dellautos

It is on the MID under my insurance and was at the time of the incident. At the time i dropped it off at the garage it had a valid MOT, it's been there for some time as required some extensive work doing. Thanks for all your replies thus far. I heard back from Gordons, very nice lady Joanna there who has shed some light on things. I've also spoken to TWise again, this time a much more informed person. Here's what i've found out. Based on that fact the mechanic did not have permission to drive the car, they will firstly try and see if his personal or company insurance will pay out for the claim. If not then my insurance company will have to deal with it. However, I am not personally liable for any claim amount, that sits with the mechanic should it come to that. My premium will increase and i will lose and NCD, but essentially not liable for the claim value... which is a massive weight off my mind. I can front the extra premium, but paying for medical bills and thirty repair would be a real kick in the teeth. Live and learn. I'll post any updates as i get them hopefully as a reference for others who have similar experience.

Well what I've been informed by the mechanic is he was under the impression he was insured. It was a course they put him on and his car wasn't drive-able at the time, so he was looking for alternative transport to get there. Lookers couldn't give him a car so he said he could use mine (without asking me) and his manager agreed and said it was covered, so he took it and went on the course. If it's true fair enough, but still doesn't excuse not asking for permission or checking for a valid MOT first. Nothing to do with the Job or work itself, its more the fact he was using the car for work purposes and given verbal instruction from his boss that he was insured to drive my vehicle to the training centre. if you're boss had said it was covered and ok, what would you have done next? Would you make the assumption he was lying and require proof or take his word for it and be on your way. I don't have anything to hide, not VAT registered not enough turnover, it's a part time role. I guess i'm more of an enthusiast than a trader, but i wanted to be legit and disclose any profits and pay any tax due as well as taking out the right insurance, trade plates etc. It also helped with buying a house with the extra income. I will be looking for another mechanic! I should have been more diligent i agree and will learn from this in future. Either way as above, there's always an element of trust as documents can be easily forged, for a small or part time business as a sole trader some things can get overlooked or taken for granted. It's a learning process, the trick here for me is to learn, not forget so as not to repeat.

OK managed to get a response out of him just now finally. and found out the following: 1. He only took the car as his car wasn't working, asked his manger if he could get insured on company insurance through coopers, he said yes.so he drove it. He still didn't ask me for permission, and as the MOT was lapsed, so on that basis I would have said no for obvious reasons. I'm assuming his manager were unaware the MOT had lapsed. 2. His personal insurance doesn't cover him on other cars. Agreed. I've called Gordon LLP, waiting for a call back to discuss. His insurance doesn't cover him driving the car, so i guess that's off the table now. I don't see much option other than informing the police now really, it depends what response i get back from the lawyers really. I'm also waiting for TWise to get back to me with a current state of claim as they've gone quiet in the last few days. I agree. I'll wait for the lawyers to get back to me and see what the best course of action is, but looks like a mess at the moment and i need some legal clarity before I involve police further.

No idea, probably. You haven't see me bat... no.11! Swing and a miss.. I'm much more lethal with a ball. Well I'm only going on what I've been told, it wasn't a no overtaking part of the road... apparently and the car being overtaken accelerated as son as they realised they were being overtaken... again apparently.

I guess not as he has the keys, i gave him permission to work on the car, but that's it, he was under strict instructions not to drive it, but legally Im not sure that counts, or certainly my insurance company seem to think as he has the keys he has permission to use the car regardless.

AIl I know is Police were at the scene of the accident. I got from him that he was overtaking another car, legally - i.e. in an overtaking zone, an oncoming car 'appeared' and he swerved in, hit the front of the car he was overtaking and that's it. Not much damage done to either car, apparently. Again I've not seen either car nor had any detailed reports yet. Luckily it was taxed, MOT was 2 weeks out or thereabouts. I thought civil claim, but the likelihood of getting anything back from him is minimal, I have no issue with any dirty washing, nothing to hide or at least I don't think I have, I've tried to follow any regs and be an honest trader. He has deprived me use, giving me excuses as to why it wasn't ready yet, other bits needed doing etc, so I ordered more parts, dropped them off to him thinking he was just doing the work and I wasn't in rush. Sadly i can be this naive apparently. I trusted the guy as I see him regular ( we play cricket together) and in all fairness he's been good for any work in the past. He does have private car insurance though, so wandering if that would make any difference, would he be covered or would the claim be under his own insurance policy?

I would agree if that were the case. I'm self employed and declare everything, pay any taxes due. As for the mechanic I receive invoices, the rest is up to him as he's not an employee. thanks for your useful feedback I drove it there and dropped it off. They even have a copy of the V5, as that's what he asked for so he could register it with the garage I believe, tbh I don't know much about how a garage operates, I've just been a car fanatic ( and an engineer in the past) so went along with what he asked for and said. I trusted him basically. The car is an Audi S3 mk1 i was bring back to standard after some bad modifications.

Hi all, I am a part time dealer, just a few cars a year to keep me busy when my other work is quiet. I enjoy doing up cars that need TLC and selling them on. I have a mechanic that does some work for me now and again, he works and Lookers Jaguar Amersham full time and does private work for me and some other friends and family, usual stuff on the side. He's been working on a project car for me for some time now and had it at the Lookers garage , when he's had time after work or evenings and weekends he does a bit of work on the car. I get a phone call from Tradewise ( my insurers) telling me my car has been involved in an accident and driver is at fault. They inform me that if he isn't insured, i will be at fault and personally liable for the claim amount! The sad thing is he told me nothing of using the car for personal use, so i had no idea he was driving the car, which I would have denied him also as my insruance cant cover him because of his age (U25). The car had no MOT at the time of accident. The accident took place whilst he was driving back from a work based training course in Herreford, so during normal working hours. After I got the phone call from Tradewise i tried to contact him to get him to explain what had happened. He ignored me for e a while and then i caught up with him at Lookers and quizzed him, at this point he told me my car was insured through work and not to worry about the claim. He'd also put my car into a friends bodyshop to repair the damage caused on my car by the accident ( some minor rear quarter work) at his expense. So, even though i was angry at the thought he'd driven the car 200 odd miles without asking me, at least it was covered and I wasn't financially out of pocket. Weeks go by and I get suspicious as I've heard nothing and cant get hold of him. So i call his garage and ask for insurance details to pass on to Tradewise. Turns out he was lying, and they have no knowledge and my car wasn't insured by them. according to Tradewise I am now liable for the claim - repair damage to the car that was hit and apparently 2 injury claims for the driver and passenger - assuming whiplash. Is this fair I am liable considering had no knowledge? It could cost my £0000's including losing my no claims bonus, cost of repair and medical claim. What would you do? Any advice highly appreciated. Thanks Ben