What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks

Accident management companies

My wife's car was hit, while parked, by another car. The other party accepted liability and the damage has been fixed with the help of a claims management company. She was given a courtesy car for a few days while the repairs were done.

All seemed to go well but yesterday she got a letter from the solicitors who act for the claims management company saying that in order to process her claim they need copies of all her financial transactions for the three months prior to the repair. They want evidence of her financial circumstances including "all bank/credit card/building society statements and wage slips" for the period.

This seems like a lot of personal information to disclose to potentially unknown third parties. The law firm says this has been required for "anyone hiring a replacement vehicle following an accident" following "a House of Lords case and subsequent cases" (no details given). Have you heard of anyone else being asked to disclose so much information in these circumstances?

Asked on 4 June 2016 by paul75ts

Answered by Honest John
Yes, this is common because the accident management company is trying to rip off the other party's insurer with excessively high rental charges for the credit hire car that you signed for. However, though you may have signed for this, they did not make the consequences clear to you and you can simply refuse to supply the documents or to pay the charges.
Similar questions
My car was damaged recently. I contacted my insurance and they gave me two options: claim through them and I would have to pay my excess or go through a claims management company that they deal with at...
You don't advise using a claims management company if there's any potential for dispute after an accident. Why is that? What should one use when there is a dispute over liability?
Our car was hit from behind whilst waiting to turn at a junction. The other motorist was profusely apologetic and accepted liability. Our bumper was squashed and pushed out of shape, parking sensors squished...