Me vs Car - part II

[Colapop]

Well as noted back in Feb I was involved in an accident. It's all here (http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=43138) so I won't explain too much. I had my day in small claims court as IAG (the insurance company) wanted their costs recovered. I have been ordered to pay!! Yep, I am gutted, it's not what I needed. I've had various people tell me not to worry just pay it off at $10 a week or something. Is this possible? The order says I am to pay it within 7 days... What should I do? Where do I go from here?

[Stickchick]

Ring the insurance company and work out a payment plan, they are pretty good like that as long as they get their money they don't care how it comes.

Sorry the outcome wasn't better

[yungatart]

Bugger, Col. I don't know what you should do, but it must be possible to pay it off...or you could just keep racking up unpaid fines etc until they get wiped, like so many do....

[MSTRS]

On the drip, Col. Sucks, but 'as long as you are making an effort'...

[EJT]

I've had various people tell me not to worry just pay it off at $10 a week or something. Is this possible? The order says I am to pay it within 7 days... What should I do? Where do I go from here?

Sorry to hear about that mate. You must sort something out within 7 days. A court order is a little more serious than a fine, so you can't ignore it. If you ignore it, the insurance company can go to court to, among other things, get an order to have some of your assets seized.

Can you afford to pay it in full? If not, you will probably have to provide evidence (or it would be better if you did). It depends on how the insurance company acts and whether it will enforce the court order after 7 days. Trying to negotiate something with them is the best option.

Good luck!

[madmal64]

From my understanding Col you have 7 days to make arrangements to pay the amount.
If time payment is the way to go the see what you can arrange. My suggestion is to make sure that this payment shedule is able to be met at all times. As long the the payments are being made on time all the time they seem to be sweet.
Sorry to hear that the hearing didnt go the way you where hoping it would but I think its time to bite the bullet and move on as they say

[Jantar]

Damn, not good news at all. Why isn't your insurance paying? Even 3rd party should cover that.

[Grub]

Bugger Col. Just a point here ... is this the small claims/distpute tribunal? I had a Very Important win in the disputes Tribunal and the f'er never paid. Turned out that there was no way to make him pay.

[mdooher]

So are you saying you didn't have any insurance........ if so you should bend over and take it like a man.... .....well you know what I mean:blink:

[Stickchick]

So are you saying you didn't have any insurance........ if so you should bend over and take it like a man.... .....well you know what I mean:blink:

he is already paying for it, its just a matter of what he can afford

[RantyDave]

Ring the insurance company and work out a payment plan
I would say this would be the most sensible first move.

The most sensible second move would be to come to the Southern Cross on Saturday (http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=55324) and explain your predicament to the other attendees along with the words "so, buy a pint for a poor broke biker then?". Let's see - 20-odd people, 20-odd pints, should see even the big fella looking a bit wobbly by the end of the evening.

Dave

[Coldrider]

Sorry Col, looks like the dickhead won, he caught you out, ol' ladies drive like that too, except they drive in the cyclist lane till they execute their manouvre. I don't think small claims tribunal are enforcable, the judge is actually a lay person referee. It is up to your integrity as person if/how you are going to pay. The insurance company will try their best to scare the shit out out of you with big words & fancy letterheads.

[Kendog]

Damn that sux.

If the scum sucking crims of this world can pay a measily amount a week, I am sure an upstanding guy like yourself can arrange the same thing.

[Colapop]

Bugger Col. Just a point here ... is this the small claims/distpute tribunal? I had a Very Important win in the disputes Tribunal and the f'er never paid. Turned out that there was no way to make him pay.
It's through the disputes tribunal. The first line of the letter states "The Tribunal hereby orders: The respondant 'Colapop' to pay IAG New Zealand Ltd the sum of $4275.34"

I have been to court and argued my case, I lost. I have no problems with the decision, just my ability to pay that sort of money out of my back pocket. I rang the insurance company and they have offered a discount ($3275.34) if I can come up with the money in the next little while. If not then they want a minimum of $120/month - which is not gonna happen coz I can't afford it.

What I'd like to know is what I absolutely have to do? How much do I have to pay? I'm not trying to get out of paying it, just trying to lessen the effect on my already merager earnings.

[Stickchick]

And did you tell IAG that you couldn;t afford to pay that? Mayb talk to Citizens advice bureau about it they may be able to lead you to the right place or even contact the Wellinton Law Community in willis street, its free advice but they definitely should be able to help you with this.

[Colapop]

Yep told her that - "That would be the minimum amount IAG would accept." I'll check it out with CAB.

[Grahameeboy]

Yep told her that - "That would be the minimum amount IAG would accept." I'll check it out with CAB.

That is crap Col. I used to work for IAG and they used to accept $10 per week for years. They are just trying to stone wall you as they cannot dictate a minimum when the Court would only expect you to pay what you can afford.

The Referee should have discussed the payments at the Hearing and got agreement.

You may have to do some figures and present these to Court /IAG.

Keep me informed.

[RantyDave]

How much do I have to pay?
Well, nearly three and a half grand by the sounds of things. Talk to Merv about he ended up never getting the money because according to 'them' (http://www.justice.govt.nz/pubs/courts/disputes_decision_against.pdf) it's just a question of process - one that you'll end up paying for. Again.

