# Major screw up and it's all my fault :-(



## Estoril-5 (Mar 8, 2007)

This is a long story so I'm going to cut it down as much as possible, but I need some advice where possible.

Friend of mine, his wife's not well and in hospital and needed some things doing on his car including tyres changing.

Trying to help out, I ask my dad if he can take the car to get the tyres changed as he works next door to a tyre place, and that I'm asking as my friend is tied up visiting his wife etc.

My dad says no problem, friend drips car to my dad's house Friday night and my dad will take it on Saturday.

Saturday morning I get a call my dad's been involved in a car accident whilst driving mates car.

Get to the scene and it's pretty bad but fortunately dad is ok, shaken up a fair bit and some pain from the seatbelt.

Anyway, dad was waiting at traffic lights (on red) when a transit from the opposite direction was traveling at high speed, the transit jumped the lights and hit an Audi who was traveling at a right angle (his lights were green) and the transit t-boned the Audi and then carried on hit my dad who was waiting at the lights.

Transit driver legged it. Police ambulance etc were called.

Transpires that the transit was stolen and they managed to catch the driver who ran off.

Now here's the screw up, I sort my dad's insurance out and told him he can drive another car that's insured third party. Great, until the police do a check and say actually he's not allowed to drive another car third party, totally my fault and I take full blame. 

Now I've had to fork out £410 recovery charges as the police towed it away, and my mates dad has asked me to pay for the value of the car which I have done £850.

The car has been recovered from the police compound to my local garage (where daily storage charges are being accrued).

I'm out if pocket by over £1250 and rising, I appreciate some of that is my fault because I assumed my dad's insurance had third party on another car.

Can I recover any money from the transit owner/insurance as it jumped the lights and caused the accident/crashed into my dad?

Any help would be appreciated

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## kingswood (Jun 23, 2016)

bad news all round mate :-( and you was doing someone a favour too. no justice.

i think alot of people assume there insured 3rd party by their policy so dont kick yourself to much.

as for claiming from the transit insurance i dont think it will be possible as your dad was, effectively, driving without insurance. id be happy that the old bill werent taking this further

maybe your friend, whos car it is - and insured on it - could make a claim via his insurance for been hit by an uninsured driver. but could this bring it on top for you dad?

id put it down to experience and be happy it wasnt a £5k car of your mates. get the car weighed in for scrap and get a couple of quid back.

i dont know your mates or your circumstances but maybe he should shoulder a few quid too?


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## Estoril-5 (Mar 8, 2007)

The police said hes not going to fine my dad or give him points as he realised I had made a genuine mistake, so that was a relief.

I wouldn't mind him taking on a little cost but it's his dad (who actually owns the car and bought it etc) whose basically said, sort it and that they shouldn't be at a loss.

It's not my mates fault, just the way his dad is.

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## Brian1612 (Apr 5, 2015)

Have a word with your mate and tell him to grow a pair and have a word with his dad. End of the day you were trying to do him a favour also, didn't see his own dad offering to take the car to the tyre place. Shame it has happened and genuine mistakes happen like this but take it as an expensive lesson and don't make the same mistake again with insurance.


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## Shiny (Apr 23, 2007)

Your dad has been very lucky! The police aren't normally lenient with uninsured driving, most cases are actually genuine oversights but end up with 6 penalty points and £200+ fines. Worse case, also your mate could have ended with an IN14 (aiding & abetting) conviction, 6 points & £200+ fine.

Your mate may still be sucessful in making a claim as, whether your dad was insured or not, he has still suffered a loss as a result of the negligence of the transit driver.

I'm almost certain that you will have no claim though and it will need to be your mate that makes the claim.

