He was driving whilst disqualified and he hit you...f*** him.

You're probably in for months of hassle at best now because of him.

 

It's all ultimately the drivers fault. He was qualified to rent the van but is subsequently disqualified. I'm sure Hertz will have a clause in the rental contract requiring the customer to inform of any change of circumstances which he hasn't done.

 

This guy was not insured really.

 

What is tricky is whether Hertz will pay out or not. If they pay out they'll might seek to recover the costs from the at fault party but since he'll be out a job and possibly heading for the gaol they won't get much so they might seek to wash their hands of it.

 

Worst case your insurer will pay out, you might see a premium increase but it shouldn't be too bad since you are clearly not at fault.

 

As said most important thing is you and yours are ok.

Edited 24 November, 201411 yr by Aspman

Hi,

 

The drivers 'mate' who called me said that he would be classed as uninsured and tried to stop me from proceeding though insurance, insisting that making a 'deal' is the best option. I refused.

 

It certainly makes it interesting - whether Hertz pay up, money comes from MIB (yes.. not Will & Tommy but if they can Im sure theyd do a great job) or ultimately my insurance we just have to wait and see.

 

Have to say that Skoda Ensure have been brilliant so far! They are managing the incident, and have already booked the car into a VW/Skoda approved repair shop and car will be picked up shortly. They will also cover me from a legal point of view to help with uninsured losses injury etc - all free and for buying a new Skoda! 

 

I have yet to make my contact with my useless insurers - 1/2hour call waiting... but Skoda Ensure are managing the incident and are dealing with this side.

Tell your insurance about the guy ringing you to offer a deal and pass them his details and phone number.

 

Will all go towards any legal case

You can be sure any 'deal' will evaporate as soon as he feels off the hook. Hertz will already be after him for the damage to their van.

I'd let the police and insurance co know about the guy ringing you up.

 

What I should also say, is a ban doesn't just happen overnight, so he will have known about it coming for a while.

 

Hertz should have checked that he had no upcoming court hearings and either they failed or he mislead them.

Either way, it's an option to look at if they try and shaft your insurance.

 

Good luck and most importantly the little one is ok.

Maybe it was the "mate" or his details that hired the van not the driver if so  fraud will be added to the list too.

Quick glance at the pictures tells me that will go to salvage and won't be repaired by insurance, it will probably end up being auctioned off,

Glad you're all ok.  

 

As the Police are already involved I'm not sure what the van driver is hoping to achieve by doing a 'deal'?   Given the value of the vehicle before the accident (OP states ~£8k, assuming written off, easily checkable with independent report), the cost of the new child seat (~£200+?) and the cost of a temporary vehicle whilst a new one is found (2+ weeks rental?), and possibly compensation for the inconvenience, then I can't see there being much change from £9-10k?   If he's got this for you in cleared funds, then why not consider the 'deal' and save potentially months of hassle?   The van driver will still be prosecuted (hopefully), OP will be compensated for the loss of his car, insurance company(ies) won't have to pay out.   

 

Personally I'd probably stick with the Insurance route, but if I wanted an easy ride...

Ok... an update

 

 

Skoda Ensure got the car delivered to the VW/Audi/Skoda approved garage. Problem is that Skoda Ensure cant arrange for a hire car if they dont have certain confirmations from the third partys (Hertz) insurance. Eventually got in touch with my insurers, explained he incident and they said that they cant provide a replacement car either as Ensure is managing the incident!!! 

 

In the end, my insurers asked a series of questions and checked if the car that hit me is covered some insurance on the MID. It was (as you expect with a hire car) and even though the driver may have some irregularities such as being banned etc my insurance are satisfied, and will deliver a like for like car and waive my excess, and pursue the third party. Result!

 

Guy who picked up the car seems very surprised with the bar behind bumper coming off so easily (never seen this before) - this makes 3 experienced people!

 

 

Apart from a bit of bending at the bolt mounting points not a scratch on it. No impact absorbed whatsoever, hence the serious damage to the car. I might investigate this further.

 

Well... a day on the phone away from work! I think Im going to crack open a few beers and watch a movie before the wife gets home!

 

 

I guess I could do a deal, but looking at the guy I don't think he has much money! Probably now jobless, I just dont see how he can pay. 

 

One thing that is bugging me is that I haven't told anyone about the attempt to to a 'deal' phone call. Not intentionally, but with so much else to talk about I didn't get a chance. Does it make any difference if I don't mention it? After all I made it crystal clear that Im not interested.

Edited 24 November, 201411 yr by biglunn

You need it logged on your insurance ASAP that you are being harassed by the driver to settle out of insurance

"I guess I could do a deal, but looking at the guy I don't think he has much money! Probably now jobless, I just dont see how he can pay. 

 

One thing that is bugging me is that I haven't told anyone about the attempt to to a 'deal' phone call. Not intentionally, but with so much else to talk about I didn't get a chance. Does it make any difference if I don't mention it? After all I made it crystal clear that Im not interested."

