C180 CRASHED: OTHER Driver Absconded

[p902]

My first merc.
Have not had it up to 3 weeks. Was in car with wife driving (she is covered along with me on full comprehensive insurance) Waiting to turn right into side street and some nut runs SMACK into us from behind. As if that was not bad enough, he puts his car in reverse and runs off. Tried to give chase but lost him. Managed to get his plate number and vehicle make and have given number to police.
Have not called my insurance company yet 'cos they are closed till Monday.
Damage to rear of car is really bad -Rear fender, left and right rear panels, spare tyre housing, electrical faults... the list is a lot longer but dont want to bore you all.
I or my wife have never had or been involved in an accident so have never had to make a claim -dont know where to start and dont want to rely on insurance co for all help. They put their interests first long before yours...
Do not have faith in repair jobs after accidents (read wagamama's post), the cars are never the same again and would prefer:
a) either to have work done at mercedes itself
b) be given market value of car so's I can look for another in similar nick without accident history.

It is a 5 year old car with merc service history, low mileage and was in pristine shape b4 this happened.

Anybody with help on where I stand or what my options are?

 

[dieselman]

Get the car into your local approved MB repairer and get it assessed and after your insurance company gives the go ahead get it fixed.

Unfortunately you have come into contact with the rising body of uninsured driving on our roads. The car won't be registered to him either.

Unless you have protected no claims discount you will lose some NCD, but it will come back slowly. This is better than dragging out the process waiting for the driver to be found, (because he wont be), as you will have to look at your damaged car for longer.

This has happened to me twice in my motoring lifetime. Once when I was young and didn't twig the lies until too late, and about ten years ago when a driver in a rush decided to pass a line of traffic waiting at a junction.
Keeping tight to the line he hit the side of my car and carried on. I chased and caught this one at the junction and boxed him in by going accross the junction three abreast forcing him to a stop! He was insured just didn't want to pay!

 

[Mike Buley]

You have done the right thing reporting the incident to the police as you are legally bound to do so asap or within 24hours, and more importantly you remembered the index number of the offending vehicle.

The police will perform a pnc check / registered keeper check and visit the person involved.

Thisi sn't an arrestable offence, but the driver can be voluntarily interviewed at a Police station. If he/she declines then they can still be summonsed for "Failing to remain at the scene of an RTA" And also,"Failing to report" (Which is why you have done the right thing reporting it.)

The driver will then appear in court, any identification problems can be sorted out later if they deny being the driver, I wont go into legal procedures in too much depth suffice to say they have the option of denying being the driver. Presumably you did catch sight of the driver though.

The matter is then in the hands of the Magistrates.

Thats the legal side of things (prosecution), I hope all works out well for you, non insured drivers are no better than vermin.

Regards,
Mike.

 

[Mike Buley]

They don't always get away with it. :lol:

 

[grober]

Insurance tip

Hi
I would refer you to my post in Waggamama,s thread about using a MB approved repairer ITS YOUR CHOICE! NOT THE INSURANCE COMPANY'S!!

 

[wagamama]

P902,

hope you r ok, I really feel for you :cry: i know what's it's like. But as grober said it's your choice, make sure you do take it to a MB approved garage - check the fine print on your policy documents regarding repairs etc. I've gone thru something similar.

When they (the insurers) ask you are you happy to use an approved repairer, say no. They will most likely ask you to obtain two quotes to pass that on to them, and provided the quotes aren't too ridiculous, approve to repairs.

Taking to an approved repairers means you won't have a courtesy car, but if the repairers have one available, the insurers can cover you in the courtesy car for a fee (about £15 per week if a remember correctly).

Let us know what u decide to do!
HTH
Waga

 

[p902]

Thanks for the advice guys...
Was OK then, but now have back and neck pains -have to go see a DR.

Have called the insurance company. They 'gently' tried to persuade us to use their repairer but insisted on mercedes. The nearest is MB Park Royal. I've called them and have arranged with my insurers to have the car picked up and taken there.
They say they'll give it a quick once over before putting it on the ramp to give a full estimate. The guy was not forthcoming with a time scale for repairs or even an estimate. He could not say anything till he saw the car. Fair enough.
From what I understand from reading the policy, when MB gives a quote, Insurer will send their own engineer to confirm work and if prices are agreeable, repair starts.
What if they find the quote 'unagreeable', can they insist I take it elsewhere? I dont plan to have it repaired in any workshop other than an MB workshop, and I guess the quotes will all be very similar.

nb:- am keeping records of times of calls people spoken to and comments made.

 

[wagamama]

heh what you could do is log everything on this forum, which is wot i did

 

[p902]

Hi

Got an estmate from MB
Parts ==£2810
Labour=£4400
VAT not included
My insurers are sending their assessor down today or tomorrow.
Got a call from the police after leaving messages on their answering service and, wait for it- They have logged my report but are short staffed and apologise that no one will be able to take ANY action on it for 2 weeks!!
By that time the culprit could have fixed his car and sold it on or whatever.
The culprit's insurers have also been contacted and they say it may take up to two weeks to contact their client as he has not reported the incident(surprise surprise).
What's with all these people and two weeks?

Meanwhile ,I have no car to use.

 

[Mike Buley]

Go to a Police station in person, and ask why.

