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I had a courtesy car after an accident - why is the insurer now refusing to cover the hire car costs?

I had an accident in May and was advised by my local garage to contact an accident management company. They replaced my damaged Audi A6 with a BMW 5 Series courtesy car. I signed documents, but failed to read the small print. I had a car for about 10 days. After that, I collected my car and returned the BMW to the garage. A few days later, I saw the garage owner driving the same BMW. I've now been told that, even though the third party accepted liability, their insurer refuses to pay hire charges of £4600. They named me as a claimant and told me that I will have to sign some statements and the case might go to court. After reading several topics about it, I realised what I got myself into. What would be your advice? I'm sure the garage owner was bumping a bill for hire.

Asked on 21 September 2017 by Marek

Answered by Honest John
It's up to the credit hire company to manage the hire, not you. You're are not liable for the time you didn't have the car. You should have a collection note from the garage when your car was complete, copy this and send it to the credit hire company advising you accept no responsibility after that date. Advise them that you will send this to the at fault insurer.
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