I’m Hoping somebody can help me who has been in a similar situation to this:
November 2015. I was asked by the agency I was driving for, If I had any knowledge of an accident that I was supposed to of had in the August of that year. (At the time I was driving via agency for one of the large supermarket groups)
I confirmed to them I wasn’t aware of having any accident and confirmed it in writing. I also noted to all concerned, that it seemed a bit strange to report an accident 3 months after it was supposed to have happened.
At this point ( until I can confirm it) I’m assuming supermarket insurers have declined to pay.
I no longer work for the agency or supermarket group. Today I’ve received a private county court summons in post for claim running into thousands
Has anybody had experience of a similar situation, and the course of action taken?
greendalef:
I’m Hoping somebody can help me who has been in a similar situation to this:
November 2015. I was asked by the agency I was driving for, If I had any knowledge of an accident that I was supposed to of had in the August of that year. (At the time I was driving via agency for one of the large supermarket groups)
I confirmed to them I wasn’t aware of having any accident and confirmed it in writing. I also noted to all concerned, that it seemed a bit strange to report an accident 3 months after it was supposed to have happened.
At this point ( until I can confirm it) I’m assuming supermarket insurers have declined to pay.
I no longer work for the agency or supermarket group. Today I’ve received a private county court summons in post for claim running into thousands
Report it to the police as fraud and inform the court of same. 
Carryfast:
greendalef:
I’m Hoping somebody can help me who has been in a similar situation to this:
November 2015. I was asked by the agency I was driving for, If I had any knowledge of an accident that I was supposed to of had in the August of that year. (At the time I was driving via agency for one of the large supermarket groups)
I confirmed to them I wasn’t aware of having any accident and confirmed it in writing. I also noted to all concerned, that it seemed a bit strange to report an accident 3 months after it was supposed to have happened.
At this point ( until I can confirm it) I’m assuming supermarket insurers have declined to pay.
I no longer work for the agency or supermarket group. Today I’ve received a private county court summons in post for claim running into thousands
Report it to the police as fraud and inform the court of same.
Thanks. That’s an option I’ve thought of. The claim is via one of the ‘no win no fee’ solicitors
In essence, the insurers of the vehicle you were driving should be defending this as they’ll be the ones picking up the tab at the end of it if it does go to Court and you are found liable. I think you’ll need to identify the insurer concerned (either through the agency or more likely the transport office of the depot/company you were driving for).
But this needs to be sorted properly - or you could end up with judgement against you by default. If you have legal expenses insurance on your own car insurance (or your home insurance) it might be worth giving their HelpLine a call with a view to getting some proper legal advice. If not, most solicitors will do you a fixed-fee interview to point you in the correct direction and fully explain your options.
Who has issued the claim against you? Was the accident involving a third party or just property only. How did the person issuing the claim get your details?
There’s so much to this that sounds dodgy.
The company you were working for has insurance for a reason and all enquiries should be directed towards them for any claims.
The claimant is the driver. As far as I can see on the claim is for damage to vehicle. The claim is being handled on their behalf by solicitors. I’m assuming that if they win the vehicle damage claim, they are then open to pursue me for injuries claim.
The particulars of the claim are very sketchy. I supposedly turned across claimant at r/b (doesn’t say if nearside or offside damage). Failed to make correct use of mirrors. Failed to to take evasive action, steering/swerving.
As you say. I’m assuming I have to make a declaration within 28 days, otherwise judgement will be entered by default. At the moment I’m trying to find out why insurers declined the claim, and why they are now claiming against me in a personal capacity.
As for getting my details… I’m not sure on that one yet
This sounds well dodgy! Sounds like a Abdul and his 40 cousins situation.
Contact legal aid see what they say.
Id be wanting know how they got your address?
Supermarket told them to ■■■■ off, then passed the buck to the agency who said ■■■■ off. Did the agency reveal your address? Now chancing their luck with you!
greendalef:
The claimant is the driver. As far as I can see on the claim is for damage to vehicle. The claim is being handled on their behalf by solicitors. I’m assuming that if they win the vehicle damage claim, they are then open to pursue me for injuries claim.
The particulars of the claim are very sketchy. I supposedly turned across claimant at r/b (doesn’t say if nearside or offside damage). Failed to make correct use of mirrors. Failed to to take evasive action, steering/swerving.
