Back in November, yes November, I had a walking pace motor vehicle accident at a roundabout. The driver started to move off on a clear road and suddenly braked. Luckily I was only crawling forward bu the cars touched. We pulled to the side of the road and I noticed that here was already considerable damage to the rear of the other vehicle. I took a photo using my mobile and the guy who got out of their car (who was not the driver) assured me that he would not be looking to claim against me. My exact words were"you aren't coming after me for that", I offered him 40 pounds for the cracked number plate which I still believe may not have even been caused by me. He didn't accept but said he wanted to see it in daylight. I was suspicious right away and alerted my insurers to what had happened. They have subsequently lodged a claim against me for £800, we have pulled the quote to pieces to illustrate that I couldn't have caused the damage. My insurers have of course said that we will fight and have invited them to sue but we are getting no response. The people concerned had the vehicle repaired within days which makes me think that it was already booked in and they were looking for a "sucker" to ease the burden. They wouldn't, and still won't agree to an inspection. I have had to renew my policy and have been charged a higher premium because the claim is pending. My insurers say there is no time limit on these cases and I don't know what else to do. I am tempted to take out a liblous advertisement stating their name and details to try and draw them into court. Other than that I don't know what actions I can take. Any help and advice appreciated

On Aug 26, 5:10*pm, oakleys wrote:
Back in November, yes November, I had a walking pace motor vehicle
accident at a roundabout. The driver started to move off on a clear
road and suddenly braked. Luckily I was only crawling forward bu the
cars touched. We pulled to the side of the road and I noticed that here
was already considerable damage to the rear of the other vehicle. I took
a photo using my mobile and the guy who got out of their car (who was
not the driver) assured me that he would not be looking to claim
against me. My exact words were"you aren't coming after me for that", I
offered him 40 pounds for the cracked number plate which I still believe
may not have even been caused by me. He didn't accept but said he wanted
to see it in daylight. I was suspicious right away and alerted my
insurers to what had happened. They have subsequently lodged a claim
against me for £800, we have pulled the quote to pieces to illustrate
that I couldn't have caused the damage. My insurers have of course said
that we will fight and have invited them to sue but we are getting no
response. The people concerned had the vehicle repaired within days
which makes me think that it was already booked in and they were
looking for a "sucker" to ease the burden. They wouldn't, and still
won't agree to an inspection. I have had to renew my policy and have
been charged a higher premium because the claim is pending. My insurers
say there is no time limit on these cases and I don't know what else to
do. I am tempted to take out a liblous advertisement stating their name
and details to try and draw them into court. Other than that I don't
know what actions I can take. Any help and advice appreciated

--
oakleys

Did you leave adequate stopping distance between yourself and the
other vehicle?

If so, why did you hit it? Are you suggesting that they tricked you
into driving slowly into their rear?

If you did not leave adequate stopping distance, why not?

Rear ending another vehicle means that you are very probably in the
wrong (unless they were reversing).

Let your insurers deal with it.

Of copurse I left enough room, I have been driving for 30+ years and have never had an accident. The woman crossed the white line at the roundabout and stopped, if I had not left enough room I would have caused substantial damage. This was deliberate. Do you honestly think I woudl post on a site like this if I was in the wrong.


--
oakleys[/i][/color]

Did you leave adequate stopping distance between yourself and the
other vehicle?

If so, why did you hit it? Are you suggesting that they tricked you
into driving slowly into their rear?

If you did not leave adequate stopping distance, why not?

Rear ending another vehicle means that you are very probably in the
wrong (unless they were reversing).

Let your insurers deal with it.[/quote]

On Aug 26, 11:45 pm, Scary Lee wrote:
On Aug 26, 5:10 pm, oakleys wrote:



