OK, now I'm annoyed with this guy

[cambridgedan]

ok well in December last year i had my bike parked at a camp in Papamoa on the grass where all the cars park, there is no designated parking there you just sort of park where ever, and there was a guy there with his car and he backed into my bike smacking it over doing a bit of damage as you can imagine, now I had left more than enough room for him to get around the bike if he had just looked, now thats cool, i was a bit annoyed about it but things like this do happen and it can be fixed, so his insurance paid for the repairs and all has been good until today i get a call from his insurance company saying that he is disputing the claim,
I dont see how he can, to start off with he was backing up so it dosnt matter if i had parked my bike 30cms from his car its his fault because he was backing up, I mean what if my little brother or some other kid was standing beside the bike, it could of been much worse, im not in a happy mood now,
altho if it ends up in the disputes tribunal im sure nothing much will happen, he might get in trouble for time wasting but the worst part of all is he is a bike rider, does he have no respect for fellow riders ???
maybe hes just hard up for cash in the current climate but still.

[MSTRS:Me]

The claim was settled as much as 6 months ago? And now a backtrack? How does that work?

[cambridgedan]

i have no idea maybe he didnt pay the excess

[PirateJafa]

Tell them tough shit and that you will happily see them in court (or wherever it ends up).

What are they going to do anyway? They've already essentially accepted liability on behalf of their client when they repaired the bike - are they going to back a car over it again?

[Mikkel]

So the bike has been fixed?
Have you paid any money?

If 'yes' and 'no', then just ignore them. Their - and their client's - headache.

But indeed, if he backed into your bike while it was parked, there really is no way he can shift blame for that.

[Gremlin]

So the bike has been fixed?
Have you paid any money?

If 'yes' and 'no', then just ignore them. Their - and their client's - headache.

Well, this is the key thing... have they actually fixed it all up, and now suddenly want money back?

First, turn your mindset around. Don't get mad, it will only raise your stress levels. Look at it as a game. They are wanting lots of dollars from you, your mission (should you choose to accept) is to give them as little as possible. In your situation, thats zero.

Now you get the fun of writing polite but blunt letters to them. If you do it right, you'll feel better after every one. Once you get the hang of it, it should take less than half an hour, and if you struggle to see the good side, just think of the costs the insurance co is incurring from spending staff time on it.

Eventually, if they aren't very smart, it will get escalated to someone higher up, who will talk to you, and have the power to negotiate a resolution... You re-iterate the obvious at this point.

I had this with an insurance co, it got dragged out for over a year. I was happy to pay (I was at fault) but they lacked simple things to their crazy claims... namely... proof... pictures, and kept altering their claims.

Have fun!

[cambridgedan]

hey thanks for the replys so far,

to answer a couple of questions
The bike has been repaired and was repaired almost straight away,
And No I have not paid one cent,

[slofox]

Tell 'em it's "YP not MP"...

[p.dath]

ok well in December last year i had my bike parked at a camp in Papamoa on the grass where all the cars park, there is no designated parking there you just sort of park where ever, and there was a guy there with his car and he backed into my bike smacking it over doing a bit of damage as you can imagine, now I had left more than enough room for him to get around the bike if he had just looked, now thats cool, i was a bit annoyed about it but things like this do happen and it can be fixed, so his insurance paid for the repairs and all has been good until today i get a call from his insurance company saying that he is disputing the claim,
I dont see how he can, to start off with he was backing up so it dosnt matter if i had parked my bike 30cms from his car its his fault because he was backing up, I mean what if my little brother or some other kid was standing beside the bike, it could of been much worse, im not in a happy mood now,
altho if it ends up in the disputes tribunal im sure nothing much will happen, he might get in trouble for time wasting but the worst part of all is he is a bike rider, does he have no respect for fellow riders ???
maybe hes just hard up for cash in the current climate but still.

I the claim has been "settled" (aka, paid) then that's the end of the matter. The insurance compant would be in a very poor position to do anything.

[MaxB]

If he backed over your bike and you have the proof then:

Don't give 'em anything. Don't negotiate, don't compromise, don't come to any sort of agreement.

