# Very, very lucky!



## Private Prozac (Jul 7, 2003)

Thank God for German engineering is all I can say!!

It may have been 11 years old but it probably saved the life of my son and I. No shattered windows and remarkably, when it was righted, there was hardly a dent on the roof or bodywork.

Many thanks to the tosser who was speeding round the corner and forced me into the grass bank where the car hit dirt, started skidding left to right and then hit the verge again where we flipped and rolled before ending up on the opposite side of the road facing the wrong way! He continued on his merry way leaving Luke and I to get out of the car.

But there are good samaritans out there who stopped and looked after us both until the ambulance and police arrived.

Luckily not a mark or scratch on either of us just pretty bad shock obviously. Luke was more concerned and upset about getting the stereo out of the car. Bless him. 

It's just a car but it quite possibly saved our lives and at the least saved us from nasty injuries. Thank you very much Volkswagen.


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## Guest (Feb 24, 2008)

Glad you got out ok, could of been a lot worse for both of you.


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## phodge (Sep 1, 2002)

OMG!!!!

Glad you're both OK.


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## Leg (Jan 11, 2006)

Christ, glad you and your son are ok. Was the other guy on the wrong side of the road then?


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## was (Mar 24, 2003)

holly molly mate , very happy to hear your both OK 8)

Ive seen some bad parking but that takes the biscuit :wink:


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## TeeTees (Mar 9, 2006)

Flippin eck !! 

Glad you're both okay bud.....I bet your nerves were shattered after that.

As for the tosser - just wait for karma you gobshite !!! :evil:


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## J55TTC (Apr 25, 2005)

Bloody hell!

Thank god you are both OK :!:


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## coupe-sport (May 7, 2002)

> Many thanks to the tosser who was speeding round the corner and forced me into the grass bank where the car hit dirt, started skidding left to right and then hit the verge again where we flipped and rolled before ending up on the opposite side of the road facing the wrong way! He continued on his merry way leaving Luke and I to get out of the car.


Very nice :?

Glad you both got out ok 

Cheers

James


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## mde-tt (Aug 7, 2007)

Blimey!!!!!

Glad to hear you're both ok.
Had you posted the pictures and asked for our opinions on how injured the occupants would have been - I think we all would have expected very bad injuries.

Just goes to show; they're well made cars and they stand up to the test of time. You expect only new cars to be safe.


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## WozzaTT (Jan 15, 2006)

Christ - just chuffed you're both ok


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## Wallsendmag (Feb 12, 2004)

Glad to see you are OK looks nasty.


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## mac's TT (May 13, 2006)

Just glad you are both OK. Cars can be repaired/replaced. Hope the cunt who ditched you get's his comupance (if that's a word), lets just say retribution (that's a word) :evil: :evil: . Happy you and your son are uninjured.


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## Hark (Aug 23, 2007)

Looks a nasty one like you say very lucky, could have been a lot worse.


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## robokn (Feb 21, 2006)

Bloody hell glad your are both well and safe


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## The Silver Surfer (May 14, 2002)

Looks like it was a close call. Glad to see you & your son made it out unscathed. 

What did the police say about it?


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## Hev (Feb 26, 2005)

Glad to hear you are both OK - makes you wonder how some idiots can live with themselves :?

Hev x


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## coTTsie (Jan 30, 2007)

Very lucky escape..........only takes a fence post or tree :? bet your real peed at the guy who caused it.

was it local...........the offender maybe local if he was speeding round a bend, must know the roads.

did you take note of the car.............i'd be searching :x

glad to hear your ok!


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## steveh (Jan 14, 2004)

Ouch. Glad you're both ok. Thank god for the solidity of VWs.


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## FinFerNan (Feb 28, 2007)

Echo what others are saying, glad you're both ok.

I guess you'll be keeping an eye on your lad? Shock can be a funny thing.


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## Kell (May 28, 2002)

Lucky Escape indeed Neil.

Glad to hear you and your son are both doing OK.

Just hope the Police catch that bell-end.


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## ezzie (Jul 2, 2004)

Lucky escape, glad both well.