Back in November, yes November, I had a walking pace motor vehicle
accident at a roundabout. The driver started to move off on a clear
road and suddenly braked. Luckily I was only crawling forward bu the
cars touched. We pulled to the side of the road and I noticed that here
was already considerable damage to the rear of the other vehicle. I took
a photo using my mobile and the guy who got out of their car (who was
not the driver) assured me that he would not be looking to claim
against me. My exact words were"you aren't coming after me for that", I
offered him 40 pounds for the cracked number plate which I still believe
may not have even been caused by me. He didn't accept but said he wanted
to see it in daylight. I was suspicious right away and alerted my
insurers to what had happened. They have subsequently lodged a claim
against me for £800, we have pulled the quote to pieces to illustrate
that I couldn't have caused the damage. My insurers have of course said
that we will fight and have invited them to sue but we are getting no
response. The people concerned had the vehicle repaired within days
which makes me think that it was already booked in and they were
looking for a "sucker" to ease the burden. They wouldn't, and still
won't agree to an inspection. I have had to renew my policy and have
been charged a higher premium because the claim is pending. My insurers
say there is no time limit on these cases and I don't know what else to
do. I am tempted to take out a liblous advertisement stating their name
and details to try and draw them into court. Other than that I don't
know what actions I can take. Any help and advice appreciated

--
oakleys

Did you leave adequate stopping distance between yourself and the
other vehicle?

Clearly the OP did not.

If so, why did you hit it? Are you suggesting that they tricked you
into driving slowly into their rear?

I think the OP is suggesting just that.


If you did not leave adequate stopping distance, why not?

Carelessness. Easily done (I have hit and been hit in similar
circumstances).

Rear ending another vehicle means that you are very probably in the
wrong (unless they were reversing).

In the wrong, yes, but only liable for the damage /he/ caused - not
any pre-existing damage.

Let your insurers deal with it.
The problem is that the insurers have little incentive to get this
over with quickly (they are going to end up paying /something/), and
in the meantime, the OP is socked for the insurance premium
appropriate for somebody who had an £800 claim in the previous year.

*However* I think the OP is labouring under a misapprehension. There
almost certainly /is/ a valid claim (even if only for the cracked
number plate), and that means he loses his no claims bonus. The no-
claims bonus tends to be a rather all-or-nothing affair - /any/ claim
(even for 1p) will lose /all/ of it.

In message
, at
09:15:14 on Wed, 27 Aug 2008, Martin Bonner
remarked:
*However* I think the OP is labouring under a misapprehension. There
almost certainly /is/ a valid claim (even if only for the cracked
number plate), and that means he loses his no claims bonus. The no-
claims bonus tends to be a rather all-or-nothing affair - /any/ claim
(even for 1p) will lose /all/ of it.

Worse than that, a claim that pays nothing will still cause it to be
lost. It's a "no CLAIM" not a "no PAYOUT" bonus. Looking at it from the
insurance company's point of view, they still have a lot of cost
involved in defending a payout on behalf of the insured.

However, I applaud those insurance companies that take a more
enlightened view and have various kinds of "protected" no-claim bonus.
--
Roland Perry

"Martin Bonner" wrote in message
...
On Aug 26, 11:45 pm, Scary Lee wrote:
On Aug 26, 5:10 pm, oakleys
wrote:



Back in November, yes November, I had a walking pace motor
vehicle
accident at a roundabout. The driver started to move off on a
clear
road and suddenly braked. Luckily I was only crawling forward
bu the
cars touched. We pulled to the side of the road and I noticed
that here
was already considerable damage to the rear of the other
vehicle. I took
a photo using my mobile and the guy who got out of their car
(who was
not the driver) assured me that he would not be looking to
claim
against me. My exact words were"you aren't coming after me
for that", I
offered him 40 pounds for the cracked number plate which I
still believe
may not have even been caused by me. He didn't accept but
said he wanted
to see it in daylight. I was suspicious right away and
alerted my
insurers to what had happened. They have subsequently lodged
a claim
against me for £800, we have pulled the quote to pieces to
illustrate
that I couldn't have caused the damage. My insurers have of
course said
that we will fight and have invited them to sue but we are
getting no
response. The people concerned had the vehicle repaired
within days
which makes me think that it was already booked in and they
were
looking for a "sucker" to ease the burden. They wouldn't, and
still
won't agree to an inspection. I have had to renew my policy
and have
been charged a higher premium because the claim is pending.
My insurers
say there is no time limit on these cases and I don't know
what else to
do. I am tempted to take out a liblous advertisement stating
their name
and details to try and draw them into court. Other than that
I don't
know what actions I can take. Any help and advice appreciated

--
oakleys

Did you leave adequate stopping distance between yourself and
the
other vehicle?

Clearly the OP did not.

If so, why did you hit it? Are you suggesting that they tricked
you
into driving slowly into their rear?

I think the OP is suggesting just that.


