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Right guys, im really hoping someone can give me some advice because im stuck in a rut here and have no idea what to do.

Back in June this year, I took out insurance for my VR6. About a month of taking out the insurance, I had a little bump where I went up the back of a vauxhall vectra at about 2mph, causing a little dent in the bumper of the car I had hit. The woman said she was fine and that she was taking her car to the scrappers because she has just brought a new car so told me not to worry about it. Anyway, I called my insurers up and informed them of the accident, as you do. A week later, I got a call from the woman I had hit and she said she was going to claim whiplash. I immediatley thought WTF, on a 2mph bump it's near enough impossible. She was really trying to pull a fast one i thought. Anyway, I didnt give her my details because I had already given my insurance company her telephone number and details so I left it at that.

Now in August this year, I cancelled my policy because I had found a cheaper insurer. I hadnt heard anything about this woman making a claim so I assumed she had changed her mind. I went ahead and cancelled it, but I have now received a letter saying that I owe my insurers £2,157. In a panic, rang up the people I was insured with at the time and they have told me that because there has been a claim made against me during the time I was insured, I now have to pay them back the cost of my annual premium because they are "loosing money". I didnt know they could do this, apparently its written in their terms & conditions. I was insured third party at the time of the accident, my insurance company have decided to pay out on my behalf (without informing me!) and now because ive cancelled my policy, they want the money back!!!

Im just really, really worried about this :S From day 1 however, I was very suspicious of the woman I had hit. For one, I didnt see any breaklights, second of all she told me the car was getting scrapped but then denied ever saying that a week later. There was a passenger in the car aswell so you would think she would claim for "whiplash" too. Im sorry but getting a doctors note for whiplash is the easiest thing to do. I just dont know whether I am in the wrong and whether I do owe that much money, the fact is I was insured at the time. Its not my problem my insurers have decided to pay out to someone who is blatantly out to get compensation.

I have made an appointment with my citizens advice bureau to get some legal advice on this, and I will dispute the claim. I am just so surprised because i havent heard anything about a claim being made against me, no letters or anything! What does everyone else think?

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I think insurance companies are c*nts. i realise this doesn't help.

it does sicken me that the people i know who have been hit from behind, at speed, have got sweet FA because of the likes of this women laying it on thick.

PM flying Ant, if he's still around, as he has worked in the insureance industry.

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I know this doesnt help today but I have a suggestion for you.....

I drive company cars and they give us a little note pad and throwaway camera etc. The idea being that no matter how small the incident we write it down and they other party sign it.

So if they say their fault or dont worry i was on my way to the scrap yard, you were doing 1mph as sat in traffic and not 300mph and boy racing you have it covered

If they refuse to sign then you write that down and make sure you take their picture and the car and location, weather conditions the time of day kinda use the film up.

Basically once people see insureance they figure free money. As claims take a while to process then it is easy for us to not have an accurate record still fresh in your mind.

Then if anyone comes back to you then you have a leg to stand on if appropriate... It also means that if you get them running down the road they cant claim whiplash or a broken back..

Then send to your insurance copies of all this.....

I am sorry I cant help with the specifics on your personal case and good luck. But if you find anything out that we should all know about let us know...

Cheers

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Thanks for the advice.

It's my word against hers anyway, and you'd think my insurance company would do all they could to not pay out.

Im also going to dispute the fact that my insurance policy was not cancelled when I originally asked for it to be. When i said that I had found a cheaper insurance company, the guy on the other end of the phone was trying his best to keep me a customer and said he would get some more quotes for me. Even though I specifically said I couldnt afford it and wanted it cancelled. He ignored my request, so my premium then went up to the £2,157 a year which is ridiculous. I only realised this when I got the letter on friday that they must have automatically increased my premium, without informing me and blatantly ignoring my request to cancel in the first place.

Jesus christ, i HATE insurance companys.

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Well they're not getting a single penny from me. Im going to milk it so bad and dispute it every way I can. Even if it means going to the doctor with "stress" that this has all caused me ;) im going to be the worst customer lol.

The fact that when I cancelled my policy, I wasnt informed of a claim made against me. They should've told me that if i was to cancel the policy, then I would have to pay outstanding amounts. So that's mis-representation.

I hope i get it sorted too :( I cant handle situations like this very well, I get so panicky!

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I had a very slight bump on the 1st of December last year at around 3mph with a ford puma ( doing my best to get fords off the road lol). All i did was crack my VW badge and took a small chip of paint out of her bumper. When she got out of the car we inspected the damage and i told her id get it repaired at my mates body shop which was going to cost me 25 pounds ( thats how slight the damage was) , any way she phoned me up the next day saying she was having nose bleeds through the night, sore neck and back and headaches also. When i spoke to my insurance they said the 2 cars would be inspected to see if there was enough damage to cause whiplash. They never inspeceted my car but i have checked on hers and it has been repaired. I have also heard that she has 2 other claims going on one of which she was struck by lightening in her car (she should put the lottery on lol ). My access at the time was two hundred and fifty pound which i havnt been asked to pay. It turns out she is a nurse at A+E so she knows all the symtoms. To top it off she slammed on in front of my brother in his vxr on a straight road with nobody around. Im thinking maybe they realised what she was doing and jibbed her off. My advice to you would be go and see a solicitor straight away and find out what rights you have, take all your docs for that company at the time and explain everything to them. Some solicitors have a free drop in centre so its worth doing as its free. Good luck mate keep us posted. What insurance were u with at the time?

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Ok thanks, that's interesting to know.

I was with Sabre Insurance but Swinton were the brokers. I dont have any of my documents from them because I when I requested to cancel it I threw away everything, because as far as I was concerned my policy was cancelled and there wasnt a claim made against me because I wasnt told! I then got insurance out with another company on 7th July because I thought Swinton had cancelled my policy, but they obviously didnt! Which is part of the reason why I am in this mess.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Ok thanks' date=' that's interesting to know.

I was with Sabre Insurance but Swinton were the brokers. I dont have any of my documents from them because I when I requested to cancel it I threw away everything, because as far as I was concerned my policy was cancelled and there wasnt a claim made against me because I wasnt told! I then got insurance out with another company on 7th July because I thought Swinton had cancelled my policy, but they obviously didnt! Which is part of the reason why I am in this mess.

[/quote']

ohhhh sabre insurance, don’t get me started with them! I was wit h them till a few weeks ago. the chap who insured my car made a typing error. I rang to insure my car to get it home as i had just bought it so I didn’t not give a purchase date as I told the chap that i had just bought the car. he made the error of putting 2006 instead of 2009. a good few months later i get a letter through asking for nearly 1000 squids as my purchase date was wrong! after about 4 hours on the phone and them listening to my original phone call they admitted there mistake and sorted me a new policy but at the price i was originally quoted. they had also taken my no claims off me! this was because a woman managed to reverse into me while i was parked in a car park. She admitted it was here fault and her insurance paid out for the damage, Sabre also had that down as my fault and had taken my no claims of my policy! im not there biggest fan!

all i can say on your matter is you were with them at the time of the accident, they cancelled the insurance and they should of been aware on your notes of any claims still going and made you aware of this. I think if you moan enough you will be ok! citizens advise will sort you out though :)

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