As you say. I’m assuming I have to make a declaration within 28 days, otherwise judgement will be entered by default. At the moment I’m trying to find out why insurers declined the claim, and why they are now claiming against me in a personal capacity.
As for getting my details… I’m not sure on that one yet
Ask the claimant’s solicitors for more detail about the accident, and whether they have your insurer’s details (i.e. the vehicle operator’s insurers). Is the claim you’ve received for personal injury or property damage (conceivably these could proceed separately without solicitors for one knowing of the other)?
If the basic allegation is that you’ve cut someone up on a roundabout without realising it, and that driver has not come into contact with you but something else, then it’s really going to come down to the detail of what that driver alleges, what evidence there is and how credible it is, and whether there is any independent witness or video evidence.
There’s not much you can do but to put the claimant to proof in such circumstances.
I wouldn’t worry too much about receiving the claim form personally. It will be the insurer who ultimately handles the matter - just make sure each side knows where the other is up to.
were you self-employed/ ltd company for the agency ? if so this could be why they are pursuing you.
Supermarket told them to ■■■■ off, then passed the buck to the agency who said ■■■■ off. Did the agency reveal your address? Now chancing their luck with you!
That’s my gut feeling at the moment. I was asked about accident in November. Confirmed in writing I had no recollection of any accident. That was the last I heard off it until today.
Ask the claimant’s solicitors for more detail about the accident, and whether they have your insurer’s details (i.e. the vehicle operator’s insurers). Is the claim you’ve received for personal injury or property damage (conceivably these could proceed separately without solicitors for one knowing of the other)?
If the basic allegation is that you’ve cut someone up on a roundabout without realising it, and that driver has not come into contact with you but something else, then it’s really going to come down to the detail of what that driver alleges, what evidence there is and how credible it is, and whether there is any independent witness or video evidence.
There’s not much you can do but to put the claimant to proof in such circumstances.
I wouldn’t worry too much about receiving the claim form personally. It will be the insurer who ultimately handles the matter - just make sure each side knows where the other is up to.
The problem I have is the claim is against me personally. I’m trying to find out with company if I pass the claim back to them. However as has been mentioned earlier. I still have to acknowledge the claim within 14 days and not 28. Otherwise judgement will be entered by default.
were you self-employed/ ltd company for the agency ? if so this could be why they are pursuing you.
You guessed it… S/E Ltd
Sorry for the din’t realise its not HTML
This really does need to get passed over to the insurers ASAP. Kicking up about who revealed whose details and to whom is irrelevant at this stage.
PS - Your employment status at the time is irrelevant for the purposes of this claim against you as the driver.
Roymondo:
This really does need to get passed over to the insurers ASAP. Kicking up about who revealed whose details and to whom is irrelevant at this stage.
PS - Your employment status at the time is irrelevant for the purposes of this claim against you as the driver.
Thanks I do agree with you about getting it passed over asap. The next step is to find out if they should be making a claim against my ltd company, or me personally.
If it’s the company, I presume once the solicitors know there are no assets, they may not pursue the claim if they are not getting paid the no win no fee.
greendalef:
Roymondo:
This really does need to get passed over to the insurers ASAP. Kicking up about who revealed whose details and to whom is irrelevant at this stage.
PS - Your employment status at the time is irrelevant for the purposes of this claim against you as the driver.
Thanks I do agree with you about getting it passed over asap. The next step is to find out if they should be making a claim against my ltd company, or me personally.
If it’s the company, I presume once the solicitors know there are no assets, they may not pursue the claim if they are not getting paid the no win no fee.
Doesn’t matter about Ltd company etc. Your Limited Company was not driving the vehicle at the time this incident is alleged to have occurred - you were.
Roymondo:
greendalef:
Roymondo:
This really does need to get passed over to the insurers ASAP. Kicking up about who revealed whose details and to whom is irrelevant at this stage.
PS - Your employment status at the time is irrelevant for the purposes of this claim against you as the driver.
Thanks I do agree with you about getting it passed over asap. The next step is to find out if they should be making a claim against my ltd company, or me personally.
If it’s the company, I presume once the solicitors know there are no assets, they may not pursue the claim if they are not getting paid the no win no fee.
