I had a collision last year and admitted fault. My car was written off and my insurer, esure, promptly paid up. Four months later, I received a letter from a solicitor acting for the other driver’s insurer threatening legal action unless I paid them £10,000 within seven days. I was told that esure had failed to settle the claim. I tried to contact esure, but my calls remained on hold and emails went unanswered. Then, after a further four months, I received a “judgment in default” notice for nearly £11,000.
It turned out notifications of legal action had been sent to the wrong address and, as a result, I had been issued with a county court judgment (CCJ). This caused extreme anxiety, worsened by the fact that esure couldn’t have cared less. Still they did not answer my calls or emails.
It took a month for it to settle the CCJ but, four months on, I’m still waiting for it to be cleared from my credit record. My credit card limits have been slashed and I can only access higher-rate mortgage deals.
CG, Huddersfield
Alarmingly, it’s not as uncommon as it ought to be to find a CCJ has been issued in your name without your knowledge. Usually, it’s because the creditor sent the summons to the wrong address, as in your case. Occasionally, they mis-trace the debtor, and an unwitting stranger is found liable in absentia.
Your distress could have been prevented if esure had answered the phone. It has since offered £300, which you believe does not reflect your 10 months of anxiety, let alone three-figure call costs and the implications of a trashed credit score.
Regrettably, esure won’t budge. It tells me that, although you had admitted fault, the description of the incident suggested otherwise and warranted further investigation. That’s why it didn’t pay up.
“While trying to pursue this, there was a breakdown in communication with the other driver’s legal team,” it says blithely. There was a breakdown in communication with you, as well, but that was the fault of other customers. “We apologise for the difficulty she had in contacting us earlier this year, when we were experiencing unprecedented call volumes,” it said.
You took your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service but it agreed with esure that the £300 is fair. I do not share that view, but unless you want to risk court action, you’ve reached the end of the line.
• Readers recently reported that authors were being refused car insurance, as they would, undoubtedly, be cramming celebs into their passenger seats. “My lingerie designer wife had similar problems,” writes DR of London. “When I asked why she was deemed an unacceptable risk, I was told she might give lifts to supermodels like Kate Moss.”
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