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## Private Prozac (Jul 7, 2003)

Thank you all for your kind comments and well wishes.

As you can see from the photo, the corner is pretty much a blind corner and so as we came round he was pratically steaming round at what appeared to be in our line of travel.

To be honest it all happened so quickly, once the car had hit the bank the first time and started jack knifing, that your main concern is a). To try and steer it to stay on the road & b). Ensure that Luke was ok once we'd come to a stop.

We were both hanging there, upside down, like a couple of bats. Luke's first words were, "Do you think we should get out Dad?". :roll:

In realistic terms, and the police confirmed, there's no way of tracing the other bloke. He obviously had no concience driving off and the other 'witnesses' didn't get his details either.

With the car only worth about Â£1300 and an excess of Â£350 it looks like my finances go from worse to worser and my car ownership will take another step backwards. At this rate I'll have a bloody push bike by next year the way I'm getting through car ownership!! :?


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## Adam RRS (May 25, 2006)

OMFG!!!

Neil, i'm glad yr ok and more so yr son.... i just keep thinking how lucky you were that it wasnt the rover!

Just goes to show how true yr sig slogan is


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## taylormade-tt (May 14, 2007)

Holy shit 

Glad you and your son are ok

Tom


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## Dotti (Mar 9, 2003)

Glad you both had a lucky escape


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## NaughTTy (Jul 9, 2003)

Jeez Neil - thank Christ you're both OK. Let's hope the prat that caused gets his come-uppence sooner rather than later so he doesn't cause something like this again. Next time that tree (behind your car) could be a little bit closer to his 'victim' :?

Hope the insurance co treat you kindly.


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## BAMTT (Feb 22, 2004)

Jeez Glad to hear both you and your son are ok, Lets hope the police catch up with the other guy.


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## Private Prozac (Jul 7, 2003)

Thanks again peeps.

Had a terrible night last night trying to get to sleep. Kept lying there thinking 'what if?'.

What if it was a main road?
What if we'd hit an oncoming car?
What if the Golf wasn't as solid and the glass had shattered?
What if Luke was covered in blood?
What if we'd been trapped, upside down, in the car and couldn't get out?

Luke went home with his Mum last night but was apparently in tears. He didn't want to go to sleep in case he had nightmares and he's still worried about me getting my stuff out of the car and especially the stereo. She also said he was really nervous on the way home.

I just hope I haven't scarred him permanently.


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## FinFerNan (Feb 28, 2007)

Kids are quite tough really.

But what ever you do mate you must *not* blame yourself.

Concentrate on the facts not what might have been. There's no point in doing anything else buddy.

Feeling for you mate - hope your little man get's over it soon. [smiley=thumbsup.gif]


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## Adam RRS (May 25, 2006)

TT2BMW said:


> Thanks again peeps.
> 
> Had a terrible night last night trying to get to sleep. Kept lying there thinking 'what if?'.
> 
> ...


You can say what if about any situation, fact is, none of these 'what ifs' happened and you are both safe. A little shaken up, that does wear off in the end, yr bound to be having these thoughts. Your probably better to turn them around in your mind, use them as positives and think 'im glad that...'


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## mighTy Tee (Jul 10, 2002)

Shit - glad you and your son walked away without any injury.

Try not to dwell on the what ifs and try to get behind the wheel of any car as soon as possible.


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## Private Prozac (Jul 7, 2003)

Thanks.

I just wonder sometimes how sh|t and low I can go sometimes. :?

I start off with a gorgeous TT .....










I'm bankrupted and so have to sell it.

I go to a BMW and then have to sell that because the ex wants her money back.

I go to a 11yr old Golf GTI and end up nearly killing myself and my son .....










And, to top it all, I get a letter from Lloyds bank at the weekend saying that they credited my account with 2 salaries in error last July when I was contracting. At the time, due to the bankruptcy, I had no bank account that allowed access to online banking and so this is the first I hear about it. 7 bloody months later!!

So I have no car, no money and a bank chasing me for Â£400 quid that the fcukwits credited in error 7 months ago.

Could it get any worse?


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## FinFerNan (Feb 28, 2007)

TT2BMW said:


> Could it get any worse?


