Need advice for a friend? Help

rafter_01

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Afternoon,

A friend reversed into a BMW 3 series (old shape) a couple of weeks ago in his wife's car. Unfortunately when he checked his insurance docs he wasnt insured. So the other party have gone through their insurance and reported him. The front driver door was hit.

The other party's insurance company have got in contact with my friend and said he will be billed for all costs which he has agreed to pay.

Just wanted some advice on if its possible for him to try and make the eventual bill minimum, what can he do? he's worried that he might be left with a heavy bill.

Also, is it possible to pay the insurers back in instalments?

Any advice will be appreciated.

ta
 
Pray the local plods don't get to find out or he'll get hit with a 'driving without insurance' rap.

Try an appeal to the other driver because if he/she can be persuaded to ask for three quotes from reputable repairers who are told it's NOT on insurance, the bill will likely be a lot less with no loss of quality.

Plead 'genuine mistake'.

Beamers aint cheap to fix though and instalments are probably unlikely - sorry :(
 
the other driver isnt co-operating and wants to sort all matters with insurers.

friend has no choice but to pay but is scared of the heavy bill
 
OMG The Dentist check your beemer for marks and dints :(.
 
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Only thing I can think of is the somewhat risky option of refusing to deal with the other drivers insurance company. Other driver has the right to have them manage the claim - your friend has the right to not enter into the discussion and insist on reviewing the costs.

If your friend could show that the car could be returned to it's condition pre-bump for less then the insurance company will struggle to make the bill stick.

Both insurance company and other driver will be reluctant to pursue it through the court as it will just get messy and they might lose.

Somewhat risky option though :(
 
Afternoon,

A friend reversed into a BMW 3 series (old shape) a couple of weeks ago in his wife's car. Unfortunately when he checked his insurance docs he wasnt insured. So the other party have gone through their insurance and reported him. The front driver door was hit.

The other party's insurance company have got in contact with my friend and said he will be billed for all costs which he has agreed to pay.

Just wanted some advice on if its possible for him to try and make the eventual bill minimum, what can he do? he's worried that he might be left with a heavy bill.

Also, is it possible to pay the insurers back in instalments?

Any advice will be appreciated.

ta

Mate I don't want to upset you but this third party person maybe lucky and get a second hand door for £50/100 pounds. The problem then is the spraying if the car is metallic then the full side of the car will need spraying to blend in. I would say at a rough guess it could be close to a £1000 to put it right BMW's are not cheap. Can you see now why this guy wants to safeguard himself so it is all done properly and legally. Sorry to disappoint you mate but that's the facts. :(
 
Any further circumstances? Private property is often knock-for-knock. I know you've not said the position of the door, but colliding with an open door is normally the fault of the vehicle with the open door (classed as not being in control of the vehicle).

That he appears to have accepted liability is unfortunate. He should check if he has any legal cover under his insurance, mortgage, union etc. These should be able to advise him whether he can withdraw (resile) the admission of liability - and whether this is actually advisable.
 
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Any further circumstances? Private property is often knock-for-knock. I know you've not said the position of the door, but colliding with an open door is normally the fault of the vehicle with the open door (classed as not being in control of the vehicle).

That he appears to have accepted liability is unfortunate. He should check if he has any legal cover under his insurance, mortgage, union etc. These should be able to advise him whether he can withdraw (resile) the admission of liability - and whether this is actually advisable.

Just spoke to him, he said he's verbally agreed liability. He's received a letter today stating that the other party is claiming compensation and they would like him to sign the letter. WTH , the car was parked on a 'keep clear' area, no one in the car. The driver of the other vehicle was male but all the letters just show his wife's name.
 
Tell him not to sign anything he needs to either go to the citizens advice or pay money to see a solicitor.It all sounds a bit suspicious to me.
 
Oh no here comes the hire car claim, whiplash,solicitors fees, and your mates car insurance premium going up. Lets hope the police are not involved now. Its not looking good for him now. :(
 
An honest dude getting forked over


"Honest Dudes", in my most humble opinion, do not try evade payment of motor insurance premiums.

No, I am afraid your 'friend' has been cought out this time and is lucky there has not been any police involvement thus far.
 
"Honest Dudes", in my most humble opinion, do not try evade payment of motor insurance premiums.

No, I am afraid your 'friend' has been cought out this time and is lucky there has not been any police involvement thus far.

hes not evading anything.. Hes just looking for some advice so that he can make sure the other party dont rip him off. Happy to pay for any damage hes caused but when there's no one in the car and claims are made, i believe that is very very unreasonable.
 
"Honest Dudes", in my most humble opinion, do not try evade payment of motor insurance premiums.

No, I am afraid your 'friend' has been cought out this time and is lucky there has not been any police involvement thus far.

From what was said in the original post I suspect his wife's policy is in her name only to bring the cost down, and he thought his insurance covered him 3rd party when driving other vehicles with the owner's permission but this wasn't the case.

The guy could have easily driven off as the BMW was empty...
 
From what was said in the original post I suspect his wife's policy is in her name only to bring the cost down, and he thought his insurance covered him 3rd party when driving other vehicles with the owner's permission but this wasn't the case.

The guy could have easily driven off as the BMW was empty...

little pob My insurance policy allows me to drive anybody's car so long as its insured. Now if this chap has insurance then he must read it very closely, the same applies to his wife's insurance. one of there policies must cover this surely?.
 
little pob My insurance policy allows me to drive anybody's car so long as its insured. Now if this chap has insurance then he must read it very closely, the same applies to his wife's insurance. one of there policies must cover this surely?.
My fully comp car insurance covers me 3rd party for any insured vehicle too. However, my dad's fully comp no longer covers him for the same. And this is not as uncommon as you think.

As you say it's all part of the small print, and the buyer agrees that they've read these terms and conditions when they buy the policy. Some insurers put their small print on line instead, so it's advisable that you print a copy on the day you buy the insurance.

Even if the CAB or his solicitor finds he is covered on re-reading his and/or his wife's policy, must insurers will try to wriggle out of it by claiming they weren't notified within the prescribed time frame.
 
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