Accident

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amac
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Post by amac »

I would advise against using a claims management company.

After a minor accident, in which someone ran into the back of her car, my partner was persuaded to use one recommended by her Audi dealer with the promise that she would be given a brand-new loan car while the work was carried out and that they would take care of everything speedily and efficiently. Nothing could have been further from the truth.

The accident was a cut and dried rear end shunt and the damage was relatively minor. If she had claimed through her insurer or even claimed direct I believe it would have been settled immediately without any excess or loss of no claims bonus.

What actually happened was that after hearing nothing for more than two weeks she received, just before we were due to go on holiday, a 28-page package of documents from a firm of solicitors appointed by the claims management company. These included a "Private Client Conditional Fee Agreement" for her to sign, a Notice of the Right to Cancel, a set of Law Society Conditions and a Small Claims Compensation Questionnaire to be completed and signed. In addition she was asked to send copies of her current passport, her current UK photo ID driving licence and (despite the fact that these are no longer in use) the paper counterpart together with an electricity or other utility bill, the V5C vehicle registration document, any MOT certificate valid at the date of the accident and finally the Certificate of Insurance valid at the date of the accident.

Concerned about the complexity of the documents she was being asked to sign she asked me to read them through. To my surprise and despite the fact that she had been promised that this was a no win no fee arrangement the documents she was asked to sign and return made it clear that if the case went to trial and she lost she would be liable for the solicitors expenses and unpaid disbursements (including any car hire and other charges etc.). They also said that if she won overall but lost an interim hearing that she might be required to pay the opponents charges of that hearing. This was entirely different from the no cost service she had been promised.

If that were not bad enough the two sets of documents she had been sent were entirely different. The documents she had been asked to sign and return said she would, in the event that the case went to trial, be liable for costs and expenses whereas those she was given to retain said she wouldn't! Both sets contained the clause relating to the costs of an interim hearing.

The Audi dealer’s response was not to worry about the small print as they had a gentleman’s agreement with the claims management company. Hardly reassuring.

The solicitors claimed that it was a clerical error.

The net result was that it was two months before the repairs to the car were carried out and even then, extremely slowly (I suspect in order to maximise the hire car charges).

After that things went from bad to worse.

The relatively minor bill for the damage, of £1,250, was then loaded with the costs of the management company, the solicitors charges and disbursements, and the enormously inflated car hire charges which alone amounted to several thousand pounds. The result was that the other side’s insurers refused to settle because they thought (quite rightly) that they were being ripped off. They agreed the claim for the damage to the car but disputed all the other charges.

The whole thing then went on for almost a year. First she was told that it was going to go to a small claims court and then was told that it would be a full hearing. At each stage my partner was bombarded with more legal documents and requests for further statements. And in each case, she was told that she would also have to available at short notice (despite other engagements and holidays) in case she was called as a witness. The threat being (in the small print of the claims management agreement) that if she failed to cooperate fully and make herself available, as necessary, she would be liable for all their costs, the barrister’s fess and the car hire charges.

Eventually, after waiting anxiously for months without any word from the claims management company she chased them up and was told that the claim had been settled.

Incensed by the whole thing I ran checks on the various companies and entities involved and found that the, claims management company, the solicitors they used and the car hire company all had common directors and ownership. It also transpired that the car hire company had a tie in with the Audi dealership to supply the “new” cars that they were then hiring out at many times the market rate.

In short, a gravy train for everyone involved.

All I can say is you really feel compelled to use one of these companies read the small print carefully.

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Nuclear Nick
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Post by Nuclear Nick »

+1 ^. Many thousands of 'victims' in this country have had similar experiences. I expect we all know someone who has been on the receiving end of this fraud. And despite what you might think of Honest John, he has countless stories from correspondents who have been through the same thing.

As I said earlier, it's the reason our premiums are much higher than they should be.
Nick

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Bazza06
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Post by Bazza06 »

My local radio station has a consumer help section. One day they were talking about these ambulance chasing companies and a listener phoned in to say that his son, driving the listeners car, had a very minor accident. There were no injuries and the damage was minimal.

