makeshiftUK
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On Nov 14th 2019, I went for my yearly hospital checkup over in Morden, Surrey - I have a chronic ear condition which, whilst being in a stable and manageable state now, requires yearly attention just to make sure 'all is OK'. My ENT consultant was running 20mins late, so I waited patiently to be seen - afterwards, I returned to my BMW, and to my absolute horror I saw a 4x4 parked in front of my car with noticeable damage to its side... and the obliterated remains of my front bumper.
What had happened, was the driver of the offending vehicle (XC90) reversed into the space adjacent to my BMW, decided it wouldn't fit and proceeded to exit the space - and in doing so, took part of my bumper with it. In doing so the XC90 driver damaged both her car and her tyre, deflating the possibility of driving off and escaping blame. Fortunately she admitted fault, apologised - copious amounts of photos were taken, and I took photos of her driving licence and noted contact details. I love my 530i - I've had her for almost 7 years, and whilst she's an old girl, she's more or less a part of the family. I attribute this experience partially to my loathing of 4x4s and SUVs driven by incompetent drivers which effectively weaponise these beasts into road-going tanks.
Slightly annoyingly, the XC90 was recovered fairly rapidly - I ended up waiting a couple of hours for my recovery vehicle due to 'unprecedented demand', and missed my team work get-together in town frustratingly. Whilst I was confident that my BMW's front wheels looked relatively 'true', my engine undertray was hanging on by a thread and without tools available I couldn't remove the undertray nor assess the damage to confidently say it was safe to drive home.
This is where it gets interesting. I of course report this to my insurance provider, Admiral. At this stage, they offer me the use of a courtesy car to keep me going - and I wholeheartedly accept. Why? Because since living with my wife, we have 'always' been a 2 car family - one car for the school run/shopping etc, the other serving my need to journey here there and everywhere for a living selling storage area networks (SANs). This is where the confusion begins - because I logically assume the offer of a courtesy car was part of the service 'wraparound' as part of my insurance policy... instead as I learn later when I start to pay attention, is that the responsibility lay squarely with me for the financial burden of this hire car in the event the bill was un-recoverable from the 3rd party. Yes, the credit hire car company read out loud the T's and C's chapter-and-verse over the phone, and I knowingly agreed to these quite thinking it would be madness to think that I would ever be liable for recovery of the hire car costs, given I was the victim in this fiasco. Interestingly, the insurer of the 3rd party called me offering a hire car a few days later - and I declined this offer, on the basis I had organised my own courtesy vehicle 'via' my own insurer.
So, 2 days later on the 16th Nov 2019, a credit hire vehicle was deposited at my house... a brand new 420d. Not really my cup of tea (and not an estate), but it would do the job until I sorted out my damaged car... which I fully intended to repair and get back on the road, subject to getting her MOT'd. A few weeks pass, no engineer turns up to assess my vehicle, and instead it appears they conclude from my pictures that it's a total loss write off - but I could buy her back as Category N, receive a payout and choose to repair her 'and make good' myself to get her back on the road again. The payout sum was something like £1300, which more or less covered the cost of the parts and the bodyshop work.
On the 2nd December 2019, 2.5 weeks after the accident, I receive the settlement amount as a cheque, which I promptly deposit into my bank account - and on the same day, I fire off an order of all the parts required to repair my mullered front-end. Fortunately most of the parts were in stock, and I had them delivered direct to the bodyshop in nearby Horley, ready to commence work on the 6th December. Given the repair work had only just begun, I asked to hang onto the hire car a little longer before relinquishing it on the 9th Dec... 4 days ahead of my car repairs completing on the 13th Dec when I drove her home.
And that I thought was that... leaving my insurer and the 3rd party's insurer to duke it out over liability etc.
In February this year, quite thinking all the above was behind us, the car credit hire company get in touch, advising us that they've been unable to recover their costs for the provision of my hire car from the 3rd party's insurer, and that I was to be 'on standby' to provide further assistance/supporting evidence to assist with their case. What I didn't explain earlier, was that whilst I was using our BMW at the time as a named driver, the car is in my wife's name, and as a result all the paperwork/hire car correspondence is firmly aligned to her. The 23 days of usage of the 420d credit hire vehicle came to... just over £7.5k... yes, you're reading correctly. I doubt renting a 458 from a luxury hire company for that length of time would be much different in cost. Through this process, I now understand that credit hire companies charge incredible amounts for car hire... partially to cover themselves for the length of time elapsed (potentially years) for recovering their costs, and partially because they're an unscrupulous bunch. My perception of matters, is that these credit hire vehicle companies are literally tripping over themselves to offer their services in the event of situations just like mine, on the basis that drivers are entitled to an equivalent temporary replacement of their cars in the event of accidents... or something along those lines.
