UKC

Well not quite fisticuffs. But heard a bang in the street, and it seems some p*sshead has ploughed into a neighbours car, totalled both of them (hers is about thirty feet away from where she parked it) and then somehow the back end of mine is shunted in.

Got outside to find him trying to start the engine (oblivious to the fact the front wheel was hanging off), then stumble out the car and try to make off.

A headlock, a bearhug and then a giant-haystacks body slam on the ground until the police arrived. Sometimes it's quite nice being six foot four and 20 stone.

Recovery truck has just removed the last vehicle and I think the adrenalin is starting to wear off...I'm shaking like a sh*iiting dog now.

In reply to ThunderCat:

Nice one. Well done.

In reply to ThunderCat:

Sorry to hear about all that and hope you feel better soon, and also that the insurance claims go perfectly.

I would've restrained him till the law arrived too, nice one.

In reply to abseil:

Cheers. Yeah, fine, just a bit wired now. Missus is away on a spa day with daughter so had the bed to myself. Sleep feels a bit doubtful at the moment

In reply to ThunderCat:

Nice one. I think I had my last actual "fight" when I was around 35 or 36. I think I was defending the honour of a friend at the time. Never a good thing to get into physical violence but sometimes necessary (IMHO).

In reply to Removed User:

Next time I wrestle someone to the ground I'm going to check what aftershave he's wearing. I seem to have picked up a bit of his scent on my hands and I'm sure it's Hai Karate.

In reply to ThunderCat:

Still buzzing my tits off. Feel like I'm about to be sick. Great

In reply to ThunderCat:

If I can take one positive thing away from all of this, it's that while I was standing there waiting for the recovery lorry to arrive I remembered that I hadn't put the bins out ready for the morning.

In reply to abseil:
Well judging from the bits of conversation I heard between the police and the driver, and the drivers friends who turned up...it initially seemed like the pisshead driving it was the owner...then turns out that he wasn't, and he'd nabbed the keys of the owner to go out and get more beer.

So I'm wondering if given the choice of A) owner says he gave the guy the keys, owners insurance pays out for my car and the neighbours car or B), the owner and the driver collude and decide that claiming the pisshead took the car without consent...driver gets done for theft / twoc and a slap on the wrist, actual owner gets a payout for his car, and then me and the neighbour are left high and dry.

I don't know how insurance works. We're screwed, aren't we.

In reply to ThunderCat:


I don't know how insurance works out either but I really hope this can come to a quick and good conclusion for you. Good luck anyway.

In reply to ThunderCat:

As the Police were called and it was clearly him driving, there shouldn't be an insurance issue, you won't be left high and dry. The car is insured, as much as the person. So the car's insurance should still pay for yours.

In reply to summo:

Not the case AIUI. If someone is driving, they must be insured. But it might be they were covered under the third party extension on their own policy.

In reply to ThunderCat:
Really sorry to hear about this and hope you got some sleep. I think you have the two main options correct. Hopefully it will be A) and you will be covered by owners insurance. If they go the B) route then you may be able to claim against the Motor Insurers Bureau as in this 2012 post - http://www.confused.com/car-insurance/blogs/blog-what-to-do-if-in-road-acci...
Not an ideal answer, they seem to have scenarios where they don't pay (private land - but yours seems to be on the street) and there is an excess, but may be better than having to fund all the repairs yourself. At least your guilty party is known rather than untraceable.
Good luck
Paul

In reply to ThunderCat: I was hit by a drunk driver who was uninsured and I was paid out by the MIB (motor insurance bureau) but be prepared for this to take a while. Well done by the way, good effort.

In reply to Steve Perry:

Cheers fella. Luckily we don't rely on the car a great deal - I can cycle to work, and the missus works walking distance.

The other neighbour has an invalid mother and relies heavily on here though, so really feeling for her at the moment

Still aint been able to sleep, and discovered a lot of scratches and cuts on my leg where we had the scuffle amongst the bits of headlights.

Grr...

In reply to ThunderCat:

Good stuff. I hope you sent the little bastard to prison!

In reply to ThunderCat:

If you have fully comp with legal protection, particularly if you have protected no claims, you may actually want to claim against your own policy and have them pursue the other party. OK, if they aren't successful your premium takes a hit, but it will get you back on the road quicker, as these things often take time.

I can't see me ever going for any other kind of policy simply because of the reduction in hassle the ability to do this provides.

Neil

In reply to ThunderCat:


It's bank holiday Monday. Did they collect the bins?

In reply to DancingOnRock:

They certainly did!

In reply to ThunderCat:

Excellent work sir

In reply to Neil Williams: &TC


You need owners permission to get 3rd party cover under your policy. so would depend on the story given (with/without permission)

However, if the car is insured by it's owner, regardless of who is driving and whether they were covered, the insurer will have to pay what is known in the trade as "road risks" on the vehicle i.e. third party cover. This is claimable via the motor insurance bureau (and is covered in respect of uninsured vehicles too), and TC's insurance company will sort it out, although it can sometimes take longer to sort out. (of course it will effect your no claims if not protected)

In the meantime, you are likely to be offered a replacement "credit hire" vehicle. There is a chance that the vehicle owners insurers will not provide cover for this (it is not part of "road risks" cover),so make sure you speak to their insurance company before you take delivery of such a vehicle (they will have their own providers), as eventually it could be you that pays for it if it cannot be recovered from the driver or is insurer.

In reply to balmybaldwin:

Thanks for all the responses everyone. I'm going to resign myself to the pessimistic view that I'm going to be out of pocket for this, and then anything I do get back is a 'bonus'. I think this approach should stop me getting too frustrated and peed off by the whole situation.

In reply to ThunderCat:

Of course, you can always sue the driver personally for any costs. Hopefully he's not a complete waste of space with no assets and no wage...

In reply to BarrySW19:
The further advantage of fully comp with legal protection is that they can do that for you!

Given that the cost is often pennies over TPFT, I can't imagine me ever not choosing it. It takes away almost all of the hassle when some other muppet crashes into you, even if it wasn't worth claiming if you wrote your car off yourself with no other party involved.