Mate, you *KNOW* it could be worse right now. 

Make an appointment, go talk to the bank, be polite etc and you never know in the circumstances they might write the debt off as they are partly to blame.

As a minimum they should accept a small (a few pounds) payment each week.

Keep your chin up buddy


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## Adam RRS (May 25, 2006)

Sh*t happends mate....

You'll look back at this one day and you'll be able to smile to yrself about it and think how well you coped under the pressure.

Yeah its hard and im sure i wouldnt understand what its really like for you but as long as you have you health and your family around you then you got a whole lot more than some other people i've come across recently.

You'll pull though it! End of the day, its only money, if you havent got it, they are aware of your situation and they'll have to bloody wait wont they!


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## zedman (Jan 31, 2005)

TT2BMW said:


> Could it get any worse?


you can always make more money man you'll get out of these problems soon enough hopefully, but seeing that car makes me think you are one hell of a lucky guy..

hope those nightmares go away quick...


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## phodge (Sep 1, 2002)

What numbers are you putting on the lottery this week?

:wink:


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## zarterone (Jan 19, 2008)

Very glad to hear you ok.
Make sure you take you son out again so he knows it is safe to drive

I bet your glad you didn't have a Ford.

Frank Williams (of Williams F1) rolled a Sierra and the A pillar collapsed and that is why he is in a wheel chair.It was said if he was in a Mercedes(his normal car) he would have walked away.
Germans do make safe cars.

Maybe this will be a turning point for your and you luck will start to change
sounds like you deserve a bit of luck

All the beat 
Paul


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## R6B TT (Feb 25, 2003)

Glad you're ok Neil - I'm sure Luke will be fine in a few days.


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## garyc (May 7, 2002)

OK, you rolled a car. It happens and you are OK. No what-ifs, just the facts, as pointed out elsewhere.

Don't beat yourself up about it, and yes, life could get a lot worse.

Some practicalities:

Are the police actively looking for another car? ie do they believe your version of events?

Were there any witnesses who may have seen this other car immediately before or afterwards. Any local cctv?

What are the insurance company saying (they should get the police report)?

Any actions that you take against the local authority? Poor signage, road markings, mud on road etc?

No one is hurt.


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## Private Prozac (Jul 7, 2003)

garyc said:


> Some practicalities:
> 
> Are the police actively looking for another car? ie do they believe your version of events?
> 
> ...


No. The police wont be actively looking for the other car. Luke and I only briefly saw it as we came round the corner and the other witnesses just said they'd had to swerve to avoid it but didn't get any details. Realistically we can't expect the police to pursue it. And yes, they do believe my version of events. I was only going about 30mph and a). I don't drive like a loon anymore & b). I'd never jepodise the safety of either of my children when they are in the car.

There's no cctv. It's a local B road that runs along the boundary of the M3.

The insurance company haven't been in contact yet. I submitted an online claim last night but haven't heard anything back from them yet.

There was mud on the road, that had come down from the muddy verge, but what can I realistically hope to achieve? Neither of us have any apparent injuries, the car's worth fcuk all and I don't have the means or enthusiasm to start taking anyone on! :?


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## Private Prozac (Jul 7, 2003)

Went to collect my bits from the car today.

Guess it was more battered than I originally thought! :?


















Guess we were even luckier than I originally thought too!

Had a call from the insurance company today. Basically asking exactly the same questions that I had put on the claim online. They've arranged for another company to go and collect the car, take some photos and then send a report to their engineer. They will then send me a written offer. Gee, really looking forward to that! :?


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## NaughTTy (Jul 9, 2003)

Nah....that'll polish out no problem :roll: :wink:

Or to put it another way - Flippin' 'eck, you _were_ lucky


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## ChadW (May 2, 2003)

Sorry to read about your problems TT2BMW.

Just concentrate on the positives here, your son and you are ok, cars are cars, puts it all into perspective really.


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## Private Prozac (Jul 7, 2003)

Here we go again!! :?