Doesn’t matter about Ltd company etc. Your Limited Company was not driving the vehicle at the time this incident is alleged to have occurred - you were.
Thanks at least I can put that idea away. This really is one of those ’ It happens to other people not me situations’
I hope it’s of help to anybody else that finds themselves in this situation.
There’s a few questions that need answering here but overall I wouldn’t worry yourself too much about it.
Any RTA where an injury is caused must be reported to the police within 24hrs of the incident. There does not need to be contact between your vehicle and the injured party etc. The law states “owing the the presence of a vehicle on the road…”
It would appear that the claimant is having a go after they took evasive action to avoid you and as a result damaged their vehicle or themselves etc.
If the incident did genuinely happen then the police would have followed up enquiries very soon after the incident. They would have spoken to you regarding “failing to stop and failing to report”. It appears that they didn’t, so I don’t think there’s a great deal for you to worry about (easier said than done).
It’s a bit difficult to give you the best advice but certainly don’t ignore the issue. Contact your agency and the company you were driving for and let them know what has happened. As you were working for them at the time they will be keen to keep their name clean and will probably put you in touch with a solicitor via the insurance company. You certainly won’t be fighting it on your own. Yes, you were the driver at the time but that doesn’t leave you solely responsible for the process. If you had done wrong then the police would have been investigating it. I can’t really understand why the “injured party” is going after you via a no win no fee. The case must be very week or the injured parties own insurer would have been trying to claim from you.
If you are close to running out of time then reply to the allegation but keep things vague and only state facts; "At (time / date) I was the driver of (vehicle / reg). I drove from (A to B) (don’t give specific route). That way you have complied with there requests but not given too much away.
goshow:
There’s a few questions that need answering here but overall I wouldn’t worry yourself too much about it.
Any RTA where an injury is caused must be reported to the police within 24hrs of the incident. There does not need to be contact between your vehicle and the injured party etc. The law states “owing the the presence of a vehicle on the road…”
It would appear that the claimant is having a go after they took evasive action to avoid you and as a result damaged their vehicle or themselves etc.
If the incident did genuinely happen then the police would have followed up enquiries very soon after the incident. They would have spoken to you regarding “failing to stop and failing to report”. It appears that they didn’t, so I don’t think there’s a great deal for you to worry about (easier said than done).
It’s a bit difficult to give you the best advice but certainly don’t ignore the issue. Contact your agency and the company you were driving for and let them know what has happened. As you were working for them at the time they will be keen to keep their name clean and will probably put you in touch with a solicitor via the insurance company. You certainly won’t be fighting it on your own. Yes, you were the driver at the time but that doesn’t leave you solely responsible for the process. If you had done wrong then the police would have been investigating it. I can’t really understand why the “injured party” is going after you via a no win no fee. The case must be very week or the injured parties own insurer would have been trying to claim from you.
If you are close to running out of time then reply to the allegation but keep things vague and only state facts; "At (time / date) I was the driver of (vehicle / reg). I drove from (A to B) (don’t give specific route). That way you have complied with there requests but not given too much away.
Thanks for the advice. You’ve confirmed my thoughts in that I’ve been contacted by solicitors, and not police / insurance company.
greendalef:
Thanks for the advice. You’ve confirmed my thoughts in that I’ve been contacted by solicitors, and not police / insurance company.
The first thing the police would have done is issued you with a notice of intended prosecution, this HAS to be done within 14 days of the offence. You don’t have to receive it in that time, but they do have to prove that they’ve sent it within the timescale. You’d have also got a name of driver form.
Good luck with it and let us know how you get on as it progresses.
goshow:
Any RTA where an injury is caused must be reported to the police within 24hrs of the incident. There does not need to be contact between your vehicle and the injured party etc. The law states “owing the the presence of a vehicle on the road…”
.
Sorry, can’t let that go without comment. The fact that someone has been injured does NOT mean that the incident must be reported to Police. The requirement is that all drivers involved STOP at the scene and give their particulars to other parties involved. If there are injuries then they must also provide their insurance details. Provided those requirements are met, there is no requirement to report to Police.
If there is a requirement to report to Police, then this must be done “as soon as practicable” with an absolute limit of 24 hours.
Sent from a sleeper pod atop a BG registered Sprinter parked just outside Crewe.
Thanks to both of you for your reply’s. I’ll definitely keep you updated.