensive vehicles are just covered for Third Party risk, I don't think we even cover Fire or Theft via insurance!

It's a similar story for our properties too, there's such a high excess that it's not often not worth clamining - such is the cost of insurance now!

 

[Dieselman]

The method of insurance your company follow is normal for large organisations. They accept the risk rather than paying a high premium at the front end. Comercial fleet insurance often works on the basis that if the company pays out xxx in any year then the premium will be xxx plus a bit more the following year.

It sounds like the other party has had their car repaired using their own insurance and is intending to recover the costs. To cite your Wife is correct as she was the driver at the time of the accident so is who the other party caims damages from. This means that if your wife was uninsured for whatever reason the court would persue her personally.

Your companies insurance should cover the claim without a problem given that they are contracted to cover claims against your wife on a third party basis.