Insurance settlement divisions have a vested interest in screwing you over. TBH they don't care about their client either. Just about minimising their losses.

[Mikkel]

hey thanks for the replys so far,

to answer a couple of questions
The bike has been repaired and was repaired almost straight away,
And No I have not paid one cent,

You're sweet then.

Standard form letter in reply to any letters from his insurance company that deals with him wanting to dispute the claim would be:

Dear sir or madam,

I thank you for your kind letter.

The issue has already been amicably settled with your client acknowledging himself being at fault.
If he, for any reason, should wish to change his mind in regards to making an insurance claim, that would remain solely an issue between yourselves and him. May I humbly suggest you send him the invoice for the relevant repairs and have him reimburse you for the expenditure he has incurred you.

Your sincerely,

X X

Or something along those lines.

...or alternatively you could just throw the letters away and ignore them completely. If they get serious - and they won't because they have nothing to gain from it - they might send a recommended letter.

[CookMySock]

First, turn your mindset around. Don't get mad, it will only raise your stress levels. [....]Now you get the fun of writing polite but blunt letters to them.

Geez I wouldn't writing any fucking letters lol. It's a hundred bucks a letter if they want me to do anything.

Tell 'em it's "YP not MP"...

Yeh, hehehe.

Don't give 'em anything. Don't negotiate, don't compromise, don't come to any sort of agreement. Insurance settlement divisions have a vested interest in screwing you over. TBH they don't care about their client either. Just about minimising their losses.

Yeah hehe, good advice from everyone here.

I wouldn't even answer their phone call, or stop what I was doing, or write no fucking letter, or, or, anything!

Insurance companies are like the police - they are masters at making you believe you MUST do as they say, when pretty much you can just walk away.

So just walk away. Boo fucken hoo lol.

Steve

[Korumba]

You're sweet then.

Standard form letter in reply to any letters from his insurance company that deals with him wanting to dispute the claim would be:

Dear sir or madam,

I thank you for your kind letter.

The issue has already been amicably settled with your client acknowledging himself being at fault.
If he, for any reason, should wish to change his mind in regards to making an insurance claim, that would remain solely an issue between yourselves and him. May I humbly suggest you send him the invoice for the relevant repairs and have him reimburse you for the expenditure he has incurred you.

Your sincerely,

X X

Or something along those lines.

...or alternatively you could just throw the letters away and ignore them completely. If they get serious - and they won't because they have nothing to gain from it - they might send a recommended letter.

Yep great letter Mikkel send it in, it will show them you will fight it and if it gets into any disputes tribunal the mediator will be impressed that you responded and you have a paper trail, may be a pain in the arse but I would do it, who knows the fuckers may somehow just put it into debt collection and then it would be a bitch to fight.
Send the letter mate...accept no responsibility, your vehicle was stationary his was moving.
Good luck

[cambridgedan]

You're sweet then.

Standard form letter in reply to any letters from his insurance company that deals with him wanting to dispute the claim would be:

Dear sir or madam,

I thank you for your kind letter.

The issue has already been amicably settled with your client acknowledging himself being at fault.
If he, for any reason, should wish to change his mind in regards to making an insurance claim, that would remain solely an issue between yourselves and him. May I humbly suggest you send him the invoice for the relevant repairs and have him reimburse you for the expenditure he has incurred you.

Your sincerely,

X X

Or something along those lines.

...or alternatively you could just throw the letters away and ignore them completely. If they get serious - and they won't because they have nothing to gain from it - they might send a recommended letter.

I could write a letter but they actually rang me, haha well i didnt talk to them because i was out,

[Gremlin]

Be wary of any voice communications. Its likely they will deny the phone calls taking place, or lose track of the number, meaning you have to keep a record (ideally record the entire conversation).

I'd follow Mikkel's letter, you have an easy case. They've paid up (which means essentially, their client has admitted fault - which he did - so because he was insured, they paid your expenses) everything has been fixed. From your side, everything is complete, your ducks are in a row.

On insurance side, their task is to try and minimise their expenses, which normally means pursuing the liable party. Showing their stupidity... they've come after you.

Send the nice letter in, showing a), you've responded and not trying to avoid them, and b) its not your problem