Hello all. Im in need of some help.
Basically, my sister had a small accident when reversing off our driveway in July 2007. She was reversing off our driveway and at the same time a woman was reversing up our street on the wrong side of the road. They both didn't see each other and the rear corner of both cars made contact. My sister stupidly didn't come inside to tell anyone and didn't take any pictures, just took insurance details and the woman drove off. My sisters wheels were still on the footpath and just the back end was 'hanging' over the road. So you can tell how far on the wrong side of the road this woman was reversing.
My sisters insurance company Privilege have been dealing with this appallingly. Its taken them nearly a year to get anywhere at all. Privilege said it offered a 50/50 claim as both cars were reversing, the womans insurance company rejected this offer and refused to take any blame. Now we have had a letter from Privilege saying:
" Please note that the other side have rejected our offer of settlement on a 50/50 basis.
Unfortunately, given that their insured was on the main road and you were coming off your driveway, we would not have a strong enough case to justify pursuing this matter further through the courts.
I regret to advise you that will not be able to effect a recovery for you in this instance and propose to close your file.
I will however leave it open for 14 days for any further comments you may wish to add."
So basically the other side refuse and Privilege chicken out and give in.
The other woman had to provide drawings of the event. She put my sisters car in the middle of the road and her reversing out of the street on the correct side of the road. How convenient, shame its a blatant lie.
I have done a quick sketch to explain the incident a little better.
img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/Revis/Accidentdraw...g
Where the 3 cars are parked she claimed it was a 'turning circle' that was full. Its a parking space to fit 3 cars, stupid woman. She claimed she could not do a turn in the road and had to reverse out. I'm sorry but she was in a small fiesta. A Frontera can turn round in the road even if those spaces are full. You'd have to be driving a long car to not be able to turn around in our street.
So we're stuck. Privilege want to close our file. She is lieing through her teeth but we don't have any pictures to prove our side. The damage is going to cost about £700 to fix. My sister's car is an R reg Rover 416 that we bought cheap off a family member for £600. This car has been dealer serviced since new upto 75k miles and now its on 91k and its in great condition.
To top it all off, the womans son comes down our street all the time in his fancy BMW that must have bought for him (he looks about 17). He flies down the street, picks up his girlfriend, then reverses out of the street as fast as he can on the wrong side of the road just like she did. ARGHHH Can you see why this is annoying me so much.
Is there anything at all we can do? Would the Financial Ombudsman be able to help? Has anyone used or known of people using a company like INSCO and are they worth trying?
Any helpful tips or guidance would be much appreciated.
Redrevis
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 05/06/2008 at 20:14
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This isn't a comment on the rights or wrongs of this situation, but just something which I wouldn't otherwise have thought about. If a car is travelling along a road on the left hand side, is it relevant whether it's travelling forward or in reverse, as long as it's moving in the correct direction for the side that it's on?
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>>If a car is travelling along a road on the left hand side, is it relevant whether it's travelling
>>forward or in reverse, as long as it's moving in the correct direction for the side that it's on?
A former acquaintance of mine who had done an advance driving course - and like all teenagers who do had become the worst sort of "advanced" driver taking every corner in a skid or on two wheels - told me that if reversing for a long stretch down a road one should cross onto the "wrong" side in order to be driving the "right" way - as OP's third party had done. Cannot vouch for accuracy of assertion.
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good job you did the drawing, I couldn't get my head round 'reversing down the wrong side of the road'
so - the facts of the matter are that your sister was, contrary to the advice of the highway code, reversing off a driveway, and collided with a car approaching from her left, which is where you would expect traffic to be coming from ?
No wonder they rejected your 50/50 offer
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Sorry its not what you want to hear but i have to agree with the others.
If the other woman had been driving forwards down the road and your sister reversed out of the drive and they connected, she would still be in the wrong.
I'm afraid most people change their stories betwen having a bump and reporting it.
The only pleasure you might get from this is when the boyfriend does his lightning reverse down your cul de sac and gets cleaned up by a range rover or similar at the bottom of your road, he will be in the wrong then.
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Having looked at the diagram, I too think you're on to a loser here. It's irrelevant the car was reversing. It was travelling in the right direction for that side of the road. Obviously vision of the reversing driver affected by reversing but not sure you'll win this.
How bad is the damage to the Rover? Is it legal and driveable? Or was it fixed in 2007?
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Thats why i don't think this 'reversing down the wrong side' is the right thing to do because your vision is dramatically impaired. The Rover hasn't been fixed yet either, but it is driveable.
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"Where you would expect traffic to be coming from" Its a couldesac, not a main road with constant traffic.
Plus if this reversing down the a road on the wrong side is the right thing to do as a few people have said then why did she say she was on the correct side of the road in her statement contradicting ours? Also after reversing down the street she would have had to get onto the 'main' road by reversing onto it again on the wrong side? surely this can't be right???
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I often reverse out of my drive (into a cul-de-sac) as your sister did. I always aware that I'll be the fall-guy if any collision occurs with another vehicle - hence I'm ultra-ultra careful. Sorry to say it but it looks like your sister's fault. The other party does sound rather dozy, I can understand your frustration about it - especially with the 'incorrect' accident report she filed.
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