Soon after February, things escalate to the credit hire vehicles designated law firm - many conversations with said firm ensue, and it's explained to us that as part of accepting the credit hire vehicle, we also accepted 'credit hire vehicle indemnity insurance' which provides us with protection in the event of non-recovery of costs... i.e. we wouldn't have to pay the 7k or whatever it was... provided we demonstrated full compliance with the legal team with their pursuit of the recovery of costs. Many conversations and emails ensued, including my bank statements, my wife's bank statements, Q's and A's and the compiling of a statement to document the need for the hire vehicle, the reasoning for the duration of hire etc. I can't remember exactly when it was, but during Summer this year we were 'warned' that this had the potential to go to court if the 3rd party insurer refused to cough up the money. What's worse, is that it would be my wife attending court... not me, given everything was in her name.
Sure enough, the 3rd party insurer remained stubborn... and a court summons was issued to my wife only last week, albeit for virtual attendance in early January next year... a great black cloud that would hang over our heads for the seasonal break. Personally, I don't think I would have had an issue attending court virtually or physically myself, but to make my wife undergo this is another matter entirely. Non-attendance wasn't really an option however, as this would backtrack on the need to demonstrate compliance in relation to the credit hire insurance policy above.
I spoke to my designated contact at the law firm this week in an attempt to understand the probability of this actually going to court - they were emphatic about their intentions to try and resolve this outside of court, but all attempts to settle with the 3rd party insurer had resulted in silence. My contact agreed to make a final offer to the 3rd party insurer, pressing hard the likelihood of them being liable for the entire amount should court proceed ahead. I also asked if it were possible that I settled the cost myself - and in doing so, avoid having to make my wife endure the experience of court.
However, I was reduced to relief, jubilation and a handful of man-tears this evening when I received an email from the legal team, advising that the 3rd party insurer had accepted the settlement offer, and that court proceedings were now no longer required. All in all, from the date of the accident, that puts this at just under 13 months from start to finish... and it feels that an anvil has been lifted off of the shoulders of my wife and I. In a bizarre twist of fate, it actually happens to be our 10 year wedding anniversary today... an interesting way to remember it, perhaps!
What had happened, was the driver of the offending vehicle (XC90) reversed into the space adjacent to my BMW, decided it wouldn't fit and proceeded to exit the space - and in doing so, took part of my bumper with it. In doing so the XC90 driver damaged both her car and her tyre, deflating the possibility of driving off and escaping blame. Fortunately she admitted fault, apologised - copious amounts of photos were taken, and I took photos of her driving licence and noted contact details. I love my 530i - I've had her for almost 7 years, and whilst she's an old girl, she's more or less a part of the family. I attribute this experience partially to my loathing of 4x4s and SUVs driven by incompetent drivers which effectively weaponise these beasts into road-going tanks.
Slightly annoyingly, the XC90 was recovered fairly rapidly - I ended up waiting a couple of hours for my recovery vehicle due to 'unprecedented demand', and missed my team work get-together in town frustratingly. Whilst I was confident that my BMW's front wheels looked relatively 'true', my engine undertray was hanging on by a thread and without tools available I couldn't remove the undertray nor assess the damage to confidently say it was safe to drive home.
This is where it gets interesting. I of course report this to my insurance provider, Admiral. At this stage, they offer me the use of a courtesy car to keep me going - and I wholeheartedly accept. Why? Because since living with my wife, we have 'always' been a 2 car family - one car for the school run/shopping etc, the other serving my need to journey here there and everywhere for a living selling storage area networks (SANs). This is where the confusion begins - because I logically assume the offer of a courtesy car was part of the service 'wraparound' as part of my insurance policy... instead as I learn later when I start to pay attention, is that the responsibility lay squarely with me for the financial burden of this hire car in the event the bill was un-recoverable from the 3rd party. Yes, the credit hire car company read out loud the T's and C's chapter-and-verse over the phone, and I knowingly agreed to these quite thinking it would be madness to think that I would ever be liable for recovery of the hire car costs, given I was the victim in this fiasco. Interestingly, the insurer of the 3rd party called me offering a hire car a few days later - and I declined this offer, on the basis I had organised my own courtesy vehicle 'via' my own insurer.
