just been hit by a Mondeo - advice needed

[Niges16V 0]

Got 'T' boned this morning driving into work! My drivers door is now concave and jammed. I also smacked my head pretty hard on the door frame, so probably have mild concussion. But you know how it is, you just worry about te car!!

 

I am insured with Brentacre but have a £400 excess, although it was the other drivers fault I believe I will still need to pay this until the claim is finalised, I will also have to use the bodyshop selected by insurer. The other option is to use the bodyshop across the road from where I work (which is convenient) and they specialise in 'no fault' claims. This means they will take the whole claim into thier hands, provide a car, do the work and claim off the other drivers insurance. Their solicitors will also be on the phone smartish to see if I was injured.

 

As I am still very dazzed i'm not sure which route to take, option 2 seems sensible but I don't want to encourage the 'claims culture' we are in, but then I do have a blinding headache and still haven't stopped spinning!

 

Anyone else been in a similar situation recently??

[dinkus 10]

I was in a similar situation a few months ago and decided to go with a claims company recommended by my local bodyshop.

 

They were very friendly, do everything for you, you don't pay a penny and you get a good hire car while the work's being done too.

 

The bodyshop also said they get a better hourly rate from those guys, so they're more likely to do a couple of other bits cheap too ;)

 

Problem was, the pikey bastid that drove into me gave me bogus insurance details and turns out wasn't insured at all :cry:

[Petros 0]

Sorry to hear about the accident, glad you're more-or-less ok though.

 

When you say

I do have a blinding headache and still haven't stopped spinning

do you mean you're dizzy and your head feels like its spinning?

 

If so, and if it's been a few hours since the accident, I'd pop into my local A&E if I were you.

 

I've heard some bad stories about garages that offer to handle your entire claim for you.

 

I think this thread might be enough to put you off that route, BTJ used one of these types of places, and it wasn't plain sailing.

[vr6storm 0]

to be fair tho,most claims company's are pretty decent,I think also Struan's "case" was a bit more complicated as it was dealing with an agreed value car,not to mention all the cars hit IIRC belonged to/kept by Struan and his family........a friend of mine also used a claims company after his CTR was hit outside his work while it was parked and he had no probs whatsover

[Niges16V 0]

Cheers guys, I think the bodyshop is the way to go. I did actually use them a couple of years ago when I was hit by another woman driver (I think they hate me!!) and it all turned out OK.

 

I did actually get whisked off to A&E in a ambulance this morning, but they were very busy so the wait was going to be hours. I said I was going to walk out so they got a doc to give me a quick checkover and told me to take it easy and make sure I'm with someone. Not sure whether being confined to a sofa with a splitting headache deserves compo??!!

[BigTartanJudge 0]

Well here goes mate. I hope you took pictures if possible of damage and position of vehicles etc, this is the first most important thing. Also, I went with a claims company and they turned out to be a bunch of useless w****** when it came to getting anything done, amongst other issues.......

 

The big incentive for these companies is they / and bodyshop they appoint receive a huge comission for cost of work, and becasue it's a 3rd-party company, going through the other drivers insurers, you don't have as many rights or leverage if things go wrong / take longer to get settled. Also be very wary, as they WILL if by ANY means possible, try to write off your car, as this costs them less than repairing an older car (this goes for all insurers not just claims / loss-recovery companies)

 

You DON'T have to use the bodyshop the insurance company says to use, put it to any decent insurance-approved bodyshop, esp. one you may know and trust. As long as you are fully comp, you NORMALLY have a guaranteed courtesy car, for at least 30 days after the accident date (I had mine for 3.5 months) I never got mine delivered until a week after the incident tho.....(which I am still claiming for ATM).

 

Yes, you WILL have to pay your £400 XS to the bodyshop before you get your car back and until the other drivers insurers admit responsibility of their insured, you won't get it back. Make sure that you get an XS payment receipt from the bodyshop once repairs have been authorised and completed / XS paid. As mentioned above, I eventually went through my own insurers and they eventually agreed to repair my car after showing them copies of invoices / receipts / classified adverts / independant valuations etc. and also mentioning the insurance ombudsman / court-action ! Still took 5.5 months to get resolved and XS paid back and NCD to be returned etc "

 

Take copies of EVERY SINGLE receipt / letter / email or other correspondance you have with your insurers / brokers (pretty sure you insurers will be Highway as this is who Brentacre mostly use). This way there is no chance ANYONE can say they "never received anything" / "didn't know that's what was required" etc !

 

Actually, if you were injured, mention this to your insurers / brokers who will then instruct the solicitor acting for you / your case to claim for personal injury (esp. if off work / on medication). Try and obtain a written medical report from the hospital or go to your GP ASAP if you are still having probelms in near future and get this also form them.

 

And lastly, best of luck with it all mate, you will probably (but hopefully not !) find that you get very down, disheartened, messed around, frustrated with everything, BUT persevere, and don't give in if they want to write off your car. Fight tooth and nail till the death, as they want you to give up and roll-over. If it wasn't for advice and support of many from VAG community, including on here, I would have just been another statistic. If you need any other help or advice, I am but a PM away,

 

Chers and HTH,

 

BigTartanJudge