Just had the following e-mail from my insurers ~

"I have just received a call from L&M Autos who have informed me that they will be issuing legal proceedings against you. As previously mentioned, we will take this case on for you and deal with this through our solicitors. When the legal proceedings are received, I would be grateful if you could forward the papers on to me via post as soon as possible. I have again informed L&M Autos that the correspondence should be sent to us, however this was refused."

The recovery firm submitted a claim to the insurers for the cost of the recovery. The insurers are refusing to pay this because they believe the claim to be exaggerated and over and above the 'normal' fee charged.

The recovery firm sent me a letter threatening to take me to court to recover their costs ~

"With regards to our telephone conversation on the 5th March 2008.

As I explained I have spoken to Sims Claims Services Ltd who are very unwilling to help with your claim.

The vehicle involved in the Road Traffic Accident is your responsibility. There are outstanding recovery fees and a daily storage charge is being incurred.

As I advised you on the telephone I am willing to take Court Proceedings to recover our costs. As you are not prepared to influence your Insurance Company to deal with this matter I am therefore notifying you of are intentions."

So, now it has been confirmed, it looks like I'll be shortly served with court papers.

It just goes from bad to fcuking worse!!


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## WozzaTT (Jan 15, 2006)

What a bag of shite :evil:

Isn't it just a case of sending the court order papers onto your insurers and letting them get on with it though, or have I misunderstood?

They are liable for the recovery costs, they're refusing to pay what's been quoted, therefore it's their problem?


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## sane eric (Jul 19, 2007)

Just read this thread and its difficult to know what to say that would actually, materially help. I guess just remember what you titled the post in the first place...

Also, stuff just takes time, one day none of this sh1t will exist, focus on that.


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## TTonyTT (Apr 24, 2006)

This is more than slightly unusual. Your insurance should pay for the costs of the accident - ie all of the costs incurred as a result of the accident to the extent covered by your insurance policy.

In your situation, the costs will be (a) recovery of the vehicle from the scene of the accident, (b) storage of the vehicle whilst the damage is assessed and the insurers decide what to do with it - repair or write-off, and (c) if they choose to repair it, then the costs incurred by the repair.

Depending on your insurance policy, you sometimes get covered for incidental expenses incurred, short-term hire of a replacement car, legal expenses, et al. OK, that aspect is not at issue here, just included for info!

Also not relevant here is the costs of any third party damage.

Looking at the car, it's a write off, so expect a "discussion" with the insurer about the market value. Therefore the only o/s costs are the recovery and storage costs.

As long as you notified your insurer of the accident, and they arranged for recovery of the vehicle, then they should cover the costs with the recovery firm (including disputing those costs if the insurer feels that the costs have been exaggerated). It's nothing to do with you, not your liability to settle the costs.

If the police arranged for recovery, I'm not 100% sure of the position, but I'd be surprised if it changed your liability - the insurers can hardly prevent the police from clearing the accident site, ie the insurers can't really object to the recovery firm selected by the police. If you called the recovery firm and directly arranged for recovery, that might be a slightly different situation, as the insurance company may see that as an opportunity for collusion, exaggerated claims, etc.

The email from your insurers that you've quoted at the top of your post really supports the view that the costs are the liability of the insurer, and that they are dealing with it. The email implies that they will handle the dispute with L&M autos, it's not your worry.

Who's your insurer, who's the broker (if not direct/on-line) and who is "Sims Claims Services Ltd"?

At a guess, I'd say that L&M Autos have had their bill rejected by the insurance company, so they're now trying to charge (threaten) you to get payment from you (as an easier target).

The only other interpretation I can come up with is that your insurer has refused your claim, and therefore L&M Autos are trying to recover their costs from you instead. But there's no suggestion that your insurer is refusing your claim, so I don't see that as a valid interpretation.

Hope this helps ...


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## Private Prozac (Jul 7, 2003)

Many thanks for your thorough response Tony.

You are spot on with everything you've said pretty much to the letter.

Hampshire Police arranged recovery of the vehicle via the RAC. L & M Autos attended on behalf of the RAC.

