Vauxhall Astra H - Non Fault Car Accident Payment Delays

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Tue 11 Sep 2012 16:11
Vauxhall Astra H - Non Fault Car Accident Payment Delays - pcroser

Dear Honest John,

I was involved in a non fault car accident on 10 July 2012, I was able to exchange details with the other driver no problem. The following day I reported this to my insurance company 'Admiral' and submitted a claim recovering all costs from the other side, and was refered to albany assistance limited who handle all such claims on admirals behalf. I later had a call from the third party's insuruer to confirm a few details during which I was told their 'client' had admited fault for the accident.

Subsequently I had this confirmed in writing by albany assistance in a letter dated 20th june 2012. I am still waiting for payment and though I have had a number of letters from albany confirming that they are chasing payment. The most recent of these is dated 9th august 2012. Albany informed me in a letter dated 19th July 2012 that "we have today sent a reminder to the third party insurers, advising them that unless settlement is recieved we shall be looking to commence legal action."

On the 25/06/2012 I received a letter from acron assessors, who were acting on behalf of albany assistance, that my car had been deemed a total loss. I have since replaced the vehicle but this claim has been going on so long now I'm starting to worry that the insurance company who are footing the bill my find some way to avoid of paying.

I'd really like to receive the settlement as soon as possible so I can consider it case closed. I am really worried however by the length of time it is taking the third party to settle this. Is there anything I can do to try and speed things up? Any advice you could offer on this would be much appreciated.

Regards

Philip Croser

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Tue 11 Sep 2012 18:48
Vauxhall Astra H - Non Fault Car Accident Payment Delays - tony g
Hi phillip,
Some confusion in the dates in your post however .
I'm currently involved in a similair situation on behalf of my mother in law ,its a slow tedious business ,particularly as the the the owner of the other vehicle won't admit liability .Even though they collided with our car which was parked and without a driver at the time .

I'm afraid that like us your faced with the prospect of the small claims court to recover your losses .

Our insurance company are about to issue a claim on our behalf ,but not against the other persons insurance company .They will be issuing the claim against the driver of the other car ,she will have to attend court or have a judgement registered against her .

You are at liberty to do the same . I would suggest you write to the other person ,tell them that you are not prepared to wait any longer .If you do not receive the value of your written off car within two weeks you will issue a writ in the small claims court .Its not common knowledge ,but your not obliged to deal with an insurance company ,you can pursue the individual who caused the damage ,particularly as they have already admitted liability .

Good luck and please let the forum know the outcome ,your experience will help others .

Tony g

Edited by tony g on 11/09/2012 at 18:51

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Tue 11 Sep 2012 18:50
Vauxhall Astra H - Non Fault Car Accident Payment Delays - dacouch

The delays are more likely being caused by Albany rather than the third party, try googling "Albany Problems or Complaints". They have a very bad reputation and are incredibly slow and have a habit of losing post or telling you they've sent letters when they have not.

I'm guessing you're in a credit hire car (Albany may have described it as a courtesy car) or have an injury.

Albany pay Admiral a nice fat commission for passing on non fault accidents for them to deal with, if you have comprehensive cover you could have claimed directly from Admiral and paid your excess, your claim would have been settled in weeks.

Try ringing the other Insurers and asking when they will be settling, you may be surprised to find they're waiting to make payment but are awaiting on Albany

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Tue 11 Sep 2012 19:07
Vauxhall Astra H - Non Fault Car Accident Payment Delays - Armitage Shanks {p}

The Small Claims track of the County Court is there to work for you. However, although you may get a judgement and a sum of money awarded to you, enforcement of this payment is entirely another matter. Getting £1000 from someone with a very low disposable income can be problematical

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