Serious car insurance claim woes

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MrTomato

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#1965212 27-Feb-2018 15:57

kryptonjohn:

Is it possible they just said to you that they are insured, but lied?

It's possible, but they've been lying to Youi in that case - I never personally found out who the insurer was. I've looked for their insurer on the web, and they do exist. (Sorry, I'd like to give more details, but I prefer to stay anonymous on forums, and I'm wary of saying anything that might positively identify me.)

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wellygary

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#1965213 27-Feb-2018 15:58

MrTomato:

Sorry, I should have mentioned in my update. The other party is insured, albeit by a company I've never heard of.

I'm presuming its legit...

https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/regulation-and-supervision/insurers/licensing/register

and a member of the Insurance council

https://www.icnz.org.nz/about-us/our-members/

So I guess what is being disputed is fault, because the other party has a significant excess??

MrTomato

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#1965251 27-Feb-2018 17:03

tripper1000:

I was wondering why anyone insured would bother lying, but that would explain it.

They were driving a work vehicle (truck), and according to the details I received from Youi today it appears that the boss has been dealing with the claim on their end.

wellygary:

I'm presuming its legit...

https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/regulation-and-supervision/insurers/licensing/register

and a member of the Insurance council

https://www.icnz.org.nz/about-us/our-members/

So I guess what is being disputed is fault, because the other party has a significant excess??

Hmm... It turns out that the third party's insurer isn't listed as being licensed, but they describe themselves as being underwritten by a company that is.

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allan

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#1965256 27-Feb-2018 17:16

Just to clarify the previous question regarding lawyers at Disputes tribunal hearings - https://www.disputestribunal.govt.nz/about-2/ says:

The Disputes Tribunal isn't like a formal court. A lawyer can’t represent you in the hearing and there are no judges. Each hearing is run by a referee, who will encourage both sides to reach agreement. If they can’t, the referee makes a decision. This decision is binding (you have to follow it).

My one and only appearance at a Disputes Tribunal hearing was with my then 16 year old son and a representative from AMI. My son had rear-ended a taxi and in addition to dealing with his own insurer for damage to his vehicle, the taxi driver had submitted a loss of use claim to AMI for the period his taxi was off the road - and for which there is apparently an agreed formula that insurance companies use. He had been paid out on this basis by AMI, but continued to hassle both my son and myself for more money. When we wouldn't budge, he lodged a Disputes Tribunal application. On the day he took some 40 mins to present his case, kept interrupting the referee when she tried to get him back on track and also tried to claim for the filing fee, which is expressly prohibited.

Obviously we couldn't reach agreement with him, but the guy from AMI was great, had researched their records and discovered that they had paid him out previously for loss of use on exactly the same basis and which he had accepted. The referee disappeared for some 10 minutes and came back with a ruling that his case had failed.

Overall the environment was not at all intimidating and I thought the referee did an excellent job in trying to keep things moving along.

networkn

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#1965497 28-Feb-2018 09:02

It's actually moderately more difficult to lie in the presence of authority.

The key is to stay calm, even if they outrightly lie.

networkn

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#1965498 28-Feb-2018 09:03

Our experience with the DT was similar to Allans. The "judge" was there to keep things calm, consider the facts and present a binding decision.

Our guy didn't turn up to defend himself, but we had photos, videos, text messages and there was really no possible chance for him to win anyway. We won he declared bankruptcy.

Wasn't traffic related.

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MrTomato

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#1970786 7-Mar-2018 17:39

For anyone playing along at home, the hearing was today and went quite well, mainly because the third party couldn't keep their nonsense straight when it came to the crunch. That being said, I don't have a result because the referee said that they wanted to check something specific in the law. I would expect to hear the result soon, but judging by Youi's previous behaviour, I'll probably have to chase it up.

On the subject of Youi, they had failed to fill in the Disputes Tribunal claim paperwork properly (!), so the representative they sent along and I got a proper dressing-down from the referee, and understandably so. I'm happy to say that their local representative, however, was excellent.

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kryptonjohn

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#1970802 7-Mar-2018 19:32

Good to hear it went well.

MrTomato

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#1976673 14-Mar-2018 18:47

Final update from me: Got the result today and I won, unequivocally.

I'm glad it's over and done with! Hopefully I'll have my excess refunded without too much fuss now.

In the final analysis the service from Youi was a mixed bag. The way they handled the claim at the beginning was responsible and efficient, and the representative they sent along to the Disputes Tribunal hearing was excellent. On the other hand they let themselves down badly with their lack of communication and professionalism for the whole middle section of the claim - they fell out of touch, filed the Disputes Tribunal claim in my name without telling me, failed to respond to queries, and even managed to file the Disputes Tribunal claim paperwork incorrectly, causing the ire of the referee in the hearing and a strong warning that the next poor sap they do that to may have their case dismissed out of hand. So make of all that what you will. I appreciate the things they got right, but won't be remaining a customer.

Sincere thanks to everyone who responded in this thread - it was all useful, and I very much appreciate it.

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kryptonjohn

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#1976930 15-Mar-2018 08:00

Excellent result and nice to know the DT is working as it was intended. I wonder if it is unique to NZ?

neb

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#1982872 25-Mar-2018 15:05

networkn:
Our experience with the DT was similar to Allans. The "judge" was there to keep things calm, consider the facts and present a binding decision.

One problem with the DT is that it's entirely, and totally, in the hands of the referee. They can allow either side to say whatever they want, for as long as they want, without being challenged in any way. I've had both really good outcomes and appallingly bad outcomes based on the referee. So it's fine for small amounts, or where it's an open-and-closed case, but if you're dealing with a serious scammer and significant amounts of money are involved you probably want to go to a full trial where your lawyer can cross-examine them.

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