So, 2 days later on the 16th Nov 2019, a credit hire vehicle was deposited at my house... a brand new 420d. Not really my cup of tea (and not an estate), but it would do the job until I sorted out my damaged car... which I fully intended to repair and get back on the road, subject to getting her MOT'd. A few weeks pass, no engineer turns up to assess my vehicle, and instead it appears they conclude from my pictures that it's a total loss write off - but I could buy her back as Category N, receive a payout and choose to repair her 'and make good' myself to get her back on the road again. The payout sum was something like £1300, which more or less covered the cost of the parts and the bodyshop work.
On the 2nd December 2019, 2.5 weeks after the accident, I receive the settlement amount as a cheque, which I promptly deposit into my bank account - and on the same day, I fire off an order of all the parts required to repair my mullered front-end. Fortunately most of the parts were in stock, and I had them delivered direct to the bodyshop in nearby Horley, ready to commence work on the 6th December. Given the repair work had only just begun, I asked to hang onto the hire car a little longer before relinquishing it on the 9th Dec... 4 days ahead of my car repairs completing on the 13th Dec when I drove her home.
And that I thought was that... leaving my insurer and the 3rd party's insurer to duke it out over liability etc.
In February this year, quite thinking all the above was behind us, the car credit hire company get in touch, advising us that they've been unable to recover their costs for the provision of my hire car from the 3rd party's insurer, and that I was to be 'on standby' to provide further assistance/supporting evidence to assist with their case. What I didn't explain earlier, was that whilst I was using our BMW at the time as a named driver, the car is in my wife's name, and as a result all the paperwork/hire car correspondence is firmly aligned to her. The 23 days of usage of the 420d credit hire vehicle came to... just over £7.5k... yes, you're reading correctly. I doubt renting a 458 from a luxury hire company for that length of time would be much different in cost. Through this process, I now understand that credit hire companies charge incredible amounts for car hire... partially to cover themselves for the length of time elapsed (potentially years) for recovering their costs, and partially because they're an unscrupulous bunch. My perception of matters, is that these credit hire vehicle companies are literally tripping over themselves to offer their services in the event of situations just like mine, on the basis that drivers are entitled to an equivalent temporary replacement of their cars in the event of accidents... or something along those lines.
Soon after February, things escalate to the credit hire vehicles designated law firm - many conversations with said firm ensue, and it's explained to us that as part of accepting the credit hire vehicle, we also accepted 'credit hire vehicle indemnity insurance' which provides us with protection in the event of non-recovery of costs... i.e. we wouldn't have to pay the 7k or whatever it was... provided we demonstrated full compliance with the legal team with their pursuit of the recovery of costs. Many conversations and emails ensued, including my bank statements, my wife's bank statements, Q's and A's and the compiling of a statement to document the need for the hire vehicle, the reasoning for the duration of hire etc. I can't remember exactly when it was, but during Summer this year we were 'warned' that this had the potential to go to court if the 3rd party insurer refused to cough up the money. What's worse, is that it would be my wife attending court... not me, given everything was in her name.
Sure enough, the 3rd party insurer remained stubborn... and a court summons was issued to my wife only last week, albeit for virtual attendance in early January next year... a great black cloud that would hang over our heads for the seasonal break. Personally, I don't think I would have had an issue attending court virtually or physically myself, but to make my wife undergo this is another matter entirely. Non-attendance wasn't really an option however, as this would backtrack on the need to demonstrate compliance in relation to the credit hire insurance policy above.
I spoke to my designated contact at the law firm this week in an attempt to understand the probability of this actually going to court - they were emphatic about their intentions to try and resolve this outside of court, but all attempts to settle with the 3rd party insurer had resulted in silence. My contact agreed to make a final offer to the 3rd party insurer, pressing hard the likelihood of them being liable for the entire amount should court proceed ahead. I also asked if it were possible that I settled the cost myself - and in doing so, avoid having to make my wife endure the experience of court.
However, I was reduced to relief, jubilation and a handful of man-tears this evening when I received an email from the legal team, advising that the 3rd party insurer had accepted the settlement offer, and that court proceedings were now no longer required. All in all, from the date of the accident, that puts this at just under 13 months from start to finish... and it feels that an anvil has been lifted off of the shoulders of my wife and I. In a bizarre twist of fate, it actually happens to be our 10 year wedding anniversary today... an interesting way to remember it, perhaps!
