Accident – car driver wants to take my bike for analysis?

So, I was involved in an RTC the other week, completely not my fault. The driver has admitted liability (to me in person, at least) and I’ve got police statement / independent witness to corroborate my case.

Anyway, the bike is quite badly damaged (front wheel totalled, forks bent, bar tape and bars scuffed, shifters damaged etc). I took it for an independent valuation at a major bike shop who said it was uneconomical to fix. I’ve shown this to the car driver who has involved her insurance (I don’t think she was expecting it to cost £700+ when she admitted liability) who have apparently advised her to collect my bike for ‘her own independent valuation’. I have offered to take the bike to another shop of her choosing for a second opinion, but she has declined this, insisting that she wants to take the bike.

I’m not quite sure where to go now – it seems unusual for them to want to have the bike. It’s pretty worthless to me currently but it just seems unnecessary? If it was a car that had been damaged, you wouldn’t hand it over to the other driver, would you?

Any advice welcomed.

Tell her to do one!

+1

As above, it’s not her bike to value. the insurance can ask for several valuations from you but you should not surrender your property to a 3rd party.

I’d be speaking to her insurance company as that doesn’t sound likely.

If she won’t give you their details, then the cops will give you all the info.

In fact it might be worth avoiding the driver for the moment and get the insurance details straight from the Police.

If the insurance company want to inspect the bike, they should have an assessor who should come to you.

I’ve never heard of this before – sounds pretty dodgy to me, what’s to stop her chucking the bike in a canal?

Not a chance. It’s your property.
Just put in writing that you are happy to take it to a 3rd party bike shop for assessment.

You should hope they take it to the guy who valued the car that I hit a few years ago.
He valued a tatty R reg Hyundai accent at over £1500.

Ask for her car for security 🙂

Tell her she can have your bike if you can have her car. Fair swap. Forget it just tell her to swivel!

None of her business. If her insurance company wants an independent estimate then it is upto her insurance company to arrange, no her personally. If she’s not going through insurance then she should take you up on your offer to take it to a shop of her choice.

Do not give it to her!

If she has involved her insurance, then the matter is now in the hands of them & your solicitors.

I have just this week accepted a full & final settlement for an RTA I was unfortunately involved in back in January 2012! – So don’t hold your breath & NEVER accept there 1st offer, what im getting compared to what I got fobbed off with 8 months ago is very significant indeed! 🙂

I assume you are ok btw?

All the best,

Alan.

Sounds dodgy to me mate,tell her you’ll let them have a look if they come around to your house and do it there.

If it was a car that had been damaged, you wouldn’t hand it over to the other driver, would you?

Exactly, only deal with her insurance company now. It’s out of her hands.

What that lot said

Tell her to come and collect it.

Hide in the front garden, then own her with the bent forks as she arrives. They may not be bombers, but it’s the principle that counts.

No need to have a go at her, if that’s what her insurance company has told her.

Just be polite and tell her to go back to her insurance company and tell them to organise their own assessment – at their cost/time, if they aren’t happy with your quotation.

And ensure you also include any clothing damaged.

Did the request come from her insurer or her saying they asked to give it to her?

Weird thing to ask. An insurer wouldnt say that IMO

Depends; would you…..? 😉

Her making things up to ask you and then saying it was the insurance company that requested her to are wrong, ask for a copy of the letter from her insurance comapny, and pass it on to your comapny, let them debate it over a few emails.

all insurance companies write things down,and send all requests ut in writing also all calls are recorded, just remind her of that, and dont forget to claim for taxis, hire bikes, damaged clothing, and emeotional shock and injuries.

She paid her premium to her insurer so they take the hit for her liability and all the chasing up and paying out that follows. They do have the right to seek a second opinion on the cost to repair or replace your property but taking possession? Would they do that if your car was involved? Nope, they would send an assessor round to the garage / house to examine it. Sounds like they want her to do their donkey work for them or she wants rid of the bike. Either way it’s well suss and a deffo no no.

Advise her insurer of when you will make the bike available for their assessment under your supervision.

As a former claims manager, any contact regarding your claim against her should be from her insurers – there is a definite smell of rat.

Either her insurers contact you to arrange a second valuation, or else she has not involved them and she is after a second valuation.

The request to take your bike away is rubbish. This is between her insurance co and yours. Neither one of you should be contacting the other directly. Any request or communication that is made outside of those channels, ask for in writing and forward to your insurer. As for the advice about getting information from the police. That’s not true either. Any information gathered by the police is covered by the data protection act and will not be disclosed to you, only to your insurer who will have to request the information. Put them to work. That’s what you pay them for.

As a former claims manager, any contact regarding your claim against her should be from her insurers – there is a definite smell of rat.

+1

I’ve seen it from the other side – working in a bike shop we often used to get asked to value bikes involved in accidents and the correspondence was always by letter from the insurance company advising us of the situation and supplying paperwork for us to fill out.

