Back calculation

Convicted Driver Insurance

Tiagobaltasar

New Member
Hi everyone I need help. Back in 2014 i was driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol. There was a passenger he was hurt and so was I. Later on he got a huge payout for my insurer. And I’ve been handed a 65k bill to pay them. Police charged me with DUI so my insurance was void. I’ve been convicted due to back calculation, because the blood samples they took 4 hours after the accident were under the limit. I went for an interview and according to what I said they calculated it and said I was Over the limit. At the time I had no money nor someone to ask and my head wasn’t there. Had to go through surgeries and a break up. Question can the police do this? Or could I challenge. Also does the insurer have to right to make me pay this fine?
 

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Firstly the back calculation IS legal. You cannot dispute this now as you only have 21 days in which to appeal against a conviction in the magistrates court.
Elephant insurance is a part of the Admiral Group who are notorious for having The clause in their policies that not only will they refuse to pay out for your own vehicle if you are over the drink drive limit (almost all insurance companies do this) but also that they will seek to recover the costs that they are obliged to pay out to third parties as a result of the accident. They are really saying that because you were drink driving you were negligent, and they only cover accidents which are ‘accidental’.

They have 6 years to bring proceedings for civil cases and I would urge you to seek legal advice about this. Given the length of time already elapsed then the company may well issue what is called a “Letter before Claim” which is the final step before they commence proceedings. If you do not respond to that, they will issue a claim in the civil court. Because of the size of the claim, it would not be heard in the small claims court so if the case was proved, you would also be liable for their solicitors costs.
Having read their claim letter, the solicitors costs at +£11,000 seem high, and there are NHS costs for +£6,000....? Perhaps the person injured was not a UK national?

You should get a solicitor to challenge the total amount and justify that they have been diligent in keeping the claim costs to a minimum, did they seek any medical opinion if the injuries were as described? They have added about £1,000 for dealing with the claim, and £400 for their solicitors, against £11,000 for the claimants solicitor. It may well be that the figure can be negotiated down but if they do take you to court for this you could face selling your house or being made bankrupt to pay for this.
 
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Many thanks for your reply, I really do appreciate it!
this started in 2017 when I’ve contacted them as I had bought a 700£ Clio to get me started back on my feet, and then that’s when they told me I had that to pay I had changed phone number and address ( not on purpose).
Since October 2017 that I’ve been paying 150£ a month.
I know now that i can’t challenge the police, and I can’t challenge the fact that they are entitled to get the money back from me. They’ve only sent me the bill to pay, no extra info on anything else. Yesterday I’ve sent an email requesting all the info they have about this.
Do you believe I should challenge this amount?
once again, thank you very much!
 
Also the person was a Slovakian national, I’m Portuguese. Both worked and paid taxes in the uk for years prior to that
 
I am not familiar with the rules on qualifying for full NHS (free) treatment but it is strange that if he has been here for years and has a National Insurance number that he would not qualify.
This is a guide to who qualifies, from a guide on a NHS Trust website:

You. Do not have to have a solicitor to ask for a breakdown of their costs (they have shown the overall breakdown, but ask for them to be JUSTIFIED) but if they do issue a Letter Before Claim it means they ARE going to teke court action and you really should get a solicitor involved then.
The fact that you have been paying £150 per month shows good faith, did you agree that amount with them, and have you been keeping up the payments EVERY month? If so, it might be deemed to be oppressive to take you to court when you are making payments that are acceptable.
 
Yes It’s been agreed through the phone, they were due to sent a letter to prove it (was the correct address) but never got to me. Never failed a payment. I’ve just emailed requesting a justified breakdown. It will take time obv with this covid going on. In regards to the NHS fees, I know for a fact That the person had been working in the uk for about two years Minimum prior to the accident.
would you recommendme to wait for them to give me the information and then take it to a solicitor? Would you recommend a specific solicitor, or any solicitor?
Also, any other suggestions or advice I’m all ears
THANK YOU
Tiago
 
May as wait for them to supply the information.
You can get initial advice free from a solicitor and it would be as well to have as much information as you can before you speak to one.
Otherwise the solicitor will charge you for writing to get the details from the company! You will not qualify for legal aid for a case like this so you would have to pay after getting the initial advice.
I cannot recommend a solicitor, Jost look for a local one, but ask first if they have any experience of defending a case like this.
 
Sorry for all the trouble, I have one last question.
Being a foreign person in the Uk, I’ve never planned staying here permanently. If I was to migrate to another country, would they have to right to get that debt from me?
thank you for help
 
You would have to get legal advice on that, but I doubt that you could be chased for the debt abroad, it would probably only be a problem if you returned to the UK.
 
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