 

 

YOU'RE THE VICTIM HERE, NOT HIM.

 

DON'T DO A DEAL.

 

DON'T FEEL SORRY FOR HIM - HE HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN DISQUALIFIED.

HE KNEW HE WAS BREAKING THE LAW WHEN HE STARTED THE VAN THAT MORNING, EVEN IF POSSIBLY NOT BEING A UK CITIZEN MEANT HE WAS POSSIBLY UNAWARE OF THE LEGAL REQUIREMENT FOR INSURANCE - BUT IGNORANCE OF THE LAW IS NO DEFENCE

 

TELL SKODA ENSURE AND YOUR INSURERS THAT THEY'RE HARRASSING YOU TO DO A DEAL, ALMOST TO THE POINT OF INTIMIDATION. EVEN IF JUST FOR THEIR RECORDS.

 

 

(Capitals used for clarity, not shouting!)

 

 

Well the bar you have pictured is the support for the outer cover and I don't think it is designed to absorb any kind of high impact..

The end mounts are usually crushable and they squash when hit.

Looking at the picture of the car it looks like the main impact was on the tailgate just above the bumper so that could have caused the mounting to have ripped out.

Well the bar you have pictured is the support for the outer cover and I don't think it is designed to absorb any kind of high impact..

The end mounts are usually crushable and they squash when hit.

Looking at the picture of the car it looks like the main impact was on the tailgate just above the bumper so that could have caused the mounting to have ripped out.

 

Its an impact bar.. the bumper isn't mounted on this, there are no mounting fixtures on it.  IMO it shouldn't come off so easily, The only occasion it's removed is for some tow bar installations where insubstantial mounts would be useless.  IIRC some fabias used to have weights hanging from it to balance the car's handling. The only thing as you say is the point of impact, being a van was a little higher than the bar.

Its an impact bar.. the bumper isn't mounted on this, there are no mounting fixtures on it.  IMO it shouldn't come off so easily, The only occasion it's removed is for some tow bar installations where insubstantial mounts would be useless.  IIRC some fabias used to have weights hanging from it to balance the car's handling. The only thing as you say is the point of impact, being a van was a little higher than the bar.

 

Agreed.

It sounds like the an impact point was above the crash bar.

So the impact has buckled the back of the car/pushed the crash bar down causing it to be peeled off.

Agreed.

It sounds like the an impact point was above the crash bar.

So the impact has buckled the back of the car/pushed the crash bar down causing it to be peeled off.

Could easily be the case given the height differences between the vehicles. Had a similar effect when my previous Yeti was hit from behind by a car - it went under the rear of mine causing similar damage to the front bumper of his car

 

Definitely let the insurance sort it out imho - that's what you pay them for. Also notify the insurers that you are being hassled by the driver to settle.

Regards the bar, whatever its current state I would not give it much thought, your car did its most important job. ..it protected the occupants. I must have been to hundreds of RTCs and I remain amazed at how safe modern cars are. 90℅ of all fatals I've been to have been old small cars, think Saxo and you will get the picture. Family safe equals a big result, the rest is nuts and bolts.

I'm not bothered with the bar coming off... I guess due to the height mismatch of van and car this could have forced the bar to push downward. Main thing is that all of us are OK.

Got a call from the accident estimators - he told me that the car is beyond economical repair (fantastic service all round from my insurers very swift) and he asked me if I've had a look at replacement values. I told him that I haven't yet, and he proceeded to ask me if I have had it serviced etc and then proceeded to ask me how much he thinks I should get... Retail prices are about £8000 and that's the figure I gave - mind my car was in showroom condition - webuyanycar quoted a stupid £6000... He valued it at £8400! Result!

Wife wants a bigger safer car - looked at a tidy Skoda Yeti 1.2tsi Urban 2012 and looks like we might go for it. Had a lot of upset and inconvenience but looks like things are being resolved nicely. Had some great advice from you all, and my insurers have been brilliant :-)

Good to hear. That must relieve the pressure a bit.

I'm not bothered with the bar coming off... I guess due to the height mismatch of van and car this could have forced the bar to push downward. Main thing is that all of us are OK.

Got a call from the accident estimators - he told me that the car is beyond economical repair (fantastic service all round from my insurers very swift) and he asked me if I've had a look at replacement values. I told him that I haven't yet, and he proceeded to ask me if I have had it serviced etc and then proceeded to ask me how much he thinks I should get... Retail prices are about £8000 and that's the figure I gave - mind my car was in showroom condition - webuyanycar quoted a stupid £6000... He valued it at £8400! Result!

Wife wants a bigger safer car - looked at a tidy Skoda Yeti 1.2tsi Urban 2012 and looks like we might go for it. Had a lot of upset and inconvenience but looks like things are being resolved nicely. Had some great advice from you all, and my insurers have been brilliant :-)

Glad it's all working out for you, shame that the idiot in the van has caused you so much unnecessary hassle in the first place though!