L & M submitted a claim to my insurers - SwiftCover.com, (part of the AXA Group), who in turn rejected their claim. L & M have been in contact with Hampshire Police who have advised that it is my 'responsibility' to settle the invoice, (probably some back office clerk who hasn't a clue about law! :? ). As you rightly said, L & M therefore thought they'd proceed with the easiest route of harassing and intimidating me to recover their costs.

SwiftCover have confirmed that their Solicitors will act on my behalf to get the case thrown out. I have this in writing.

I have also today had confirmation of the offer from SwiftCover. They are offering the grand sum of Â£950, (after the Â£350 excess has been deducted), minus the outstanding insurance premium. I have no issues at all with SwiftCover. They have been prompt, excellent in their communications and at the end of the day the payout is about what I expected.

Still, 950 quid. WTF am I gonna get for that! :?


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## Wallsendmag (Feb 12, 2004)

TT2BMW said:


> Still, 950 quid. WTF am I gonna get for that! :?


Down payment on my Aygo with easy monthly installments thereafter . 8)


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## NaughTTy (Jul 9, 2003)

Sorry you're having to go through yet more crap Neil.

I would try getting them to increase their offer. I've always heard that you should never accept the first offer and always haggle for more. No idea how you would go about this or how much you would aim for but it's worth a try mate.

If I could afford it I would give you my TT for that much just to see you sorted for a while. Unfortunately my finances are tumbling fast with everything we're having to fork out for at the moment :? Hope things improve for you once you're through this mate.


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## Private Prozac (Jul 7, 2003)

Cheers Paul.

TBH it's what I was expecting. The car cost Â£1300, the excess is Â£350 and so I am getting back what I paid for it really! :?

Thanks for your kind 'offer' as well.  I know you would and I've also had kind support via pm too, (you know who you are).

Is there such a thing as a 'ex TT owners Testimonial', like the old footballers have, where all the current 'Players' get together and proceeds go to the useless, bankrupt, skint, depressed ex owner? Just wondered!


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## TTonyTT (Apr 24, 2006)

TT2BMW said:


> Many thanks for your thorough response Tony.


You're welcome  I've spent many years working in insurance ...



TT2BMW said:


> have also today had confirmation of the offer from SwiftCover. They are offering the grand sum of Â£950, (after the Â£350 excess has been deducted), minus the outstanding insurance premium. I have no issues at all with SwiftCover. They have been prompt, excellent in their communications and at the end of the day the payout is about what I expected.


Interesting to hear the positive comments re SwiftCover. They are generally one of the cheapest insurers (or at least, they were before AXA bought them a couple of years ago), and sometimes the cheaper insurers offer a "less comprehensive" service - they have to make a profit somehow! Obviously not in this case though.

They're effectively offering you Â£1200 for the car, which (sorry) looks to be a pretty fair price for an N-reg car. Unless you can show that you paid a lot more for it (you haven't had it long?) in a fair, arms-length deal, then you'll need to be very lucky to get a lot more. A quick scan on Autotrader shows plenty of similar aged GTIs going for less money.

So the good thing is that at least you should be able to replace it with something similar with the insurance money.

You can always try haggling for more though :wink:


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## Kell (May 28, 2002)

Neil - I wouldn't worry too much about the court thing.

When I had my crash some time ago, the other party tried sueing me direct and while I was panicked at the time, I rang my insurer and asked them to get on top of it. They did and I heard no more.

If it's any consolation, I'm getting through your records...


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## A3DFU (May 7, 2002)

Jeez!!!! I've only come across this thread just now [ski holiday and all that].

You and your son have been very very lucky to walk fome this accident, Neil. Let this luck inspire you and trust that all will be fine [insurance money, you find an adequate car] I'll keep my fingers x-ed for you


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## Private Prozac (Jul 7, 2003)

Thanks babe. Appreciated. xx :-*


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## Kell (May 28, 2002)

TT2BMW said:


> Thanks babe. Appreciated. xx :-*


No worries honey.

:-*


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## Private Prozac (Jul 7, 2003)

:lol:

Cheers Kell. First time I've laughed in 2 weeks!


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## A3DFU (May 7, 2002)

TT2BMW said:


> :lol:
> 
> Cheers Kell. First time I've laughed in 2 weeks!


 8) 
See, you feel inspired already


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