someone ran into the back of my car, they're completely ignoring requests (written) to provide me with their insurance details (I'm 99% sure they have insurance, they're just being c***s)

I've already had a solicitor send them a letter saying pay up, that was a few hundred bucks
I've been told by 3 other solicitors that it isn't worth while engaging their services because it would cost more in their fees than i would get back (about $7k worth of damage)


wtf can I do here, short of going to his house and kicking the guys head in I am pretty much out of ideas
all I want is for this prick to tell me who his insurance company is so I can make a claim against them, he just has to pay his excess for an accident which was his fault

and no I dont have full comp insurance because the cars total value was like 15k, its almost a statutory write off
I just want the guy to take me seriously, the demand notice from a lawyer didn't seem to do the trick so I'm doubtful another one will

I'm investigating small claims at the moment but it doesnt really seem to be a 'court' as such, more of a mediation - which i doubt hes going to even attend
I've also since moved to Sydney for work and taking him to court in QLD would require days of work etc - can I claim those costs with my associated legal fees etc

anyone had similar experiences? what did you do and how did it turn out

I'm full comp so I don't really know much about how third party works, but I was hit from behind by a truck a few months ago. The guy gave me a company brochure so I could call his boss, but when I rang the owner he said that the driver who hit me said the damage to my car wasn't worth repairing so he said they wanted to just leave it. (Mind you, the guy who hit me admitted that the truck had faulty brakes and that both him and his boss knew it was overdue for a service). So I just rang my insurer and gave the company's phone number and they chased them up for insurance details and sorted the whole thing out. But I'm not sure how it works in your case

all i've been able to find out so far is his CTP insurer, because thats mandatory information I can get from the DOT
but thats only useful if i have actual injuries to my person, not the car

and they still cant tell me how to contact the SOB

Police involvement tends to work....

police just said 'were you injured?'

me; 'nope'

police; 'go away, its a civil matter'

you have his address?

edit: get on the blower, file a claim with all the major insurance companies. see which one acknowledges they have him/her as a customer.

last edited by nF at 18:32:57 30/Sep/08

yeah, I'm weighing up going over to ask him in person
just worried it might bite me in the ass if I later have to front court and he accuses me of threatening him or something

I also live in nsw and hes in qld, but I could make a special trip if required

cant you just tell your insurance company the the other parties vehicle rego or some personal info of somesort to get the ball rolling?? Otherwise go to police and claim a hit and run. Causing 7k worth of damage and refusing to take responsibility will get police attention.

that trains left the station (telling police hit & run), besides i'm trying to be as calm about this as possible because I'm not covered with full comp insurance and if I were to do something silly like lodge a false police report or kick his teeth in, it might result in me being out of pocket some 7k

believe me, no one wants to see him suffer more than I do - I'm just going to wait till his cheque clears at a minimum

edit: get on the blower, file a claim with all the major insurance companies. see which one acknowledges they have him/her as a customer.

yeah I thought about that - and may very well give it a go, a little bit of social engineering if you will
my old man reckons it will get me no where because they just cant talk to me about anyone elses account but .. its better than doing SFA

don't under estimate the effectiveness of rocking up at their front door.

scares the s*** out of most people, regardless of who you are. i had to do it once for someone who tried a similar thing on. they backed down as soon as they realised how easy a brick through window might happen. but yeah don't do it as a threat.

Causing 7k worth of damage and refusing to take responsibility will get police attention.

no, it won't.

yeah im back up for a few days this week so I'm considering it, maybe just with a witness or something, i really dont need for him to be saying i threatened him etc

I don't know if you'll be able to get any information by calling around insurance companies. RACQ won't even speak to me because my car is technically owned by my olds until I pay them off - even tho I am the only driver of it.

Mate I hate to tell you but he will probably get away with it, this s*** has happened twice to me. The first guy reckoned he had no permanent address and just lived in that f***ing van that rammed into me, and of course he had no money or insurance, I actually got him to agree to pay me $800 and met him a couple times at Hungry Jacks so I got $200, but then I never heard from him again.
The second guy, in a truck, had the wrong address on his license for some reason - right street but wrong number, and he happily didn't tell me that was wrong, and the phone number he gave was wrong, and the company he told me he worked for I couldn't find. Actually went over to the street where he lives and the truck was there (but up the street a bit), asked a few neighbours around and so we got his address, but then still could never get in touch with him. My dad stole all his mail for some reason.

My dad stole all his mail for some reason.

my old man would have thrown a rock through his window rofl...

last edited by Martz at 18:50:30 30/Sep/08

haha true, well I'm a little bit more confident then that, simply because I actually took photographs of his licence, the car, the damage, his number plate, him etc

I then went to the police station straight away and confirmed the address on his licence was infact correct and current
I was way too furious at the time to be in any state of mind where I would have thought to ask for his insurance details, I was enraged++

are you sure he has insurance? sounds like it doesn't from everything your telling us..