How about you try to arrange payment of $55/month for five years = $3300. It doesn't account for 'time value of money' but hey. It'll also be a lot cheaper than (say) getting a bank loan for the amount. Suck suck suck.

Dave

[Grub]

What I'd like to know is what I absolutely have to do? How much do I have to pay?

Alright. My recollection is that if you pay a regular amount, somebody mentioned $10/week and you never miss one ... they can't do diddly squat.

I'm also fairly certain that since they chose the Disputes Tribunal, they forgo any rights they might have to take you to the District Court to have you "examined as to your means" and force an accelerated recovery.

In any event, this is all bush-lawya talk. Free legal advise is available at a Community Law Centre. Your circumstances are exactly why they're there. You'll get a proper legal opinion from a simple visit. You can't use them as your full-time lawyer but they love sorting out your rights when you're being bullied by a 'system'

[Nasty]

they have to be reasonable about your ability to pay, almost all companies that i know of try to be reasonable and allow people to pay it off. I can't see IAG being any different .... they should be able to arrange a payment plan .. give them a call.

[Grub]

Well, nearly three and a half grand by the sounds of things. Talk to Merv about he ended up never getting the money because according to 'them' (http://www.justice.govt.nz/pubs/courts/disputes_decision_against.pdf) it's just a question of process - one that you'll end up paying for. Again.

Bugger, looks like I've just failed Bush Lawyering 101. I'm not quite sure what Ranty is saying there but that pdf is pretty clear about what happens if you do nothing. What happened to Merv? I suppose it's not relevant anyway. An individual doesn't have the time and resources to chase payment but big organisations do and the cost is irrelevant to them - its the principle they're protecting.

I am pretty sure about the $10/week thing though

[Macktheknife]

Bugger to hear about this mate, seems to rain more on some folks than others some days.
Get yourself down to the community law office and take it from there, they will give good advice and it will be factual. Then take that information, work out what you can afford, and present the IAG with a payment plan and see what they say. This is all you can reasonably do, if they refuse ask them if they have any jobs going that would suit you and arrange to have it drawn from your salary.
Best of luck mate, call me if there is a way I can help.
Mack

[RantyDave]

What happened to Merv?
Sorry, my bad - it was you, not Merv. The case you won but then didn't manage to extract $'s.

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showpost.php?p=1204481&postcount=8

The point is that if there is no way for IAG to actually force Col to pay then he certainly has significant leverage over the company. But I imagine insurance companies have entire (vast) departments turned over to doing this sort of thing.

Dave

[Sanx]

Col, I'd still like to know how the guy driving, and his insurance company, managed to ignore the 'thou shalt indicate three seconds prior to manouvering' rule?

[Paul in NZ]

It's through the disputes tribunal. The first line of the letter states "The Tribunal hereby orders: The respondant 'Colapop' to pay IAG New Zealand Ltd the sum of $4275.34"

Ferk me - $4,275.34c what did you do to the car mate? Hug it to death?

[EJT]

The point is that if there is no way for IAG to actually force Col to pay then he certainly has significant leverage over the company. But I imagine insurance companies have entire (vast) departments turned over to doing this sort of thing.

Dave

IAG can apply to the District Court to have a Collections Officer or Bailiff visit and demand payment, and seize assets if payment is not made. They can only take things which are owned by you (ie not a vehicle with finance owing on it). This is the most drastic step, so I'm sure it won't come down to that if you try to negotiate somethign with them. It can only apply to the Court to do this if you don't comply with the tribunal order.

[Colapop]

Ferk me - $4,275.34c what did you do to the car mate? Hug it to death?
The damage was actually pretty minor. Two door skins. The car was (at the time) a six week old Golf GTI. That's why he needed the huge turning radius.

Col, I'd still like to know how the guy driving, and his insurance company, managed to ignore the 'thou shalt indicate three seconds prior to manouvering' rule?
The judgement states that the adjuDICKator accepts that the complainant did indicate in enough time prior to the turn.

IAG can apply to the District Court to have a Collections Officer or Bailiff visit and demand payment, and seize assets if payment is not made. They can only take things which are owned by you (ie not a vehicle with finance owing on it). This is the most drastic step, so I'm sure it won't come down to that if you try to negotiate somethign with them. It can only apply to the Court to do this if you don't comply with the tribunal order.
Can they do that although this was through the disputes tribunal?

[swbarnett]

The judgement states that the adjuDICKator accepts that the complainant did indicate in enough time prior to the turn.
From your description it certainly sounds to me like they indicated as they turned, not before. Did they have witnesses to when they started indicating? Perhaps you need to seek legal advice for an appeal? Can you appeal a Disputes Tribunal ruling?

[EJT]

Can they do that although this was through the disputes tribunal?

Yeah - unfortunately. It is one way of enforcing decisions if they are ignored. Fortunately, that is the last resort for them, and it is a bit of a hassle, so I don't think they will do it. If you can't afford it, they can also apply to the court to have you examined re you assets. Again, a bit of a hassle for them. But if it appears you can't pay (which should have been brought up at the hearing), then the court can make orders on repayments.