If you did not leave adequate stopping distance, why not?

Carelessness. Easily done (I have hit and been hit in similar
circumstances).

Rear ending another vehicle means that you are very probably in
the
wrong (unless they were reversing).

In the wrong, yes, but only liable for the damage /he/ caused -
not
any pre-existing damage.

Let your insurers deal with it.
The problem is that the insurers have little incentive to get
this
over with quickly (they are going to end up paying /something/),
and
in the meantime, the OP is socked for the insurance premium
appropriate for somebody who had an £800 claim in the previous
year.

*However* I think the OP is labouring under a misapprehension.
There
almost certainly /is/ a valid claim (even if only for the cracked
number plate), and that means he loses his no claims bonus. The
no-
claims bonus tends to be a rather all-or-nothing affair - /any/
claim
(even for 1p) will lose /all/ of it.

That is not always the case. I've had three accidents in the last
20 years caused by other drivers. The most recent last December
when a driver went into the back of my car whilst it was
stationary. None of them affected my NCD or increased the
following years premium.

IME if your insurance Co can recover all their costs from the
third parties insurance. IOW's it's a 'no blame' accident, you
are not penalised.
And, AFAIK even if you are to blame, you only lose one or two
years NCD. Not all of it if you happen to have more.

In answer to the OP's question, in the absence of any proof
either way. Witnesses etc, IMO there is little he can do. It's
just his word against that of the other driver. It's a well known
insurance scam. A difficult one to disprove, without witnesses or
evidence that those that carry it out have a history of similar
claims.
Mike.

oakleys wrote:


Of copurse I left enough room, I have been driving for 30+ years and
have never had an accident. The woman crossed the white line at the
roundabout and stopped, if I had not left enough room I would have
caused substantial damage. This was deliberate. Do you honestly think
I woudl post on a site like this if I was in the wrong.

Its obvuos you didnt otherwise you wouldnt have collided with the other
vehicle

--

"oakleys" wrote in message
news

Of copurse I left enough room, I have been driving for 30+ years and
have never had an accident. The woman crossed the white line at the
roundabout and stopped, if I had not left enough room I would have
caused substantial damage. This was deliberate. Do you honestly think I
woudl post on a site like this if I was in the wrong.

Well yes, you DID drive into the rear of the other vehicle. It doesn`t
really matter why the other vehicle stopped, you still drove into it. What
if the vehicle stalled, engine failed, driver had a heart attack? All valid
reasons for a vehicle to stop unexpectedly, and rear-ending them would still
be your fault. If you had left enough room and been observing properly then
you wouldn`t have hit her - sorry if this sounds blunt but it is the truth,
and you need to take a step back and realise this. Getting defensive like
in your above post helps nobody, especially you, as it makes people less
likely to try and help.

The best bet for you right now is to accept that, whatever the motives of
the person who stopped, unless they reversed into your car then the actual
collision is your fault, and you are responsible for making good the damage
caused by that. The difficulty you have is proving what damage was due to
the collision you caused, and what was already there, and without witnesses
you`ll have a hard time proving anything I`m sorry to say. I`m not
preaching that you`re a bad driver - with the best will in the world these
things do happen, but the simple legal situation is that you are in the
wrong, in terms of causing this collision.

Also, this is not a site, it is a newsgroup.

steve robinson wrote:
oakleys wrote:

Of copurse I left enough room, I have been driving for 30+ years and
have never had an accident. The woman crossed the white line at the
roundabout and stopped, if I had not left enough room I would have
caused substantial damage. This was deliberate. Do you honestly think
I woudl post on a site like this if I was in the wrong.

Its obvuos you didnt otherwise you wouldnt have collided with the other
vehicle

It is a no claim discount , not a no blame discount. Having said that
most insurers will allow the discount if they do not have to pay anything.

If you go into the back of anyone it is an uphill struggle alleging that
they were more negligent than you or did it on purpose.

Demonstrating negligible damage on your own car might make it possible
to defend a claim for a lot of damage to a TP vehicle but again it is
difficult. If they were seriously manufacturing a claim there would be
claims for whiplash from all the occupants. (That is how organised crime
do it.)

Having spent 25 years dealing with insurance claims I can say that
accidents in these circumstances are far from unusual. Never assume
someone is not going to stop at an empty roundabout or will not suddenly
stop again after moving off.