Deliver a letter ... make it obvious that it wasn't sent via post (stick in the security grill, under the door. That clearly states what you need from them. In a non aggressive way.

Why deliver ? ... cos it also sends the message I know where you live
Why not knock on the door ?

enraged++

nah hes pissed because he thinks its my fault

he got of the car yelling profanities at me, meanwhile i'm still sitting in this tiny lowered rice bubble looking for my digital camera

by the time I got to his window his attitude had changed a whole lot, I was 100% fired up

his girlfriend was in the passenger seat saying stupid s*** like 'you're going to have to pay for the damage!!!'
I told her to stfu

he was in a 2005 model Jeep, so chances are he's got insurance
I've also checked out his digs on google earth, he's got some money by the looks of it


edit:

Deliver a letter ... make it obvious that it wasn't sent via post (stick in the security grill, under the door. That clearly states what you need from them. In a non aggressive way.

Why deliver ? ... cos it also sends the message I know where you live
Why not knock on the door ?

yeah I've sent registered post letters, so I can tell they were delivered and signed for
I am all for knocking on his door, I've just been told to keep my cool etc and make sure nothing gets out of hand otherwise it could be me who ends up in trouble - fair enough too

I just want the money for my repairs


last edited by tequila at 18:59:50 30/Sep/08

ahhaha google earth, a stalkers best friend

did he hit the 180?

ill give you $100 for the front panels

$500 for the whole wreck incl engine etc

you can keep the gearbox

What insurance did you have on your car.. just CTP?

yeah pretty much just ctp, it was pretty rarely driven on the road and they wanted $2500 for full comp so meh
lesson learned i guess, but its no use thinking about it now

that said for the two years I didn't pay $2500 a year, i've got some extra phat lewt

and maxe you can't 100rwkw, 230+ would be your funeral - so yes you can buy the motor

yeah pretty much just ctp

Good thing you didn't slam into anyone then. All you can do is hold your hand to your face when people make a thread and say all they have is CTP after hitting someone.

But yeah, Sure the car is only worth 15k, mines worth less but I still full comp it, f*** having to deal with c***s that don't play ball. When some dopey bitch crashed into me on my motorcycle, the full comp insurance sure kicked in nicely.

last edited by scuzzy at 19:08:27 30/Sep/08

I think your only choice will be to go through small claims. Talk to one of the "no win no pay" lawyers and gauge their opinion on the matter.

If they don't want to take it on then time to round up the boys and go visit him. I'd suggest not doing anything to provoke or intimidate until you've exhausted all legal avenues first.

A Private Investigator would get you the info you need and would have some tips on what to do. They get a bit of work like this.

got much evidence ?

yeah well, I actually was showing the car to a guy the day before (who has since paid a deposit on it), so the car is sold - just awaiting repairs

it went to the panel shop today to get fixed, the letter said he had a deadline to provide me with his insurance details otherwise thats what we're going to do - perfectly legal I'm told

I've already bought a new car (with full comp insurance on this one!) so really, I just don't wanna be out of pocket any longer

I'm investigating small claims

Small claims Tribunal sounds like a plan.

which i doubt hes going to even attend

http://www.legalaid.qld.gov.au/Publications/Factsheets+and+guides/Self-help+kits/Small+Claims+Tribunal+-+a+consumer+guide/What+happens+after+I+lodge+the+claim+form.htm

Pretend to be an insurance sales agent and ask him which insurance agency he is currently with so you can compete :P

it was pretty rarely driven on the road and they wanted $2500 for full comp so meh

Jesus H! My Home & contents + 2 cars full comprehensive is a fair whack less than that. Under 25 + some sort of muscle car I guess?

yeah, and there is only one company in Australia who will insure import cars for <25's so they kind of have a strangle hold on the market


edit; mm small claims may be the way to go, I guess
just means I will have to take a day off work to fly up again and sit in the court house for the day
just started a new job so its less than ideal, but its worth while

last edited by tequila at 19:25:25 30/Sep/08

i don't think its always threatening to rock up at someones house, have you tried finding his home phone number?

Heh I'm surprised no one has asked what actually happened... from the sounds of it, this guy thinks it was tequila's fault. So, what actually happened? Also, I don't think it helps your case that you had your digital camera out and you took heaps of photos of everything but you were "way too furious at the time to be in any state of mind where I would have thought to ask for his insurance details, I was enraged++ "

yeah becaues everyone is calm++ when someone crashes into them.

he crashed into the back of me, I wasn't reversing - it's his fault
and yeah I might have been enraged but I still did the minimum, which was shots of the damage, car & his licence/rego details

I just forgot to get his insurance details + phone number

and yeah I've been looking for his number, haven't found it yet
waiting for a mate to get back to me with the latest http://greypag.es data for '08

He's not in the pages?

he crashed into the back of me, I wasn't reversing - it's his fault

Were you changing lanes, or making a turn or something? Were you just pulling up to a stop sign or red light?

sounds like you pulled out in front of him

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/5347/img0060pc4.jpg

he was speeding and ran up my ass, looks pretty straight to me

Sandgate Rd Boondall?