The owner would bring the bike in and once we were visited by someone from the insurance company (think there was concern about a rip-off claim but maybe it was just a random check to make sure we weren’t inflating the repair bill).

It’s for the insurance company to request other valuations if necessary.

Are her insurance company definitely involved?

Are her insurance company definitely involved?

this

sounds alot to me like she is trying not to go thought her insurance, if he had involved them then why would she care if there was £25 or £2500 worth of damage there paying not her.

When mine was economically written off the other party sent someone round to assess my bike.
The guy didn’t have a clue, had no idea about top end carbon racing bikes.
I had a fair estimate, we didn’t push it. I said if you search the net you won’t find the same any cheaper.
He mentioned repairs. I said I’d want a lifetime guarantee on the work, and if it failed when I was descending or in traffic I’d take them to the cleaners.
He accepted my quotes.

I don’t have an insurer – not for whilst I’m on the bike anyway. Would my home insurance deal with her insurance company? Or my car insurer?

Or do I just liaise directly with her insurance co?

I understand that there are various legal services/lawyers (specialising in bike accident cases) I can employ to handle the claim on my behalf, but I’d really prefer not to get these people involved. It just seems unnecessary.

Are her insurance company definitely involved?

I presume that’s the case, but I only have her word to prove this.

sounds alot to me like she is trying not to go thought her insurance, if he had involved them then why would she care if there was £25 or £2500 worth of damage there paying not her.

^ This.
She was prepared to stretch to ‘a couple of hundred quid’ you know… do me a favour. Cheapest quote was £3200

don’t have an insurer – not for whilst I’m on the bike anyway. Would my home insurance deal with her insurance company? Or my car insurer?

Or do I just liaise directly with her insurance co?

Try these, http://www.bikeline.co.uk and free.

Superficial – Member
I don’t have an insurer – not for whilst I’m on the bike anyway. Would my home insurance deal with her insurance company? Or my car insurer?

Or do I just liaise directly with her insurance co?

I understand that there are various legal services/lawyers (specialising in bike accident cases) I can employ to handle the claim on my behalf, but I’d really prefer not to get these people involved. It just seems unnecessary.

Are her insurance company definitely involved?
I presume that’s the case, but I only have her word to prove this.

The Police will have her insurance details on their RTC report.

I’d call the Officer who dealt with it to get her insurance details and call them myself.

The police will be able to provide you with details of her insurance company. You’d expect to have had some sort of correspondence from them really. Speak to them directly and they’ll be able to process the claim for you…though how it works if you’re not insured yourself, I don’t know. I dare say they’d be less inclined to pay up if there’s no weight behind you, but with a witness, they probably know they don’t have a leg to stand on, and you might find they’re happy to pay straight up.

That’s my experience from making a couple of claims in the past (for the car)

Your home insurer will probably Cibber you for legal stuff against you, and put you on to a preferred solicitors who may pursue claims for you. I would do this. In fact I currently am after being knocked off by white been man a year ago. If you contract her insurer on your own they will ignore, delay, counter claim and rudely bully you as they know you aren’t an expert. Been driver’s insurer grief it on with me… I’d have let it go if they hadn’t, now they have pursue me for some losses and my solicitor is working on agreeing the amount for the last items.
Best of luck. Hold firm.

RichPenny – Member
Tell her to come and collect it.

Hide in the front garden, then own her with the bent forks as she arrives. They may not be bombers, but it’s the principle that counts.

I have just wet myself.

A colleague of mine was knocked off his bike last year and fortunately he had British Cycling Ride membership. They dealt with his claim as part of his membership package. He pays £28 a year for his membership.

Try it. You would have to take A 26’er out of my cold dead hands.

I reckon she’s gone ‘it’s a bike, it’ll be about fifty quid to put it right’, and now she’s heard a quote in the hundreds she thinks you’re trying it on.

Either way, just do the stuff above. Get the insurance company involved.

Get a solicitor involved . When I was knocked off by a car the insurance company would not deal through me but only through a solicitor . If she has admitted liability you won’t have to pay anything and you will almost certainly end up getting more than you expect .

Superficial – Member

I’ve shown this to the car driver who has involved her insurance (I don’t think she was expecting it to cost £700+ when she admitted liability) who have apparently advised her to collect my bike for ‘her own independent valuation’.

This is utter horse shit (as others have said).
There is no way in hell an insurance company would rely on their customer for third party loss adjustment.
I’ll bet you a five finger kit kat she is yet to inform her insurers.

Is this all being done on the phone or something?

Just write her a letter saying you damaged my bike, here’s an estimate to have it fixed or replaced, as a courtesy I can take it to another shop your nominate at my convenience for a similar quote, but otherwise I expect you to send me a cheque in the above amount within 14 days. Don’t say a word more than you need to. Do keep copies. CC it to her insurance company.