 

[Dave K]

Make an offical complaint. I know it's not helpful to the police, and I know that the reason they don't have anyone available is because they are buried in red tape and paperwork. Believe me, they have my sympathies. But you have to look after number 1, and that's you. If you want fast action, nothing like an offical complaint gets them into gear. Apologies to our police members.

 

[Mike Buley]

Absolutely Dave,
I can guarantee that there is no police officer around that would sit on it, make sure it goes past the enquiry staff (who in fairness do a good job) and make sure that action is taken.
There is no way an offender can get caught if it is sat on. The enquiry will not take long, all it takes is an officer to attend at the registered keeper address, and take it from there.
Yes, paperwork is endless, most of it duplication, but that is no good to you, my suggestion is to go to the station in person, state your reason and take it from there.
Regards,
Mike.

 

[p902]

Hello Mike,Dave

Went to the Station as advised -was given the number of the criminal justice bureau in my area as 'they deal with these cases' and would have more information than the desk sergeant I was speaking to. Called the number same number (I have called before) and still got the same answering service asking me to leave my name and contact details so they can get back to me. Back to square one. It is all very irritating to say the least and makes us wonder why we even bothered at all.

ps:-I am sure the culprit is spraying his car as I write

 

[Mike Buley]

I am very sorry to hear that you have hit a brick wall. Cant suggest much more.
I hope the culprit has the same happen to him.
Regards,
Mike. :?

 

[p902]

Thanks Mike and Dave,

Update on repairs: my insurance company decided it was beyond economical repair and we settled on a price. Have now bought another C Class.

Thanks also Wagamama, I did not think it was necessary for me to post details of my dealings with my insurers as they seem to have done everything by the book. I am now mobile again and what is left is to find the culprit so I dont lose my NCD and get refunded for out of pocket expenses. (lessonrotect your NCD)

Which brings me back to the police. I am sure there are members of the police force in this forum but I do not mean to cause offence. I called them again this week now 3 weeks after the incident and was politely told nobody would be able to take any action for at least another week. Meanwhile my insurers have written the culprits insurers who have not yet responded they have also contacted the police but they have not moved on it.
This experience has not created a good impression....

I probably won't update this frequently anymore as I have some sort of closure but will let you know what happens with respect to the person that hit us.

 

[wagamama]

Hi p902,

It's good you're back on the road! I received a letter from my insurers yesterday (29th) saying that the 3rd party insurers are disputing liability.

It has been over 4 weeks since I actually had my 2nd accident, so don't expect things to happen too quickly... it took about 2 weeks from them to say 'we're dealing with the 3rd party's insurers' and a further 2 weeks for them to say 'the 3rd party is disputing liability'... so you could be waiting up to a month for anything to happen.

The insurers might also reduce you by a couple of years (NCD), till they get a clear answer from the TP insurers of who's liable (he is, but they might reduce it anyway), and then credit you with the NCD they rescinded, once it's all sorted.

 

[Arnie]

Hi, I was involved in a similar hit-and run incident with a guy driving on the wrong side of the road. I didn't get his number-plate at the time, but happened to come across the same car again a week later in the same area (distinctive, customised old Ford Anglia). Passed the registration on to the police and they took it from there. Anyway, it took about a year and involved going to court, but eventually I won and recovered my NCB. (Magistrates courts, I was told, work more on the balance of probability than actual hard proof) Fortunately, I had the £10 legal protection option on my policity to cover the solicitors' costs. Nevertheless, if the third party insurers are disputing it, it seems that he is insured and you stand a good chance; afterall, he hit you from the back. Your insurance company should fight for you to save their money and protect your no-claims.

(A colleague of mine was once hit by an uninsured driver and managed to claim compensation from a special fund that iall insurance companies contribute to for these type of occurances. Don't know if it still exists?)

 

[p902]

Interesting Update

Sorry to wake up this old thread, but I need help on how to proceed or at least where to get relevant information.

The police have finally located the owner of the car. The registered keeper is a young woman who is insured, but said it was her (now ex)boyfriend who was driving. He apparently is not insured.
If this is true i.e He not being insured, is the owner of the car still not liable for damage to my car? Afterall she is insured and she GAVE the chap the car to drive.

Any feedback will be much appreciated as my premium has gone up almost 40% 'cos of this.

 

[mike65]

Hmmmm thats not good news...I suspect you'll end up having to sue her through a civil case to recover costs. She will no doubt deny that she knew her ex boyfriend was in the car. If she did know and has admited same to the police then its easier....take a deep breath and call a solicitor.

Mike.

 

[Benzman]

Point to note - if you are ever again involved in a 'hit and run', provided you have the offending registration, you can apply to DVLA with the circumstances and they will usually issue you with the registered keeper and address. This cuts out the constant journeys to the cop shop and saves time. I think there may be a small charge for this service.

Suggest that you send a solicitors letter to the young lady in question in which you request an immediate reply giving the ex-boyfriends name and current address otherwise you will assume her to have been the culprit and will issue a county court summons. It is highly likely that she is telling lies anyway - it is always convenient to create a 'disappearing driver'. Whatever the result, you will succeed in putting the s**t up her and giving yourself a mild taste of revenge.

The whole thing might cost a few quid but it will make you feel much better!