Just opposite my work heh .. I am behind that brick fence.

Its a well known speeding and hoon hang out. Dead straight down a hill divided road. No possible reason to think anyone is doing anything.

No wonder he ran up your ass - you're on the wrong side of the road!@%

spot on hardware & obes, sandgate rd boondall outside nudgee college heading south towards city

the guy is just obviously not happy about being involved in an acco

yep looks pretty straight forward. What a dick. Makes me even more interested to hear his side of it. I guess you gotta work out if all the hassle is worth that amount of money.

If you do end up in small claims, is ther a way the other guy could twist the story to make it sound like your fault?

I dunno, it's gotta be reasonably difficult to swing it in his favour when the fact is he was going too fast and crashed into me
I would have thought this kind of thing would be open and shut

But like the lawyers said, it's going to cost the same if not more than $7k to take him through court

I'm going to try a few more things;

Calling his land line - I might have dug up his phone number (name doesn't match but the address does)
Rocking up there and politely asking
Small claims court
?????
profit

fairly certain there is a legal assumption that he's in the wrong

so he's got to have some evidence somehow

roll up on his house with a couple of airsoft pistols

he'll s*** his pants!

problem with small claims is even with a court order people still don't pay.

but with $7000 grand owing it'd probably be worth your time to sell that to a debt collector and let them sort it out.

maxe is right ... we need to legalize airsoft now!

I want a lawyer to tell me that they will take it and claim their own costs off him (ie, no win no pay kinda thing)

The guy should have insurance - if his car is under finance he has to have full comp insurance on it anyway (and its less than 3 years old, so chances are..)

I dare say hes just being a PITA for the hell of it and may very well just be trying to make me squirm for a bit first
Only problem with that is, if he doesn't notify his insurer within a certain amount of time after the accident, I'm told his insurance can just say 'you're not covered for that accident because you didn't tell us' - which would suck for me

Same thing happened to my brother on his Road Bike (bicycle). Someone ran over his back wheel. Completely buckled the frame, etc. Said they would pay, etc. When it came down to it, he just started ignoring it. Went to the cops, to get his address to give him a 'summons' or whatever they're called to take him to small claims. The day before he paid up. There were witnesses and everything, but he still dragged his heels.

roll up on his house with a couple of airsoft pistols

Can we take this thread seriously please, or else what is the point?

Personally I'd rock up there with a letter, and ask for his insurance details on the spot (which would be outlined in the letter anyway). If he wasn't home, give them the letter, asking them to give it to them and get their names and how they knew him.
Ask him to give specific reasons as to why he can't provide such details. Say that you will have no choice but to escalate this to small claims. Even offer him say $200-300 off if he pays now (thus saving both of you a day in court)
Don't tell him you live in NSW, then he will drag it out as long as possible!
Take a Witness too (not your gf or relative either)

Or Call him, ask for them, if he makes up some bulls*** about not having them on him, call him every day until he does. (ps turn number sending off, so that he can't get you for harrassment)

So the damage is definitely, 100% sure under $7500? If the damage is over $7500 representation costs are recoverable at judgement if you sue in the Magistrates Court.

I'm just filling in the small claims tribunal stuff now, the car should be back from the workshop by the time I'm ready to go to court and i don't mind taking the day off to fly up so much

I don't have his number - I just tried one phone number which I found using grey pages and it didn't work, no speaka engrish
That number was tied to the address on his licence, so I'm not hopeful about turning up to his house either
It will probably be the same person I just spoke too, but I'll give it a go none the less

The private investigator might be one way of doing it, not entirely sure what else to do just yet.

So the damage is definitely, 100% sure under $7500? If the damage is over $7500 representation costs are recoverable at judgement if you sue in the Magistrates Court.

I'm claiming exactly $7500 because there was other damage and legal fees I've already paid, damage to prestige number plates etc
Taking it straight to a magistrate would be great but I run the risk of being out of pocket even more money if something goes awry or he still refuses to pay

last edited by tequila at 09:15:57 01/Oct/08

the Jeep guy's rightfully angry because even though he had left sufficient distance he still ran up the back of teq

snap.

my lawyer emailed me yesterday and said that I should expect a cheque very shortly.

essentially I had to engage a lawyer because my attempts to contact the Jeep driver went unanswered, so we had him served with some kind of legal document saying pony up or face court

he tried to blame me and say it was my fault, offering to pay only 80% of my claim
told him to f*** off, they came back and said fine fine - paid the whole claim out


WINRAR!@

Awesome

Police involvement tends to work....

True that, I had a taxi plough into the side of my car a couple of years back, company did everything to get rid of me and not release any information, went to the local cop shop and explained the story, they made a threatening phone call and everything worked out in my favour.

WD TEQUILA, YOU WIN.

Glad to hear it's all sorted; that guy sounds like a d*******.