Best route will be probably be https://www.mib.org.uk/


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## steve6690 (Feb 25, 2016)

Personally I think your mate should split the costs here. He failed to physically check your dad's insurance cover. Yes I realise that nobody actually ever does that, but then they take the risk that a genuine mistake has been made. More and more insurance companies are renewing policies these days and cancelling the entitlement to drive other cars on renewal. I don't understand why, but we are getting quite a few drivers who think they're covered to drive a mate's car and when we check, they're not any more.
I doubt your mate's insurance company would help as they didn't insure your dad to drive it.

edit : Interestingly the MIB might pay out.

https://www.mib.org.uk/media/166917/2015-uninsured-drivers-agreement-england-scotland-wales.pdf

Paragraphs 3 & 7


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## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

First and foremost, glad your dad is OK chum.



steve6690 said:


> He failed to physically check your dad's insurance cover.


Totally agree - your mate could have been prosecuted for allowing an uninsured driver to drive his car. If he said he didn't know, your dad could have been prosecuted for taking without the owners consent. Seriously, your dad's lucky they're letting it go. I suppose thales were able to see that the car was insured, and possibly that your dad had a policy on his own car. It's v easy to assume you're covered by the third party extension, in fact I don't even know if it's on my own policy. I'm off to check.

It'll be basically down to whether your mate decides to offer some sort of goodwill, in reciprocity for the goodwill shown by you and your dad.

Hope you get sorted chum.

Cooks

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## nick_mcuk (Jan 4, 2008)

First rule of thumb NEVER EVER drive anyone elses car unless you are properly insured.....i.e a named driver on the insurance.

The 3rd party thing on most insurance policies is completely useless and shouldnt be used to drive others cars.

As shiny says you dad is bloody lucky he isn't getting dragged to court, fined and a lovely IN10 endorsement on his license.

Glad he is ok and not hurt though


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## willywonker (Oct 27, 2016)

First off I would check your Dads insurance certificate to be sure He doesn't have cover, it could easily be misunderstanding between the Police and his insurers. It's also very surprising the Police let him off if he doesn't have any cover.

Even if he doesn't have cover it shouldn't prevent your mate claiming from the Transit insurers, your Dad was hit by a stolen van whilst stationary, they cannot dispute liability for the claim in anyway. It's unlikely they will even ask much detail about your mates insurance anyway. He can legitimately provide his insurers details for the car, and your dads detail as the driver, unless they ask to see your mates insurance documents, they won't even know your Dads not named on that policy. If they ask more just say your dad doesn't have the benefit of comprehensive cover, so that's why you're claiming from them.

The biggest issue you'll face is that neither of the insurers will help you, so you'll have to go it alone.

If the Transit insurers won't help you right now as they are still investigating the theft, etc. Ask them to arrange a without prejudice inspection of your mates car. They will look at it, inspect the damage and asses the value, which will allow you to scrap the car, stop paying storage and then get them to payout on the car when they are happy with everything. Make them aware storage charges being charged, it will speed the up, and mean you can recover the cost from them if they take 2 weeks to inspect. 

Your mate needs to claim as he has suffered a loss - his car.

MIB can't help, this is for when you are hit by an uninsured vehicle..


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## DLGWRX02 (Apr 6, 2010)

Hope your dad was unhurt in this incident and ive known and argued with friends in the past who have wanted/needed to have borrowed a car, and I refused with out seeing policies first, lost a good friend for several years as a result.
But just like to add even if your dad was covered 3rd party by his, he still would not of been able to claim a penny as your only covered if you hit the 3 rd party, so nothing on the vehicle he was in could of been claimed for.


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## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

DLGWRX02 said:


> But just like to add even if your dad was covered 3rd party by his, he still would not of been able to claim a penny as your only covered if you hit the 3 rd party, so nothing on the vehicle he was in could of been claimed for.


I was thinking this too chum, this would only apply if the OP's dad was at fault. If someone else was at fault, then their insurance should cover the damage to the car the OP's dad was driving. And from the links provided there may be cause to claim from the MIB. The grey area in all of this is the fact that, while the intentions were good, the OP's dad was not actually insured to drive that vehicle, and as such, shouldn't have been on a public road.

Cooks

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## Estoril-5 (Mar 8, 2007)

Cheers for all the replies guys 

I'm just going o chalk this one down to experience

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