What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
How can we dispute a £70,000 charge for a credit hire Bentley following an accident?
Rather late in the day I am writing to ask you for advice regarding the loan of a Bentley following a motorway shunt 20 months ago. We were part of a multiple collision on the motorway coming home from Devon. My husband deliberately steered into the central barrier rather than the car in front, and the car behind drove into us. We were approximately the middle car of five or six. My husband was not blamed in any way by officials or police. Our Bentley, which we'd had from new, had probably done about 2,000 miles.
My husband was offered, and accepted, a similar Bentley which he used until our car was repaired, for a period of several weeks. I am not sure of details, as he tends to deal with car/business matters himself. He is finally to appear in court this Thursday. I believe the sum for the cost of the car hire is in the region of £70,000. Apparently it has been suggested that my husband should have used his other car whilst the Bentley was being repaired, but this is not possible as I have only a 2-seater car and have a severely handicapped son and three grandchildren that I am always ferrying about.
Have you any of your usual words of wisdom to help us resolve this ghastly situation? My husband will have a solicitor when he attends court. I'm afraid he will get so cross when he hears people justifying this now notorious scam that he could prejudice the outcome. If nothing else, hopefully my letter will add to what must be a bulging file you have on similar cases.
My husband was offered, and accepted, a similar Bentley which he used until our car was repaired, for a period of several weeks. I am not sure of details, as he tends to deal with car/business matters himself. He is finally to appear in court this Thursday. I believe the sum for the cost of the car hire is in the region of £70,000. Apparently it has been suggested that my husband should have used his other car whilst the Bentley was being repaired, but this is not possible as I have only a 2-seater car and have a severely handicapped son and three grandchildren that I am always ferrying about.
Have you any of your usual words of wisdom to help us resolve this ghastly situation? My husband will have a solicitor when he attends court. I'm afraid he will get so cross when he hears people justifying this now notorious scam that he could prejudice the outcome. If nothing else, hopefully my letter will add to what must be a bulging file you have on similar cases.
Asked on 15 August 2011 by DR, Chipping Campden
Answered by
Honest John
This is what is called a ‘credit hire car’. An accident management specialist will have intervened between your husband and his insurer and will have taken commission from a 'credit hire' operator to put him into a 'like for like' car. He will have signed something accepting liability for this if his insurer does not pay. He needs to fight this case hard using a good solicitor and barrister, contending that had he been made fully aware of his liability to ‘mitigate his costs’ he would never have accepted the credit hire Bentley that the insurers have refused to pay for. See: www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/credit-hire-1/
We give you the low down on how to save on insurance, little-known tricks and tips, what insurance groups mean and how to use insurance aggregators to beat insurers.
Insurance group finder and how to save on insuranceSimilar questions
On 19 February I was sitting in the passenger seat of my parked car (husband had gone into a shop). A large DHL lorry drove past indicating he was turning right. As he turned, the back end of the lorry...
I was involved in a car accident last year and the other party admitted liability. His insurance company rang and confirmed liability both to me and my insurers. My insurance duly paid for all the repairs...
You responded to a cry for help from GP of Tolleshunt Major in respect of an accident in which his (her) daughter had received a County Court Summons. Here are some thoughts that may be helpful. The accident...
Elsewhere on 
.jpg)