The listener was called by a claims management company and despite telling them that he was not the person involved in the accident they insisted he was due £3K compensation. He initially refused but caved in with their insistence and in exchange for a signature received the money.

Begs the question how much the claims company received but if it's this easy to get the money from the source insurers is it any wonder there are so many of these companies in existence.
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Paul
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Post by Paul »

Sadly today, everyone wants “compensation” for “stress and trauma”.......a few cases justified but many, many more not!
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Bazza06
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Post by Bazza06 »

Paul wrote: Sun Aug 19, 2018 11:20 am Sadly today, everyone wants “compensation” for “stress and trauma”.......a few cases justified but many, many more not!
I can only quote what I heard but this caller claimed he was insistent that he did not want the money and was not involved in the accident but they were so persistent that he put them to the test and received the money.
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davewf
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Post by davewf »

I used an accident management company that were recommended by a BMW body shop. Problem I found was that they effectively hire you a car at stupidly high rates and its know as credit hire. This instantly wound up the other parties insurance company but I could not back out of AMC agreement without myself paying the hire. As it was i was able to find a document on the Web that showed the insurance company had accepted the rates as part of an industry agreement.

Then because AMC make their money out of the car hire they have no incentive to get your car repaired, the one I used insisted in waiting two weeks to gather "evidence" . Oh and if other parties insurance company refuses to pay you have signed to say you will raise a small claims court claim against the other party to recover the money.

Would I ever use an AMC again , the answer is NO. Beware
Paul1970
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Post by Paul1970 »

I had a very similar experience. A few years ago some kid rear ended my newish BMW. No major damage but rear bumper needed replacing. BMW put me in touch with a company called Accident Exchange.

Within a day I had a brand new replacement whilst BMW took around 3 weeks to carry out a basic repair. Didn’t bother me of course, I was just happy that I was driving a like for like rather than a Nissan Micra courtesy car.

Fast forward a bit and I receive notification that I have to appear in my local county court as a witness for Accident Exchange against the other party’s insurer who have refused to pay the £250 or something a day that was being asked for. On attending the hearing the judge said that he’d looked at the rates Hertz and avis were charging for a similar car and the rate AE were seeking were extortionate. He then slated them and only allowed them to recover the more reasonable rate.

When I spoke to AEs lawyer afterwards he basically said that they worked on the basis that only a few were challenged but most were paid out so it was worth the few losses.

Following this I started seeing articles about AE in the press because I believe they were a listed company that had done quite well initially but were having problems. No idea what happened to them.

In summary, the key thing is that we are entitled to a like for like replacement if we are in a non-fault accident. However insurers seem to have a pact amongst themselves to give out crap cars that keep the cost down. This is where AMC’s come in. Given that I would not want to go through the hassle myself of hiring a car and seeking reimbursement, and despite everything I said above, I probably would use a Porsche recommended AMC if the need arose. Ultimately it worked out for me, I just had to spend a morning in court (which was actually quite interesting anyway)
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Tall Phil
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Post by Tall Phil »

amac wrote: Sun Aug 19, 2018 2:11 am I would advise against using a claims management company.

After a minor accident, in which someone ran into the back of her car, ........

All I can say is you really feel compelled to use one of these companies read the small print carefully.
That is a scary scenario. :shock:

Despite my earlier post, this would make me think twice about using them.

I can't understand why this type of exploitation is not regulated against. :?
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Paul1970
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Post by Paul1970 »

The problem is that it seems to me that the growth in this type of company is as a result of insurers leaving a gap for this exploitation to take place.

If someone drives into the back of my £60k car why should I have to drive around in some useless bright red Nissan Micra until it is fixed.

My experience with my AMC was as a direct result of me telling my insurer that I had a 5 seater car for a reason and a Micra didn’t cut it. “Approved repairers” however had nothing else to offer so what else to do?

So along came AMCs who were unregulated but were basically saying that we shouldn’t suffer for something that wasn’t our fault. It’s the insurers job to make sure that there is no need for an AMC. They take massive premiums and should manage the claims process better.
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